
THE DOCKMASTER MUST NEVER SEE THIS by Claire Hopple
Gretchen starts with ditching her cell phone. She connects a landline and absconds with an old friend’s answering machine. She receives a message from a wrong number telling her to meet at a houseboat by the river tomorrow at nine. The voice doesn’t specify whether that’s A.M. or P.M. She plays the message over and over, repulsed. The following day, she settles on a bench beside the river. There’s only one boat. It’s docked directly in view of the casino. It’s not a houseboat. Not at all. Regardless, this must be the place. Hampered by the stranger’s lack of specificity…