Chapter 43 - PARADE

The parade was just beginning when Sumner and Chinetti drove into town. The Eastport High School Marching Band was upmpapahing onto Main Street behind their pompom girls and majorettes and a sherrif's deputy stepped into the road to flag the Lincoln down. Smithport only had the one through road.Sumer waved for the deputy to come alongside, and rolled down his window.

"You'll have to wait, Sir," the deputy said.

"Mr. Chinetti is supposed to be one of the dignitaries in the parade," Sum said, guessing that there would be the usual political notables in limos in the procession. "We got lost in the fog," Sum added, shrugging helplessly.

"No problem," the fresh faced young man said. "I'll let you in line when they come past."

"Thank you, officer," Sum replied. The two men sat in the towncar waiting wordlessly, Sumner still holding the gun on Rizzo under the jacket in his lap. The parade of dignitaries came right after the Shriner's minicars with their overweight drivers in full tarboosh and shash. The deputy pulled away his yellow-striped barrier, and waved them into line behind the Federal Representative, who was in an open antique Cadillac with US flags fluttering on the fenders. Behind them was a lawyer from Machias who was making a run for County Commissioner. He was riding in a jacked up Chevy pickup, with a large sign proclaiming his candidacy framed up on the bed.

The parade wended its way slowly along Main Street, which was lined with families with children and assorted visitors and tourists. Fireworks popped intermittently, and Chinetti twitched a little when the larger cherrybombs went off. Dogs were barking in the dooryards, and it seemed that every child had a little US flag to wave. Sumner and Chinetti had their windows rolled down, and Rizzo was waving and smiling a stiff smile at Sumner's direction.

"Whatcha runnin foah, Summy?" someone shouted, and he waved his left hand casually out his window.

Through his clenched teeth Chinetti said, "Why shouldn't I just get out at the end of the parade and walk away from you?"

"You could try that," Sumner replied. "I might not shoot you.. then again I might."

"You'd get caught," Chinetti observed.

"Yeh, but you'd be dead."

"What goodud that do yah?" Chinetti pursued the idea.

"I dunno. Means I wouldn't have to worry bout you hurting my family." Sum replied. "Sure wouldn't do you much good, though."

"Monk and Bobo could still hurt them," Chinetti went on, waving and smiling at the crowds.

"Yeh, but it would sure queer the dope deal once I start singing to the cops. I'd have nothin more to lose, would I?" Chinetti fell silent.

The parade was now approaching the Co-op parkinglot. "Turn in there," Sumner instructed Rizzo, gesturing with his chin. There were people lined up blocking the entrance.

"But.." Chinetti said.

"Just do it." Sumner commanded. Rizzo turned on his blinker and tooted the horn. The crowds separated, letting them through, and they rolled into the already crowded lot.

"Over there," Sumner gestured to the alleyway between the Co-op building and the old smokehouse. There was just enough room to squeeze the towncar between two pickups and Chinetti threaded the needle. Sumner nodded for him to continue.

Half way down the alley Sumner said. "That's far enough. Pull tight to your side."

When Rizzo shut off the engine they could still hear crowd noises and echoes of the bands and car horns from the parade, but they were alone in the shadowed alleyway. Sumner opened his door as far as he could and squeezed out. The place was redolent of old fish and wet seaweed. The sounds of boats in the reach filtered through the mist. Chinetti had more trouble extricating himself, but he finally managed. They shut the door and continued down the alley to the shore. Sumner had the jacket draped over the gun in his right hand.

Back out in the light they came to the old smokehouse wharf. The sound of boat engines was much louder, and they could see confused wakes criss-crossing and slapping on the ledges below them. A few runabouts could be faintly seen in the murk. They were overloaded with passengers, and rolled deeply in the waves. Sumner looked intently for someone he might hail, but all the boats were full to capacity, and there was no one he could trust in sight.

Sumner decided that the best thing was to work his way alongshore to Nicky's house. He didn't trust Chinetti not to bolt and run if they went out into the crowds by the road, and he was just going to direct Rizzo to start when they heard another boat coming past the smokehouse pilings. A tin skiff came out of the fog, and Sumner recognized Muk with a crew of cavorting, grimy-faced kids aboard.

"Yo, Muk!" Sumner hailed. Muk's long hat brim pointed up, and his jovial red face appeared below it.

"Yo, Sum!" Muk replied, and he shut off his motor. The tin boat tossed wildly. "Just the man I was hopin to see today," he said loudly.

"I need your help," Sum said, with none for the usual blather. Muk understood immediately. He fired the outboard and angled in to the foot of an old ladder on the wharf.

"OK, kids," Muk said. "Last one up the ladder gets a bath tonight." The squad of kids nearly upset the boat leaping for the ladder, and they scrambled up it in no time, and scattered on the wharf.

"Eddie's last.. Eddie's last," one of them crowed.

"Nah. It's too foggy to tell," Muk judged. "You need me up there, or you wanna use the boat?" he asked Sumner, who was now at the top of the ladder.

"If you could give me a ride.." Sum proposed.

"Yeh, or you could use the skiff," Muk offered his head craned back to look up the ladder at Sum. "I got a call from Dunk this mahnin on the CB, lookin for ya." He paused.

"And?" Sumner asked, watching Chinetti out of the side of his eye.

"He said I should tell you there's trouble out to Bunker's Hole," Muk continued.

"That fits," Sumner said aloud. "You got a CB aboard?" The races were organized and reported on by CB, and half the town was tuned in to follow the race they couldn't see.

But Muk shook his head sadly. "Friggin thing's bust," he reported.

"Could you run me out to where the race boats are?" Sumner asked.

"Showah," Muk replied. "Hey, you monsters," he yelled. A line of heads appeared at the edge of the wharf. "Go hang out at the Co-op til I get back."

"OK, pa," the tallest one said.

Sumner gestured with the jacket for Rizzo to climb down the ladder, and they both descended to the tin skiff. They could hear the blaring of a load hailer out in the reach, and then the report of a gun. A red flare arched up in the fog and a roar of motors filled the air. The races had begun.