Authors: Joyce Lavene

A Spirited Gift (32 page)

BOOK: A Spirited Gift

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The beautiful lady shot to her feet. “This child can't prey on anyone, Mr. Fipps. I knocked him down with Vulcan. See that he gets to my uncle's estate safely. I want him nursed back to health. Is that clear?”

He nodded. “Yes, Lady Forester. Right away.” He knelt close to him and whispered, “This is your lucky day, whelp. Be glad of it and give thanks.”

Forester! Lady Suzanne Forester!

Chapter 41

I woke up thinking about the makeup case I'd sold and the vision I'd had from it when I first acquired it. I'd seen her son as an adult giving her the makeup case for her birthday. I felt sure this was the same boy. Even as an adult, he had similar features.

If my dreams were right, the cabin boy that should have died trying to escape from Rafe not only survived but may also have been raised as a member of the English aristocracy. This was another piece in the puzzle that pointed to this boy being William Astor.

It would've been difficult, maybe impossible, for that cabin boy to become a magistrate without some family background or a patron to get him there. I had to look further into this, even if my dreams didn't turn out to be true.

It was barely dawn, but I couldn't go back to sleep. I showered, got dressed and went downstairs. Gramps was making French toast with the last of some stale bread. We spoke about repairing the windows in the house and some work he had to do on the
Eleanore
before he could take her back out on another chartered fishing trip.

Neither one of us mentioned the gun or my father. I ate a slice of French toast, then walked down to Missing Pieces alone.

I was surprised and pleased when our UPS delivery man, Stan, brought in some packages. “Morning, Dae. Things are starting to get back to normal out here, eh?”

“I think they are. I heard the Harris Teeter finally got a big delivery today. That's some great news. Everyone has probably eaten all the canned and dried food they can stand for a while.”

He laughed. “My brother told me he's been eating dried fish from last year. He'll be first in the checkout line for sure.”

There weren't any customers before or after his arrival. It was depressing and one of those things that always happened when I wanted to take my mind off of something. I dusted and reorganized the shop until there was nothing else to do but wait. Finally, I went out on the boardwalk to look at the sound.

A few seconds later, Trudy joined me on the bench. She told me her business was dead too. “People don't worry so much about their hair and nails when they have holes in their roofs,” she said.

“That must be one of those words of wisdom,” I agreed. “Maybe you should send it to someone and make some money.”

“No one else would appreciate it unless they live someplace like this.” She shrugged her slender shoulders under the pink and blue nylon jacket she wore. “What's up with you? You sound kind of down. Is it the murder thing?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.” I didn't tell her about the gun I was expecting. There was no reason for her to worry too. I told her instead about my single big sale for the week. It was exactly the right thing to say. We talked about it through our early lunch at Wild Stallions, and she shared her new plan for making her business more successful.

“I'm going to have a massage therapist come in once or twice a week,” she told me. “Like those full-service spas. I think it will bring in some new customers. We'll be the queens of the Duck Shoppes boardwalk yet.”

We both laughed and enjoyed our time together. We talked about losing Phil and the coffee shopâsomething we both hated.

“Can't you recruit a new coffee shop?” she asked. “You're the mayor. This is a big issue for our community. Just think of how many citizens will vote for you if you bring back their triple-shot mochas. Mad Dog can't stand up to that kind of competition.”

“Point me in the right direction, and I'll be all over it,” I promised. “Everyone in Duck deserves to have at least one mocha every day. And as mayor, I swear to make it happen.”

It was all silly talk, but it was exactly what I neededâa distraction. I'd expected Chief Michaels to be at the shop first thing in the morning. Instead, here it was lunchtime, and there had been no sign of him. I'd been prepared for his visit when I left the house this morning, but now my resolve about touching the gun was beginning to wear thin.

We finally decided we'd wasted enough time and paid our bills. One of Trudy's regular clients called and asked if she had an opening for a cut and curl. Trudy rolled her pretty eyes at me as she pretended to check her empty calendar on her cell phone. “Come on in, Mrs. Flowers. I'll make time for you,” she said.

As we walked out of the restaurant, I saw Chief Michaels talking to August Grandin at the Duck General Store. Sheriff Riley was leaning against the railing along the boardwalk.

“Looks like you have customers too,” Trudy said. “I guess lunch was good for both of us.”

I agreed with her, but my heart plummeted. I felt a little sick and my hands were shaking. I thought about just saying no and not touching the gun that had killed at least three people. I thought about calling Kevin and asking him to come and get me. I wanted to run as far and fast as possible.

Then I thought about Sandi. She hadn't deserved to die. Her children didn't deserve to grow up without her. I knew it wasn't easy for Chief Michaelsâlet alone Sheriff Rileyâto ask for my help. It had to mean they didn't know where to go in the investigation.

“Mayor.” Chief Michaels nodded to me as I reached him.

“I thought maybe you'd changed your mind,” Sheriff Riley said.

“Mayor O'Donnell, I'm glad to see you,” August began. “Did you know Phil is closing the Coffee House and Bookstore? While we might get by without the bookstore, I don't think Duck will be the same without a coffee shop. I hope you have something in mind for this.”

“I'm looking into it, Mr. Grandin,” I said. “I'll let you know when there's news.”

“Thanks, Mayor. You always know what to do for us.” He smiled and nodded at the two lawmen. “Gentlemen.”

“Shall we go inside?” I invited the two men in. I looked at the brown cloth bag that I felt sure held the weapon. I stiffened my backbone and told my knocking knees to cut it out. “Let's get this over with.”

Chapter 42

After the three of us were inside the shop, I closed the door and locked it. I didn't want to worry about any customers coming in. It would be just my luck to suddenly have a few stop by after not seeing a soul but Stan all day.

“Is that the gun?” I asked Chief Michaels.

“Yes.” He handed me the whole bag.

“I'm just going to sit over here and take a nap,” Sheriff Riley said with a yawn as he took a chair near the door. “I expect you know what I think of all this hoodoo stuff. If you can't solve a case using good, God-fearing detective work, you don't deserve to solve it.”

“Tuck, you're not helping matters,” Chief Michaels said. “I haven't heard any better ideas from you. But if you have one, tell me now. Let's go track down the killer.”

“You know I don't, Ronnie, or I wouldn't be here.”

“Then shut your pie hole and let Miss Dae do her thing.”

They both looked at me expectantly. I had a moment of performance anxiety I'd never had while finding missing change or lost cuff links. What if I couldn't tell them anything about the murders? What if all this speculation about what would happen to me if I held the gun made me unable to see the killer?

Chief Michaels just stood there, looking at me. Waiting. Sheriff Riley sat forward and laced his calloused fingers together. Waiting.

I took a deep breath and opened the cloth bag. The cloth was shielding me from the weapon as if I were wearing gloves. I looked into the bag and wonderedâfearedâwhat the gun would show me.

The weapon was surprisingly warm to the touch. Probably still holding the heat from where the chief had carried it. I turned it over in my hands and closed my eyes.

Wild Johnny Simpson was working on a letter to the woman he loved when the door behind him opened and the killer slowly moved into the tiny room.

“You have something of mine,” the man holding the gun whispered in the quiet hotel room. “I want it back.”

Johnny didn't turn around. “Yeah? You owe me money. Think of me as a pawnshop dealer. You pay meâI give it back to you.”

“I want it now. Right here. Right now. Or the devil will be collecting your soul tonight.”

“You don't have the guts to shoot me. Might as well go back home. I'll give it back to you when you pay me. Don't come back without the money.”

“I'm not fooling around, Johnny.”

When Johnny ignored him, the man with the gun shot him in the back of the head. Johnny slumped over. The killer took two boxes from the desk where Johnny had been working. He didn't wait to see if Johnny was deadâjust closed the door as he left the room. The rest of the Blue Whale was empty around them. No one close enough to hear the single shot fired.

The killer threw one of the boxes into the bushes behind the Blue Whale and took the other box with him.

Chapter 43

I came back to myself lying on the burgundy brocade sofa with two worried faces staring into mine. I realized I must have lost consciousness. The gun was on theÂ floor near the door to the shopâprobably where I'd dropped it.

“Dae?” Chief Michaels whispered, chafing my hand with his. “Are you okay? Do you need some water?”

“She needs an ambulance,” Sheriff Riley snarled. “I think she hit her head when she fell. Let me get on the line and callâ”

“No! I'm fine. No ambulanceâno paramedics necessary. Sometimes it's like this when the emotions inside something I touch are strong. But I'm fine now. Really.”

I could hear footsteps running heavily along the boardwalk. Fists started pounding on the door and Gramps was shouting to be let in.

“Did you call him while I was moving her over here?” Sheriff Riley demanded.

“He's her only living relative. What else did you expect me to do?” Chief Michaels yelled at him as he went to open the door.

Gramps was in like a shot. He knelt beside the sofa and took my hand as the chief had. “Are you okay, honey? Do you need the paramedics?” He glared at Chief Michaels. “I can't believe she passed out and you called
me
instead of the ambulance.”

“That's what I said,” Sheriff Riley joined in. “She needs medical attention.”

“I don't need anything,” I told them. “Well, maybe a cup of tea.”

BOOK: A Spirited Gift

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