Mary Routledge | Outer Banks

Kooks

We were back at The Cut and were hanging out near the coast guard, when we saw a woman cry when the cops showed her a dead man.

"Who's that?" John B asked.

"It's Scooter Grubbs." Brenda, a blond girl our age answered. "He was out during the storm."

That could've been John B...

I know he knew what I was thinking so he looked at me.

"Check out this pic I got." Brenda said, showing us her phone, breaking our gaze. "Dead body..." She said in a weird voice.

"What kind of boat did he have?" JJ asked her.

"Somehow that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-White." Brenda told us. We all shared the same knowing look. "Everyone's out looking for it."

"Okay. So, uh, we didn't see anything. We don't know anything." Pope said anxious as he made his way into the Chateau's front porch, where Kie, JJ, John B and I already were. "We need to have total and complete amnesia." He sat down.

"Actually, Pope's right for once." JJ said from my right. "See, I agree with you sometimes. Deny, deny, deny." He said as he got up to go towards John B.

"Guys, we can't keep that money." Kie told us.

"Not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, Kie." JJ told her.

"We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise, it's bad karma." Kie told us.

"Bad karma to be implicated in a felony, too." Pope said. "We gotta go dark."

"If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree." JJ said.

"I don't agree." John B told him.

"What? Why?" JJ asked him.

"Just think about it." John B said sitting down next to me. "This is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about. Right? Same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole."

"It doesn't add up." I pipped in. "I once saw him begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot because he needed gas, so how the fuck does this guy have the money to have a brand-new Grady-White?" I asked.

"Exactly!" John B said pointing at me. "We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat, who's never had more than 40 bucks in his pocket, and all of a sudden he's got a Grady-White?"

"This is too much." Pope said leaving.

"When you two want, you think the same, and that's weird." Kie said pointing between John B and I.

"It's their weird twin thing." JJ said nonchalantly.

"Can we go check on Pope instead of focusing on JB and I being twins?" I asked them.

"Yes!" They said as they got up.

We made our way outside and saw Pope fishing a few feet away.

"Alright, so think about it, Pope. How does a marina rat get a Grady-White?" John B asked him after we all sat down.

"It is an important question, Pope." I said softly.

"Prostitution." Pope offered.

"Square groupers, bro." John B told him. "Okay? Flying under the radar, no aerial surveillance... they don't do that stuff during a hurricane. What does that mean?"

"They're smugglers." I told them.

"Smugglers!" John B said pointing at me. "And I guarantee you there's a serious amount of contraband in that wreck."