Calendar Mystery 4: MONDAY MORNING
Characters:
Chris Josephson, 29, creative writer and professor, owner of Sandy
Point lighthouse
Frank Zanetti, 24, detective sergeant
Vera Ericson, 60s, owner of Vera 's Cabins on the North Shore
In response to a question from one of my Readers, `Sandy Point ' is fictional, although Grandma 's tavern, the high bridge, the beach, and the sand dunes are real. The fictive place is loosely based on Park Point, which in the 19th and early 20th centuries was called Minnesota Point. The sand dunes were a hangout for UMD students, and for all I know, still might be.
Almost certainly, the Reader knows someone who resembles Vera. She 's open-minded, but more important, she is open to adventure and seizes the opportunity to get involved in the Calendar Mystery. Maybe you see something in her character that I missed. Goran: goranbixo@aol.com
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Monday morning, September 7, 2020: Frank awoke to the fragrance of coffee and the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. He jumped out of bed, drank two sips of coffee, took a leak in the bathroom, and joined Chris in the shower stall. Chris stood with his back toward him. Frank wrapped his arms around Chris, who spread his legs apart. Frank guided his cock to Chris 's hole, found it already lubed, and drove his shaft inward and held Chris tight while he fucked, ignoring his groans and his pleas to take it easy. He released his grip on Chris 's midsection and slapped his butt-cheeks with both hands. Each slap a bit harder. The impact of open hands on wet skin sounded dramatically painful, but Chris responded to each blow with an
"Uhhh! " Frank shot jizz up the love-canal. Chris turned around. Frank sucked him off and swallowed the liquid return of his orgasm.
In an embrace under the showerhead, Frank surprised Chris with a sloppy kiss. Chris would have resisted, but Frank held him close, supporting him in a moment of post-coital weakness, maneuvering him into tasting his own cum. "Musky milkshake with a chaser of honey, " Frank remarked. "Guess it 's 'cause you 've got a healthy diet, Doc. "
They revisited to the granite boulder with the overhanging cedar. Storm clouds rolled over the lake and erupted in thunder and rain. When it turned to a downpour, they clambered over rocks and jogged back to Cabin 7. They changed clothes again. Chris made a fresh pot of coffee while Frank made a breakfast of bacon and eggs.
Time for old-fashioned police work. Frank took the lead. They found Vera in the resort office. Frank explained that the `missing person ' case was really twelve young men gone missing. "My buddy Chris has an intuition that some of them met with foul play. "
"An intuition? " Vera asked. "You mean you 're a psychic? " She looked at Chris.
"That 's a matter of debate, ma 'am, " Chris replied.
"How exciting! I 've always wanted to meet a psychic, " Vera said, enthusiastically.
"I 'm not a very good psychic, " Chris said. "I get partial intuitions, feelings. Never seen a vision. "
"With your permission, Vera, I want to show you some photographs of male models. We don 't mean to give offense, but they 're all nude. It 's a calendar with male pin-ups, you see. "
"I was a nurse in Okinawa during the Vietnam War, " Vera said. "I 've managed running this place for the last five years, ever since my husband died. I 'm a tough old broad. " She leafed through the pages of the calendar. "They 're very attractive, these young men. And the photography is rather artistic. Nothing offensive. Nihil obstat. "
"Turn the page to September, " Chris said. "This is my lighthouse, you see. Built by my second great grandfather in 1908. I had it repainted the July before last, so the September calendar photos must have been taken after that date. "
"I recognize the lighthouse, " Vera said. "On Sandy Point. "
"Somehow they managed to get inside the lighthouse, " Chris continued. "This is the spiral staircase. And the lovemaking scene is in the loft. "
"That 's what got us started on our investigation, " Frank said. "We 're trying to identify the places and the models, but it 's early days. Now let 's turn to the month of May. "
"The overhanging cedar, yes, I see what brought you boys here, " Vera said. "I 'm sure there are other cedars like this on the North Shore, but not many. But how did you recognize the place so quickly? Oh, of course, you 're a psychic. " She looked at Chris.
"To be honest, I 've been here before, as a boy. With my folks. I don 't remember the year, but I remember the tree, " Chris said.
"The question is, do you remember the man in the photo for May? " Frank asked. He didn 't need to point out that the model was a redhead.
"I get so many guests. Do you think he was here in May the year before last? " Vera asked.
"It could have been anytime last year, or even in 2018, but for the present, it 's helpful to our investigation to assume it was May 2019, " Frank said.
"There 's a ritual element in this case. I think it not unlikely that the photos were taken at that time, " Chris said.
"He does look familiar. That red hair distinguishes him, " Vera said. "Yes, it could have been him. He wasn 't alone. There was a black man, and an older man. They didn 't have a reservation. The only cabin I could give them was number 7. Three men crowded into the smallest cabin, but the older man paid cash and left. He must have come back for them the next morning, though I didn 't see that. "
From a drawer under the counter, she retrieved that resort guestbook and account book for 2019. Only one Irish name appeared in the guestbook for May: Neill O 'Brian. Below it was a second name: Henry Clark. The names were confirmed in the account book: "H. Clark & N. O 'Brian, $90 pd. Cash. " No clue about the older man, the photographer.
Vera started surfing the internet for Henry Clark and Neill O 'Brian. She had two computers in the office, so Chris started searching on the other one. Frank searched on his laptop. Both names came up often enough. Neill was a problem because the name has four alternate spellings, and the surname O 'Brian takes several forms, too. After fifty minutes and two interruptions from customers renting cabins, Vera exclaimed: "I found Neill O 'Brian! "
"Where? " Frank and Chris asked in unison.
"Chisholm. High School Yearbook for 2015. Senior class pictures. They 're in black and white, so the hair doesn 't show as red, but they 're the same man. See! "
In a flurry of activity, our trio of detectives searched the internet for O 'Brian families in Chisholm. "He 's got an older sister named Patricia O 'Brian, " Vera announced. She found her senior class picture in the 2013 yearbook. They narrowed the search to three O 'Brian families in Chisholm.
They had no luck with Henry Clark. "Maybe not his real name, " Frank said.
"I probably checked Neill 's driver 's license. As it was legit, I didn 't check the other, " Vera said. "That 's all the law requires. What 's next for you boys? "
"A trip to Ely. A place called Burntside Lodge, " Chris said. "Maybe in two weeks. We 've both got to get to our jobs in Duluth, and next weekend we 've got the church picnic at the lighthouse. "
"I 've got a proposition for you, " Vera said. "Allow me to join your little detective group. I 'll drive up to Chisholm this week and check out the O 'Brian families. A visit from a little old lady would be more effective. Less alarming, you see. "
"In that case, Vera, you must come to our picnic at the lighthouse next Sunday, " Chris said.
"It 's just after church. I 've got plenty of room, if you want to come on Saturday and stay overnight. "
"I 'd love to help you boys out with the picnic, " Vera said. "I could come on Friday, if you need me. And I 'd like to invite my grandson Sebastian. He just moved to a boardinghouse in Duluth, and hasn 't made friends yet. "