Seagulls cried and wheeled through a cerulean blue sky when Niles Gule and his partner, Mariella Cruz, left their hotel in Portland Maine. The vampire hissed at the blazing sunshine and immediately covered his eyes with exceptionally dark, wrap-around sunglasses to protect them. He tamped his Australian cattleman’s hat over his corn-colored locks and shot his sleeves to assure as much of his skin as possible was protected from the deadly day star. Although the fall morning was relatively mild, especially for Maine, he nevertheless wore a full-length coat with a multicolored silk scarf tight to his neck to protect his pale delicate skin.
Cruz tramped ahead of him with her mission on her mind. She had dragged her partner all the way from Baltimore to track down her father, a man she hadn’t seen in twenty years. Hidalgo Cruz had abandoned his family when Cruz was a child, leaving her mother to raise four boys and one girl alone while he traversed the planet dreaming up schemes to defraud people. A tip drew Cruz to Portland and the Calendar Islands. Rumor had it, her father had been hiding in Canada but had traveled south to Maine for vacation.
A seagull pounced on a bit of bread left in the street. To Niles’ surprise, it squawked, flapped its large wingspan, and hopped backwards. Something unseen had nipped the bit of bread out from under it. Niles drew a heavy sigh. Apparently, Gumby his Jumbie had decided to make an appearance and was harassing the gull. The sprite, which was invisible to everyone accept the person to whom he was attached, i.e. Niles, ran around gleefully waving the bread at the gull. The bird danced on agile feet before finally deciding to retreat. With a big flap, it launched itself into the air and flew away. Gumby chortled happily
Cruz ignored the interplay of creatures. She beelined for the port.
Niles easily followed, taking one long stride to every two of hers. Ahead of them various piers stabbed into the bay which lay like sparkling glass given the lack of wind. While they proceeded down the sidewalk towards the pier that serviced the Casco Bay Lines, Gumby skipped along with them, always several feet ahead as he sought new mischief.
They passed a cluster of tents huddled against the fence that protected the port from the world. Niles noted scruffy young men in tattered jeans and windbreakers, their hair unbrushed, their chins sporting beards of various lengths. One with an array of only three crooked teeth, approached them with his hands outstretched.
“Got any cash on you?” he asked.
Cruz kept walking without even looking at him.
The man pranced backwards, keeping pace with her. “Please?”
When Niles noted the glint of anger in his partner’s eye, he decided he’d better rescue the beggar before someone got hurt. He smiled, brandishing his fangs. The homeless man froze, his face a rictus of fear, before he raced for the safety of his tent. Gumby, eyeing an opportunity for more fun, trundled in the man’s wake.
“There’s a fucking vampire over there!” Niles heard him exclaim to his buddies. “No lie!”
The group of homeless men recoiled. Several dodged into their ramshackle huts made of tarps. A couple of heads peered out, hoping to catch a glimpse of the vampire. Niles smiled at them, and they ducked inside as if a tent would ward off a vampire. Gumby crawled in with them. Moments later, Niles heard screams and one of the tents exploded when four homeless men bolted from within. Gumby reappeared, humming happily, and trying on a Mariners shirt. Never able to control his jumbie, Niles rolled his eyes and kept pace with Cruz.
“Surprising place for a homeless encampment,” he commented. “Awfully exposed.”
Cruz shrugged. “You should try San Francisco, Niles. Given the climate there, never really hot, never really cold, they teem all over the place.”
Niles frowned. “And live under bridges that will collapse with the next earthquake. No thank you.”
“Suddenly Portland doesn’t sound so bad,” Cruz laughed.
“I’ll bet it’s bitterly cold in the winter though.”
With a glance at the perfect, blue sky, Niles shuddered. He’d weathered winters in Boston. That city was bad enough.
They arrived at the pier to find their mailboat chugging quietly while stevedores loaded carts of mail, shipping boxes with the Amazon smile on their sides, and even small trees and crates of bananas. While Cruz bought tickets for the boat, Niles stood near the ramp and watched the flow of goods enter the ship’s hold.
“Amazing what this boat carries,” he said when she returned.
She handed him his ticket. “The only way anything reaches those islands is by private boat or by mail order,” she replied.
“Let’s get on board.” Niles trotted up the stairs to the passenger deck and took a seat on the bow.
“What’s the hurry?” Cruz demanded with a huff.
“I’m hoping Gumby doesn’t find us on the boat.” Niles peered at the busy harbor with its fleet of fishing boats. “Maybe once we’re out to sea, we can lose him.”
“Do jumbies swim?” Cruz asked.
“Hell if I know. We’re gonna find out!”
He drew a breath of relief when the engines rumbled louder and the metal deck beneath their feet began to vibrate. One of the deckhands whistled. He tossed the last rope to the pier and jumped aboard the mailboat. With a blast of its horn, the mailboat backed into Casco Bay.
Niles relaxed once they were underway. The bay was smooth. Not even a breeze rippled its surface. A group of seniors had booked passage on the boat. They settled all around Cruz and Niles, jabbering and pointing out the sights. Niles struggled somewhat given the strength of the sunlight, but even he could enjoy the city’s skyline slowly fading behind them as they pushed out into the bay. After about twenty minutes, they were free of the harbor and chugging through green water towards their first island.
Niles pointed. “Dolphins.”
Cruz sat up and peered over the gunwale. There, about fifty yards from the boat, a pod of harbor dolphins pierced the still water, took breaths, then disappeared again.
She settled her head against his shoulder and sighed. “This is a nice ride.”
Niles wrapped his arm around her, enjoying the vacation, if not its purpose. “And no Gumby.”
They sat that way for the next twenty minutes, earning themselves admiring looks from the seniors. They made a handsome if mismatched couple, Niles being tall and Nordic, while Cruz was short, curvaceous, and dark haired. The sun brushed warmth against their faces. Only the breeze from the boat’s movement added a bit of chill to the air and that was tolerable.
The captain spoke over the PA system. “We are approaching Great Diamond Island for our first stop.”
Niles sat up as the craggy island appeared ahead of them. The bay was dotted with hundreds of islands, handing them the name the Calendar Islands because legend stated 365 littered the bay. Great Diamond was a rocky outcrop covered with trees sporting their fall colors of red, orange, and yellow. Around the tide line, the rocks wore black algae and promised a slippery time. The island offered no beaches.
“Why would someone live here?” he asked as the boat edged into a protective cove where a pier thrust out into the crystalline water. A group of men awaited the boat’s arrival.
“Because it’s tranquil,” Cruz suggested.
“How do they get power out here?”
Cruz pointed to one of the many large, expensive homes that dotted the island. “Solar panels, mostly.”
The captain was maneuvering towards the dock. As he did so, he gave some insight into the island’s residents.
“All the land on Great Diamond is owned by fifty-two families,” he said. “No one outside those families may purchase the houses here. Transportation on the island is primarily by foot, bicycle, or golf cart.”
Niles crooked a brow. He’d noticed the collection of golf carts neatly parked on the pier. “I guess some folks work in Portland?” he queried.
Cruz shrugged. “Probably.” She eased out from under his hand. “This is our stop. Dad’s supposedly rented one of these for the summer. Let’s go find him.”
As Niles was tramping down the metal stairs to the cargo deck, he heard exclamations of distress. He hastened to the lower level, guessing what he would find, only to see one of the carts go flying down the ramp of its own accord. It attained the pier and coasted several yards before hitting a light pole and coming to a stop. The deck hands yelled and raced after it, not understanding what could have caused it to move under its own power. Niles knew, however. The cart carried a big crate of bananas, Gumby’s favorite food. He could see what no one else did. The little imp sat atop the crate and stuffed bananas, peel and all, into his mouth.
“Gumby!” he yelled as he jogged down the ramp. “Stop that! Those aren’t for you.”
The jumbie, as was his way, totally ignored his supposed master.
A man with muscles bulging under his shirt stormed towards the cart. “That’s my order,” he growled.
Niles raced to stop the intersection of man versus jumbie. He was too slow.
The man reached the cart and tried to snatch the crate of bananas from under Gumby. Gumby took exception to that. He squealed in protest and threw a banana at the man. His enemy cursed and flailed with his hands to fend off his unseen attacker.
“Dios,” he muttered when another banana hit him between the eyes.
Cruz had reached the pier. She started at the sound of Spanish.
“Dad?” she blurted, unable to stop herself.
The man, Hidalgo Cruz, froze. His dark eyes stared at the woman hastening towards him. He must have recognized her because his eyes widened. Then he spun and ran down the pier.
“Dad! Stop!” Cruz pelted after him. She shouted something else in Spanish that didn’t sound very nice even in a Romance language.
Hidalgo leaped into a small cabin cruiser, tossed off the lines, and ripped the outboard to life. He tore away just as Cruz reached him.
“Damn it!” she screamed. “You sonofabitch! Come back here. I deserve an explanation.”
Hidalgo didn’t respond. He merely watched with dead eyes as the distance between them grew.
Niles trotted to a stop beside his partner and rested a hand on her shoulder.
“He’s getting away!” Cruz wailed as she watched the boat charge out of the cove.
“We’ll track him down,” Niles soothed. “He can’t get too far in that little boat.” He squeezed her shoulder and drew her against his chest. “At least you know he’s alive and well.”
“I wish he was a little less well, the cretin,” she complained. She didn’t fight when Niles circled his arms around her.
Niles cast around the pier, wondering what mischief Gumby was getting into now. But the pier had settled into its ordinary routine. Islanders appeared in their golf carts and sorted through the various boxes, seeking the items they ordered. Niles marveled at the civility of it all. No one tried to steal from anyone else, although no one checked who took what. He supposed living on an island when only fifty-two families made knowing who was a thief easy.
He returned his attention to the bay and watched Hidalgo’s boat growing ever smaller. He frowned. Hidalgo was dancing on the boat. Swatting at something. Like he was being attacked by a large fly. He spun around several times. Then, his boat rocking, he lost his balance and plunged over the side. The boat kept on its merry way.
“I hope he can swim,” Niles commented.
“Would serve him right if he doesn’t,” Cruz retorted.
“Should I strip to my skivvies and try to save him?”
Cruz laughed. “Nah! Don’t bother. He’s not worth it.”
With his exquisite predatory vision, Niles could see Hidalgo’s head pop out of the water. Then he began swimming, taking long, smooth strokes in the still water.
“He’ll be fine, I’m thinking. He’s built like a brick house and can obviously swim. The day’s calm enough.”
Cruz nodded and continued watching that tiny figure. Hidalgo headed for the next island. Obviously, he wanted nothing to do with his daughter.
“We’ll catch him,” she sighed.
Niles nodded. “We will.”
Meanwhile, he watched while Hidalgo’s boat continued on a line towards Portland. If he looked hard enough, Niles could make out a tiny figure driving the thing. Gumby had enjoyed enough seafaring for one day. He was headed for shore.
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