Liars
and Legends
By
Pamela
Ebel
“Carson,
please don’t use that fish finder. You know this
trip prohibits them.”
“Stop whining,
Peg. No one can see us. Just sit and be
quiet”
“This is
supposed to be our second Honeymoon. You said we’d
see the cities and villages in Scotland. All we’ve done is go from one fishing
site to another and sleep in tents.”
“I don’t
know what you’re bitching about. We came on a
cruise ship that cost me an arm and leg, that didn’t stop in one fishing port.
Now it’s my turn. Look at the mountains or something.”
He steered the
motorboat further from the yacht that served
as home base. She saw Captain Duncan waving them to return. Carson ignored him.
On the far side
of the lake, he turned off the motor and
the boat drifted quietly with the current. Dropping the fish finder cable in
the water Carson turned it on. Peg looked at the screen that showed the underwater
world beneath them. Fish of all sizes swam lazily or streaked by in pursuit of
dinner.
Looking for something
to talk about, her eyes settled on
the fishing gear, that along with the travel expenses, had cost Peg her bonus
funds. She picked up the pole.
“Why don’t
you try this out? It would be nice to share some
salmon you caught when we all meet for dinner tonight. Everyone else shares
their catch. We’ve never contributed anything and it’s embarrassing.”
Carson turned
and grabbed the pole causing Peg to lose her
balance and fall backward. He then turned back to the sonar screen.
“I’m
sick of you whining and complaining. We had one
Honeymoon. That should’ve been enough. It’s more than most people get.”
“We went
fishing in the Gulf and slept on mud lumps at the
mouth of the Mississippi River.”
“Yeah.
But we stayed at that motel too,”
“Only because
there was a hurricane coming. We had no
electricity for two nights in August.”
“See, you
always look on the bad side of everything.
Because the storm knocked out the power, Ralph let us stay on his yacht. It’s a
beauty. When I get back home, I’m ordering one.”
“How do
you plan to pay for a yacht? My salary barely
covers our living expenses. I know you hope to settle that big wrongful death
case but…”
“Well,
now that you mention it.”
He dug into a
canvas bag and pulled out a paper, handing it
to Peg.
“You settled
the case? How wonderful. This bank statement
says you deposited $600,000. Wait! This isn’t our bank and this isn’t our
account. It only has your name on it. You opened this account last week and
didn’t tell me! Why?”
“You were
working that day. I wanted to order the Lincoln
Town Car. It will be waiting when I get back.”
“Why didn’t
you tell me? I used all our savings for this
trip. Everything we have we pool together. Why did you lie to me?”
“Why? Because
this is my money, bitch! Why? Because I’ve lied
our entire marriage to get what I wanted from you. Why? Because the lies got
you to pay for law school leaving me money to get what I needed. Why? Because
lying is what I do best.”
He yanked the
bank statement from her, putting it back in
the bag.
“You were
convenient and not too bad to look at and not bad
in bed. Just so pitiful wanting ‘to be loved’. But love costs money and I’ve
waited ten years. Now I’m going to live like I want, spend what I want on what
I want and love who I want. You, ‘pitiful Peg’, are not on any of those lists.”
Peg stared into
the face of a man she didn’t recognize as
he picked up an oar and leaned toward her.
“It will
be an unfortunate accident. You grabbed the pole
when we got a bite and when I was reaching for the net you slipped and fell
over. Your head wound will be caused by hitting the railing as you fell. That’s
what I’ll testify to and I’m a good liar.”
The sonar beeped
causing, both of them to stare at the screen.
A large nose and huge eye stared out at them. Then the boat rose out of the
water. As it crashed back down, Carson fell finding himself face to face with
Nessie.
The Loch Ness
Monster’s head rose atop her five-foot long
neck covered in dark green scales. She stared down at Peg, then her snake-like
mouth opened, two large fangs sprung forward and in one bite she drug Carson
and the fish finder overboard and disappeared. A few moments later Nessie reappeared,
seemed to smile at Peg, then, like a scaly submarine sank silently into the
dark water.
The sound of
a motor caught her attention, and the yacht pulled
alongside.
“Mrs. Olson
are you alright? We saw a giant splash. Where’s
your husband?”
Peg pulled the
canvas bag to her chest.
“I don’t
know, Captain. A big wave lifted the boat up. When
it crashed down Carson was gone. We need to look for him. I’ll stay in the boat.
Maybe he made it to shore and will see me.”
The Captain shook
his head and helped Peg aboard the yacht.
“This is
the deepest part of the loch. It’s getting dark.
We need to head back to the dock. I’ll call now and get a search party out.
You’ve had a shock. Some dry clothes and a bit of ‘the hair of the dog’ will
help.”
Peg waved her
hands and let the tears come, hoping to look
appropriately distressed.
“Could
I have some of the champagne we brought? It was for
our second Honeymoon celebration.”
“Anything
you wish. Anything else you need?”
Peg stood and
looked around the luxurious fifty-foot yacht
and held the canvas bag tighter.
“Just one
thing. What type of boat is this and how much
does one cost?”
