A Haunting Dream (A Missing Pieces Mystery) (24 page)

I answered in my rasping voice, giving him the simple version. Gramps came up while I was speaking, so I didn’t have to repeat it.

“It doesn’t matter now. They’re already gone.” I looked up at Kevin. “Didn’t anyone know that I’d been kidnapped?”

“No. I don’t think anyone realized. Did they make some kind of ransom demand for you?” Kevin pulled out his cell phone to call Ann.

I was amazed that no one had picked up on the clues. Gramps had called my cell phone a few times but said that I never answered my phone regularly anyway, so he thought I’d forgotten about the donuts.

Apparently Walt Jr. hadn’t even noticed the dropped bag of donuts. Gramps and Kevin had only begun to suspect something was wrong when I wasn’t at the groundbreaking.

I declined going to the hospital for tests. I was sore and upset, but my injuries were nothing that a hot shower and fresh clothes wouldn’t help. No amount of badgering from Kevin or Gramps would make me change my mind. The paramedics wrapped my wrist and put a butterfly bandage on my forehead. They advised me to drink as much fluid as I could so as not to get dehydrated.

“What were they looking for?” Gramps asked.

“Money. A lot of money. I told Jackie it might be at the shop. That’s the only reason she didn’t kill me. She said she has Betsy hidden somewhere on the island. She told me she’d let her go after she finds the money.”

“And you’re sure the money
isn’t
at Missing Pieces?”

I told Gramps about my and Kevin’s meeting with Danny; I figured it was safe to do so since the chief was long gone. “I guess she thought it was possible he could’ve left it in the shop. She said he talked about me all the time.”

“I think we should reconvene at the police station after Dae has a chance to get cleaned up,” Kevin said. “Agent Kowalski needs to hear about this.”

Gramps agreed. “After she’s had a chance to rest. Good speech, though, honey. And nice entrance! Who was that cowboy?”

I explained as we headed for home in the golf cart. Kevin came with us. When we got back to the house, Gramps immediately put on a pot of coffee and started rummaging around for food to go with it. Kevin sat down in the kitchen with him. I ignored them both and went upstairs.

I knew I was a wreck (who wouldn’t be after the day I’d had?), but I hadn’t realized just how bad a wreck until I looked in the mirror. The kitten raised his head but didn’t move when he saw it was me. He was curled up on the pillow, flexing his claws into the blanket.

“No wonder everyone was staring at me like I was crazy,” I told him as I stripped off the ruined suit I’d put on that morning. “This day seemed to have a mind of its own. Maybe I shouldn’t make any more plans for it.”

I’d done what I thought was best. I’d survived, even though I wasn’t sure about my shop or, more important, Betsy. I’d tried to protect everyone and had at least managed to make it back home.

I stood in the shower until all the hot water was gone. When I’d done that as a kid, Gramps had come down on me like a thunderstorm, telling me that using up all the hot water was rude and inconsiderate.

Of course, that had been when my mother was still alive. There were more of us to be considerate of back then. We hadn’t had a discussion like that in a long time.

I cleaned off the steamy mirror with a towel and looked at the cut on the side of my head. It hurt a lot for being so small. I tried to bear in mind that Jackie could’ve shot me with the Flobert. It could have been the last antique gun I ever handled.

I wasn’t sure I would ever get all of the sand off me. It was worse than a day at the beach. Even after all that water pouring over my head, I still found some in my hair.

Why did they leave me alive?

I looked at my face and realized that I might never know. Maybe it was the same reason Jackie hadn’t killed Betsy. She certainly hadn’t had any qualms about killing Chuck and Port.

But
they
had stolen from her. She seemed more than angry about that—she was afraid. She was desperate to get that money back. Maybe she was afraid of Guthrie. She’d made it clear that the whole thing had happened because she wanted to finance her freedom from him. She would’ve killed my father too if she’d found him. I had no doubt about that. He was right to be nervous. Did he get away with the chest they’d found from the
Andalusia
and all the money they’d cleverly tried to steal?

I might never know.

One thing Jackie gave me, besides a knot on the head, was the truth about Betsy. I firmly believed Betsy was alive somewhere out there. At this point, all I could hope was that Jackie would live up to her word about setting her free.

But if she didn’t find the money at my shop, which I’m sure she didn’t, was it over for Betsy?

Though I liked going barefoot, my feet were a little raw from my adventure. I put some lotion on them and found some soft old sandals that I’d thrown into the back of the closet. I planned to walk as little as possible for the rest of the day. I could always change before the town meeting tonight.

I went downstairs, stopping midway when I saw Gramps and Kevin in the living room talking with Chief Michaels and Agent Kowalski. They all looked up at me. There was no time to run and hide in the bedroom.

Chapter 27

“G
entlemen.” I decided on a smooth political
entrance since there was no way out. “Thank you for coming. As you can imagine, I’m not really feeling up to a trip to the station.”

Of course, even Kowalski had to be apologetic and ask after my welfare. They couldn’t ignore my bruises and cuts. At that point, I was glad to look like I’d had a rough morning.

We all sat down around the old wood kitchen table. Gramps poured coffee and brought out fresh donuts. He must’ve sent Kevin out for them while I was showering. Better him than me. I might never buy donuts again.

Maybe this was supposed to be some kind of debriefing. I wasn’t sure what to expect. All four men seemed subdued.

I remembered how, as a kid, I’d wanted so much to be part of the group of police, and sometimes fire department members, sitting around this table with Gramps. At the time, I didn’t understand half of what they were talking about, but it all sounded exciting. My mother always told me there was nothing exciting about it. I didn’t believe her—until I grew up.

“Is this the woman who kidnapped you, Mayor?” Agent Kowalski got right to the point, holding up a small photo. He had already put a powdered-sugar donut on his plate, however. Nice to know he was actually human under that suit.

“Yes.” Jackie stared back at me from the picture. “I think she’s Guthrie’s girlfriend.”

“You’re right.” He put down the picture. “And she was with the same man the police picked up for attempting to buy Chuck Sparks’s medallion. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I think he was working for her. I think he was trying to get the medallion to cover up what they’d done. But he sounded very intimate with her. They might be lovers.”

Kowalski wrote everything down in his notebook. “That doesn’t make any sense. We know Derek works for Guthrie. I don’t see him being brave enough to sleep with the boss’s girlfriend.”

I didn’t feel up to arguing with him. Not about that anyway. “Jackie told me Betsy is still alive. She said she’d let her go. I think she’ll live up to her part. I’m just not sure when.”

Kowalski laughed derisively and sat back from the table. “According to you, Jackie and Derek killed Tymov and Sparks. She almost killed
you
. I wouldn’t put too much faith in her.”

“She didn’t kill me. She could have. But she didn’t. I think that deserves a little faith.”

“I know you’ve had a rough day, Mayor, and I’m sure you’re glad to have lived through all of it. I think that may be coloring your judgment of Jackie. But this woman probably wouldn’t know the truth if it bit her in the butt. I think we can assume that Sparks’s daughter might be collateral damage.”

“Betsy,” I reminded him. “And why bother lying to me at all? She had nothing to gain.”

“She could hold it over your head later. Use it as a bargaining chip if we catch up with her. If she’s desperate enough to do all these other acts, what’s one more?”

From his perspective, I supposed he thought he had a good point. But from mine, he was dead wrong, and I wasn’t backing down again.

“Look, I’ve got everyone out here looking for this burgundy Lincoln. If it’s still on the island, we’ll find it. If she makes it off the island—” He shrugged. “Do you think the girl could be in the trunk?”

I thought about the sand and dripping water. “I don’t think so.”

Chief Michaels asked me about my ordeal. He was particularly interested in how I’d gotten away and how I’d ended up on the wild horse.

I explained, keeping Jake’s name out of it. He’d done me a favor. I didn’t want to repay him by putting him on the grid he wanted so badly to stay off of.

It seemed there was nothing more to say. Kowalski and the chief promised to keep in touch. We all knew the chance that we’d find Betsy alive was fading. If Jackie and Derek got away, there might be no chance at all.

When everyone else had left, Gramps and I looked at each other over the kitchen table, now covered in dirty coffee cups and donut crumbs.

“What happens now?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do next. I can’t identify the place in my visions.”

“Maybe you should try something else. When I was chief, if something was totally baffling, I walked away from it. I tried to see it in a different light.”

“You went fishing.” I grinned at him as we both got up to clear the table. “I remember Mom complaining about it. She didn’t understand the whole walking-away-from-it thing.”

“That’s right. Your mother was like a water buffalo sometimes. All she could see was where she needed to be, and she kept her head down, kept going, until she got there. Your grandmother, rest her soul, was the same way. Like you, I guess.”

“I guess.”

“Sometimes that’s a good thing. But sometimes, you need to clear your mind. The answers are there. We can’t always see them for the clutter.”

“That makes sense. I just don’t know if I have time to go fishing.”

“And speaking of the clutter, don’t you try and clean up all that stuff at Missing Pieces by yourself. I know you have the meeting tonight. We’ll go to that together, and tomorrow I’ll help you with the cleanup. Deal?”

“Sure, Gramps. Thanks. Hey, did Tim drop off the mother cat?”

“She’s around here somewhere. Tim brought her over this morning.” He looked around the floor as though he expected to see her standing there. “I think she needs some time to adjust. She’s in and out. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried—except maybe about you. Taking in two stray cats isn’t like you. All that sun while you’ve been fishing might not be good for you.”

“You’ve got that sassy mouth like your mother and grandmother before you too. Go on upstairs and change for the meeting. I’ll tidy up down here.”

“Okay. Don’t eat all those leftover donuts. You know they’re not good for you.”

He waved me on with his big, callused hand. I smiled as I went back upstairs. Maybe Gramps was right. Maybe I needed to look in another direction.

In less than an hour, Gramps and I were on our way to the town hall meeting room. I knew there would be a crowd. Everyone knew what was going on. Supporters on my side, and on Mad Dog’s side, were bound to drag in everyone they could.

I was surprised to find there wasn’t even room to park the golf cart in the Duck Shoppes’ lot. Cars and carts were everywhere, parked without any regard for the lines striped on the blacktop.

“Wish we could get this many people out to vote,” Gramps grumbled. He finally parked the cart on the side of Duck Road. “What do they think is going to happen tonight?”

“If Mad Dog gets his way, he’ll be mayor after the meeting,” I said.

“You know he’s not going to get the council to do that. He might as well go fishing for a whale. The whole thing burns my butt.”

I smiled and hugged him. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself. Don’t forget I have a sassy mouth and the disposition of a water buffalo. I think I can handle it.”

He hugged me back. “I know. I just can’t believe the man would stoop this low. The job doesn’t even pay. You’d think this was New York City politics.”

We walked into the crowded meeting room. Residents were spilling out into the main office and onto the boardwalk. The people on the boardwalk were the lucky ones—they got free ice cream courtesy of Andy’s Ice Cream. Andy gave me a thumbs-up sign as I walked by him. It seemed I had at least two friendly faces in the crowd.

Gramps and I separated. He patted my back and nodded at the crowd. I knew that was his way of telling me to go get them on my side. I’d seen it many times before. It was his pep talk.

I watched him join a group of his friends—firemen, ex-police officers, fishermen and others. They all waved to me from their corner. Alternately, they glared at Mad Dog, who was at the other end of the council table.

Chris Slayton came up to me right away. “How are you, Mayor? I heard what happened. Should you be here tonight? I think after the trauma you’ve been through today, a postponed meeting could be in order. This is nothing but a witch hunt after all.”

“I think it’s important for me to be here. I appreciate the sentiment, though. I’m fine. Just a little sore. What does the agenda look like? I haven’t had a chance to review it.”

“Basically, you call the meeting to order and Councilman Wilson accuses both of us of gross negligence. Then he asks for both of us to resign.”

“And someone has to second that motion for the council to vote on it.”

He nodded at Mad Dog’s sidekick on the council. “Councilman Wilson will make the motion. Councilman Efird will second. Then there will be a discussion and you call for the vote.”

“Do I get to say anything?”

“Of course. You can be part of the discussion,” he said. “It’s your right to defend yourself.”

“That’s what I’ll do then. You can defend yourself at the same time if you want to.”

He smiled in his usual bashful way. “That’s okay. I don’t think it would do much good at this point. I’m an employee of the town. You’re an elected official. I think no matter how it goes for you, I’m out of here.”

I felt so bad for dragging him into all of this. “You’ve been such a good friend, Chris. I’m so sorry I involved you. I was wrong. But trust me, I won’t be the only person on the council who doesn’t want to see you go. I think Mad Dog will fall short on a vote to get rid of you.”

“Don’t worry about me, Mayor. I can get another job. I’m glad you have friends on the council too. Frankly, if you leave, I don’t want to be here anyway.”

That really broke my heart, since he’d done so much good for the town. We had been blessed to have him on staff. Duck wouldn’t be the same place without his clever ideas and ability to pull off daily miracles.

This couldn’t be the end for Chris as town manager, or for me as mayor. I stared out at the crowd of friendly and not-so-friendly faces. I took my place at the head of the council table. Despite making a scene this afternoon at the groundbreaking, I believed most people would be willing to forgive and forget. They probably had a million questions for me—not only about the groundbreaking but also about the body at the barbecue and the continued presence of the FBI in Duck, not to mention my and Chris’s ill-conceived inspections of local basements. There had to be a way to make people understand what had been going on the last few days.

I hit my gavel on the table at exactly seven
P.M
. The room came to order. There were as many people standing in the room as there were sitting down, roughly about a hundred. Those peeking in the door from the office and waiting on the boardwalk made probably another fifty or so.

“I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight for this specially called meeting,” I said. “We’ll start with the Pledge of Allegiance and then go on to the matter at hand.”

Everyone stood, faced the American flag and put their hands over their hearts. Collectively, the citizens of Duck repeated the same words of national loyalty they had so many times before.

We sat down again and before I could introduce the agenda, Councilman Wilson lumbered to his feet. His jacket lapels were covered in his campaign buttons.

“I’d just like to say that what we are proposing here tonight is radical. We’ve never seen the like of it in Duck before. I pray we never see it again. But we owe it to the citizens of our town to make sure that our elected officials are not using town resources to their own benefit.”

“Thank you, Councilman Wilson,” I cut in. “I believe we’ll need to introduce the facts before we make a motion and discuss the problem.”

“Of course, Madam Mayor.” He bowed his head to me and took his seat.

“We have two items on the agenda for tonight,” I continued as though he hadn’t spoken.

“That’s right.” Councilman Efird took up where Mad Dog had left off. “The problem we have is that our mayor decided to use three town employees, being paid by our taxes, for personal matters. Not only is this illegal, but it is also immoral. I would like to make a motion that we ask for Mayor Dae O’Donnell’s resignation. I’d like to further motion that we ask for the resignation of the town manager, Chris Slayton. The other town personnel were under duress and had no idea that what they were doing was not part of town business. They should be excused.”