A Touch of Gold

unusually quiet, even calling me ma’am a few times. This was odd for him on so many different levels that it was almost frightening to listen to him.

“The chief wanted to know if you’d come out with me on Duck Road and show me exactly where everything happened last night, Dae. It shouldn’t take too long. He asked Agnes and the girls, but they were kind of beside themselves still. Not much good at giving a statement.”

“Sure. It’s been pretty quiet here. Has the chief found out anything new yet?”

“Not since we located that stolen SUV.” He took off his flat-brimmed police hat. “What were all of you doing out there at that time in the first place?”

I didn’t want to lie, but the whole truth might not be best either. “Kevin and I went to help Agnes get some of her stuff from the house. I think she didn’t want people seeing her out there going through what was left.”

He brought his fist down on the cabinet top near me and made me drop a French fry. “Dammit, Dae! This is exactly why I didn’t want to see you and Brickman together. The man leads a different life than the rest of us. Look at the things you’ve been through since you started dating him—kidnapped and taken to an island, almost killed alongside the road at a time you should’ve been home in bed like other people.”

“Tim, Kevin had nothing to do with any of those things.”

“I knew you’d defend him! And I didn’t mention you were almost blown up!” His rampage continued.

“Those things would’ve happened whether I was dating Kevin or not.” I didn’t bother mentioning that Kevin and I weren’t dating when the museum exploded.

“They wouldn’t have happened at all if you’d been dating me! I would’ve made sure of it.”

I sighed. “I’d heard you were already seeing someone else.”

“It was only a few days. She’s seeing someone else now.” He shrugged. “We were too different, according to her.”

“I’m sorry. What way did she say you were different?”

“She wanted to smoke marijuana, for one thing. I told her I’d have to lock her up.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat and put his hat back on. “I always come back around to how good you and I would be together and how we’re wasting our lives on other people.”

I tossed away what was left of my sandwich. It would be better to get this over. “We don’t really have anything in common either, Tim, except that we grew up together.”

“How can you say that?” he demanded. “I love fishing. I’d like to own a charter boat one day. I like watching sports on TV, and I’d rather take my golf cart out than my patrol car.”

“With those qualifications, I think one of those online dating services would pair you up with Gramps, not me. I’m ready to go if you are.”

Tim drove us slowly down Duck Road, seeming to enjoy holding up traffic behind him. I pointed out the highlights of our trip from the Blue Whale to Agnes’s house and back again. He pulled over so I could get out and show him the black skid marks where the SUV spun around to go back and hit Agnes again. He ignored it when I told him that Kevin had gone back to help Agnes escape her car.

“This is some bad case of road rage,” he said, writing all of it down. “I’ve never heard anything like it. It’s not even summertime.”

“I know.” I didn’t go into my suspicions about the incident being more than road rage. I knew the chief wouldn’t want to hear what I had to say on the subject. No point in getting Tim in trouble for my theories.

We retraced the route from the point where we’d all climbed into Kevin’s truck. I was pretty sure I could’ve walked faster than Tim was driving. At least it wasn’t cold in the patrol car.

I caught sight of something bright pink resting in a clump of dead grass on the side of the road—Celia’s cell phone. “Stop a minute. I think I see something.”

Tim stopped, and I got out to retrieve the phone. Celia would be happy to see it, I thought, and she could talk to her boyfriend again. I was a little reluctant to touch it, but I didn’t have much choice. Besides, I reasoned with myself, it could hold a valuable clue.

When I picked it up, the phone didn’t reveal much other than the fact that it had been purchased at a local convenience store. It was one of those pay-as-you-go kinds. I saw the hand with the green-blue ring picking it up from a counter. No doubt it was Roger now.

But why would Roger buy a phone for Celia? Could he be her secret boyfriend?

I looked at Tim and wished I could tell him how important the phone might be. This could be the definitive clue that broke the case. If Celia was tipping Roger about everything that was going on, it all made sense. I couldn’t wait to tell Kevin about my find.

Tim drove slowly down Duck Road again and pulled off when we reached the Duck Shoppes parking lot. We sat in his police car for a moment while he filled out paperwork and I silently urged him to hurry. The trip hadn’t yielded anything interesting for him.

“Well?” I asked, impatient to be done with it.

“I don’t know. It looks like you said. Too bad we didn’t catch the driver last night.”

“That would’ve been interesting,” I agreed.

“So what kind of stuff did you all pick up from Agnes’s house?”

“Mementos, a few personal treasures, whatever she could find that wasn’t destroyed by the fire. I’m sure it was hard for her to lose Max and then her home.”

He was writing in his notebook. “You’ve been seeing some of Celia and Vicky too, right?”

“A little,” I responded, confused.

“Have you heard either of them talk about having a boyfriend?”

I shook my head. This right after him telling me we belonged together. “Celia seems to be dating someone.”

He handed me the paper he’d filled out. “My cousin Cindy is getting married, and I’m looking for a date for the wedding. You know how Mom gets if I show up alone. Sign here if you agree with the statements.”

I read my words in his handwriting. “I’m not sure about Vicky. Want me to ask her?”

“I’m not your kid brother, Dae. I can ask her myself.”

“Okay. I was only offering. You don’t have to bite my head off.”

“Sorry.” He took the statement sheet I’d signed. “I get a little frustrated sometimes when everyone takes me for granted. Good old Tim. Always there when you need a date but not a relationship. I have needs too, you know.”

“You’ll find someone right for you,” I assured him.

“I already have—but you want someone else.”

He let me out in the parking lot without offering to walk me upstairs. “Thank you for your assistance.” He nodded politely.

“I’ll see you later, Tim.”

On my way up the ramp to the boardwalk, I glanced at Celia’s phone. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened it. I had to make sure it was Celia’s, right? There were dozens of calls from early this morning—one almost every minute starting at midnight. That was probably when Agnes drove them out to the house. All the calls were to the same number. Most of them were too short to have even been answered by the person at the other number. A few had lasted longer.

There was something very familiar about the number she was calling. I didn’t know how I’d know Roger’s number but it seemed that I did. I started thinking about how many ways this could go bad for Celia. I tried calling Agnes a few times to warn her but there was no answer and her voice mail was full. I thought about calling Chief Michaels, but without any real proof, what could he do?

I hoped for Celia’s sake that Roger was as infatuated with her as she was with him. Maybe she’d be safe until I could figure out what to do next.

I waved to Trudy as I passed Curves and Curls. She had an appointment today after all. I picked up a few UPS packages left outside my door and noticed, as I stood up, that the door to the shop was not quite closed. I was sure I’d locked it before leaving with Tim.

Probably Gramps, I thought, since he had a key too. But maybe not. Usually I don’t worry about whether or not the door is locked. Of course, Tim checks it every night after I leave. The police check all the businesses in