I pulled into the lot and went inside. The place was empty. I stood there in the doorway wondering where Jackie was, until finally he came out of the kitchen, carrying a case of beer.
“It’s you,” he said. A typical greeting. Born in Scotland, he had come to Michigan as a teenager. Fifty-odd years later, you could still hear a slight burr in his voice.
“Where is everybody?”
“Who the hell knows? If they live here, they’re probably at home in a deep depression. And if they don’t live here, they’d be crazy to come.”
That pretty much summed up Jackie’s attitude these days. He was taking it hard. Not just because there weren’t any tourists around. Hell, he probably didn’t mind that part at all. But Jackie loved the summers up here, maybe more than anybody I could think of. He’s the guy who would pull his car over to watch a sunset.
Maybe it was in his blood, some Scottish thing. A better appreciation for the kind of day they didn’t often see back in Glasgow. Or maybe he was just a tough old bird who had made it through another winter and expected a little sunshine.
“And where were you last night, anyway?” he said. He set down the beer and started putting the bottles in the refrigerator below the bar.
“Any chance of me getting an omelet?”
“Go right ahead. You know where the kitchen is.”
“Come on, Jackie.”
“The one night I actually could have used some company,” he said. He banged another bottle in the refrigerator. “There wasn’t a single soul in this place. Can you believe that? First night I’ve ever seen that happen.”
“Cheese and ham. Green peppers if you have them.”
He stopped what he was doing, just long enough to glare at me.
“Come on,” I said. “It’ll take your mind off your troubles.”
“Use the small pan,” he said. “And don’t burn anything. It only takes a couple of minutes.”
“Jackie…”
“Why are you limping, anyway? Did you go find some trouble somewhere?”
“You can ask Vinnie about it later. He’s the one with the bruises.”
“I’m asking you.”
“Jackie, are you seriously not going to make me an omelet?”
“Two eggs, Alex. It’s so easy even you can do it.”
“Fine. You’re obviously too busy out here with all your customers.”
He slammed the case down, a little clue that maybe I was pushing my luck. I went back into the kitchen and started rummaging around. I found the right pan, then I took out two eggs and broke them.
Not a minute had gone by, and Jackie was right there next to me. “What are you doing? Didn’t you ever learn how to break an egg?”
“It’s not that hard.”
“Get out of the way.” He pushed me aside and started taking the little bits of eggshell out of the pan. “You don’t have the heat high enough, either. I swear, you’re the most useless human being I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, I forgot to say…Good morning.”
He threw in the green peppers. “You need to wait with the cheese, too. Until the very end. You getting all this?”
“If I start doing all this for myself, you won’t even have a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
He took his spatula and worked it around the edges. This was the part that always threw me. This was when I’d usually give up and just scramble them.
“Have you talked to her?” he said.
I didn’t answer. I was surprised he had even asked. Jackie was the veteran of a bad marriage and an even worse divorce, and at this point in his life I didn’t figure he’d be changing his opinion on relationships with the opposite sex.
“Not in a while.”
He nodded. “It’s hard. Toronto’s a long way.”
“There’s more to it. She’s working.”
“It’s a long way, Alex. There doesn’t have to be any other reason.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Or if I could even argue his point.
He put the cheese in and folded the omelet perfectly. “Get out of my kitchen.”
“You’re a prince.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go sit down.”
“I think Vinnie might need one, too. He’ll probably be here later.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah. Your customer service needs a little work.”
I left the kitchen before he could hit me with the pan. I sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs, put my feet up by the fire.
Jackie came back out with the omelet. He set the plate down on the little table. He stood there looking a little lost for a moment, like he didn’t know what to do next.
“You should be enjoying this,” I said. “Nobody else to worry about for a while. Hell, you could even close the place and go somewhere.”
He sat down in the other chair, made a sound like my suggestion was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
“It just feels strange,” he said.
“By strange you mean…cold.”
“No. It’s more than that. Did you see that sky out there? It looks like the world’s gonna end soon.”
“For God’s sake, you should go to Florida. Or where’s your son these days? Boston? You should go visit him.”
“It’s just…wrong, Alex.” He sat back in his chair. “Something in the air is just plain broken.”
That was the cheerful thought that hung in the air for the next hour or so. Jackie stayed by the fire. I kept my feet up. I could have gone back up and worked on my own, but I was in no hurry. Wait until Vinnie shows up, I told myself. And I hope he takes his time.
The wind picked up outside. It would be raining soon. It would be the rain that blows sideways and makes you colder than any winter snowstorm ever could.
Something in the air, Jackie had said. Just plain broken.
The door opened. Two men came in. I didn’t recognize them at first. I thought it was just two strangers stopping by for lunch, or for a drink. Then I saw the damage. The first man through the door had a bandage on the left side of his face, right along the jawline. The big one had his right wrist wrapped up with an Ace bandage.
The third one…He wasn’t here, but then he was the one who was unconscious when we found them.
The first guy was wearing the same leather bomber jacket. He was a little shorter than I remembered. He looked around the place, then came right over to me. “You’re McKnight,” he said. “I remember you.”
“How did you know my name?” I didn’t get up from the chair.
“I was over by your friend Tyler’s place today. I wanted to find out who you are. And Mr. Prudell, too.”
“Yeah?”
“My name’s Caplan, by the way. You can call me Cap. This is Bruce,” he said, indicating the big guy. Bruce nodded to me. With his wrist all wrapped up, he didn’t look inclined to shake my hand.
“Reason we’re here,” Cap said, “is we just want to thank you. You know, for helping us out.”
“It’s all right,” I said. “You didn’t have to come all the way up here.”
“Seriously, man. Least we can do is buy you a drink.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I insist. Please.” He stood there, his arm straight out as an invitation to the bar.
“No, really.”
“Where’s the bartender, anyway?”
“I’m right here,” Jackie said. He got up from the chair. “Come on, Alex. Show the men some consideration. If they want to buy you a drink, let them.”
“That’s right,” Cap said. “You should listen to this man.”
“That’ll be the day,” Jackie said. He went back behind the bar.
I got up slowly, wishing hard that I had told Jackie a little more about what had happened the night before. Maybe then he wouldn’t have been so fast with the hospitality.
“What are you having, Mr. McKnight? May I call you Alex?”
“Jackie knows what I drink.”
Cap took one stool at the bar. The big man, Bruce, took another, leaving one open for me, right between them.
“Here you go,” Jackie said, setting me up with a cold Canadian. “Are you gonna share some of your private stash with your friends here?”