Sometimes I thought that’s all the haunts were in this place—light and shadow mixed with odd noises. The wind never ceased, and the ocean always pounded at the shore. What must it have been like before streetlights and other modern conveniences? How easy was it to believe in pirate ghosts and curses back then?
I’d wanted to believe in ghosts since my mother died, but as the years rolled on with no sign of her, I began to feel like I’d never see her or talk to her again. The father I had never known wasn’t so much a loss. I didn’t seem to need him because I had my mom and Gramps.
My ghosts seemed to be made more of loss and anger than grave and spirit. Wouldn’t my mother come to me if she knew how important it was? Unless ghosts really didn’t exist.
I wasn’t ready to give up yet, but I wondered sometimes. Duck wasn’t like other places where people didn’t seem to believe in the spirit world. I’d found that out when I went off to college. People there didn’t talk about their dead relatives or wonder if a candle flickering was a spirit moving through the room.
Here, most people had seen ghosts, even talked to them. They never told their children ghosts didn’t exist. Our ancestors’ spirits were as much a part of our lives as our living relatives.
I got to the Blue Whale without seeing any ghosts or assailants ready to jump out at me. There was a spotlight on the mermaid fountain in the middle of the circle drive. It was always left on—like the porch light—so I couldn’t tell from that whether Kevin was still awake or not. But there was a light on in the kitchen area attached to the bar. I decided to take my chances and knock at the door.
If he wasn’t awake he might not hear me. But the door opened right away, and he smiled when he saw me. “Dae!” He held me close for a long time before he finally kissed me. “I’m so glad you came over.”
“Thanks.” His welcome made me feel warm and cozy inside. “I wasn’t sure about the time. I know it’s late. I should’ve called.”
“You never have to call. Come by whenever you like.”
I felt a little guilty about not talking to him earlier. He seemed genuinely worried, and I knew I could’ve relieved that if I’d been able to tell him everything that had happened. Maybe having this extra ability also meant being extra emotional.
We walked into the lobby, where I immediately stopped short. The collection of historic items had more than doubled since I’d last been here. “We have too much history.” I shook my head over the amount of old furniture, clothes, tools, boat parts and other paraphernalia. I couldn’t even see most of it because it was in boxes. “Where are we going to put everything?”
“I don’t know. I hear they’re having a meeting about it Monday night. Carter Hatley told me that Vergie Smith told him someone was donating a house for the new museum.”
“A house? That would be wonderful if it’s true.”
“Do you want something to drink? I have wine, coffee, tea and soda. If you’re hungry, I still have some gnocchi left over from dinner.”
“No thanks. I came to talk to you about what happened today—yesterday. When you picked me up, I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk about it without crying. I know it sounds silly, but it affected me very deeply.”
“Let’s sit down,” he said.
“Good night, Kevin.” Celia seemed to come out of nowhere as she started up the stairs. “Thanks again for letting us stay here.”
She blew him a kiss. I tried not to look as surprised as I felt. “You have Celia, Vicky
“How could I take one and not the other two? They might all be in danger. And it’s not like there isn’t enough room.”
“You are truly a pillar of the Duck community.”
“Thanks.” He sat beside me on the sofa, one arm behind me. “You were saying?”
I told him about Brad and the African hand mirror. The tale was getting shorter with the telling. I didn’t want to linger too much on the details of the hand mirror incident. But when I’d finished, he looked a lot like Gramps had.
“You have to be better prepared—especially with something so out of the ordinary. It wasn’t a new yo-yo from China, Dae. What were you thinking?”
I sighed. Two overprotective men in my life might be too much. “I’m fine now. I won’t take that chance again, especially with an antique.”
“I’ll give Brad Spitzer a call in the morning. I can’t imagine what he was thinking coming to you like that.”
“I’d rather concentrate on how we can find that fisherman who took Max out to meet the man with the gold.” I hoped that would change the subject.
“I take that to mean you aren’t going to tell Chief Michaels about this latest vision?”
“I’d like to tell him,” I reasoned. “But Brad made me realize that they don’t have any idea what’s going on. I don’t believe he talked to me without kicking the idea around with the chief either. Anything I say to them, especially if I’m right, could be evidence that I’m guilty, at least in their minds.”
“I don’t think so. To begin with, just because they’re working together doesn’t mean the chief and Spitzer discussed this at all. That’s kind of the way it works. Everybody wants to look good by coming up with the right answers for themselves. Spitzer doesn’t know you—the chief does. I’m betting he’d listen to what you have to say.”
“You’re right on that part. I never saw Brad before the museum fire. Just because we all live on the Outer Banks doesn’t mean we all know each other.”
“I still think you should tell the chief and give him a chance to have some input.”
“And I still don’t want to tell him.”
“What did your grandfather say about it when you told him you weren’t going to share this new information with Chief Michaels?”
“I didn’t exactly tell him that part,” I said. “I thought it might be better not to tell him I wanted to investigate it myself.”
“I see.” He didn’t look happy about it.
“If you’re uncomfortable—”
“I am. You should be too. I know you’ve uncovered information through unorthodox means, but the chief seems like he’s willing to work with that. Why not take a chance on him?”
I was disappointed with his response. He was a lot like Gramps—a little too on the side of law enforcement to be able to see outside the box. I realized I might have to go this one alone.
“Dae?”
“Sorry. I was thinking it over. Maybe if I can find one more physical clue I could turn it over to him. If I had the fisherman Max went out with, it might be different.”
“I don’t know how you’ll find him. Holding hands with every fisherman in Duck shouldn’t be an option. And if I understand how it works, you’d only be able to help him find any lost items he was looking for.”
“Or I could touch every boat.” I wished his point weren’t so valid. “But how will the chief find him? There are hundreds of fishermen who go in and out of here all the time. He might not even be from Duck.”
“That’s true,” Kevin agreed. “Is that all Agnes knew about him?”
“She knew what bar they’d met at, but that was five years ago. He might not frequent that place anymore. I don’t think she’d recognize him.”
“The chief could check to see if any gold was stolen about the time Max got the windfall. It would make sense that a thief might give him a small amount to keep him quiet.”
I got up from the sofa to stand in front of the massive fireplace. “Why not just kill him right away? Why give him a bunch of gold for his wife’s surgery, then threaten him for years? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know you have questions about why your friend died,” Kevin said. “I know you want to do this by yourself. I understand that urge, and I know I’ve been a bad influence helping you. I should’ve just asked you out to begin with.”
He got up and stood close to me, his gray-blue eyes very intent on mine. “But this could be dangerous, Dae, as well as illegal. I don’t know how else to say it to keep you out of the situation.”
I wanted to argue with him, but I could see it was a losing battle. I wanted to find Max’s killer. I wanted to understand why these awful events had happened. I wasn’t afraid of any consequences from the police, even
