Alexa was in no mood for a joke. She tried to be calm but instead she began yelling at Cayman.

“It was my dad! I saw him again. He was here at the pond. I know it was him.”

“You didn’t say your dad lived here. Does he live in Startup?”

“No, actually,” she said taking a deep breath and trying not to sound sarcastic, “according to my records, my dad has been dead for going on two years.”

Cayman let go and stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

“You’ve seen him before today?”

“Yes, outside the diner, it was the same day you showed up.” Alexa was looking in the direction she’d seen him standing, nervous, anxious. “He was standing outside the window, in the rain staring at me. It was him, I know it was him! It was him.”

She nearly whispered the last words of the sentence as her arms fell limply to her side and she leaned hopelessly against Cayman’s chest, sobbing.

“I’m so sorry, Alexa. Someone is playing a cruel joke… You have to understand that.” Then tenderly he asked her, “You have to think about it. Why would your dad do something like this, Alexa? From what you’ve said he was a devoted father, not someone who would pull some cruel hoax on his only daughter.”

She pulled back and looked up at his face.

“I’ve thought this through a hundred times since I first saw him that night.” Looking down she wiped her eyes and then looked up at Cayman. “I know he’s gone. I saw his casket, watched them put him in the ground. It was a closed casket service because he’d been shot in the face…by my then fiancé.”

“Oh, Alexa, I’m so sorry. No wonder you were so distant. I had no idea. I wouldn’t have come after you like I did if I’d known.” His arms wrapped a little tighter around her. She could feel his sadness mix with her own and felt the warmth of knowing someone understood her pain and loss.

“Of course you didn’t. How could you? It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault. It’s just the way it is, and that was my dad.” She pulled slowly away, her hands lying softly on his chest. “It was my dad that night in the diner and it was my dad just now.”

Cayman hesitated for a minute before speaking.

“Let me look into this, Alexa. It’s…well…it’s kind of what I do. Let me make some calls and see what I can find out. I’ll take you home now, it’s almost dark.”

Alexa hadn’t even noticed the dimming evening light. Together they walked back to the car, arms around each other. As he opened the car door, Alexa turned to him.

“I had a great time, Cayman, really. I appreciate your kindness and your willingness to help me out. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, little lady,” he said in his best John Wayne voice. It was a horrible impression, but it made her smile.

They rode most of the way home in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They were approaching the diner when she turned to him.

“Would you walk me up? I’m feeling a little shaken right now.”

“I’d be happy to.”

Cayman parked on the empty street beside the diner. They walked around the back and she put the key in the lock and they went in. As they climbed the stairs inside the back of the diner, they heard footsteps above them. He touched her arm softly and they stopped.

“Does anyone live up here besides you?” he asked quietly, his muscles tense.

“No,” she whispered looking up the stairwell, “no one.”

“Wait here,” he said softly. “I’ll come back for you. Don’t move.”

He tiptoed up the remaining stairs. She heard a shout and then scuffling. Before she could move to a safer position a man came running down and pushed her out of his way, sending her flying down the stairs to the landing below. The last thing she saw was the concerned face of Cayman repeating her name as he knelt over her before everything went black.

“Alexa! Alexa! Can you hear me? Alexa…

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