Summer People by Aaron Stander Read Free Book Online Page B

see the shadowy silhouettes of fire fighters on the shore. Behind them on a rise at the side of the marina was a throng of spectators, their faces lit by the glow of the fire.
    Fire hoses carrying water from the river to the two pumpers blocked the drive to the marina. As soon as he emerged from his car, Ray could feel the heat from the intense fire. Acrid smoke burned his nose and throat as he ran toward the shore.
    Ray found Jake next to the first truck. “I think we’ve got everyone off the boats. Bernie says all they can do now is contain the fire and let it burn out.”
    “Injuries?”
    “Nothing much yet, just minor stuff. God only knows what we’ll find in the morning.”
    Ray spent the remaining hours of darkness coordinating the efforts of the emergency services. By first light, a shelter had been established in the township hall just across the road from the marina. By 8:00 coffee and food were being served to the fire and police crews and the people who had been staying at the marina. Initially, everyone seemed to be accounted for. Then Sue Lawrence brought Ray a tall, lean, graying man wearing only a bathing suit.
    “Ray, this is Stuart Baker. I want you to hear what he saw.”
    As he started to tell Ray his story, Sue brought Baker a blanket and put it over his shoulders.
    “I was still on the Wisconsin side of the lake when I first heard the storm warnings. I was coming over from Green Bay to Old Mission. The wind came up real fast, so I thought I might as well run for the Michigan shore as try to tack back to Wisconsin. I was able to keep all the sails up for a while, but when the storm got really intense, I just used a storm jib and the auxiliary engine. It must have been well after two when I came into harbor. The place was dark. I was able to tie up just inside the sea wall. I heated up a can of hash and was having a sip of whiskey before going to sleep when this explosion scared the hell out of me. I crawled on deck and the whole place was on fire….”
    Ray motioned with his hand, a sweeping gesture. “The whole place?”
    “Not at first,” Baker said. “When I got on deck a big sailboat in the slip across from me was completely engulfed, and there was burning fuel on the water all around it. Within a few seconds the cabin cruiser next to it was on fire. I saw two people get off it just before it exploded, pouring a lot more fuel into the water. Then it really spread fast. As I looked back at the sailboat, I saw a figure climb out of the cabin. His clothes were on fire. He staggered to the side of the boat and jumped in. He just disappeared; I didn’t see him surface.” He paused.
    “What else did you see?” asked Ray.
    “Not much more. I decided it was time to get the hell out of there. I spent seven summers building this boat, and I wasn’t gonna let it go up in flames. I started the engine and backed into the channel and went out into the big lake. A couple other boats made it out behind me. I ran along the shore a few hundred yards until I got pushed onto a sand bar. I was stuck tight. I just sat there and watched the fire. I swam in a little while ago to see if I could get someone to help free my boat.”
    Ray thanked Baker for his help, and Sue got an address and phone number. By mid-morning the victims of the fire had been questioned. Ray and Sue listened to many more stories about the panic and chaos that followed the initial explosion and fire, but no one else had seen the burning figure. Several people provided the name of the owner of the large sailboat. They believed he was staying alone on the boat.
    An arson investigator from the state fire marshal’s office and the two state police divers arrived in the early afternoon. The divers carefully worked their way across the marina. They checked the submerged remains of the boats. Then they checked the deeper areas of the marina and the adjoining river.
    In the deepest part of the channel, near the entrance to the harbor, the