A Timely Vision

“Mayor.” He nodded. “I’d hoped to have a few words with you.”

I wondered if Gramps had spoken to him. I felt like I was blindfolded and not sure which direction to go. But I smiled and gestured toward one of the chairs in front of my desk. “Of course, Chief. What can I do for you?”

He settled himself into a chair and pulled off his hat. His blue uniform was starched and pressed as always. His shoes were as shiny as the medals on his chest. I remembered him receiving several of them. One was for saving a little girl during a house fire. He’d risked his life to pull her out. The town had thrown a huge appreciation party for him right in the middle of Duck Road. That was before the park was finished.

“I think you may have the wrong idea about what I was doing yesterday at the senior center in Kitty Hawk.”

I didn’t want to, but I felt a little nervous. Chief Michaels looked pretty intimidating in his uniform, and of course, there was a large gun on his hip. Before the last few days, I wouldn’t have believed the chief would be capable of hurting me. Now I was a little less certain. What if he was being pressured by tremendous outside forces? The way Chuck had described things, the seller of the properties was a desperate man with terrible financial burdens. Maybe I didn’t know Chief Michaels as well as I thought.

“I really don’t have any ideas about why you were there,” I lied. It seemed the wisest course of action. “Is there something I should know?”

“I know you’ve been looking into what happened to Lizzie,” he said. “Tim told me you don’t believe Millie killed her sister. I don’t want to believe it either, but sometimes bad things happen. You have to accept that we’ve done the best we could by Millie. I wish it could be different, but the evidence is stacked up against her. The evidence never lies.”

“What evidence is there besides her seeing Miss Elizabeth bring her purse to her?”

“That speaks to her frame of mind, Mayor. She lost it when she realized what she’d done. Agent Walker and I believe the DNA tests will confirm that the blood and hair on the shovel we found in Millie’s garden shed will match Lizzie’s. Millie’s fingerprints were all over Lizzie’s purse. How much more do you want? We would’ve tried to put the purse snatcher away just finding the purse at his motel room.”

That was a dizzying amount of information. I didn’t want to hear it. He was right about that. But I also still felt that all this so-called evidence added up to someone trying to point the finger at Miss Mildred. “She’s being framed for this, Chief. I don’t know why you can’t see that.”

“Who would possibly think of doing something like that, Mayor? With all due respect, you should leave this kind of thing to the professionals.”

“The professionals are wrong this time, Chief. I’m sorry, but I’m not giving up on Miss Mildred that easy. I’m certainly not going to let someone sell her land out from under her as they set her up to take the blame for Miss Elizabeth’s death.”

He glared at me. He’d done that before, but this time I felt the impact more deeply. “I’d hoped to explain the situation to you, but I can see you’re as stubborn as your grandfather. When he got the bone between his teeth, he never let go. That’s what made him such a darn fine sheriff. Just remember, you aren’t a law enforcement official.”

Was that a threat? My hands shook as I played with my stapler. “I appreciate that. And I know you’ve done all you could for Miss Mildred. If there’s a personal issue I can help you with, I hope you know Gramps and I will always be there for you. You’re part of the family, Chief.”

He smiled, or what passed as smiling for him. “Thank you, Mayor. But I’m fine. I only wanted you to know that there’s nothing illegal going on now. Everything is well in hand.”

I nodded, and my voice almost broke when I said, “What about Silas Butler, Chief? How long have you known he was alive and living in Kitty Hawk?”

Chapter 15

Chief Michaels got up and walked to the door. I thought he was going to leave rather than answer my question. He stopped for a moment with his hand on the door handle. When he turned back, the grimace on his face made me aware of his anger.

He came back to my desk and leaned on his hands, glaring down at me. “Are you questioning my integrity, Dae O’Donnell? I’ve been in law enforcement since you were in diapers. Are you saying I did something wrong?”

I really wanted to back down. I wanted to hold up my hands and assure him that I would never question anything he did. I could give him my big mayoral smile and pretend I wasn’t serious. Anything to get him to leave.

But I couldn’t do it. “I guess I’m asking if you’re part of this whole auction thing for the sisters’ properties. I’m sorry, Chief. I don’t want to ask that question, but I’m not the only one asking.” I was, but he didn’t have to know.

He paused for a long moment, then looked out the window at the sound with his hands held behind his back, legs spread, like an old-time sea captain. “You do things for a long time on autopilot. I guess because you know your way around so well. Maybe too well.”

He sat back down and faced me. “I’ve only known about Silas for a few months. Of course I went to visit him when I found out. I never expected to see him again.”

“What happened? Why isn’t he buried in Duck Cemetery?”

“He turned state’s witness against Bunk Whitley. It was the only way we could get at him. Old Bunk was the real problem back then. He was into everything from gambling to prostitution. Silas worked for Bunk.”

“And you agreed to pretend he was dead so Bunk wouldn’t kill him.” That made so much more sense than thinking the chief had gone rogue.

“We did. Horace knew about it too. He was there with me that night. We took Silas across to the mainland and were supposed to keep him at a motel until the trial. But Bunk was too clever for us. He skipped out and was never heard from around these parts again. Silas was too scared to come back, though. He left the island. He told me he only came back to die because it didn’t matter anymore. Then Miss Elizabeth was killed.”

“Their properties came to him, didn’t they?”

He nodded. “Silas told me about it right after we picked up Millie.”

“But there are no other relatives, so he gave it to Chuck Sparks to sell.”

“Not exactly. There’s another relative, Mayor. Silas has a grandson. He’s the one selling the properties. I assume he has power of attorney over his grandfather’s affairs. I knew it was coming. That’s why I went down there yesterday, to ask him if there wasn’t some way to stop it.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he wouldn’t if he could. He’s dying. He might only have a month or so to live. He doesn’t care if Bunk is still alive and can come after him. He thinks what’s happening with his sisters’ property doesn’t matter either since Millie was arrested.”

“What about this grandson? Does he live in Kitty Hawk?”

“No. He lives on the mainland. You know him. It’s Jerry Richards.”

“The TV guy?” I could hardly believe it. “He’s the one who has to sell the properties right away because he owes people money?”

“What did you think, Dae? Did you think it was me?”

I hated to admit it, but I nodded, keeping my gaze on his. “I’m afraid so. Sorry, Chief.”

He got up and paced the office for a few minutes, occasionally looking back at me. “I know Horace didn’t think it was me. I know he knows me better.”

“I’m sure you’re right. He didn’t say much when I told him, but I’m sure he didn’t really think it was you. I didn’t want to, but it looked that way from where I was standing.”

“Well, I’m glad we got that settled then.”

“Have you considered that Jerry Richards may have killed Miss Elizabeth and framed Miss Mildred for the murder?” I asked, excited about the possibility. “He obviously had a reason to do it as soon as he realized both of the properties would come to him if anything happened to his aunts. Chuck told me the properties together could go