A Finder's Fee

by Joyce

  All of the shops were open. There were even some early shoppers enjoying the day and, hopefully, looking for something from Missing Pieces they couldn’t live without. I had a chance to make up for the time the shop had been closed.

  August Grandin from the Duck General Store nodded curtly as he walked by me. He was never much of a talker. I waved to Trudy through the window of the Curves and Curls Beauty Spa as she worked on Annabelle Smith’s hair. They both waved back to me.

  Then I was home. Home!

  It was always my first feeling when I opened the door to Missing Pieces and stepped inside. Maybe it was because I loved everything here. It would’ve all been at my house if it wasn’t for Gramps suggesting I open a shop and sell some of it. I was very comfortable here. I might have lived here, if it were possible. The owner of the Duck Shoppes had a strict “no living on the premises” policy.

  I opened the blind on the door and let Treasure roam through the shop. My burgundy brocade sofa beckoned, and I didn’t even try to resist. I sat there in splendor and enjoyed my breakfast.

  The sofa was a little old and a bit too big for the shop—Shayla frequently pointed this out to me. I didn’t care. It was perfect. I worked around it as needed. It was pleasant having it there, sharing stories with friends and visitors when they came to visit. Sometimes I even spent the night on it. There wasn’t a more comfortable sofa in the world.

  That morning, even my sofa didn’t bring me peace. I realized I was going to have to find five thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise to sell and a ready buyer for it. Not allowing Kevin to pay for what he’d done for me seemed even more important than figuring out who my campaign benefactor was.

  I knew there were several items worth that much. Some were worth much more. I took out a pair of silver bells that I had acquired and thought about them. The bells were made by monks in St. Augustine hundreds of years ago. There were actually three of them, but I hadn’t been able to locate the third bell in the last year.

  I knew I had a ready buyer who had the cash for one of the bells. Dillon had wanted to purchase the bell I’d found. I had refused to sell to him. Oddly enough, he already had the second bell and had given it to me—with the stipulation that I would let him buy the bells from me when I found the third one.

  It wasn’t a comfortable arrangement. I probably should have said no to it as I had his campaign contribution. I was weak and he knew how to trap me. I’d told myself that it didn’t matter because I could find the other bell and that would be the end of our business relationship.

  I knew my bell was worth a lot more than five thousand dollars, especially since he had already had one. Maybe this had happened so I could free myself of him. He could buy my bell and take his own back. I’d be able to pay Kevin’s fine and Dillon probably wouldn’t be interested in me anymore.

  I hated to give the bells up without finding the third. It wounded my collecting ego to let it go. But what was done, was done. Kevin had been fined because he’d been helping me. I had to get him out of the jam he was in.

  I turned on my laptop and emailed Dillon to see if we could meet soon, before I changed my mind.

  I sighed as the email left. Treasure jumped up on the counter and stared at me with a question in his beautiful green eyes.

  “Yes, I’m a little sad about getting myself in this mess.” My answer to the cat’s unasked question seemed normal. It was as though I could tell what he was thinking. “Sometimes Kevin is right—I need to think a little more and act a little less.”

  He meowed and twitched his tail before he jumped down.

  “It’s not his fault. He wasn’t being mean by saying it. He was trying to keep me, and possibly himself, out of trouble.”

  The shop door opened. It was Shayla and Flourine. Flourine was wearing a huge black hat that threatened to swamp her short body. I was fairly certain there was a large, real, raven on it. The bird looked as though it had been preserved through taxidermy.

  “How are you doing today?” Shayla cast a knowing eye up and down my body. “Your chakras are better, though your aura is a little on the yellow side for you.”

  Flourine agreed. “Did you have some asparagus last night? That’ll do it.”

  “No. No asparagus.” I told them about the fine that was levied against Kevin. “I’m trying to come up with the money for him. It wasn’t his fault.”

  “Fine?” Shayla held her head to one side. “Are you kidding me? After the two of you found that dead race car driver? Honey, they should be paying you for your services. Imagine the mess they would’ve had if they’d tried to do that geothermal thing through that car. It could’ve exploded. It would’ve been a disaster! No, ma’am. You need to take that to court. Sue the town.”

  I could always count on Shayla for the alternate opinion. “Not many mayors sue their own town.”

  “Then let Kevin do it. Don’t sit around worrying about helping him. He can take care of himself. You need to get some rest so you can ditch the witch.”

  Not this again.

  “Thanks for your advice, but I think I’ll do things my way.” I smiled at Flourine. “How long are you planning on staying here with Shayla?”

  “I’m here until we run that witch out of town, missy. I don’t cotton to witches taking over friends of the family.” She leaned close to me and tapped my forehead with one of her charms. “You hear me in there? You’re not fooling anyone.”

  “Really, there isn’t a witch inside of me.” I hoped I sounded calm and reasonable about it. I didn’t want to make things worse. “Isn’t there some test you could do to prove that it’s just me?”

  I thought it would be nice not to have them following me around and possibly telling voters that there was a witch inside me right before the election. I wasn’t sure about Shayla, but I wouldn’t have put it past Flourine.

  Shayla conferred with her grandmother. “There are some tried and true ways to reveal a witch.”

  “That’s right.” Flourine was pleasant enough about it. “We could have her walk on burning tree sap. Or tie her to a tree out in the woods and see if birds peck out her eyes. They won’t abide a witch, you know.”

  “Let me get back to you on that.” Shayla smiled. “I’m sure there are less grisly ways of finding out the truth. But a word of warning, Maggie Madison. If we come for you, you’re through on this or any other plane.”

  “That sounds fair.” I swallowed hard. “Anything except birds or burning. Nothing painful. Or that could cause permanent damage. Let me know what you find out.”

  “Oh, we will.” Flourine squinted at me. “Just you watch and see. That was a call for help if I ever heard one.”

  I was glad to see them go. I had wanted to meet Shayla’s grandmother for years after listening to stories about her. Now I wished I hadn’t been so eager.

  Maggie traded places with me, obviously afraid of Shayla and Flourine’s threats. “Would they really do those things? Even in my time, such things were not considered.”

  “You don’t have to worry. They aren’t going to do anything. I’ll take care of it.”

  Once I was back where I should be, I worried about it. I didn’t believe that Shayla and Flourine had any real magic. What if I was wrong?

  I straightened up the shop and dusted everything. It didn’t take long to get everything in order. I switched out some jewelry in the front case with new items from the storage room. I liked my customers to see fresh merchandise when they came in.

  A man from Raleigh came in and bought a few Duck souvenirs. Another woman came in and asked for directions to the Hatteras lighthouse. Of course she was on the wrong end of the island for that. Instead, I told her how to go to the lighthouse in Corolla.

  Stan, the UPS guy, brought a few packages in with his usual smile and joking manner. Treasure hissed at him, not liking his brown uniform. It was always the sa
me with him and Stan. I had tried explaining that Stan was a nice person. Treasure didn’t care.

  The email from Dillon came in right before noon. I was about to close the shop and go to lunch. I checked for his answer one last time after a dozen other tries.

  “Meet you tonight. Eight P.M. Missing Pieces. D.”

  So that was that.

  I knew he’d be thrilled to have my silver bell for a mere five thousand dollars. He would’ve paid a lot more than that last year when he’d first offered for it. It was worth at least ten times that. The three bells together were estimated to be worth more than five million dollars.

  I was responsible for Kevin’s debt and I was going to pay it, I reminded myself. I put the bells away before I could change my mind. I put Treasure in my bag and locked the door to the shop behind me.

  “Dae O’Donnell,” a familiar voice hailed me as I stepped out on the boardwalk. “I was just heading in to see you.”

  It was Jake Burleson, a wild horse rescuer from Corolla. He’d rescued me from a bad situation and we’d spent some time together—only as friends. He popped in at the house from time to time to eat dinner with me and Gramps.

  “Great. I’m going out for lunch. You can come too.”

  He smiled and put his cowboy hat back on his blond hair. He was tall and lean, muscular in that whipcord fashion that some men have. He lived his life off the grid—no phone or TV. He was a man from another time.

  “I would never turn down that invitation.” He held his arm out for me. I slipped my hand into it and we walked down the boardwalk together. “Where are you headed for lunch?”

  “I was thinking about eating a sandwich out here and enjoying the weather before it turns again.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  We ordered sandwiches and drinks at the little snack shop. They were low on everything since they’d be closing for the winter that week. Only the larger retail stores stayed open through the cold months. Most would open again in March or April.

  Jake and I sat at a wood table and chairs, weathered by air and sea to a soft, gray patina, overlooking the water. A breeze had begun ruffling the sound, and the number of sailboats had increased. The smell of the water mingled with the odor of cooking onions from Wild Stallions Grill at the other end of the boardwalk.

  We talked about a new wild horse he’d adopted. This one was lame and probably would’ve been shunned by the herd. The wild horse conservation group kept an eye on those types of situations. People like Jake took those horses and tried to nurse them back to health.

  “I have a favor I’d like to ask of you, Dae.” He finished his sandwich. “I found something remarkable at an old homestead that’s on my property. Could you come out and take a look at it?”

  “Sure. I’d be glad to.”

  “I can come and get you one evening and make you supper for a change. I’m not a gourmet cook like your boyfriend, Kevin, but I make a mean plate of beans you won’t forget anytime soon. Bring Horace, if you like.”

  I laughed at his description. There was no comparison between him and Kevin in any department. Jake was like a crazy wild breeze coming in from the Atlantic. He smiled a lot and was a little on the edge of the rest of the world.

  Kevin was stable, dependable. He was world-weary because he’d seen so much during his time with the FBI. He’d created a new life for himself here, but the memories of that past life were always in his eyes.

  “That sounds good—except for you picking me up. I’m not a horse person. Last time I rode back from Corolla with you, I could barely walk the next day.”

  “Well, you’re in luck.” He grinned lazily at me. “I finally got my old pickup running again. That should make the trip easier. She’s not stylish but she goes where I need her to.”

  I agreed to take a look tomorrow night at what he’d found at the old homestead. I still had some cleaning up to do after being gone for three days, and I had to meet Dillon tonight.

  “All right then. I’ll pick you up about seven, if that’s okay?”

  “That sounds fine. I can’t wait to see what you found.”

  He got up from the table. “Maybe I can persuade you to take a short ride on one of the horses. No wild galloping like last time.”

  “I don’t know. No promises.”

  “You don’t have to worry. I have the answer for sore muscles. You have someone slather on some liniment, massage it in real good and then take a long, hot bath. It does wonders.” He winked at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “We eagerly await your coming, good sir!” Maggie suddenly blurted out.

  It had been all I could do to keep her from interrupting the whole time Jake had been there. She couldn’t let him leave without saying something that was going to embarrass me.

  Jake laughed and kept walking. I muttered under my breath about my constant companion who was making my life difficult. I was going to be glad once we found her bones and reburied them.

  I sat at the table a few minutes more after he was gone. I could see Missing Pieces, so I knew there were no customers waiting to get in. As I was about to get up, Nancy joined me, putting a smokeless cigarette in her mouth. She’d recently given up the real thing.

  “Hey there, sweetie. Was that the same cowboy who rescued you last year?” She grinned. “Sorry. I couldn’t help but peek out at him. He’s something special.”

  “Yes. Jake Burleson. We’ve kept in touch.”

  “I’d like to keep in touch with him, if you know what I mean. What a hunk! You’re still with Kevin, right?”

  “Of course. Jake and I are just friends.”

  Nancy patted a strand of her bright red hair that had been blown out of place by the breeze, even though it was barely an inch long. She was such a nice person, wonderfully organized, but she had no luck with men. She’d been divorced for a long time. She was always dating someone, but nothing lasting ever came of it.

  “How about next time he comes to be friendly, you introduce us,” she suggested. “I like those quiet cowboy types.”

  “Sure. I’d be glad to. Maybe he could convince you to ride horses with him.”

  “Anytime. I don’t know a thing about horses, but I could learn.”

  “It’s rough riding one, I can tell you that. Jake says the cure is liniment, massage and a hot bath. I don’t know if I’m willing to try again.”

  Nancy’s expressive eyebrows rose. “He offered to do that for you?” She puffed her fake cigarette a little faster. “Sounds like he might be thinking of you as a little more than a friend, Dae. Better keep your boots on.”

  We both laughed about that. Nancy went back inside, saying that her hands were freezing.

  I thought about what she’d said about Jake. I doubted that he had any romantic feelings for me. He knew I was dating Kevin, and he’d never stepped out of bounds in that direction. Sometimes people saw more than what was there.

  Treasure and I went back to Missing Pieces. I gave him a tuna treat and he ran around the shop with it for a while. I watched him for a few minutes, enjoying his pleasure. Then I finished straightening up.

  There were no more customers, and I knew I had to go home and face the real mess I’d left behind. There was a ton of laundry that needed to be washed and cat litter to change. I’d done the fun stuff, the work at Missing Pieces, first. Now it was time to go home and do the things I didn’t want to do.

  I packed up Treasure again and we headed down the boardwalk to the parking lot. A large crowd was standing around outside the coffee shop and bookstore. A few of them applauded as Councilman Randal “Mad Dog” Wilson drove up in his custom-made golf cart.

  He waved and approached the crowd. I knew when he got up on the porch above the people that he was about to make the speech Nancy had told me about. I still didn’t see any media there, but that had never stopped him. No doub
t he planned to denounce me and urge people to vote for him.

  Some of the people on the blacktop applauded again. Most seemed to be standing around waiting to see what was happening. Mad Dog held his hands out for quiet. I waited to see what he planned to say.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Duck police car pull into the parking lot on one side of the group. I couldn’t imagine that Chief Michaels planned to give Mad Dog a hard time about holding a gathering there. Duck wasn’t that kind of place.

  Instead, as Mad Dog began speaking about bad leadership, Officers Tim Mabry and Scott Randall approached him from either side.

  “I’m sorry, folks,” Chief Michaels said from the porch. “I’m afraid Mr. Wilson is going to have to come with us.”

  “What? This is outrageous,” Mad Dog loudly complained. “What about freedom of speech?”

  Chief Michaels put his hand on his shoulder. Mad Dog, at six foot four and almost three hundred pounds, dwarfed him. “I’m sorry, Randal. You’re under arrest for the murder of Lightning Joe Walsh.”

  Chapter 6

  “That’s ridiculous! I didn’t kill anyone. You have no right,” Mad Dog yelled as he struggled with the officers. People in the crowd started pointing and trying to figure out what was going on. More people came out of the coffee shop to see what all the commotion was about.

  It wasn’t a pretty picture. There was no way Tim and Scott could hold him, not with any kind of respect. Mad Dog was strong and bullheaded, according to Gramps. Once he got an idea about something, or someone, he didn’t let go.

  Tim and Scott kept looking at the chief, obviously wondering what he wanted them to do. Mad Dog seemed intent on kicking them down the stairs, but he was a town council member. The two young officers were a little bewildered by their duties at this point.