A Haunting Dream (A Missing Pieces Mystery) (28 page)

I kept walking, at least for a few paces. Maybe if I played it cool—“Thanks,” I said, acting as though they were just offering me a ride. “I want to walk.”

I couldn’t see into the shadowy interior of the car, but before I took another step, a pair of strong arms reached out and dragged me inside.

The door closed behind me. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dim light. When I could make out the faces around me, I saw that one of them was Dillon Guthrie. I recognized one of the other men as well—he’d been in my dream about Guthrie and Jackie. That was when I’d still thought Guthrie had killed Chuck.

“Good evening, Mayor.” Guthrie was wearing a tuxedo with a white silk scarf around his neck. His dark hair was slicked back from his face. He might not be the devil, but he looked like him. “Could I offer you some champagne?”

“No, thanks. What’s this all about?”

“I’m celebrating. Since you were instrumental in helping me reach an important goal, I thought I’d like to have you along for the ride.”

I could see the scenery flying by as the limo went quickly down the road—again toward Corolla. Was this some kind of payback for something I’d done when I was younger? Was I doomed to be kidnapped and driven to the edge of the island yet again, my fate hanging in the balance?

“What are we celebrating?”

“A large sum of money was stolen from me. I believe the person who took it meant to give it back. It was awkward, to say the least. But now, I have it back again and the culprit has paid a penalty. I believe you call that justice.”

I held my breath. As far as I knew, my father had probably taken Jackie’s money with him, if he’d found it before he’d left. Had the money actually been Guthrie’s and Jackie had stolen it from him? Was my father at the bottom of the ocean? Or had Guthrie killed Jackie?

“I’m glad for you. I’m not sure what I did to help you, but if you’re sincere about appreciating whatever it was, you’ll let me out here.”

He smiled. “You don’t have to be uncomfortable around me. I don’t mean you any harm. Quite the contrary. You’re the one who’s going to find the third monk’s bell from St. Augustine. I want you to be alive and well so you can sell me the set and become a very wealthy woman.”

“You’ll understand if I’m less than enthusiastic about once again being driven off to who knows where against my will.”

“I know Jackie gave you a hard time, and I’m sorry for that. Believe me, she won’t give anyone else a problem again. If it makes you feel any better, neither will Derek. Jackie was such a sweetheart. I don’t know what happened to her. People get greedy sometimes, you know?”

Jackie
was
such a sweetheart.
No
, I thought. I didn’t want to hear any more about that. I wanted to ask about my father, but I was afraid the question would put him on Guthrie’s radar.

Obviously, Jackie and Derek had met with an unpleasant end. Had they found my father and taken the money from him just in time for Guthrie to catch up with them?

“You see, Mayor, I’ve been doing some research about you. I heard how you helped find that little girl, Chuck’s daughter. I asked around, and you have quite the knack for finding things. I’m wondering if you might consider taking Port’s place. I could use someone like you to guide my collection.”

I knew this could be a life-or-death decision. But if I agreed to work with him, I’d become like Port, scared to look the wrong way. I didn’t want to live like that, although I had hoped to live a lot longer than this night.

If I came right out and told him there was no way I’d ever work for him, I might find myself in worse condition than Derek and Jackie had left me on the beach. I was walking a very fine line.

“You don’t have to answer right now,” Guthrie said. “You can think about it. Get back to me. That Flobert was a very nice acquisition. I’d bought it for Jackie. It was her birthday gift. I guess I’ll keep it now.”

“Thanks. I’m not always that lucky. I wear many different hats, professionally speaking. I couldn’t devote myself full-time to locating items for your collection.” That sounded like a reasonable excuse, and it seemed as though I was safe—at least for now. I might as well throw a few obstacles in the way while I still could.

“I know. You’re up for reelection, right? I’ve got a contribution I want to make to your political campaign.” He nodded to the man sitting beside me, who withdrew an envelope from his inside pocket and handed it to me. “My personal cell number is in there too. Don’t be shy about calling me if you need more.”

I didn’t dignify the offer by looking at what was in the envelope and instead, put it on the seat. “Thank you, Mr. Guthrie. I’m surprised you want to involve yourself in small-town politics.”

He leaned toward me, close enough that I could smell his aftershave mingled with the scent of tobacco smoke. “I want to be involved in
everything
you’re involved in, Mayor. You and I can be great partners. I know it’s a lot to take in right now. Think about it. Give me a call. That’s all I ask.”

I was so tense that I hadn’t even noticed that the limo had stopped. We were outside the Blue Whale. Warm, welcoming light poured out from the windows. Safety and friends were just inside. All I had to do was get out of the car and reach them.

“I’ll think about it.” I raised my chin and held my shoulders back as I faced Guthrie. I didn’t want him to know how scared I was. He’d use it against me. “No guarantees.”

He smiled again. “Of course. That’s fine. But as a gesture of good faith, I have something for you.”

“I think you’ve given me enough already.”

“But not like this. You and I appreciate this far more than cash.” He again nodded to the man beside me, who handed me a large box. “Open it,” Guthrie said. “You won’t be disappointed.”

I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave until I opened the box. Inside was the second silver bell, wrapped in red velvet. Together, the two bells were worth a fortune, even if I never found the third.

“Why?” I asked him.

“You’re a very special lady. I trust you. And I know you’re going to find the other bell. When you do, the world will change for both of us. Have a nice time with your innkeeper friend. You know he used to be with the FBI, right? Just wanting to make the playing field level, in case you didn’t.”

“I know. Thanks. I guess we’re partners after all—at least as far as the bells are concerned. Good night, Mr. Guthrie.”

The man sitting next to me got out of the limo and held the door for me. I tried not to rush out into the night air. I didn’t want him to see that my legs were shaking. I gripped the heavy box holding the bell tightly to my chest.

As soon as I got out of the car, it sped off into the night. I stood there for a minute with my eyes closed, grateful to still be breathing. Attracting the attention of a man—a criminal—like Guthrie was unbelievable. Who knew that doing that deal with poor Port would end up this way?

“Nice wheels,” Kevin said from the darkness of the veranda. “New friend?”

“You might say that. Dillon Guthrie offered me a ride. He also made a contribution to my campaign fund. I didn’t take it, though.”

“I didn’t know you had one. Put me down for something.”

This wasn’t how I’d envisioned my few minutes alone with Kevin. He sounded suspicious, like he actually thought I was interested in doing business with Guthrie.

“What’s in the box? I thought you didn’t take his contribution?”

“I didn’t. It’s the second bell, like the one I showed you at the shop?”

“Oh.”

“Is all the cheesecake gone?” I was trying to break the ice that seemed to have grown between us. I wished I could see his face. It might give me a clue about what he was thinking.

“We waited for you to get started,” he said. “Any idea where you’re going with all this?”

“I’m not sure. I was hoping we could come to some kind of mutual agreement on what comes next.”

He walked down from the veranda and put his arms around me. “I’ve missed you.”

“You’ve seen me almost every day,” I reminded him.

“You know what I mean. I’m sorry about what happened with Ann. I didn’t know what else to do. I felt like I owed her another chance.”

“I understand. But now that she’s made her choice, where does that leave us?”

“Here.” He kissed me gently. “And inside, tasting cheesecake. Does that sound okay with you?”

“Throw in some coffee and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

But before we could walk inside, a horse trotted up from the street to stand near the old hitching post, possibly for the first time in fifty years. “Miss Dae.”

“Jake! It’s good to see you!”

He got down from the wild horse. “I hope things have been going better for you.”

“They have been. Thanks.” I introduced him to Kevin.

“The cowboy.” Kevin shook his hand.

“And you must be the boyfriend.” Jake grinned.

“We were about to go in and have coffee,” I said. “Come in with us. You can try some cheesecake too.”

“I believe I will. Thank you. But I came for that dinner you said you’d fix.”

“Dinner?” Kevin asked.

“Dinner,” I agreed. “I know Gramps was making some of his famous stew earlier. We’ll go home and eat when I’m done here, if that’s okay.”

Jake nodded, glancing at Kevin. “Sounds just fine to me.”

Chapter 31

O
ne year later, two weeks before the election.

Stan the UPS guy was waiting for me at Missing Pieces. The sun was breaking through the morning fog that had gathered across the island. It was early for him to be in Duck delivering packages.

“I wanted to get a good start on the day,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind. Lots to do.”

“No. That’s fine.” I signed for the packages he was picking up and the two he was delivering. “How is your daughter doing in preschool?”

“She’s doing great!” He took his signature pad. “Thanks, Dae. Have a good one.”

I waved to him as he hurried down the boardwalk. I looked at the packages he’d left. One was for Vergie Smith from her daughter in St. Louis. Vergie’s birthday was coming up, and her daughter always sent something nice. Nothing would’ve been as nice as Vergie’s daughter actually coming for a visit, but she was busy with her kids and her job. It had been at least five years since she and her mother had seen each other face-to-face.

I called her to let her know the package was in. She said she’d stop by later.

I looked at the name on the second package, humming a little tune because everything seemed so right in the world.

It was for me from a post office box in Chicago. My fingers tingled as I opened the plain brown paper. I knew then that it was from my father.

Inside was an old wood case—no doubt the case he, Chuck and Port had found from the
Andalusia
. There was a brief note:
I wanted you to have this, Dae. I know I left in a hurry, but I’ll be back when I can. Take care, Danny.

The case had once been a thing of beauty with intricate carvings and inlaid gold and jewels. It had obviously been made for someone of wealth and standing. That it had survived the shipwreck at all was a miracle. It was a dull gray now with pieces broken off.

I put on my gloves to open it. I was expecting a customer at any moment and didn’t have time for a three-hundred-year-old flashback.

Inside the case was the beautiful amber necklace my father had spoken of. I could see why it had convinced Jackie to lay out some money to find the rest of the treasure.

I picked up the necklace very gently, hoping it wouldn’t fall apart in my hands. Immediately, I felt a jolt from it—like an electric shock—even with my gloves on.

“You didn’t come from the
Andalusia
at all, did you?” I could feel the power and legacy of the necklace.

In Richmond, three hundred miles away, Betsy Sparks started crying and asked to be excused from her classroom. She ran to the office and called her mother. She had to go back to Duck right away.

And in New York, more than eight hundred miles away, Ann Porter sat up in bed after a long, restless night and said, “Put it down, Dae. Just put it down.”

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