by Joyce Lavene
When I looked at him, I realized that I loved him. It was embarrassing, especially since we weren’t together anymore. But there it was. Tears formed in my eyes, despite my best attempts to stop them. I had never been in love this way before.
“That was fast.” I kept my face averted as I blinked away those telltale tears and kept the conversation light. “And you even walked back.”
“Not exactly.”
He pointed to a deep blue golf cart—the same shade we’d painted the Blue Whale Inn. It was pulled next to Gramps’s cart. “I bought it last month, remember? It was just delivered today. Shall we go?”
“That’s it. You’ve finally succumbed.” I smiled at him. “You’re a Banker now for sure.”
“I definitely think there’s a little pirate in me,” he admitted with a slash of a smile. “Maybe I was meant to be here. Maybe an ancestor of mine came from Duck. Who knows?”
The night was very fine—not a wisp of a cloud to hide the stars, making them seem closer. The moon was smaller, off in the distance, peeping over the horizon. A warm November breeze stirred the trees around us.
I could imagine it could always be this way. Kevin and I, going through life together.
“Have you got any idea how you’re going to get the information you want from this guy at Wild Stallions?” he asked.
“None at all. I guess that makes this an adventure.”
“All right then.” He opened the door to the golf cart. “What do you need?”
“Maybe his keys or some other personal object he keeps with him. Or I thought I could hold his hand for a while or even kiss him. Maybe a hug would do it.”
“Either one of those things are sure to put you on Trudy’s hit list. Maybe I can get you his wallet.”
“How would you do that? Do you have a hidden talent for picking pockets that you haven’t told me about?”
He smiled. “Let me take care of that.”
The closer we got to Wild Stallions, the more nervous I became. I knew Trudy would not take kindly to our crashing her romantic dinner. She hadn’t had a date in months. I wouldn’t have done it for less than someone’s life. I dreaded our conversation afterward, but I couldn’t let that concern stop me from helping Betsy.
Maybe Kevin’s pick-pocket plan would work. It was definitely preferable to my having to hug and kiss Port. I was certain Trudy would feel the same.
Wild Stallions was busy at the end of the boardwalk. The walkway was alive with lights and music thumping from a live band. People were strolling around, looking in dark, closed shop windows. What a pity no one was open.
I hadn’t realized there was business here at night. I thought I might look into being open a few late nights and see if I could catch the interest of the crowd that wasn’t here during the day.
The Currituck Sound was smooth as glass, reflecting the gorgeous flares of sunset color. Lights twinkled on across the water, probably in Corolla or Kitty Hawk. The lighthouse beacons weren’t on as yet, but they would be soon, sweeping the night with their thick beams.
I thought again about seeing the Andalusia the night I’d found Chuck’s body on the Atlantic side. Maybe it was a bad omen, as many older citizens of Duck claimed. Certainly nothing good had happened to me since I’d seen it.
Kevin and I parted company before we reached Wild Stallions. He thought it might be best if we weren’t together when we went in. I didn’t know what his plan was, but I hoped it would work.
Maybe this time, when I held Derek’s wallet, I’d see the place where Betsy was being held.
Let this be the moment, I prayed silently. Let this be the last night Betsy has to spend out there alone.
I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders before I walked into the restaurant. I saw Trudy and Port right away. They were seated at my favorite booth, back away from the noise and crowd.
Trudy was sitting very close to Port. She was smiling in an adoring manner as he fed her pasta. They weren’t taking their eyes off each other.
I started deliberately toward them, pasting my big mayor’s smile on my face, words ready to explain why I was ruining their moment.
Suddenly a tall, thin woman in a tight gold lamé dress stepped between me and my target. I realized, as I got closer, that it was Ann.
“Port?” She addressed him in the warm, familiar voice of a former lover. “Surprise seeing you here! What brings you to Duck?”
What is she doing? I looked around for Kevin but couldn’t find him. What is she thinking?
Port seemed taken aback. He said something to Trudy and took her hand. “I think you’ve got the wrong man, miss.”
Ann laughed, a cackle loud enough to make everyone notice. “I don’t think so! I know you haven’t forgotten dinner on the island and breakfast on your boat. Not to mention everything that went on—in between.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you.” Port’s voice was calm and clear. “You and I have never done anything together.”
“Maybe we should leave.” Trudy started to get up.
“No. It’s fine. Just a mistake.” Port stared at Ann like he was finally starting to get angry. “We’re staying.”
“Oh, lover!” Ann threw her arm around his shoulder and leaned against him. “Ditch the little woman and we’ll have some fun.” She made kind of a loud squeaky sound, like a weird giggle. It wasn’t a sound I’d ever expected to hear from her.
“Maybe you’re right, Trudy. We should leave.” Port shrugged Ann off and knocked over a glass of wine as he hastily got to his feet.
“Yes!” Ann grabbed him again.
Trying to get away from her, Port almost lost his balance. As he tried to regain his footing and get away from Ann, a man passed between the two of them. I saw his hand deftly slide into Port’s pocket. He took something out and put it into his own pocket.
As he turned to blend back in with the interested crowd, Kevin winked at me.
The effort complete, Ann walked away from Port as though the whole thing had been a mistake. Port looked around like he couldn’t believe it had happened. Trudy sat back down, like she’d suddenly deflated.
I couldn’t believe it, but Ann had saved me from Trudy’s wrath by intervening with her crazy stunt. Yet it was enough of a distraction for Kevin to get what I needed.
A waiter asked if I wanted to sit down. Knowing everything had been accomplished without making Trudy mad at me, I didn’t take any chances. I said no and left the restaurant.
Kevin and Ann were outside on the boardwalk. It was dark at that corner behind the entrance to the restaurant. They hadn’t seen me as yet.
“Good as ever!” Ann exclaimed, leaning against Kevin. “We are still a great pair, aren’t we? We always worked so well together. Our relationship worked too, didn’t it?”
He smoothed back a piece of her hair, ivory in the moonlight. “Yes, we were a good couple.”
She took a step back from him. “I don’t know why we’re not a good couple now. I know I was sick. I know I let you down. But I’m back now. We can pick up where we left off. We can be better than we ever were. All you have to do is give it a chance.”
“I can’t do this work all the time anymore, Ann. I realized that when you got sick. I’ve built a new life here and I like it.”
She laughed in a hard, brittle way. “Really? You like making soup and cleaning up after people? Come on, Kevin. You were made for so much more. Think of all the things we’ve done—of all the things we could do. You don’t have to bury yourself in this little backwater.”
“I like this little backwater. I wish you did too.”
“That’s not going to happen.” She sighed. “I guess that makes you and Dae a good couple now.”
Chapter 20
I didn’t want them to know I’d been listening, so I walked out of the shadows right away. “That was amazing,” I gushed to cover my embarrassment at eavesdropping on them. “Thank you for doing that, Ann. Now Trudy won’t hate me for ruining her
date.”
“I hope it helps,” she said. “Let’s go somewhere and take a look at our plunder.”
“I got his wallet,” Kevin added. “That should be personal enough to know if he’s part of all this.”
I agreed, and we walked down to Missing Pieces. I hated to do it, but I had to leave the door closed and locked, not letting the potential customers inside. Maybe another time. I wasn’t set up to do business anyway.
Besides, I needed quiet to hold the wallet and hoped to see Betsy. I sat on the burgundy brocade sofa. The shop was dark except for the boardwalk lights shining in on us.
Ann sat next to me—a sketchbook on her lap, pencil in hand.
It made me a little nervous, not because I was afraid of her but because I knew she was trying to see into my mind. The idea was a little disconcerting. What else would she see in there? I didn’t have many secrets, but I kind of wanted the ones I had to stay secret.
Kevin stood near the door, looking out at the people on the boardwalk. The shadows of the people walking by passed him, like the shadows on the moon in the night sky.
It reminded me of another time when we were waiting for help after a mission that had gone bad. A killer had been stalking us, and we had to lie low until we knew who he was. Kevin was smoking his last cigarette—
No! Those aren’t my memories.
“Is something wrong?” Ann noticed that I was restless.
“No. Just having trouble concentrating.”
“Newbies,” she scoffed.
Kevin looked my way, and I closed my eyes, trying to put my thoughts in order. I hoped the memories Ann had thrust on me would fade in time. Those were private things, events that were only supposed to be shared between Ann and Kevin. I didn’t want to say anything to Kevin about those things, but it was hard.
Is Ann making notes about my (her) memories of Kevin as she sketches pictures from my brain?
I was holding the wallet, but nothing was happening. Usually it was immediate. I couldn’t stop the images from coming. But not that night. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was so busy trying to separate my memories from Ann’s or because I was still so involved in what had happened, both in the restaurant and outside on the boardwalk.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope Ann would go back to New York, or wherever was best for her, and decide to leave Kevin’s life. He meant too much to me not to hope things could go back the way they were between us before she got here.
“I’m sorry.” I opened my eyes. “I’m just not getting anything.”
“Try harder,” Ann snarled. “I don’t want to sit here holding your hand all night.”
I tried again. Nothing. Whatever caused my gift to work, wasn’t working. “I don’t see anything.”
“Well then, maybe Kevin and I should go have some drinks and dinner while you keep trying,” Ann said. “We’ll come back later and maybe you’ll have something.”
“Don’t pay any attention to her,” Kevin said. “You must be hungry too. Let’s go eat dinner and maybe you’ll relax enough to get something from the wallet. You’re probably just too wound up to concentrate properly.”
Ouch!
Yes, I was a newbie, as Ann kept reminding me. Sometimes it was hard for me to know what to do. But Kevin’s remark made me feel like a child. I definitely didn’t need to go to dinner with them and feel like a third wheel too.
“No. Ann’s right,” I said finally. “I’ll stay here and have some tea. Maybe that will help. You two go and enjoy yourselves. I’ll call you if I see anything.”
“I hate to leave you,” Kevin replied. “We don’t know what Port is up to. There may be some strong impressions on the wallet.”
Ann stood up. “Oh for God’s sake, we’ll be just up the boardwalk, Kevin. Whatever she sees isn’t going to kill her. Let’s go and we’ll come back.”
She brushed by him as she went out the door. Kevin hung back until I reassured him that Ann was right. “Call me if you need me,” he said.
I told him I would and locked the door behind him. It was the first time I was really able to draw a deep breath.
I was glad they were both gone. I didn’t need all of those emotional issues pulling at my heart when I was supposed to be thinking about Betsy. I just couldn’t seem to help myself when I was with them.
I shouldn’t have listened to their conversation outside Wild Stallions. It had scrambled things between us. Just as my brain was convincing my heart not to get my hopes up, hearing Kevin and Ann discuss their past and future had made everything unsure again.
I needed to focus. Ann was right about that. I was never going to find Betsy with my heart racing and my hands shaking.
I took off the black velvet jacket I’d worn with the dress, kicked off my shoes and made some tea on the hot plate. I tried to focus on Betsy while ignoring Port’s wallet, which seemed to mock me from the sofa. Why couldn’t I see something from it? I should at least be able to see where it had been made and where he’d bought it. That wasn’t so much to expect.
There was a knock on the door. What now?
I should have ignored it. I couldn’t. I would have to get rid of whoever it was.
I peeked out the blind. It was Port.
I stumbled back from the door, not sure if he’d seen me. I shoved his wallet into a drawer behind the cash register. My heart was pounding. Had he guessed that I was involved in taking it and had come to confront me?
That was crazy. How could he know? I had to talk to him—send him on his way.
I went back to the door and looked out again. I didn’t see Trudy. But there was someone with him. I recognized him right away. Dillon Guthrie.
With trembling hands, I unlocked the door and smiled at Port. “Hi there. Something I can do for you? We’re not officially open. I just stopped in for a cup of tea. It’s been a long day.” I feigned a yawn.
Port smiled back at me, but he was clearly tense, not easy and open as he had been this afternoon. “Hi, Dae. I hope you don’t mind, but when my buyer for the Flobert pistol heard about you having one of the silver bells, he was interested in seeing it.”
I glanced at Guthrie. He smiled at me and stepped forward. “We haven’t met, but my friend here tells me you have something very rare for sale. I’d like very much to take a look at it. My name is Dillon Guthrie.”
I wanted to say no. Knowing he had killed Chuck and might decide to kill Betsy made me angry and scared at the same time. On the other hand, maybe this was an opportunity to learn something about him that would help in the investigation.
Feeling like I was inviting an evil vampire into the shop, I stood to one side and held the door open. “Please come in. Would you like some tea?”
As they stepped inside, I turned on the lights. I also left the door unlocked, slightly ajar. Probably neither one of those gestures would save my life if Guthrie decided to kill me and take the St. Augustine bell, but they made me feel better.
To my surprise, Guthrie wanted a cup of tea. Port declined. I made the two cups of tea and hoped no one would notice how badly my hands were shaking as I offered one of them to Guthrie.
He thanked me and continued his tour of Missing Pieces. He was much smaller in person than he’d been in my vision. He was shorter than Kevin and had a stockier build. His hair was brown with prominent streaks of gray. He didn’t look like my idea of a smuggler, but that was probably because to me, smugglers should all look like pirates. This man was too well-dressed and polished to be a pirate.
“I’m sorry about this, Dae,” Port quietly apologized. “I know Trudy is going to hate me, since I had to cut our evening short for this. Then I couldn’t find my wallet and she had to pay. I shouldn’t have told Dillon about the bell, I guess. Who knew he’d take such an interest? But he’s a very good client—always pays in cash.”
“That’s okay. Don’t worry about it. You did what you had to do.”
I sipped my tea and tried to look like a calm shopkeeper who wa
s just happy to have someone perusing her wares. I was anything but that—looks can be deceiving.
“I’d like to see the silver bell, please,” Guthrie said finally. “You have many very fine pieces here, Dae. But the bell is what intrigues me.”
I’d put the bell, away from the main floor, in the storage area after Port had looked at it earlier. I’d realized there was no point in tempting people to buy it when I wasn’t ready to sell it. But I took it out for Guthrie and unwrapped the blue velvet that surrounded it.
“Unbelievable!”
I was careful not to touch him in the transfer. This wouldn’t be a good time to fall on the floor and forget who I was while I tried to process whatever terrible visions might ensue.
“That’s how I felt when I saw it,” I admitted.
“When Port told me about this, I was stunned. I didn’t know any of these bells had been found.” He smiled at me. If I hadn’t already been aware of the truth about him, I’d never have guessed he was a killer, and much more. “You know the legend?”
“Yes.”
“Amazing!” He continued his thorough examination of the wonderful old silver work. “You never know where you’re going to find the good stuff, right? That’s what Port is always telling me.”
“That’s right,” Port chimed in. “Like the pistol. I looked everywhere for it—Dae had a customer with one for sale. It all worked out.”
Port was getting more agitated the longer they stayed in the shop. He knew who this man was and what he was capable of doing. He was afraid of Guthrie. Who wouldn’t be? I was standing there trying to at least appear unafraid, but I was terrified.
“How much?” Guthrie put the bell back down in its bed of blue velvet, but his hand rested possessively on it.
“It’s not for sale.” I smiled when I said the words, but I could feel the corners of my lips trembling. I hadn’t changed my mind about selling the bell. I was surprised Port had even mentioned it to Guthrie.
“Pardon?” Guthrie said as though he couldn’t possibly have heard right.