Saturday morning. 9:42 a.m. Ray had posted a photo of himself and Dave and Tommy sitting at an outdoor table with plates of pancakes in front of them. Behind them was a wooden building with a big painted sign.
THE GULL’S NEST — MARINA CAFE.
The caption said: Breakfast of champions! Fueling up for a big day on the water!
Three men at the table.
Not four.
Mark wasn’t there.
There were four plates on the table, though. I counted them. Four plates, four coffee mugs. One of the plates was untouched. Still full. Pancakes, eggs, bacon.
Mark’s breakfast, sitting there going cold.
And Mark nowhere in sight.
I stared at that picture for an hour.
I told myself every possible story.
He was in the bathroom.
He was the one taking the picture.
But no. Ray was in the picture, so it was a selfie, and Ray’s arm was stretched out on the left side of the frame.
