A Timely Vision

by Joyce; Jim Lavene

  “He should be here anytime.” Just then, the door opened behind me and her grin widened. “And here he is now! Good morning, Mr. Sparks. The mayor is here to see you, and you have several messages on your desk.”

  Chuck looked at me, then his eyes shifted away. “Mayor O’Donnell.”

  I took ten dollars out of my purse and handed it to Mandy. “Why don’t you run over and get us some coffee?”

  She glanced at Chuck. He nodded, and she left the office with the cash.

  I shivered in the frosty atmosphere. “You know, it’s not meant to be below zero inside when it’s ninety outside. Maybe you should get a few fans.”

  “I know why you’re here. I heard about what happened when they came to get the old lady.” He put his briefcase down on his desk and turned back to me in an adversarial stance. “You might as well say what you have to say.”

  “Okay. I want to know who’s selling the sisters’ properties.”

  He fiddled with his palm tree tie. “I don’t give out that kind of information. You can get what’s registered easy enough. Or you can come to the auction Wednesday. Why are you really here?”

  Shamelessly, I pointed to the logo on the front door. “If I hadn’t found that medallion your mother lost, there would be a piece of your history gone forever. I know it didn’t have much intrinsic value, but it was important to you. This is important to me.”

  He flopped down in the chair behind his desk with a gratifyingly unhappy look on his handsome, spray-tanned face. “I know I owe you, if that’s the point you’re making. I still don’t understand how you managed to find that medallion. But you can’t stop progress or keep me from selling those properties. It’s the way things work.”

  I went to sit in the chair in front of him. “Have I told you how important this is to me, Chuck? I want whatever information you can give me about the sale. I’m not trying to stop anything. I want to know what’s going on. What’s the hurry? Miss Mildred has barely settled in her bed at the hospital.”

  He pyramided his hands on the desk in front of him. “I wouldn’t tell anyone else this information. And if you try to use it against me, I’ll deny it. You don’t have a tape recorder, do you?”

  “It’s just me and you.” That was the only promise I was willing to make. I was also willing to ignore his implied threats. “Why is this sale taking place so quickly?”

  He pushed around some of the paperwork on his desk. “There’s a developer interested in both of those properties. In fact, there are at least three developers interested in them. They have high-end clients who’ve been looking for larger pieces of property in Duck to build on. I told you land is at a premium here. It’s very valuable and an auction is the best way to get the most money for the properties.”

  “I’m not sure that explains why you’re doing it so quickly.”

  He sat back in his chair and stared at me. “My client is in need of some capital right now. The sooner, the better, to settle some outstanding debts. I think you can imagine something like that, Mayor.”

  Really, I couldn’t. I’d never even had a credit card. The idea of a debt so great it had to be taken care of in a few days or you’d face the consequences was beyond my understanding. “Who’s your client?” I held my breath when I asked the question, fearful that somehow Chief Michaels had received power of attorney from Silas Butler and needed to settle gambling debts. Or something equally as sinister. I could suddenly imagine him running away from members of the mob who wanted their money back.

  “OBX Land Trust, LLC.”

  “Who is that?” I’d never heard the name before.

  “As I said, it’s my client who has ownership of these properties.”

  “And is related to Silas Butler in what way?”

  “I don’t know who that is, Mayor. I haven’t dealt with anyone by that name.”

  I felt sure he was lying, but there was no way for me to prove it. Mandy returned with the coffee, the hot liquid causing clouds of condensation in the cold office air. I had little more information than I’d had when I first walked in. I hoped Gramps could get more.

  Chuck got to his feet, apparently sensing I’d run out of steam. “Anything else I can do for you, Mayor, please let me know.”

  He put out his hand and I shook it, wishing I could get some sense of what he really knew about the sale of the sisters’ houses. A chill trembled through me. I could see he’d lost his cigarette lighter. I wasn’t about to tell him where I saw it. “I hope there’s nothing wrong with this sale, Chuck. It would be a shame to waste all your money setting up a business in Duck, then lose it over something stupid.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with this sale. It’s straightforward. I hope you’ll come to see that in time.”

  I left after that, with a smile for Mandy. It was good to be back outside, even if it was humid and hot already. I wasn’t prepared to spend much time in winter temperatures in the middle of July. I crossed Duck Road and walked up to the Duck Shoppes, stopping at town hall before I went to Missing Pieces.

  Nancy was there, of course. She wasn’t supposed to be since it was the weekend and town hall wasn’t officially open. Sometimes it seemed like she never went home. She offered me coffee and donuts she’d purchased from the Duck High School cheerleaders’ fundraiser. “What are you doing in here, Dae? Do you need something specific?”

  “No. Just thought I’d check in.”

  “I actually have two messages for you, both from Mary Lou Harcourt. She’s holding a turtle rescue day she’d like you to come to. And people are still building sand castles, endangering the turtles trying to reach the water.”

  I took out my calendar and marked the turtle rescue event in it. “Wednesday morning, ten A.M.” I thought about the auction the same morning and wrote that down too, not that I was likely to forget it. “Thanks, Nancy. I think I’ll go in the office for a few minutes.”

  “Okay, sweetie. Shall I hold any calls, especially turtle-rescue calls?” She smiled knowingly.

  “Thanks. I won’t be here long. If Mary Lou comes in later, you can send her down to Missing Pieces.”

  I closed the door to my office behind me. Nancy was probably wondering why since I usually left it open. I thought about looking up the property owner for the sisters’ houses on GIS—Geographical Information Survey. It marks the person who pays taxes on the property as well as the owner. Unfortunately, GIS had not kept up with recent events. Miss Mildred and Miss Elizabeth were still listed as both owners and taxpayers. It was a dead end.

  Not that it wasn’t possible to use the information I got from Chuck. If Gramps didn’t come back with more than Chuck had, we might still be able to find out who was behind the sale. OBX Land Trust had to belong to someone. I typed the name into Google but nothing came back. If the group had been active in the Outer Banks buying other properties, it seemed like they’d have a listing. Unless they’d put the company together just for this sale.

  There was a knock on the door, and I absently called out, “Come in.” I looked up and saw Chief Michaels closing the door behind him. I had a brief moment of panic at the idea of being alone with him, then dismissed it. Whatever was going on with him right now, he was still the same man I’d known all my life. Maybe there was some way to help him.

  “Mayor.” He nodded. “I’d hoped to have a few words with you.”

  I wondered if Gramps had spoken to him. I felt like I was blindfolded and not sure which direction to go. But I smiled and gestured toward one of the chairs in front of my desk. “Of course, Chief. What can I do for you?”

  He settled himself into a chair and pulled off his hat. His blue uniform was starched and pressed as always. His shoes were as shiny as the medals on his chest. I remembered him receiving several of them. One was for saving a little girl during a house fire. He’d risked his life to pull her out. The town had thrown a huge appreciation party for him right in the middle of Duck Road. That was before the park was finished.

 
; “I think you may have the wrong idea about what I was doing yesterday at the senior center in Kitty Hawk.”

  I didn’t want to, but I felt a little nervous. Chief Michaels looked pretty intimidating in his uniform, and of course, there was a large gun on his hip. Before the last few days, I wouldn’t have believed the chief would be capable of hurting me. Now I was a little less certain. What if he was being pressured by tremendous outside forces? The way Chuck had described things, the seller of the properties was a desperate man with terrible financial burdens. Maybe I didn’t know Chief Michaels as well as I thought.

  “I really don’t have any ideas about why you were there,” I lied. It seemed the wisest course of action. “Is there something I should know?”

  “I know you’ve been looking into what happened to Lizzie,” he said. “Tim told me you don’t believe Millie killed her sister. I don’t want to believe it either, but sometimes bad things happen. You have to accept that we’ve done the best we could by Millie. I wish it could be different, but the evidence is stacked up against her. The evidence never lies.”

  “What evidence is there besides her seeing Miss Elizabeth bring her purse to her?”

  “That speaks to her frame of mind, Mayor. She lost it when she realized what she’d done. Agent Walker and I believe the DNA tests will confirm that the blood and hair on the shovel we found in Millie’s garden shed will match Lizzie’s. Millie’s fingerprints were all over Lizzie’s purse. How much more do you want? We would’ve tried to put the purse snatcher away just finding the purse at his motel room.”

  That was a dizzying amount of information. I didn’t want to hear it. He was right about that. But I also still felt that all this so-called evidence added up to someone trying to point the finger at Miss Mildred. “She’s being framed for this, Chief. I don’t know why you can’t see that.”

  “Who would possibly think of doing something like that, Mayor? With all due respect, you should leave this kind of thing to the professionals.”

  “The professionals are wrong this time, Chief. I’m sorry, but I’m not giving up on Miss Mildred that easy. I’m certainly not going to let someone sell her land out from under her as they set her up to take the blame for Miss Elizabeth’s death.”

  He glared at me. He’d done that before, but this time I felt the impact more deeply. “I’d hoped to explain the situation to you, but I can see you’re as stubborn as your grandfather. When he got the bone between his teeth, he never let go. That’s what made him such a darn fine sheriff. Just remember, you aren’t a law enforcement official.”

  Was that a threat? My hands shook as I played with my stapler. “I appreciate that. And I know you’ve done all you could for Miss Mildred. If there’s a personal issue I can help you with, I hope you know Gramps and I will always be there for you. You’re part of the family, Chief.”

  He smiled, or what passed as smiling for him. “Thank you, Mayor. But I’m fine. I only wanted you to know that there’s nothing illegal going on now. Everything is well in hand.”

  I nodded, and my voice almost broke when I said, “What about Silas Butler, Chief? How long have you known he was alive and living in Kitty Hawk?”

  Chapter 15

  Chief Michaels got up and walked to the door. I thought he was going to leave rather than answer my question. He stopped for a moment with his hand on the door handle. When he turned back, the grimace on his face made me aware of his anger.

  He came back to my desk and leaned on his hands, glaring down at me. “Are you questioning my integrity, Dae O’Donnell? I’ve been in law enforcement since you were in diapers. Are you saying I did something wrong?”

  I really wanted to back down. I wanted to hold up my hands and assure him that I would never question anything he did. I could give him my big mayoral smile and pretend I wasn’t serious. Anything to get him to leave.

  But I couldn’t do it. “I guess I’m asking if you’re part of this whole auction thing for the sisters’ properties. I’m sorry, Chief. I don’t want to ask that question, but I’m not the only one asking.” I was, but he didn’t have to know.

  He paused for a long moment, then looked out the window at the sound with his hands held behind his back, legs spread, like an old-time sea captain. “You do things for a long time on autopilot. I guess because you know your way around so well. Maybe too well.”

  He sat back down and faced me. “I’ve only known about Silas for a few months. Of course I went to visit him when I found out. I never expected to see him again.”

  “What happened? Why isn’t he buried in Duck Cemetery?”

  “He turned state’s witness against Bunk Whitley. It was the only way we could get at him. Old Bunk was the real problem back then. He was into everything from gambling to prostitution. Silas worked for Bunk.”

  “And you agreed to pretend he was dead so Bunk wouldn’t kill him.” That made so much more sense than thinking the chief had gone rogue.

  “We did. Horace knew about it too. He was there with me that night. We took Silas across to the mainland and were supposed to keep him at a motel until the trial. But Bunk was too clever for us. He skipped out and was never heard from around these parts again. Silas was too scared to come back, though. He left the island. He told me he only came back to die because it didn’t matter anymore. Then Miss Elizabeth was killed.”

  “Their properties came to him, didn’t they?”

  He nodded. “Silas told me about it right after we picked up Millie.”

  “But there are no other relatives, so he gave it to Chuck Sparks to sell.”

  “Not exactly. There’s another relative, Mayor. Silas has a grandson. He’s the one selling the properties. I assume he has power of attorney over his grandfather’s affairs. I knew it was coming. That’s why I went down there yesterday, to ask him if there wasn’t some way to stop it.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said he wouldn’t if he could. He’s dying. He might only have a month or so to live. He doesn’t care if Bunk is still alive and can come after him. He thinks what’s happening with his sisters’ property doesn’t matter either since Millie was arrested.”

  “What about this grandson? Does he live in Kitty Hawk?”

  “No. He lives on the mainland. You know him. It’s Jerry Richards.”

  “The TV guy?” I could hardly believe it. “He’s the one who has to sell the properties right away because he owes people money?”

  “What did you think, Dae? Did you think it was me?”

  I hated to admit it, but I nodded, keeping my gaze on his. “I’m afraid so. Sorry, Chief.”

  He got up and paced the office for a few minutes, occasionally looking back at me. “I know Horace didn’t think it was me. I know he knows me better.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. He didn’t say much when I told him, but I’m sure he didn’t really think it was you. I didn’t want to, but it looked that way from where I was standing.”

  “Well, I’m glad we got that settled then.”

  “Have you considered that Jerry Richards may have killed Miss Elizabeth and framed Miss Mildred for the murder?” I asked, excited about the possibility. “He obviously had a reason to do it as soon as he realized both of the properties would come to him if anything happened to his aunts. Chuck told me the properties together could go for more than five million dollars. With that amount, Richards could probably pay off all his debts and still have a lot left over.”

  “Of course I considered that! I’m not a complete fool. But Richards has an alibi for the time the ME thinks Lizzie was killed. He was still on the mainland, taping a news segment to be used later. I don’t think it was him, and neither does Agent Walker. We also checked out Sparks’s alibi since he’s new around here. He was at a big sales bash in Corolla.”

  “But you can both wrap your minds around Miss Mildred killing her sister.” I hoped my tone conveyed enough sarcasm. “Really, Chief, just because everything is laid out all nice and neat
doesn’t make it the truth.”

  “I’ve given you the information I know about. All of the real evidence is against Millie. I don’t like it anymore than you do, Dae. And I wish I could point a finger at Jerry Richards or anyone else for what happened here. But I can’t, and you should let it go too.”

  “Just one last thing,” I said. “Did Miss Mildred and Miss Elizabeth know their brother was still alive?”

  He frowned. “Yes. He wouldn’t leave unless they knew. It was hard at the beginning. They didn’t speak to me for a long time. Part of the charade. Eventually, most people forgot.”

  “Thanks, Chief. I appreciate you giving me this information. Forgive me if I can’t let this go that easy.”

  The chair legs scraped on the wood floor as he pushed back from the desk. “I guess you have to do what you think is right. But be careful you don’t get in trouble. Brickman may have been FBI, but don’t think he knows it all.”

  He left the office, and I sagged over my desk, my cheek against the cool wood. That wasn’t something I ever wanted to do again. But at least it had cleared the air, and I felt certain the chief wasn’t involved. Now I had to find out who was.

  If Jerry Richards and Chuck Sparks had been ruled out as suspects, who was left? Someone else had to benefit, but who could that be?

  I told Nancy I’d see her later and almost ran out of town hall. I sat for a long time on the bench overlooking Currituck Sound, trying to piece everything together. From where I was sitting, I could see the door to Missing Pieces, and when a prospective shopper finally decided to visit, I reluctantly went to answer the call.

  The rest of the morning flew by as a few more shoppers followed the first. I sold one Blue Whale T-shirt for Kevin and put his money in an envelope for later. I noticed one of the shoppers seemed to be searching for something special. She picked up my Roosevelt jelly jar right away, then put it down only to circle back to it again.