A Watery Death (A Missing Pieces Mystery Book 7) (2 page)

As he spoke, I examined the coral horn. It was amazingly light, and so carefully hewn that all the edges were round and perfectly smooth. It twisted upon itself like a conch shell with several layers leading to the center of it. Inside, the white coral had a pink tone that reached to a deeper purple at its heart.

“What happened to your ancestor?”

“Alas, I have no idea. I assumed he made it home on his last voyage since we have this fine work of art. I’m not even sure what his name was, as my great-grandmother had forgotten.”

“And what was he supposed to do with it?”

Captain Lucky lazily grinned, showing perfect white teeth. “Why blow it, of course. The horn is supposed to summon the seafolk, one mermaid in particular. My great-grandmother warned me never to blow into it. She said people had told her the result of calling the seafolk could be cataclysmic. Thus, I have never tried it. The people in Genoa, who live and die by the sea, know about these things.”

Even through the gloves, I could feel an energy coming from the horn. It didn’t feel dark or angry, but there was power there. It was probably best that Captain Lucky had never tried to use it.

I put the horn back in the velvet bag and took off my gloves. “I could never pay you what this is worth. I’m sure a collector would give you quite a bit for it with the provenance you have.”

He put his hand on the bag. “How much could you give me for it now, Mayor?”

There was that edge again.

“I don’t know. I could take a look at what I have. It’s more likely that I’d have a better cash supply after the parade tomorrow when tourists hopefully swarm into my shop and buy everything.” I smiled at him to keep it light, but his frown deepened.

“There is a certain problem that has arisen for me. I hesitate to burden you with it, but I find myself at loose ends and needing to get out of town for a few days.”

In other words, he needed the cash now.

It wasn’t the first time someone local had brought me a valuable artifact that they wouldn’t have parted with except in an extreme situation. I wasn’t a pawn shop, but I’d held things for people before who’d come back for them with the money I’d paid them in hand.

I looked in the register. I’d had a sale that morning—a good one—and for once had more than a few dollars. My business wasn’t big enough for me to keep a stash of money for these particular times. Some months, I was barely able to pay rent and utilities.

“There’s five hundred dollars in here,” I told him. “If that will help you—”

“Bless you, lady mayor.” Captain Lucky seemed thrilled with that amount. “That should suffice my needs until my next payday. I shall have returned by then. I am very grateful to you.”

“I won’t sell it,” I told him. “It will still be here when you come back.”

Captain Lucky was near tears after my words. He lifted my hand in his and lingered over it, planting a soft but endearing kiss on it. “I am forever in your debt. If it were not for my knowledge of your fiancé being a potentially dangerous man, I should spirit you away from him!”

Between the kiss and his deep, soulful gaze on my face, it was no wonder that my fiancé, Kevin Brickman, had a curious expression on his face when he stopped by to pick me up for lunch.

“He’s very grateful,” I explained to Kevin.

“I can see that.” His lips twisted in a wry smile. “Good to see you, Captain Lucky. If you’re done with my girlfriend’s hand, maybe you’d like to join us for lunch at Wild Stallions.”

Captain Lucky released me and accepted the five hundred dollars in cash that I gave him.

He quickly shook Kevin’s hand. “It’s very good to see you, innkeeper. Your lady has made my morning a celebration. You are indeed a fortunate man.”

Captain Lucky nearly skipped out of the shop and down the boardwalk.

“What was that all about?” Kevin asked.

“He said he needs to get out of town for a few days. He was willing to give away a family heirloom for five hundred dollars.” I carefully took out the horn, with gloved hands, and laid it on the velvet bag. “I’ll give him his horn back after he gets paid. I’m not sure if I could sell it anyway. It has an interesting story that goes with it. If it’s true, it could be worth thousands of dollars.”

He lifted the coral horn and examined it. I told him about Captain Lucky’s family ties to Christopher Columbus.

“You wore gloves when you looked at it, right?” He put it back on the bag.

“I wouldn’t take a chance with it.”

The door opened, and Mrs. McGee came in with a blast of warm wind from the Currituck Sound—not to mention her precocious grandson, Travis.

“She’s only here for a package,” I whispered to Kevin. “Just a minute and I’ll close for lunch.”

“No rush.”

Mrs. McGee took her package and told me all about the special event her Girl Scout troop had planned for the next day. I didn’t notice when Travis lifted the coral horn and fixed his lips to it as though he knew exactly what to do.

Before I could stop him, he blew into the coral. A long, mournful sound came from it that echoed for several minutes. The hauntingly deep call took over every other sound. It was as though nothing else moved until it had faded away. Time stood still.

And then it was gone.

Mrs. McGee apologized and took the horn from Travis but not until a shiver of warning had rippled through me.

Chapter Two

“So you think he called the seafolk to shore?” Kevin chuckled after we’d ordered lunch at Wild Stallions. The restaurant was a short walk from Missing Pieces along the boardwalk past Duck General Store and Mrs. Roberts’ Pet Emporium.  

“I felt something when he blew it.” I took a sip of water. “I hope it wasn’t anything bad.”

“I don’t think there are any seafolk out there,” Kevin said. “It’s a good story, but no one has ever really seen a mermaid.”

Kevin Brickman was a wonderful man who I loved deeply. He understood my gift, sometimes better than I did since he’d worked with psychics during his time with the FBI. He was open to almost anything that involved abilities the mind could produce—but he was a little light on folklore.

“We’ve had several sightings of seafolk in Duck history,” I told him. “I think I remember even seeing a sketch of a mermaid at the historic museum.”

I looked into his ocean-colored eyes, more gray than blue. His mouth still had the hard lines I’d first noticed about him. But time in Duck as the owner of the Blue Whale Inn had softened him. The trace of sadness that had haunted him, causing him to leave the FBI, was gone. It was replaced by a tan and strong smile lines. He was tall and fit from working on the maintenance of the old inn that had become very popular again since he’d reopened it.

“There are also drawings of sea serpents at the museum,” he said with a smile. “I wouldn’t put much stock in those renderings either.”

“There is more in heaven and earth, Horatio,” I quoted.

Our wine and glasses of ice water arrived, and the debate ended as Kevin changed the subject.

“Have you given any thought to our engagement party?” he asked. “I’m only asking because everyone keeps asking me.”

“I’ve thought about it.” I sipped my wine. “The problem is that Trudy and Tim are getting married in September. You know how everyone in Duck has thrown a party for them. I’m so busy trying to get everything set up for
her
wedding. I just don’t want to step on her big moment.”

He nodded. “That makes sense. I’ll tell anyone who asks that we’re being polite about our engagement so Trudy and Tim have a good wedding.”

“Are you okay with that?” I touched his hand.

“I suppose I have to be, right?” He took my hand in his. “What do you pick up from me?”

I closed my eyes and aligned my thoughts with his. “I see that you have a big order of shrimp coming from Charleston today.”

Kevin laughed. “Good to know you can’t see
everything
about me.”

I laughed too, as lunch arrived.

It was surprising how easy it had become to know what was going on with people around me, especially those I knew well. When I was a child, I had learned quickly that I could hold someone’s hand to find missing items they were looking for. Gramps and my mother had encouraged me.

They knew all the good things my grandmother, Eleanore, had done with her gift. But she’d died before I was born—or at least that was what I’d been told.

The more I used my gift, the stronger it became. Now I could see other things about the people I chose to read. I could also pick up items and know everything about them.

Sometimes what I saw in people and their belongings wasn’t pleasant. On the other hand, I had helped people. I still thought of my gift as the ability to find missing pieces—just like the shop. The hard part was finding the right place for each piece.

I’d seen something else when I held Kevin’s hand.

He was upset about not being able to share our relationship with his family. He was thinking about his parents and brother who lived in Maryland. They hadn’t come to visit him yet and seen the remarkable things he’d done with the old inn.

Kevin wanted them to meet me too. I knew he wasn’t close to his family. He rarely spoke of them and hadn’t seen them for years.

We didn’t talk about that. I didn’t want him to feel like he couldn’t keep something from me. Instead, we talked about the parade the next day, and the renovation of my heavy, old-fashioned mayor’s coat.

“I’m sure if Darcy has taken off about fifty pounds on that coat, it will fit you right,” he said.

“It wasn’t made for me. I’m sure Mad Dog had it made for him since he expected to be the first mayor of Duck after incorporation.”

He touched a strand of my sun-bleached brown hair. It was always a bit windblown, no matter how hard I tried to keep it neat.

“Why wasn’t Mad Dog the first mayor? I know the town appointed you. Why didn’t they pick him?”

I shrugged. “Gramps was sheriff back then. He had a big reputation and had worked hard to bring about the town’s incorporation to fight off the big hotel that had wanted to build on the Currituck Sound. He has at least as many friends as Mad Dog. Gramps wanted me to be the first mayor. I guess that’s why they picked me.”

Mad Dog was Randal ‘Mad Dog’ Wilson. He was from one of the founding families of Duck, just like my family, the O’Donnells.

He was a mountain of a man—tall and broad—who was used to getting his own way. He had once been a popular race car driver and had spent several years on the town council.

He’d run against me for the mayor’s spot last year and lost. That meant he’d lost his seat on the council too and had subsided to simply being a problem about everything that went on in town.

“Well even if the mayor’s coat seems too big for you, sweetheart, the job fits you well. I can’t imagine a better official for this town.” Kevin smiled and lightly kissed me.

“Thanks. You know I love my work, and getting that salary is nice too.”

The town council had voted to give me a small salary now. It wasn’t enough to live on, but it was enough to help me through the lean months over the winter when the shop didn’t make much money.

“Of course it was decent of them to give themselves salaries too.”

I didn’t comment on that. The town had the money for it. The salaries weren’t huge. I didn’t feel bad about it, though it had been controversial.

Lunch was delicious, as always. Cody Baucum stopped by our table to ask how everything was. He and his brother, Reese, owned Wild Stallions. Reese and Cody were similar in appearance—medium height and build, sandy brown hair and brown eyes. Some people had a hard time telling them apart even though they weren’t twins.

Cody had become a town council member during the last election. He’d had dozens of great ideas so far. I believed he’d be a huge asset to Duck as we continued to grow. It was good to have someone under fifty on the council besides me.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking forward to the council meeting tonight.” Cody refilled our water glasses. “Mad Dog and a few other people are bringing a petition to close down the gambling ship.”

“You’re kidding. I thought we were over that and everyone loved having the extra money it brings in in.”

He shrugged. “I’m sure merchants like it. I like it. How about you, Kevin?”

“What’s not to like? The Blue Whale Inn is always full. That’s good for me.”

“It’s the extra traffic on the roads,” I explained. “Everyone has been at Missing Pieces complaining about it. There’s also the problem with extra criminal activity, just like Sheriff Riley warned. Residents don’t like it.”

Cody agreed. “Chief Michaels said he arrested twenty shoplifters last month. That’s a record for us, even over the summer. He and Sheriff Riley are behind Mad Dog on getting rid of the gambling ship.”

“It should be an interesting conversation,” Kevin said. “In my experience, it’s not easy to get rid of something you’ve already allowed.”

I knew Kevin was right. The nervous council members had discussed it. It might only be people who lived here full-time who didn’t like the gambling ship, but they were the people who voted.

Cody said he’d see us later and headed toward the kitchen.

“So when is the next wedding party?” Kevin asked. “We’re not hosting it at the Blue Whale.”

“That’s because it’s at Trudy’s grandmother’s house in Kill Devil Hills. I think the one after that is at her aunt’s house.”

“And when is
our
first engagement party?”

“Right after Trudy leaves on her honeymoon.” I smiled at him as I got my things together to leave. “Do you want to host it at the inn?”

Kevin got his credit card back from the cashier, and we left Wild Stallions.

“That’s fine.” He took me in his arms as we stepped out on the boardwalk. There was a small, secluded corner beside the restaurant locally known as Lover’s Nook. “And when are you moving in with me?”

He kissed me, and I waved to several Duck residents who laughed at us hiding in Lover’s Nook like a couple of teenagers.

“After the wedding?” I wasn’t quite sure about that part.