by Joyce Lavene
Andy Martin of Andy’s Ice Cream was trimming the hedges in Miss Mildred’s yard. He shut off the electric trimmer when he saw us. “I’m glad you’re here, Chief. Miss Millie has been frantic for you all morning.”
“I know. I brought the mayor with me to help with the situation.”
Andy smiled. “Better the two of you than me. Miss Millie can be hard to handle, bless her heart. And she did just lose her sister. Is it true you all found Wild Johnny Simpson up at the Blue Whale yesterday?”
“That’s right,” the chief responded. “Does Millie know about it yet?”
“Probably. She still reads the paper. That’s where I got it.”
“Damn newspaper people!”
“Think they’ll have a reunion since both of them are dead now?”
“Doubtful. Johnny has been dead a good thirty years, according to the SBI. Don’t start spreading rumors, Andy. Mayor, let’s go inside.”
I knocked at the big front door, bougainvillea draping across it in pink splendor. I didn’t hear any movement inside, so I turned the handle and pushed it open. “Miss Mildred? Where are you?”
The front hall closet door opened, and she popped her head out. “Do you see her out there?”
“There’s nobody out here but me and the mayor, Millie,” the chief assured her. “Come on out of there.”
Carefully looking around the room, the old lady did as he requested. “Thank God you’re finally here, Ronnie. Lizzie has been here all night long. She probably heard you pull up, and it scared her off.”
“Come and sit down, Miss Mildred,” I coaxed. “Have you eaten? Let me make you some tea.”
“Tea?” She made a spitting sound. “Child, I need some strong coffee with a little brandy in it. It keeps my heart beating.”
“I’ll get that for you, if you’ll eat something. I don’t think you should have brandy on an empty stomach.”
We all walked into the spotless, sunlit kitchen. Lines of copper pans hung alongside large copper utensils on the yellow wall. I found some eggs and butter, then slipped bread into the toaster. Chief Michaels helped her sit down at the wooden table, then sat beside her.
“I know you’re going to think I’m crazy,” Miss Mildred began, shaking her head.
“I don’t think any such thing,” the chief assured her. “You’re just agitated. Who wouldn’t be with their sister dying that way and all?”
She sniffed. “And Dae still hasn’t brought my watch back. You know, this whole thing started when I asked her to find Mama’s watch.”
“Millie, you can’t have the watch back right now. It’s evidence. There was a boy who snatched Dae’s purse yesterday. He’s not from around here. We think he might’ve taken Miss Elizabeth’s purse too. She may have been killed in the process. I’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. My sister was strong, Ronnie. You know that. I think she gave you a paddling one day when you wouldn’t pay attention in Sunday school. She wouldn’t let anyone knock her down and take her purse.”
“I’m sorry, Millie. But we think that’s what happened. We haven’t found her purse yet, but we think we have the man who took it from her. I know it’s hard for you to hear.”
I’d finished the eggs and buttered the toast by the time they were done talking. I could see Miss Mildred impatiently pushing at tears as they ran down her cheeks. She didn’t want to admit how this was affecting her, and that was a bad thing. She needed to open up about it to someone. Maybe not me, or the chief. I made a mental note to call Mary Lou. Maybe someone closer to being her contemporary could help out.
There was no one left in Duck with the mythological status of Miss Mildred and her sister. When Miss Mildred finally passed on, the story of her and her sister would live on only in the words of others. Of course, Miss Elizabeth’s terrible death and the discovery of Wild Johnny Simpson’s body would fuel some gossip for a while. It seemed to me that after thirty years, no one would ever be quite sure who killed Johnny.
“Maybe you should have someone come in and stay with you,” I suggested as I put the plate in front of her.
“Don’t be silly. I’m fine. Or at least I would be if Lizzie would stay dead.” Her pale eyes looked deeply into mine. “Why is she haunting me, Dae? I know we had some problems when she was alive. But I swear I thought we always loved each other. Despite Johnny and everything else.”
I put my hand on hers. It trembled beneath my touch, as cold as if she’d come in from a December storm. “I’m sure she loved you, Miss Mildred. Maybe she has something she needs to tell you.” I couldn’t help it. The chief frowned at me for encouraging her, but who was he to say her sister wasn’t visiting her?
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” She patted my hand and picked up her fork. “Maybe you know someone who could help me. There must be someone left who can talk to the dead. If you could bring someone like that here, maybe we could get things sorted out. I don’t like that the police can’t find who killed Lizzie. I bet she’s impatient with it too.”
“We’re doing our best, Millie.” Chief Michaels shook his head. “There’s not much to go on except for that purse snatcher. If we could find Lizzie’s purse in that mess he has, we could make an arrest.”
“Well why didn’t you say so?” Miss Mildred pushed back her chair, scraping the legs on the wood floor. “She brought it to me yesterday. Maybe she knew you were looking for it.”
Chief Michaels looked at me as though waiting for me to explain that what was happening wasn’t happening. I shrugged and shook my head. I had no idea what Miss Mildred was talking about.
“You don’t understand, Millie,” the chief struggled to explain. “We think she had her purse with her when she was killed. That’s why the purse snatcher killed her, to get her purse.”
“Nonsense.” Miss Mildred went to a shelf by the back window. She picked up a black purse and brought it back to the table. “Here you are. Go out and find Lizzie’s killer. If I would’ve known you needed it, I would’ve brought it to you. Maybe that’s why Lizzie brought it here. She probably knew you wanted it.”
I looked at the purse on the table. I was afraid to do anything more. Chief Michaels hadn’t moved. I knew he felt the same. What did it mean? Had Miss Mildred had her sister’s purse the whole time?
Chief Michaels finally broke the spell by taking latex gloves from his pocket and putting them on. “When did you say Lizzie brought this?”
“Just yesterday. I told her I’d keep it safe. You know she never went anywhere without her purse. Isn’t that right, Dae?”
“Th-that’s right.”
Carefully, Chief Michaels opened the purse and looked through it. One by one, he placed Miss Elizabeth’s ID, embroidered handkerchief and other personal items on the table as he searched. There was no doubt that this was her purse.
Just when I thought he’d finished, the chief glanced at me and then leaned the opened purse toward me, so I could see into it. Pushed down into the bottom was what looked like a pair of blue gardening gloves. They seemed to be covered with blood. Chief Michaels didn’t pull them out. Instead, he sighed heavily, then said, “Millie, I’ll have to take this back with me. I’ll need to take a look around the house and in the garden shed too.”
With a large, cheerful smile, Miss Mildred gave him her permission to search her house and land. “Whatever I can do to help Lizzie rest, Ronnie. Maybe she led a wicked life, but the Bible says we should forgive.”
My heart was racing against my mind, searching for answers that made sense. He was taking advantage of an old lady who didn’t understand what was going on. “Chief, if I can have a moment outside.”
“I’ll finish up these eggs before they get cold.” Miss Mildred excused us like the children she’d taught in her youth.
When the chief and I were outside, I whispered, “You can’t really think she killed her.”
“I can’t think she didn’t, Mayor. Dammit, she has the purse! We’ve accuse
d a man of killing Lizzie because we thought he had her purse. Millie has said from the beginning that Lizzie didn’t deserve to go to heaven. And you saw how calm she was when we told her about her death. It was staring us right in the face all the time.”
“No. There’s no way. All sisters fight. They weren’t any different than other sisters. Miss Mildred was in shock when we told her about Miss Elizabeth. And you know she’s not always here”—I pointed to my head—“when you talk to her. That doesn’t mean she killed anyone.”
“I’m sorry, Mayor. But it’s my job to find the truth. Right now, I think the truth might be that Millie finally lost it with Lizzie. She hit her with something, left her out there on the dunes and brought her purse back with her. I’ll know more once we check everything out.”
“This is wrong. You know it’s wrong.”
“If you really want to help out, Mayor, you’ll go back in there and tell Millie to think about what she used to kill her sister. Hold her hands and find it for us. That’s what you can do.”
If possible, I was more horrified than when Kevin and I had found Miss Elizabeth on the beach. This new scenario made me physically sick. I watched the chief go back to his car, my stomach clenched in nausea and fear. I rushed back inside and locked the front door.
But what could I do? This wasn’t a fortress. I couldn’t bar the gates and not let him in. Miss Mildred needed help, but not the kind I could give her. I pulled out my cell phone and called the only person I could think of. “Gramps, you have to find a lawyer and get over to Miss Mildred’s house fast. Chief Michaels wants to accuse her of murder.”
I quickly dead-bolted both doors into the house. I waited for help as Chief Michaels came back to conduct his search and found he couldn’t get inside. He pounded on the door and shouted my name. There was a penalty for keeping the police from doing their job. I didn’t care. Someone had to protect Miss Mildred, and I was the only one around. I wished Mary Lou and her turtle rescuers were here. They might have known better what to do.
“You have to let us in sometime, Mayor,” the chief yelled. “This is obstruction of justice, you know.”
“What’s going on outside?” Miss Mildred asked. “Ronnie sounds angry.”
“Just a little disagreement,” I answered with a smile.
“Maybe you’d like to lie down for a while since you were in the closet all night.”
“That’s a good idea, Dae, thank you. I’ll go outside and check the mail first.”
“No!” She stared at me with troubled eyes when I caught her hand as she reached for the doorknob. “I mean, not right now. Maybe after your nap. The mail isn’t here yet anyway.”
“Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.” I resumed my guard at the front window. Would they call in the SBI and use a battering ram to break down the front door? Would I be led away in handcuffs with Miss Mildred while Jerry Richards tried to ask us questions for his next TV news feature?
I was scared and paranoid. I didn’t know what to expect. I wanted to do what was right for Miss Mildred, but the consequences might be awful. I squared my shoulders, prepared to face the worst. Then I heard the first siren.
I knew the entire Duck Police Department was already outside. Chief Michaels had made sure of that. There was only one other group with sirens—Gramps had called on his volunteer firefighter friends for help. Within seconds, there were trucks, cars and firefighting vehicles everywhere. They outnumbered the police five to one.
I laughed out loud. Miss Mildred frowned with concern. I didn’t care. At least Gramps was there. I looked out again and saw that Kevin had joined the group too. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. He could either be there to help me save Miss Mildred or to add his expertise in helping Chief Michaels.
Gramps and a tall man with a sandy-colored buzz cut spoke to Chief Michaels and Kevin for a moment. I held my breath as the men talked in the yard, glancing at the house occasionally. Finally, Gramps and the man I didn’t recognize approached the house. The chief and Kevin stayed where they were, arms folded resolutely across their chests.
I stood behind the door until I heard Gramps call my name, then I slid back the dead bolt, opened it quickly and let them in the house. “I’m so glad to see you!” I hugged him. “I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry to drag you into this.”
“I’m not sorry you called me, honey.” Gramps patted my back. “I’m sorry you decided to take a stand on this. I don’t know there’s much I can do to help.”
“But maybe I can do something,” Sandy Buzz-Cut said. “I’m Luke Helms. I used to be a prosecutor in Wake County before I retired to my fishing boat this month.”
I shook his hand eagerly. “Thank you so much for coming. I don’t know exactly how I got into this mess. I wanted to help Miss Mildred.”
“Let’s sit down for a minute of the five they gave us and tell me what happened.” Luke took off his bright yellow jacket. “You’re lucky they let us in at all. They didn’t have to.”
“She’s my granddaughter and the mayor of Duck,” Gramps protested. “The chief did the only rational thing he could do. Now, tell Luke the story, Dae.”
So I spilled it, everything from Miss Mildred putting Miss Elizabeth’s purse on the table to the chief saying he was going to search her house and land. “It’s not right. She didn’t realize what she was giving him permission to do.”
Luke nodded. “She’s incapable of making that kind of judgment?”
“I don’t know if I’d say that about every circumstance, but—”
“What Dae is trying to say is that she fears for my sanity because my sister visited me last night,” Miss Mildred added. “She’s a very sweet girl with remarkable talents. But I’m not senile. I know what I saw. And I have nothing to hide from Ronnie. He’s welcome in my house anytime.”
I tried to think of a nice way to say it, but there wasn’t one, so I blurted it out—“Chief Michaels thinks you killed your sister.”
Miss Mildred’s eyebrows disappeared into the cloud of her white hair. “Why on earth would he think something like that?”
The sound of Chief Michaels’s voice, amplified by a bullhorn, interrupted us. “Your five minutes is up in there. We’re coming in, even if we have to break down the door.”
Chapter 9
“What do we do now?” I looked at both men with something like panic beating in my chest.
Luke shook his head. “Well, if Miss Mildred is okay with the chief searching her house—”
“I didn’t know he wanted to put me in prison,” Miss Mildred protested. “I didn’t kill anybody. I wouldn’t hurt my sister for anything. Please help me.”
“In that case, he needs a search warrant,” Gramps said. “That’s clear as glass.”
“He may not see it that way,” Luke added. “But you’re right. We can hold him off for as long as it takes to get a warrant. He’ll be in here sometime. You can’t keep him out forever since he found evidence here.”
“What about if we hide the purse?” I suggested.
“That’s tampering with evidence. That will make the police angrier and could land you in jail, Mayor,” Luke explained. “There’s no point in making the situation worse.”
“So we hand it over?” I couldn’t believe there was no way to protect Miss Mildred.
“That would be the best thing. If she didn’t kill her sister, there won’t be anything to hide.” Luke glanced at Miss Mildred, discomfort written all over his face. I attributed it to his giving advice to possible law breakers instead of prosecuting them. “Are you sure you don’t remember anyone visiting you who could’ve dropped off your sister’s purse?”
“No. No one has been here, except for Andy. He was working outside and didn’t come in. Lizzie brought me her purse,” Miss Mildred insisted. “I know how that sounds. I’ve never been much of a believer in this kind of thing. But I swear on my mother’s Bible, that’s what happened.”
; The front door burst open. I hadn’t replaced the dead bolt when I let Gramps and Luke in. Chief Michaels stood there glowering, with Kevin, Tim and several other Duck police officers at his side. “Miss Mildred, you’re under arrest for murdering your sister, Elizabeth Simpson.”
Luke shot to his feet. “That’s a mighty big jump, Chief, going from wanting to search her house to accusing her of murder.”
“Stay out of the way, lawyer boy.” The chief took out his handcuffs. “Now you know I’m as sorry as I can be about this.”
“I can tell since you plan on handcuffing a ninety-two-year-old woman,” I berated him, moving to stand in front of her. They weren’t taking her without knocking me down. What good was it to be the mayor if I couldn’t protect someone who needed my help?
“Dae, you can’t interfere with this,” Kevin advised.
“Stay out of this,” I responded. “I’m not letting anyone take her to jail.”
It was a standoff. Clearly no one knew exactly what to do. The chief lifted his cap and scratched his head, his face already bright red. Kevin folded his arms against his chest and stepped back. Gramps and Luke stood on either side of me. I couldn’t help but wonder how this would end. I knew they could force us out of the way and take Miss Mildred, but I thought that was unlikely.
An answer came in the form of Jerry Richards, who barged in with his cameraman. “All right, pan on those three over there, then back on the chief and his men.”
“What the hell is going on?” Chief Michaels demanded, looking at Tim.
“I don’t know.” Tim looked at Jerry Richards, then at the officers behind him. “Escort Mr. Richards back outside.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jerry said. “We have a right to see what’s going on. Mayor O’Donnell, tell me what’s happening in here.”
I opened my mouth to do just that, but the chief got between me and the camera. “If I could have a word in the next room, Mayor. Maybe we can resolve this issue.”