A Timely Vision

Chuck Sparks had set up an office in a one-room space inside one of the rental buildings on Duck Road. There was a small sign on the door that read “Island Realty.” In the background of the name was the logo of his mother’s award medallion.

As I opened the door to his office, I hoped that the medallion would help remind him he owed me a favor. It was barely nine A.M., but frigid air-conditioning whooshed out at me. Some people don’t acclimate well to warm weather. Either Chuck was one of those people, or his air conditioner was broken.

I recognized the teenage girl at the front of the room. She was a recent high school graduate. I remembered her receiving her diploma when I spoke at the graduation exercises in June. “Hi, Mandy! I see you found a job for the summer.”

“Hello, Mayor O’Donnell! Yeah, I snagged this before anyone even knew about it. By the end of the summer, I should have some money put away for college. I got a nice grant, but this will be for living expenses, you know? Stuff I need like dorm furniture, cell phone bills, extra nail polish. That kind of stuff.”

“That’s wonderful! I’m very happy for you.” I glanced at the empty desk behind her that was pushed up against the only window in the room. “Are you expecting Mr. Sparks today?”

“He should be here anytime.” Just then, the door opened behind me and her grin widened. “And here he is now! Good morning, Mr. Sparks. The mayor is here to see you, and you have several messages on your desk.”

Chuck looked at me, then his eyes shifted away. “Mayor O’Donnell.”

I took ten dollars out of my purse and handed it to Mandy. “Why don’t you run over and get us some coffee?”

She glanced at Chuck. He nodded, and she left the office with the cash.

I shivered in the frosty atmosphere. “You know, it’s not meant to be below zero inside when it’s ninety outside. Maybe you should get a few fans.”

“I know why you’re here. I heard about what happened when they came to get the old lady.” He put his briefcase down on his desk and turned back to me in an adversarial stance. “You might as well say what you have to say.”

“Okay. I want to know who’s selling the sisters’ properties.”

He fiddled with his palm tree tie. “I don’t give out that kind of information. You can get what’s registered easy enough. Or you can come to the auction Wednesday. Why are you really here?”

Shamelessly, I pointed to the logo on the front door. “If I hadn’t found that medallion your mother lost, there would be a piece of your history gone forever. I know it didn’t have much intrinsic value, but it was important to you. This is important to me.”

He flopped down in the chair behind his desk with a gratifyingly unhappy look on his handsome, spray-tanned face. “I know I owe you, if that’s the point you’re making. I still don’t understand how you managed to find that medallion. But you can’t stop progress or keep me from selling those properties. It’s the way things work.”

I went to sit in the chair in front of him. “Have I told you how important this is to me, Chuck? I want whatever information you can give me about the sale. I’m not trying to stop anything. I want to know what’s going on. What’s the hurry? Miss Mildred has barely settled in her bed at the hospital.”

He pyramided his hands on the desk in front of him. “I wouldn’t tell anyone else this information. And if you try to use it against me, I’ll deny it. You don’t have a tape recorder, do you?”

“It’s just me and you.” That was the only promise I was willing to make. I was also willing to ignore his implied threats. “Why is this sale taking place so quickly?”

He pushed around some of the paperwork on his desk. “There’s a developer interested in both of those properties. In fact, there are at least three developers interested in them. They have high-end clients who’ve been looking for larger pieces of property in Duck to build on. I told you land is at a premium here. It’s very valuable and an auction is the best way to get the most money for the properties.”

“I’m not sure that explains why you’re doing it so quickly.”

He sat back in his chair and stared at me. “My client is in need of some capital right now. The sooner, the better, to settle some outstanding debts. I think you can imagine something like that, Mayor.”

Really, I couldn’t. I’d never even had a credit card. The idea of a debt so great it had to be taken care of in a few days or you’d face the consequences was beyond my understanding. “Who’s your client?” I held my breath when I asked the question, fearful that somehow Chief Michaels had received power of attorney from Silas Butler and needed to settle gambling debts. Or something equally as sinister. I could suddenly imagine him running away from members of the mob who wanted their money back.

“OBX Land Trust, LLC.”

“Who is that?” I’d never heard the name before.

“As I said, it’s my client who has ownership of these properties.”

“And is related to Silas Butler in what way?”

“I don’t know who that is, Mayor. I haven’t dealt with anyone by that name.”

I felt sure he was lying, but there was no way for me to prove it. Mandy returned with the coffee, the hot liquid causing clouds of condensation in the cold office air. I had little more information than I’d had when I first walked in. I hoped Gramps could get more.

Chuck got to his feet, apparently sensing I’d run out of steam. “Anything else I can do for you, Mayor, please let me know.”

He put out his hand and I shook it, wishing I could get some sense of what he really knew about the sale of the sisters’ houses. A chill trembled through me. I could see he’d lost his cigarette lighter. I wasn’t about to tell him where I saw it. “I hope there’s nothing wrong with this sale, Chuck. It would be a shame to waste all your money setting up a business in Duck, then lose it over something stupid.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this sale. It’s straightforward. I hope you’ll come to see that in time.”

I left after that, with a smile for Mandy. It was good to be back outside, even if it was humid and hot already. I wasn’t prepared to spend much time in winter temperatures in the middle of July. I crossed Duck Road and walked up to the Duck Shoppes, stopping at town hall before I went to Missing Pieces.

Nancy was there, of course. She wasn’t supposed to be since it was the weekend and town hall wasn’t officially open. Sometimes it seemed like she never went home. She offered me coffee and donuts she’d purchased from the Duck High School cheerleaders’ fundraiser. “What are you doing in here, Dae? Do you need something specific?”

“No. Just thought I’d check in.”

“I actually have two messages for you, both from Mary Lou Harcourt. She’s holding a turtle rescue day she’d like you to come to. And people are still building sand castles, endangering the turtles trying to reach the water.”

I took out my calendar and marked the turtle rescue event in it. “Wednesday morning, ten A.M.” I thought about the auction the same morning and wrote that down too, not that I was likely to forget it. “Thanks, Nancy. I think I’ll go in the office for a few minutes.”

“Okay, sweetie. Shall I hold any calls, especially turtle-rescue calls?” She smiled knowingly.

“Thanks. I won’t be here long. If Mary Lou comes in later, you can send her down to Missing Pieces.”

I closed the door to my office behind me. Nancy was probably wondering why since I usually left it open. I thought about looking up the property owner for the sisters’ houses on GIS—Geographical Information Survey. It marks the person who pays taxes on the property as well as the owner. Unfortunately, GIS had not kept up with recent events. Miss Mildred and Miss Elizabeth were still listed as both owners and taxpayers. It was a dead end.

Not that it wasn’t possible to use the information I got from Chuck. If Gramps didn’t come back with more than Chuck had, we might still be able to find out who was behind the sale. OBX Land Trust had to belong to someone. I typed the name into Google but nothing came back. If the group had been active in the Outer Banks buying other properties, it seemed like they’d have a listing. Unless they’d put the company together just for this sale.

There was a knock on the door, and I absently called out, “Come in.” I looked up and saw Chief Michaels closing the door behind him. I had a brief moment of panic at the idea of being alone with him, then dismissed it. Whatever was going on with him right now, he was still the same man I’d known all my life. Maybe there was some way to help him.