A Watery Death (A Missing Pieces Mystery Book 7) (23 page)

“Absolutely not. I was there by my own choice after Mr. Guthrie brought me up from his fishing net.”

“All right, Mayor O’Donnell,” he said. “Thank you for your statement. I’m glad you’re safe. We’ll head back now. Maybe next time, you should hunt for mermaids during the day.”

My decision not to press charges against Dillon wasn’t popular with Gramps or Kevin.

“The man is a criminal, Dae,” Gramps reminded me.

“I’m not denying that or that what he did with Lilly and Tovi was wrong. But he didn’t kidnap me. That was my choice to hold on to the net. I was lucky to survive.”

“How did you make it that far out in a fishing net?” Kevin asked.

“Tovi and Lilly shared their breath with me.”

Kevin’s blue/gray eyes were even more unhappy with that idea.

“I’m glad you’re okay, honey,” Gramps said. “But you should’ve helped the Coast Guard take Guthrie into custody and impound his yacht.”

There was no point in arguing with him. We were never going to see eye-to-eye on Dillon. I wasn’t even sure I understood how I felt about him. How could I explain it to Kevin or Gramps?

The return trip to Duck was much more comfortable than it had been leaving. We pulled in close to where the Andalusia was berthed. I’d forgotten there was going to be a large re-launch to celebrate the ship opening for business again.

I was a mess and cringed at the idea of representing the town at the event. Lucky for me that Cody, Rick Treyburn, and Dab Efird were there. There were also TV news crews, and Manfred Vorst on hand taking pictures.

Me, Gramps, and Kevin sneaked off the Coast Guard ship and made it past the crowd of spectators who were there to get free passes to the slot machines for the day. Several of the Duck businesses were also there to give out free donuts, surf board rentals, and video game passes.

But despite all that, Manfred’s eagle eye landed on me before I could leave the pier.

“Mayor O’Donnell!” He shouted above the music and Captain Carl Lynch’s speech. He ran over to us as he flipped a page on his notebook. “Welcome back. I heard you were rescued by an old friend. What was Dillon Guthrie doing sailing in these waters?”

“No comment.” Gramps grabbed my arm and pushed past him. “She’s been through enough today. Give her some space.”

Manfred moved, only because Gramps and Kevin both got in front of me. “Okay. Later, then, huh? At your office or Missing Pieces? You know I’m always around.”

I didn’t say anything. He was right. At some point I’d have to answer his questions just to keep him from following me around. I knew my story, and I was sticking to it. I wouldn’t include Lilly and Tovi. They’d been in the news enough.

There were dozens of golf carts waiting by the ticket office at the end of the pier, but Gramps’s or Kevin’s weren’t among them. Gramps held open the back door to his police car, and I got in. Kevin got in beside me, and Gramps maneuvered the car out of the parking lot.

“I’m sorry I thought you and Tess had set a trap for Lilly and Tovi,” I said to Kevin. “I should’ve known you’d realize it was the wrong thing to do.”

“I guess we don’t know each other as well as we thought,” he responded.

He still sounded angry. I realized we hadn’t had the opportunity to talk and smooth everything over about Grandma Eleanore and the seafolk, much less about Dillon. I wasn’t worried. We’d figure out a way.

“The crime lab can’t even find DNA on that hunk of coral you gave me,” Gramps explained. “I’m afraid we’re at a dead end for Captain Lucky’s murder. Unless we want to catch your seafolk and charge them.”

“I don’t think they’re to blame. May I have the horn back? How is Grandma Eleanore doing?”

“She seems to be fine,” Gramps replied. “While you were out chasing mermaids, we were coming up with a plausible story for everyone. The repercussions of her sudden appearance may go on longer than the usual gossip in Duck. A few people—Mad Dog and August Grandin—are calling for my resignation until her reappearance can be explained.”

“What do they think happened?” I asked. “Do they think you were hiding her in the attic all these years?”

“I don’t know.” Gramps eased the police car into the parking lot at town hall. “I’ll be glad when Ronnie is back and can take over all this mess. I’d forgotten what a pain it is.”

“When is he supposed to come back?” Kevin asked.

“I don’t know right now. Probably six weeks or so. I think Eleanore and I are going for a long trip somewhere as soon as he takes over again. We always wanted to go to Hawaii. Didn’t have the time for it back then. I have plenty of time for it now.”

Gramps looked pleased with himself. He smiled as he opened the back door for me. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll get that coral for you. If you don’t want to sell it, Dae, maybe you can keep it on your desk.”

 “I’ve heard a lot of talk about Duck being named the mermaid capital of the world,” Kevin said with a wry grin. “I like that better than all the other distinctions they give towns.”

“Me too.” I rolled the idea around in my head. “Maybe we could make Duck a safe haven for mermaids. Like they do with birds and butterflies.”

“At least birds and butterflies exist,” Gramps reminded me. “I still haven’t seen one of these creatures.”

“I have,” Kevin volunteered. “More than once. It’s so amazing that I can hardly believe it—like looking up one day and seeing a dragon flying across the sky.”

Gramps chuckled as we walked into town hall. “You’ve been spending too much time with my granddaughter, Brickman. You’re losing your edge. What kind of lawman does that?”

“The retired, innkeeper kind, sir. I don’t mind losing that edge at all.”

I grabbed the coral horn from police lockup—I had to sign for it—and Kevin walked home with me. I planned to be at Missing Pieces all day but needed to change clothes. It made me smile when I saw him checking out my really short skirt. I didn’t say anything. It was good for a fiancé to still think you were attractive.

We didn’t talk much. Traffic on Duck Road was heavy and made conversation difficult, but when we reached the house, he put his hand on mine to stop me from going inside.

“I’m sorry that we had this disagreement about your grandmother and the seafolk,” he said. “I didn’t mean to be an ass about either one. I was just worried about you.”

“I know.” I touched his face and kissed him. “This thing with Grandma Eleanore isn’t something I plan on doing again. Good thing, since I’m not really sure what I did. I just felt like it was wrong to leave her there. Now that she’s back, we can be a family.”

“Sure. I hope it works out for you. You know that.”

“But you’re still skeptical.”

“Yes. That’s okay. I can be wrong. Who knew there were seafolk walking around Duck?”

I hugged him, and we laughed. Everything seemed fine. Life was very sweet knowing Gramps would be happy, and I’d have someone to talk to about all the aspects of my gift.

“I have to get back to the Blue Whale to get ready for the hungry crowds at lunch.”

“It shouldn’t be so bad now. A lot of people are going home after the holiday.”

“Except for the thousands coming in to look for mermaids,” he reminded me.

“Except for those. I wish I had more mermaid merchandise at Missing Pieces. I think that’s going to be a hot commodity for a while.”

We parted happily. I watched him walk down the drive and around the bushes that kept our house mostly hidden from Duck Road. I was glad things were better between us. It would be nice if we never argued again, but I knew better. What was important was making up afterward.

I let myself in the house. It seemed very quiet.

“Grandma? Grandma Eleanore?” I knew she was here because Gramps had asked her to stay inside until their stories were set up. “Grandma?”

“Dae.” Her weak voice filtered down the stairs to me.

“Hold on. I’m coming.”

I ran upstairs to find her on the bedroom floor. I’d never seen another person—not even a dead one—so pale. There was no color in her skin at all. Even the light brown highlights left in her graying hair were gone.

“What happened? Did you fall? Are you hurt? Let me help you get on the bed.”

Nothing seemed to be broken as I helped her to her feet, but she was so weak that she had to lean against me to stand. We got to the bed, and she sagged across the quilt that she’d made before I was born.

“Let me call Gramps and an ambulance.” I took out my cell phone. “I guess we should’ve done that yesterday when you fell. I’m sorry.”

She took my hand and smiled. “Yes, please call your grandfather. Forget the ambulance. It won’t do any good. This was going to happen, sweetheart. I couldn’t stay here forever.”

Chapter Twenty-four

I quickly called Gramps and told him to come home right away. He didn’t ask any questions—just got off the phone. I knew he’d be squealing into the drive again.

“You’ll be fine,” I assured her. “But I think we should call an ambulance. You probably just need to have some tests done. Once they find out what’s wrong with you, it’ll be okay.”

“It won’t be.” Her breath rattled in her chest. “I knew as soon as you brought me back that it wouldn’t take long for it to catch up with me. You can’t fool time, Dae. You have to work with it and respect it.”

“No. Don’t say that. You’re not that old. You’re probably suffering from something like jetlag. I’ve noticed how tired I get when I use my gift to go back even for a few minutes. You just need some rest.”

I dragged the quilt up over her as I heard Gramps’s car in the drive.

“Gramps is here. I’m sure he’ll want to call someone, at least a doctor.” Tears gathered in my eyes. I knew what she was trying to say—the same thing Kevin and Mary Catherine had tried to tell me.

“Don’t cry,” she urged in a wispy voice. “You gave me a wonderful gift. Getting to know you and see what you grew up to be has been like a dream. I even had a chance to say goodbye to your grandfather. I didn’t have that before. You gave that to me, Dae. And I love you for it.”

I could hear Gramps’s boots clunking up the stairs at a faster than normal rate. He kept calling our names, but I couldn’t answer though the thick tears in my throat.

“What’s going on?” He finally reached us, out of breath. “Did she fall again? Why didn’t you call an ambulance, Dae? You know it takes them forever to get here. Maybe we can get her downstairs and take her to the hospital in the car.”

“There’s no reason to take me anywhere, Horace.” She took his hand with her free one. “I’m just glad you made it back in time. This is the goodbye we never had.”

“What are you saying?” His knees gave way as he knelt next to the bed. “You just got back. You’ll be fine, Eleanore. You can’t leave me again so soon.”

“I love you, Horace.” She smiled at both of us. Her hands were so weak she could barely squeeze ours. “I love you too, Dae. The two of you take good care of each other. Horace, you could smile a little more often. Dae, you take care using your gift. Don’t make the same mistake I did and lose so much of your life.”

She exhaled and let go of our hands. Her eyes closed, and she was gone. An immediate change began to come over her. She was crumbling away like dust. It only took a moment, and her body wasn’t there.

“What in the world?” Gramps asked in a low voice as tears ran down his face. “What happened? Why did she die? And is she dead this time or just stuck out there again?”

“She’s gone this time.” A sob caught in my throat. I could barely speak. “When we go back in time, we can’t stay. She couldn’t stay here for the same reason. At least she’s free now.”

His voice was brusque as he got to his feet. “Free? She’s just gone, Dae. Disintegrated. T-there’s nothing left of her.”

“Time caught up with her. She didn’t belong here.”

“So you knew this was going to happen?”

“No. I didn’t.” I stared at him through my tears. “But she was happy to be here even for a short while. She was glad she got to say goodbye.”

“That’s just not enough.” He stormed out of the room. “And now what am I going to tell people about her being back and gone again? I don’t know if I can handle this.”

He was yelling all the way down the stairs. The front door slammed, and the engine started in the police car.

After a few minutes, I gathered the bed sheets and walked to the back of our property that ended at the Currituck Sound. The day was sunny, but the winds swept across Duck with summer fierceness.

I sighed as I shook the sheets and watched what was left of Grandma Eleanore disappear into the wind and water. I sank down on the rocks and didn’t move for hours. It was dark before Kevin’s voice called from the backyard.

“Out here,” I yelled back, grabbing the sheets and heading toward the house.

He hugged me. “I just heard from Horace what happened. I’m so sorry, Dae. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. She’s gone.” I looked up at him. “You and Mary Catherine were right. I shouldn’t have interfered.”

“That’s not true. Horace told me you both had a chance to say goodbye. You know she’s not trapped in time now. She’s at peace, Dae. It was good what you did. I’m sorry I ever said anything.”

“That doesn’t matter right now.” I went inside and put the sheets in the wash. Each movement was painful with loss. Maybe I had said goodbye, but I wasn’t ready to let go.

Kevin wanted to take me out for dinner. I wasn’t up for that or the questions that would be involved. I didn’t want to think about the answers. I just wanted to stay home.

“Okay.” He kissed me. “I could bring some food from the Blue Whale. We could eat here. I don’t want to leave you alone like this.”

I smiled, but I wanted to be alone and told him so. He left after dozens of protests, and I promised to call him as soon as I felt better.

When he was gone, I grew restless. Despite my original thoughts that I wanted to be home, I put my shoes back on and went out.

It was raining, the warm summer rain that we used to play in as kids. My mother used to tell me that it was okay as long as I didn’t see any lightning. I used to wait until I had seen lightning a few times before I actually went back inside. It had to get close to the house before it scared me.