A Timely Vision

by Joyce; Jim Lavene

  “I have a legal document that says these people can’t talk to my great aunt,” Jerry said. “Serve it, Mr. Hudson. I want all of you out of here. Don’t try to see her again. It’s not good for her, and you aren’t family.”

  How had I never noticed the nasty little wrinkles on Jerry’s face? He looked like a large, ugly ferret, already counting the money he’d make from the sale of his great aunts’ properties. I knew I wouldn’t know the difference between a real legal document that forbade me from seeing Miss Mildred and something Jerry had made up. I looked at Kevin to help me out.

  He got to his feet and held his hand out to the lawyer in the doorway. “I’m Kevin Brickman, Ms. O’Donnell’s attorney. I’d like to see that document.”

  He was so smooth, so believable. It was as if he’d been planning for this moment all morning. It reminded me of all the old police detective shows I’d ever watched on TV. Apparently, things like this really did happen.

  Mr. Hudson shook Kevin’s hand with deliberation, then took a document from his briefcase. “I believe you’ll find everything in order.”

  Kevin glanced at the document and nodded to me. I trusted his judgment—he’d certainly seen more warrants and court orders than I ever had. Since becoming mayor, I’d seen and signed a lot of resolutions and proclamations, but they weren’t the same thing.

  “I’m afraid I’ll have to leave, Miss Mildred.” I leaned close to her and kissed her cheek whispering, “Don’t fret. I’ll be back, and I’ll get you out of this place. I promise.”

  I thought she might cry again, but she held on to her dignity. “I know you will, child. I’ll wait for you.” Then she turned her pointed gaze to Jerry. “So you’re the young mischief maker who thinks he can sell my house, my father’s house, out from under me. You’ve got a lot to learn, young man. Wait until I tell your grandfather.”

  Jerry smirked, not at all concerned by her threat. “You take care of yourself, Aunt. I’ll take care of everything else.”

  Kevin and I left the room. Jerry and his lawyer stayed behind. I could hear his explicit instructions to both attendants all the way down the hall. I was never to be let in to see Miss Mildred again. I was a troublemaker who only wanted to make her unhappy.

  “Did you see anything?” Kevin whispered, close at my side.

  “Yes. I think I can find it. I wish I’d had a few more minutes to clarify which room it’s in—Miss Mildred has a lot of bric-a-brac. But I’ll have to search until I find it.”

  “I’ll help you. I’m sure we can get all the help you need.”

  We went back out to the truck and got inside. I grinned at Kevin as he fastened his seat belt. “That was awesome how you stepped in. You almost had me believing you were a lawyer. I bet you used to do things like that all the time.”

  He started the truck. “All the time.”

  “And you don’t miss that?”

  “Not at all. This is almost too much excitement for me.”

  “You’re teasing, right? You really wanted to help, didn’t you?”

  “As much as you want to paint, which by the way, we’ll have to get to sooner or later. What do you make of the relationship between Bunk Whitley and the two sisters? It sounds like he was courting them both.”

  “He was a man about town.” I settled back for the trip home. It was hard not to be anxious about finding the power of attorney, but the truck could only go so fast. As Gramps was fond of saying, we’d get there when we got there. “And don’t make it sound like it’s my fault we haven’t painted. You haven’t painted either.”

  “But that could change if the rain ever stops. I hope you’re prepared for that.”

  “Do you think Bunk killed Johnny, like Max suggested, then skipped town?”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me. If so, it turned out to be a good plan. Since it took thirty years for someone to buy the Blue Whale and find Johnny, it seems likely that Bunk, or whoever killed him, will get off without consequences.”

  “Or someone else will get the blame.”

  “There may still be a way to pin this on Bunk. If they can’t match DNA, they might be able to match fingerprints. It occurs to me that they may be able to get a look at his fingerprints from his military records.”

  “But would fingerprints be enough to convince a jury he was responsible for Johnny’s death? Because it seems to me Bunk’s fingerprints would be all over the inn.”

  He smiled at me as we approached the bridge to the Outer Banks. “You know, you’re pretty good at this. I’m surprised you didn’t follow in your grandfather’s footsteps.”

  “Me, in law enforcement? Can you imagine me shooting someone?”

  “Sometimes people go their whole career and never shoot anyone. Did your grandfather ever shoot anyone?”

  “Yes. I remember him talking about it when I was in high school. It was very traumatic for him. But I guess you’re right. As far as I know, that’s the only time.” I looked at his profile as he concentrated on the bridge. “How about you? Ever shoot anyone?”

  I saw the change in his face right away. It was a terrible sight. He didn’t look at me. His eyes didn’t move from the road, but I could feel the regret coming from him. “Too many times.” His voice was bleak and hollow. “I knew it was time to leave when it began to keep me up at night. You can’t do that job and worry about it.”

  The clouds and rain had moved away from the sound, making it easier to see where we were going. Hoping to dispel the tension my question had caused, I rambled on without stop, telling funny stories about the bridge and the Outer Banks. By the time we got to the island, that awful feeling was gone. I knew I would never bring up that subject again. Kevin was entitled to the secrets in his past.

  I called Gramps when we got to Southern Shores and told him about our plan to search Miss Mildred’s house. He agreed to meet us there and bring Mary Lou with him. “Don’t tell her what I said about the turtle sanctuary, will you? I don’t want to go through that with her yet. If we can’t find the will, there’s nothing there for the turtles anyway.”

  “I won’t mention it. But she’s not obsessed with the turtles, Dae. She’s only interested in their welfare,” Gramps explained.

  “All right. I’ll take your word for that, but let’s not push it right now, huh?”

  He agreed, and Kevin maneuvered through the heavy traffic that always comes out after the rain. Not that there’s much room to maneuver. It’s a two-lane road, and traffic usually moves slowly, thanks to the many summer tourists who generally don’t know where they’re going.

  “What is it with Mary Lou and those turtles?” Kevin asked as we got behind a pink convertible full of middle-aged women in bathing suits and hats.

  “I don’t know. I guess everybody needs a hobby. Mary Lou makes quilts in the winter, but once it gets warm, she’s all about the turtles. She’s been cited a couple of times for running kids off from the turtle area. A turtle sanctuary would be good for her and the community.”

  We finally reached the turnoff for Miss Mildred’s house. I thought about her plan to donate the land to the town. I supposed the town council would probably decide to sell at least part of the land so we could use the cash to finish the park and a few other projects. But the town might be able to use Miss Mildred’s house, which would be adjacent to the turtle sanctuary, for something else.

  But not yet. I pulled my thoughts back from where they were going. Miss Mildred was coming home. Someday her land might belong to the town, but not yet.

  The lazy red roses nodded in the sun beside her drive as we pulled in behind Gramps’s golf cart. We were barely out of the truck before Gramps and Mary Lou walked out of the house. I could tell from their faces that something was wrong.

  “Someone broke in,” Gramps said. “It’s a mess in there, Dae. I don’t know if we can find anything. I need to call Chief Michaels.”

  He took out his cell phone, but I stopped him. “Don’t call him yet. Let me take a look around and a
t least try to find the power of attorney papers. Once the police take over, I won’t have a chance.”

  He frowned. “I know you and the chief are having some issues. But he’s been my friend all of my life. I don’t believe he’s done anything wrong, and I think he’d help you if he knew what was going on.”

  “Please. Just a few minutes. Then you can call him. You know if anybody can find this document, it’s me.”

  He agreed, and the three of us went into the house. Mary Lou had left us to it, going down to the beachfront to scope out the best place for a turtle sanctuary sign.

  Gramps was right. The house was completely torn apart. Someone had been here looking for something, probably the same thing we were looking for. “I’ll bet Jerry Richards heard what we were saying and called ahead.” I carefully picked my way through ripped upholstery and shattered china.

  “What a mess,” Kevin said. “This is definitely a search, not a random break-in. Whoever came through here destroyed things they could have pawned or sold. No one would do that unless they had something specific in mind.”

  “I hope we can find the power of attorney in all this,” Gramps said. “What kind of container did you say you saw it in, Dae?”

  I lifted an empty, broken blue and white Chinese vase from the floor. It had been on a shelf near the piano. As soon as I’d spotted it, I knew it was where Miss Mildred had stored the documents she’d retrieved from behind the piano. “It was here. I think Jerry beat us to it.”

  Chapter 17

  “We’re down for the count,” Gramps said. “I’ll call Ronnie now. He should know about this.”

  A weird idea popped into my head. “What if we act like we found the power of attorney?”

  “What would that accomplish?” Kevin asked.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe if Jerry thought we could stop the auction, he’d make some move that would incriminate him. That could work, right, Gramps?”

  “Maybe,” Gramps said. “I suppose it could buy you some time. But you’ll have to be careful, Dae, or the whole thing will backfire on you.”

  “What kind of backfire?” Since I assumed I’d be taking all of the risk, I thought I should know.

  “Lawsuits. Maybe fraud charges,” Kevin counted out for me. “If you could keep from putting anything in writing and be really careful how you word it, you might be able to get away with it.”

  “Right now I only need to get away with something for a couple of days,” I reminded him. “I guess either they take the bait or not.”

  “You could be in danger,” Gramps pointed out. “If Jerry was willing to hire someone to kill Lizzie, or whatever happened, he won’t think twice about getting rid of a small-town mayor.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. It was a valid point. Who knew what Jerry was capable of if he were desperate enough? I’d be taking on the risk that he might send someone after me. I pushed aside my reservations. “Okay. Let’s do it. Where do you think we should start?”

  Gramps laughed. “Probably with Mary Lou. Besides loving turtles, she has an uncommon love for gossip. She makes a good lemon meringue pie too. And she likes to cuddle.”

  “That’s about all I need to know on that subject.” I stopped him. “Let’s get going. Before Wednesday, we could have this spread all over the Outer Banks.”

  And it was easy. By seven p.m. Monday night, I had heard a short piece on the radio about finding new evidence in the murder case of Mrs. Elizabeth Simpson. I saw pictures of me flash twice on the TV at eight. The reference was vague, but the idea was that I had new information that might stop the auction of the properties and possibly point out who killed Miss Elizabeth.

  There were five of us at my house for supper on Monday night when we heard the updated news story. Tim was kind of the odd man out since Kevin and I were there with Gramps and Mary Lou. Gramps had cautioned me against saying anything to anyone else. He didn’t even tell Mary Lou the truth, and I followed his lead.

  “Wow!” Tim looked at me. “So what’s this new information in the murder case? Dish it out, girl.”

  “You’ve been hanging around with Shayla for too long.” I laughed at his words. “But there’s nothing I can really say about what I know. The DA told me to keep my mouth shut.”

  Tim was impressed but disappointed. “I suppose Kevin knows all about it.”

  “Not exactly. He knows as much as you do.” I lied, but it was for the sake of expediency. If Tim knew Kevin knew, he’d pout and complain, maybe even tell other people, which would mess up our plan.

  The doorbell rang, and since Gramps was dishing out blueberry cobbler, I went to answer it. Chuck Sparks stood on the stairs, glaring at me. “What kind of new information do you have, Mayor? I think I deserve to know.”

  I sighed. Another person who felt entitled. But it was a good thing. If Chuck knew about it, then Jerry knew about it. It was what I’d wanted, but it was eight P.M. now and I was beginning to worry. There might be no peace until this blew over. “Would you like to come in, Chuck?”

  He nodded and stalked inside. “If there’s something else going on, you can trust me to keep a secret.”

  “Really? Why would I trust you with information that could keep you from selling those properties?”

  His eyes narrowed. “That’s not fair. This is my first big sale. We’ve gone through a lot to plan for this. Do you know what a case of champagne costs?”

  I’d had about enough of his whining. “Does it matter to you at all that the woman they have in custody for killing her sister isn’t guilty? Or that this house has been in her family for several generations and she doesn’t want to lose it?”

  He looked abashed for a second or two. Then his real-estate-agent killer-shark instincts kicked in again. “It’s not for us to decide who’s guilty and who’s not. The fact of the matter is that the property belongs to Jerry’s grandfather now and Jerry has his power of attorney to do what’s best with all of the family property.”

  I stepped closer to him. We were about the same height. “Did it ever occur to you that someone else might have a legal document that trumps Jerry’s power of attorney? Silas Butler isn’t the only one who wanted someone to take care of his property.”

  “There’s no power of attorney or any other legal document listed at the Dare County Courthouse for either of the sisters.” He sniffed in a righteous way. “Jerry told me so.”

  “I’m sorry, Chuck.” I managed a small smile. “Jerry’s wrong. He’s about to find that out. Maybe you should break the bad news to him before I give it to the media.”

  He stared at me as though trying to decide if I were telling the truth. “I don’t want to tell you what to do, Mayor, but I’d be careful if I were you. Jerry isn’t a good man to cross.”

  “Is that a threat?” Kevin asked from the doorway.

  Chuck backed down right away. He thrust his hands into his pockets. “I’m just saying.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” I opened the front door. “Good night, Chuck.”

  “It won’t get any easier,” Kevin warned when Chuck was gone. “At least not for the next couple days. You should probably plan to be with someone all the time.”

  Tim came up behind him, a wide grin plastered on his face. “I could spend the night, if that would help.”

  Chuck was the last disturbance at the house before everyone, including Tim, went home. Once the coffee and the blueberry cobbler were gone, the conversation had more lulls than talk. It had been another long day, and Tuesday didn’t promise to be any better.

  I stayed up late watching a romantic spy film on TV, thinking they might make a movie out of my part in this whole affair with Miss Mildred. Tuesday morning dawned warm and clear with no portent of the day’s activities to come.

  I got up, showered, and dressed in black shorts and a black tank top. I’d decided to avoid bright colors for a while, reasoning that they might make me an easier target.

  Gramps had left me a note on the ta
ble saying that he’d gone to help Mary Lou get ready for Turtle Rescue Day. He reminded me to be careful and said he’d see me later.

  I was too nervous to eat. I crammed a Pop-Tart into my purse and started out the door. I paused a moment, hand on the doorknob, wondering what was on the other side. I don’t usually get feelings of dread over my decisions, but I had a moment of deep anxiety about what I’d causally offered to do. Making myself a target for killers had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

  But then I took hold of myself and stuck a small can of Gramps’s pepper spray next to the Pop-Tart package in my purse. He kept a case of the stuff in the garage. I had never used it before, although he’d taught me how when I was a teenager and insisted I carry it on dates.

  Feeling better, I opened the front door and almost walked into Kevin. His fist was outstretched to knock on the door.

  “Good morning!” I was surprised and pleased to see him there. “Gramps is gone for the day.” It was the first thing that entered my mind. After I’d said it, I regretted it. I probably sounded kind of lame to him.

  “Good morning. I’m not here to see your grandfather. I’m here to collect my painting assistant.”

  “I can give you a couple of hours this evening after I close Missing Pieces,” I offered. “I have to lead tai chi at the park this morning before I open. It’s a mayor thing.”

  “That’s okay. Later is good. I’ll walk over to the park with you.”

  I locked the door behind me, realizing with a smile why he was really here. “You’re my bodyguard, right? You said someone should be with me.”

  He laughed as we walked down the drive to Duck Road. “I didn’t mean to cause that problem with Tim last night. Did you have trouble getting him to go home?”

  “Not at all,” I assured him. “Tim offers to spend the night all the time. It goes along with proposing. He and Shayla must’ve broken up again.”

  “Short relationship.”

  “Yeah. Anyway, I appreciate you worrying about me. But do you really think anyone will try to take me out right here on Duck Road?”