A Haunting Dream (A Missing Pieces Mystery) (15 page)

“But don’t you see?” I looked at Kevin. “This means we could get to her if we can find out who she is. She could be a relative of Port’s—”

“Or she could be some hot chick your dealer ran into and her face stuck in his brain,” Ann interrupted impatiently. “You need a lot more training in how to apply your abilities effectively in a criminal investigation.”

“Dae has a natural gift for using her abilities to help other people,” Kevin said. “While you were trained as a child to use your abilities, Ann, Dae has always been motivated solely by a desire to assist those she knows and loves.”

Ann glared at him. “It doesn’t matter. I
know
the girl is dead. You know I’m not wrong about these things. Why are you fighting me on this, Kevin? You can’t let your feelings for Dae get in the way of making a rational judgment on the case.”

“You could be mistaken,” Kevin reminded her. “You haven’t done this in a long time. Your abilities may be rusty or affected by your breakdown.”

Ann didn’t say another word. She turned and walked out of Missing Pieces, closing the door silently behind her.

Kevin leaned back against the sofa. “We’ve been arguing about this all the way back from the police station. I don’t know if she’ll go on with the case.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe you should give up on it too. Maybe she just can’t do this work anymore.”

“Or maybe she’s right. I don’t know. But the FBI made it clear we won’t get any more help from them if we’re going to pursue Guthrie.”

“So what do we do now?” I asked him.

“What we’ve done before. Find what’s missing.”

Chapter 17

I
felt the first thing we should do was talk to Chief
Michaels. I owed him that after my efforts to find Betsy without him. I knew it always upset him when I struck out on my own. Sometimes, I just couldn’t help it. It was going to mean getting another lecture, but I was going to have to suck it up. No matter what, he was a good friend of the family and a good police chief. I couldn’t imagine Duck without him.

I had to remind my fast-beating heart that this was just a working partnership with Kevin. Nothing had changed in that matter. I hated the awkwardness between us as much as the breakup itself. It was difficult to find something to say that didn’t involve Ann’s arrival in Duck and its emotional aftermath. We drove from the shop to the police station in Kevin’s truck, not really having a conversation. Lucky it wasn’t a long drive.

“So where do people in Duck vote?” he asked.

“We’re headed there. Once the new town hall is finished, we might vote there. We’ll have to see.”

“I heard there might be another storm coming our way,” he added.

“It’s possible.” It was the worst conversation in the world. I was glad when we finally reached the police station.

The FBI agents in dark suits were swarming around their computers. One of them stopped us at the door. “Can I help you?”

“I don’t think so. We’re here to see Chief Michaels.” I didn’t like his proprietary tone, as though he belonged here and I didn’t. No matter what, this was
my
town.

“He’s very busy right now, ma’am.” He didn’t even bother looking back toward the chief’s office, as though trying to tell a convincing lie. “I’ll be glad to take a message for him.”

I threw my shoulders back and faced him down. “First of all, I’m a citizen of this town and I have every right to be here and to talk to the chief. And second of all, I’m the mayor. I’ll wait right over here until the chief can see me.”

He wasn’t impressed. “That’s fine. But I can’t tell you when that will be, Mayor. It could be a long wait.”

“He has to go home sometime.”

Kevin and I went to sit in the row of chairs positioned against the wall. “You can’t expect much more from them,” he said. “When the FBI or any federal agency gets involved in a problem, they take the lead. It’s the way things are done.”

“Well, it’s rude and disrespectful.” But that was all I said on the matter—only because I noticed Melinda Lafferty, Chuck’s ex-wife, sitting by herself in one of the same plastic chairs.

I admit that, at first, I thought of her only as an important person to talk to about Betsy. She was the girl’s mother. She could probably share some insights into Chuck’s life too. I wondered if anyone would notice if I sat beside her and asked her questions.

But the more I observed her, the more I realized that she was in terrible shape. She looked as though she was about to fall on the floor with exhaustion. Her face was pale, and her eyes were glazed over. She probably hadn’t eaten or slept since she got here. That was no way for a visitor in Duck to be treated.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Lafferty.” I approached her with a smile that I hoped was sympathetic. I couldn’t let my annoyance with the FBI affect her. She was the true victim in all of this. “I’m Dae O’Donnell, mayor of Duck. We met yesterday. I’m sorry you’ve been through so much. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know. Do you have a place to stay? Have you eaten?”

She ran her hand through her bright red hair. “I just don’t know what to do. They brought me down here and said I could help them in some way. I’ve been sitting in this chair, or somewhere in this station, since I got here. They gave me a blanket last night and some crackers this morning. I can hardly think anymore. How can I help Betsy like this?”

Questioning her about her ex-husband and her daughter fled from my mind like clouds dispersing after a storm. “Never mind. You come with us. We’ll find you something to eat and a place to lie down for a while.”

“What about Betsy?” she whispered. “What about Chuck?”

“There’s nothing you can do right now, Ms. Lafferty,” Kevin assured her, following my lead. “Dae is right. You need some food and some rest. If they need you, they’ll call you. We’ll make sure they know where you are.”

She was still unconvinced and scared she might miss something. I knew I’d feel the same if I were in her position.

“You have to stay strong and take care of yourself for your daughter. We don’t know where any of this will lead. She needs you to be in fighting shape for her, Melinda. Come with us. Let us take care of you so you can take care of her when we find her.”

It was a good speech. It worked on Melinda. But she was near collapse with anxiety and fatigue.

It didn’t work as well on Agent Kowalski when we started to help Melinda leave the police station. “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, thundering toward us, his face red like he’d been in the sun too long. “I didn’t authorize Ms. Lafferty to leave this building.”

“We’re taking Melinda out of here so she can rest and have something to eat,” I replied, explaining the obvious. “Shame on you! She can barely hold her head up! What are you thinking?”

He looked slightly abashed for a moment—long enough for Chief Michaels to come out of his office.

“Is there a problem out here?” the chief asked Kowalski. The agent reiterated that he didn’t want Melinda to leave.

“We’re taking her to the Blue Whale,” Kevin said. “She’s not going to do anyone any good if she collapses.”

I stared at the chief, hoping he’d understand my appeal for this bit of humanity.

“All right. We’ll know where to find her,” he finally said.

Kowalski was furious. “I didn’t give permission for that!”

“You don’t have to give
me
permission in my own town to be civil to a guest, Agent. Kevin, Dae—you take good care of Ms. Lafferty, but keep a phone handy. If this breaks, it could happen very quickly.”

I agreed to those terms. I was proud of the chief for standing up to Kowalski, who threw his hands in the air and walked away.

“Could I have a few words with you?” I asked the chief when we were alone.

“I have just enough time for a few words, Mayor. That’s about it.” He walked back into his office.

“Don’t worry,” Kevin assured me as he walked Melinda to the door. “I’ll take her to the Blue Whale. She can stay with me while she’s here.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that,” she protested weakly. “I don’t have any money until I start my new job. That’s why I left Betsy with Chuck.” She covered her face with her hands.

“Not a problem,” Kevin told her. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“I’ll catch a ride over when I’m done,” I said cheerfully. “Thanks.”

I hadn’t planned on taking Melinda to the Blue Whale. I was going to take her back to my house. But I couldn’t complain, since Kevin was ready to shoulder the responsibility of getting her settled somewhere else. He definitely had more room than we had.

I gave Melinda a hug and told her that she’d be all right with Kevin. Then I walked past Agent Kowalski, who’d taken a stance, arms folded against his chest, in front of the chief’s door. I resisted the urge to poke my tongue out at him, and slammed the door to the chief’s office in his face.

“What’s going on?” I demanded when I was alone with him. “Why aren’t the FBI taking the sketch of Dillon Guthrie seriously? I thought Agent Kowalski didn’t mind working with gifted people. He seemed to like Ann a lot.”

“I don’t really know. I’ve never heard of this Guthrie fellow before,” he admitted. “They say he’s worked around these parts for years as the head of some big smuggling ring. Too big for us to be more than a blip on his radar, I guess.”

Chief Michaels sounded a bit disappointed that Guthrie hadn’t considered Duck a worthy spot to do “business.” I, on the other hand, thought it a good thing that Guthrie didn’t normally work around here.

“What do we know about him?” I asked, hoping he’d share some helpful information.

“He’s a bad guy, Mayor. Got a rap sheet longer than your arm for some terrible things. But Agent Kowalski and his superiors say kidnapping, even murdering Chuck, isn’t something a man like Guthrie would do. It’s beneath him. He’d have someone else do it—and he’d make sure he could not be linked to the crime. My hands are tied right now. And I’m afraid the clock is ticking.”

I sat down in one of the chairs in front of the chief’s desk. “You know me. You know I don’t see random images. I’m the one who led everyone to Chuck and knew that Betsy was missing. I’m telling you this man killed Chuck in the Harris Teeter parking lot, Chief. He has Betsy—somewhere. If we don’t do something to help her, she’ll die.”

He rocked back in his chair and stared at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. “You know I’m not real comfortable with all this stuff, Dae. But I know you have the gift. I’ve seen you use it your whole life. I saw your grandmother before you do amazing things. No doubt about it.”

He sat forward. “But that other woman that used to work with the FBI told Kowalski she believes the girl is dead. He isn’t exactly taking her word for it, but I get the feeling he thinks too much time has gone by and that she may be right. He’s still working on the case. We’ll have to see what happens.”

“Maybe it would be for the best if the FBI left so the Duck Police could look for Betsy without them.”

“We don’t have that kind of experience, Dae. You know that. I’m sure Horace didn’t work more than one kidnapping in his whole career. We need their help on this. I’m not saying we’ll give up if they leave, but we stand a better chance of finding that little girl with them.”

“There has to be some link between Chuck and Guthrie,” I insisted. “It can’t hurt to check that out.”

He nodded and tossed a stapled group of papers toward me. “Chuck had gotten himself in a mess. His financial records show that little stunt of his, getting involved in trying to cheat Miss Mildred last year, cost him a lot of business. I’m surprised he even stayed here. Between that and the downturn in the real estate market, it must’ve been all he could do to stay alive.”

I flipped through the last twelve months of Chuck’s business statements. “Then he started bringing in some good money.”

“That’s right. I think it’s possible he was involved with Guthrie’s smuggling operation. I can’t prove it. Maybe he crossed some line with Guthrie and he was killed. All of this is speculation. Agent Kowalski says my theory is too unlikely to be worth pursuing. But Chuck got that money somehow. I keep hoping we can make sense of it all and find his killer, before it’s too late for that little girl.”

I gave him back the statements. “I might have a way to connect Guthrie to Betsy. I don’t know yet. I’m working on it.”

The chief stood abruptly. I was afraid he was going to jump right over the desk. “Don’t mess around with this, Dae O’Donnell. Do you hear me? That’s my only warning to you. I’m going to pick up the phone and call Horace as soon as you leave. These are professional killers we’re talking about. That pretty smile of yours and a whole batch of your grandfather’s fish stew won’t keep you alive if you meet up with him. You go and tend to your store. We’ll find Chuck’s killer and his little girl. Leave this to the professionals for once.”

He glowered at me. He was more serious than usual about warning me away. I didn’t smile or make fun of his demand as I might have done at another time. “I’ll stay out of it,” I told him. “You don’t have to call Gramps.”

He sat down again. “Good. Now go and check on that nice lady. You were right to offer her some hospitality. I’m sorry I didn’t notice it sooner. I’ll be by the Blue Whale later to check on her myself.”

“Thanks, Chief.”

I didn’t smile when I left. But I knew I was lying when I promised to stay out of it. Until Betsy was found, I was involved.

I caught a ride back to my house but didn’t stay long. I decided to head over to Chuck’s house again. I wanted to make sure Betsy was still alive. Despite Ann’s disparaging remarks about my abilities, I really believed that if I could contact the girl again, I would know if she was dead or alive.

Since the police had taken her doll away from me, I needed something else that would give me the same connection. It might not reassure anyone else, but I’d feel better.

Crime scene tape stretched across every entrance to the house, but the back door wasn’t locked. Seeing all that tape reminded me of the time I’d gotten hold of Gramps’s crime scene tape and wrapped it across every doorway and around every piece of furniture in our house. That adventure had ended badly for me, despite the initial fun. Gramps was fair, but he was strict.