“I’m calling from Brimley,” I heard Leon say into his phone. “Lakeside Loop, right by where the old bridge went out to the point…No, I have no idea…No, we can’t see anybody. It’s too foggy. Yes, we’re gonna try that…Tyler Barnes is here. He’s Coast Guard Auxiliary.”

Tyler came running back down the yard, heading to the dock next to his. Leon was right behind him. By the time I got over there, they already had the boat uncovered and untied.

“Should I go grab the other guys?” Leon said.

“Don’t worry about them,” Tyler said. “We’ve got to get out there fast.”

“Get in,” I said. It was a runabout, maybe twenty feet long. “I’ll push off.”

Leon jumped into the boat. I gave it a good shove and tried to hop in over the bow. I almost made it, had to hold on tight as one leg went into the water. God, it was cold. I pulled myself up and slid in around the windshield.

“Come on,” Tyler said as he turned the key. The engine clicked but didn’t turn over. “Come on, you son of a bitch.”

“Where’s your neighbor?” Leon said. “Can he start this thing?”

“He’s not home,” Tyler said. “Good thing I know where he hangs his keys.”

He tried to start it again. Click, click, click. Then nothing.

“Start, you stupid piece of shit. Turn the hell over.”

“Tyler, those men are probably drowning out there,” I said. “We may have to swim for it.”

“Hold on,” he said. “Just hold on.”

He turned the key again and the engine finally roared to life.

“All right, you pig. Let’s move.”

As he pushed the throttle forward, the boat jumped like a startled horse and nearly threw us all overboard.