him to ride, I would’ve tried to do it.
“Sure.” Celia giggled a little. “I’d be glad to.”
“I went to get the coffee this morning,” Vicky reminded her. “I think I could show him better than you.”
“For heaven’s sake,” Agnes intervened, “why don’t you both take him to get some coffee—my treat.”
I was amazed that both the girls were willing and eager to go with Kevin. He held out an arm to each of them. They giggled again and latched on to him like fish on a hook. Gramps seemed to catch on right away and suggested that he’d like coffee too. It made me feel guilty that I hadn’t told him about the gold coin Agnes had given me.
I needed to have a talk with him later about everything that had happened so we were back on an even keel with each other. I didn’t like things this way. I enjoyed having Kevin to talk to—but he wasn’t Gramps.
Kevin looked at me as he walked out with the girls, his gaze shifting to Agnes. I nodded. I wondered if he could teach me to smile that way. It could certainly come in handy. Did they teach that in the FBI, or was that something he’d learned on his own?
The door closed behind them, and without waiting for me to speak, Agnes said, “Okay, Dae. You can ask me what you need to now. I know why you’re here.”
“I didn’t know if you remembered.” I stood beside her bed, and she touched my hand.
“Of course I remember. I was in a fire. I’m not senile!”
She smiled and her eyes welled with tears. “I wish you could hold my hands and tell me where to find everything I lost. Maybe I could get it all back.”
I squeezed her unbandaged hand a little. “I wish I could do that too, Agnes. I lie awake at night and wonder if there was something I could’ve done to stop what happened to Max. I’m so sorry about everything.”
“I know you are. You’ve always been a good friend. Max thought the world of you. Remember that time you helped him find the old compass he’d lost? He was so amazed at what you could do.” She studied my face for a few seconds. “That’s why I told you about the gold.”
“What did you mean about it causing all of your problems?”
She pleated the pale green sheet between her fingers and looked away. “Three years ago—when I had to have that open-heart surgery—do you remember?”
I nodded. “Of course. I helped keep the bakery open while you were in the hospital. Max wouldn’t let me help him at the museum, but he said I could sell cookies.”
She laughed a little at the memory. “He always took great pride in that little museum. I know you know it was his life. Not that he didn’t love me and the girls—but the museum was his heart.”
I agreed silently, not trusting myself to speak without crying.
“We didn’t have the money for the surgery, Dae. We sure didn’t have insurance. I had resigned myself to dying—and I was all right with it. I felt like Max and I had made our choices. It was too late to get all maudlin about it. Max felt differently.”
“Then you found this gold?” I laid the coin on the bed beside her.
“Not found.” She stared at it. “Max got it from someone. There was a whole chest of it. I’m not sure who gave it to him. He never told me. I thought it was a godsend, and I agreed to have the surgery. But I was wrong. It was a curse.”
“How so?”
“Max changed. He started going out at odd hours of the night—no explanation. At first I thought it was another woman. I don’t expect you to understand, Dae, but when a man and woman go through something like one of them being very ill, it can take a toll on the relationship. That made sense to me. I decided to follow him and confront him with my knowledge. I wanted to make things right.”
“But it wasn’t another woman?”
“No. It was a man.” She smiled, tears in her eyes. “Not
“What did he say when you confronted him?”
“I’ll never forget the way he looked or how he reacted. He got real quiet—like he was scared that I knew about it. He made me promise never to say anything to anyone unless I wanted him to die. He said we’d be taken care of as long as he kept quiet.”
I was completely mystified by her story. “Are you saying that you think the person who gave Max the gold blew up the museum?”
“Yes. I couldn’t say anything. I was too afraid. I’m sorry, Dae. I thought he might come after me. I was worried about the girls too. Then I found out yesterday when he set my house on fire that it didn’t matter if I kept quiet. He wanted me dead too.”
I thought about the older man I’d seen in my vision after touching the coin she gave me. The man I’d seen was too frail to go around blowing up buildings and setting houses on fire. Maybe someone who worked for him had done the dirty work. “You keep referring to a man. Do you know for sure that it’s a man?”
“Max always referred to him as a man. I guess that’s why I do it. I don’t know what happened with Max. I can’t believe he’d tell anyone the secret he was keeping. He certainly never told me. He was so terrified of what would happen. The only thing I can think is that he somehow gave it away without realizing it.” She stopped and put her bandaged hand to her face. “I don’t know what to do now. I’ll have to leave Duck. I’d be glad to give back the rest of the gold if he’d leave me alone.”
I didn’t know what to say. I comforted her as best I could in the situation. She didn’t want to tell her daughters for fear one of them might unknowingly give it away. She couldn’t tell the police without fear of further reprisal.
What was the secret that Max had died for? What could be that important? And was Sam Meacham somehow involved in all of it? Maybe he’d died for his knowledge of whatever it was.
Later, when the girls came back with Kevin and Gramps, the doctor was right behind, shooing all of us out of the room. He seemed hopeful that Agnes would be released later today, but I wasn’t sure that was such a great idea. They could all be on a hit list.
“I’m sure she’s upset,” Gramps said while we waited in the truck for Kevin to fill the gas tank at a busy station. “But that’s not the same as someone trying to kill her, Dae. People get paranoid sometimes when scary things happen. They even make up stories to protect themselves.”
“You think Agnes made up all of this?” I took the gold coin from my pocket. “This is real, Gramps. She got this from someone. Whoever set her house on fire could be ready to do something else if she comes home.”
“She can stay with me,” Kevin said as he got back in the truck. “She’ll be safe that way.”
I wasn’t sure about that. “What if that person finds out she’s at the Blue Whale? And let’s face it—the chances are pretty good. You’ll all be in danger.”
“Possibly.” He headed back out into traffic. “But I have two things going for me that she doesn’t—an extremely good security system and experience protecting people in trouble. I think I can handle it.”
What could I say? It still didn’t sound like a good idea to me, but I couldn’t say so without casting doubts on his abilities. “What about the man I saw in my vision? He has to be involved. It was his gold. He gave it to Max. Maybe we can find him and rough him up a little until he agrees to leave them alone.”
“I like that idea,” Kevin said, “but how do we look for him? It sounds like you’d either have to hold hands with every fisherman in the area or touch every fishing boat. Are you up for that?”
“I don’t like
“It’s not a police investigation yet,” I countered. “Chief Michaels doesn’t know about any of it.”
“A good reason to tell him as soon as possible. You know I’m right, Kevin. Back me up on this.”
“I know.” Kevin grinned. “But it’s contagious.”
“What?” I asked, not liking the look on his face.
“Playing private detective. Maybe I should find out about getting a license.” He sobered when he looked at me. “Your grandfather is right, Dae. We should tell the chief about all of this and let him take care of it.”
I ignored both of them, annoyed with their verdict. “I guess I don’t have much choice. But if Chief Michaels feels like the case is closed with Sam’s death, will you help?”
“We’ll see,” Gramps promised in the same tone he’d always used to put off doing things he didn’t want to
