"Did you look for it?"

"No, Carl,” Paul said. “That scope set me back three-thousand bucks. Why would I look for it? I thought I'd just leave it there until the next time I needed it."

"How am I going to win the tournament without your rifle? That was one fine piece of hardware.” Carl kicked at a dock board in disappointment. “I'd use my own, but the rifles the sheriff gives us are crap. You had your scope aligned so perfectly, I could shoot blindfolded."

Two colorful rafts, toting coolers, floated past the dock. Paul waved at the occupants as they slid off and carried the coolers up the access ramp.

"If you were smart, Carl, you'd capitalize on that access ramp to make extra money."

"What do you mean?” Carl set the red tackle box on the end of the dock.

"Most people think that's a public access. But it's not. That access is on the Witt sisters’ property. They've been letting people use it for years. If I were you, I'd charge per boat to access the lake. In the winter, I'd charge five bucks per vehicle during ice fishing season."

"Why didn't I think of that?” Carl said. “Got any more ideas?"

"Maybe. But they come with a price."

Carl watched Aanders head toward Sadie's cabin, playing a video game as he walked. When Aanders noticed them, he quickly averted his gaze back to his video game.

"Isn't that Nan 's kid?” Carl asked. “Who's he talking to?"

"You got me. Must be the game,” Paul said. “Did you notice how scared he looked? It's almost like he wanted to take off running."

"Give him a break. He just lost his friend. Tell me more about your ideas."

"The reason you didn't think about the access fee is because you haven't challenged your brain. You might have potential, but you don't know how to use it.” Paul tapped his temple. “It's all about manipulation."

"You mean like how you're going to buy the mortuary and trick Nan into marrying you?"

"Something like that."

Paul pointed toward a cluster of children standing around an ice cream cart. The two men sauntered over to the cart. Paul stooped to look into the case. He gestured toward the chocolate tub and pulled a ten from his wallet. Carl waited for his cone before catching up to Paul. “Well?"

"Like I said, it'll cost you. Genius isn't cheap."

"Bull,” Carl uttered. He wiped at the cone with his tongue.

"I could find another location for the mortuary. It isn't set in stone that I have to buy the existing building."

"You backing out on me?” Carl's nostrils flared as his voice rose. Red splotches edged up his neck and onto his cheeks.

Paul grimaced and looked around. “If I were you, I'd keep my voice down. You'll never keep employees if you react like that. You'll scare them away."

Carl slid his mouth around the cone to catch the drips. “Well golly gee, mister businessman, I disagree. I have no intention of changing my ways."

Paul and Carl watched a young woman in a bikini cross in front of them and walk toward the beach. Carl pursed his lips. “Oh baby. Come to papa. To think they'll be parading in front of me all summer is better than a wet dream. I'll be so busy entertaining I'll have to sleep all day to recuperate."

"You talk big, but your wife would chop you into bait and feed you to the fish."

"She'll never know.” Carl pulled a tablet from his back pocket. “I need to add bikini babes to my list of things for the judge. He's coming for dinner tomorrow night. I try to sweeten the pot every time I talk to him."

Carl jabbed Paul with his elbow. “Look who's coming."

Mr. Bakke met the two men on the walkway and nodded as he continued. He shifted a bag of groceries from one arm to the other.

Carl shot his fist in the air. “Yes. How perfect is that?” He turned to watch Mr. Bakke step up onto Sadie's porch. “I hoped one of them would see me. He'll run in and tell them I'm here. That made the drive out here worth it. I'd do anything to aggravate Sadie."

Paul stopped at the edge of the resort property and gazed at the mortuary. “It's a shame to waste shoreline on a mortuary. That hundred feet of beach front could generate a lot of income if you didn't sell it."

Carl scanned the shoreline. “So you're saying if you don't buy the land and building I should do something with it?"

Paul tapped his temple. “Think, man. That building could be used for lodging or it could be rented out to corporations for meetings.” Paul tapped his temple again. “If you don't start thinking like an entrepreneur, you'll never succeed."

"I'll think about it,” Carl said as he walked toward the patrol car. “My problem is cash. I was counting on cash from the sale of the mortuary land to pay my bills. If I don't sell it, I'll have to come up with the money. You know I don't have money.” He grinned across the top of the car. “Not that my wife knows about."

The two men opened their doors. Suddenly, Carl let out a yell. “What the…?"

The contents of a red tackle box were strewn over the car's interior. Most of the barbed hooks were deeply embedded in the car's upholstery and fishing line had been entwined throughout the interior forming an impenetrable web. Carl's clipboard dangled from the rearview mirror. Each numbered citation had ‘PIG’ written across it in bold, black letters. Mermaid lures hung from the ceiling with dried-up minnows on the tips of the barbs.

"That witch,” Carl shouted.

"Who?"

"Sadie. She did this,” Carl yelled.

The Witt's End van pulled into the parking lot, stopping next to the patrol car. One of the resort's guests climbed out of the van. “Thanks for taking us into town, Sadie. We got some great pictures to show the folks back home. I'll bring them over as soon as I get them developed."

Sadie followed the woman out of the van. Theo, Lora, and Michael trailed close behind.

Carl grabbed Sadie's arm. “Were you in town all afternoon?"

She slapped at his hand and pulled free. “Yes, I was. What business is it of yours?"

"Do you have any witnesses?"

"For what?"

"To vouch you were in town all afternoon."

Sadie looked up at Theo, who stood next to her with a big smile on his face. “What are you grinning for?"

"Grinning? I'm not grinning. Do I look like I'm having fun?” Carl's voice rose with each word as he glared at Sadie.

Theo gestured toward Carl's patrol car. “You better take a peek in there."

Sadie raised up on her toes and looked in the window. She let out a hoot. “Did you leave your car unlocked?"

"No, Sadie. I always drive a car that looks like a tackle box."

"That's really stupid.” Sadie reached in and pulled on a tightly wound portion of fishing line. The line twanged like a guitar string setting several lures into motion. “Those minnows stink."

Sadie shouted toward her cabin. “Jane. Call the newspaper and ask them to come out and take a picture of Carl's patrol car. Maybe we can get the idiots who plan to vote for him to change their minds."

Carl spun to face Jane. “If you call them so help me I'll get ten more patrol cars out here and make a big scene. I'll tell everyone there's a murderer on the loose. Your guests will cancel their reservations and leave."

"At least they'll leave laughing.” Sadie dabbed at a tear.

Carl opened his pocket knife and began cutting the tightly wound strings away from the steering wheel. “Look at this mess. It'll take me a week to find everything. I'm going to catch whoever did this. You can count on it."

"I doubt it,” Sadie said, catching a glimmer of Rodney dangling a fishing lure as he leaned against a tree.

Carl cursed under his breath. “First I find out I can't use your rifle and now this.” Carl stopped cutting and glared at Paul over the top of his patrol car. “How the hell can you lose a rifle?"

"I already told you. It must have jarred loose from my four-wheeler. I backtracked, but I couldn't find it. There's so much hazel brush along that trail, it's impossible to find anything."