I wondered, looking at him, if he was the kind of person who could’ve killed Sandi and tried to cover it up by putting her body in the shed. There was no way to know for sure, but he didn’t seem the type to me.
Of course my mind jumped ahead to other questions. Why didn’t he walk the extra few hundred yards to the edge of the ocean and dump her in? That was always an easy way to explain any mysterious deaths that happened this close to the water.
But there had to be other variables too—she looked awfully heavy for his meager frame to carry very far. Maybe he got as far as he could. Maybe he was scared to get that close to the ocean during the storm. I felt sure there was no way anyone could have known that shed would collapse over her.
I knew from years of listening to Gramps talk when he was sheriff that these things didn’t always make sense—until all the pieces fit together. It would probably be the same way with Sandi’s death. We wouldn’t know for sure what had happened—but we’d find out eventually.
“You think he’s okay there with the mayors?” Kevin asked me as we walked into the kitchen. “Otherwise, I can lock him up in the root cellar out back.”
“He’s been there all night. I think Barker and David can handle him.” I was glad to see the kitchen was in order—though lacking most of the fresh food that had been there when Kevin left.
From there, we headed to the flooded ballroom. The look on Kevin’s face when we walked in was heartbreaking. Knowing how hard he’d worked on the old inn made me feel even worse. I watched him slog through the water and debris to stare out of the big, broken window.
“What a mess,” he said. “I’m glad I have good insurance.”
I took a deep breath, not realizing until that moment that I had been worried he might not want to clean up and start over. Not everyone did. Some people came to live in Duck and didn’t make it past the first storm. Kevin had staying power. He was a keeper. That made me smile despite everything that had happened.
I helped him put boards across some of the windows upstairs. There weren’t any pieces of wood big enough to put across the window in the ballroom. We put a few tarps over it until repairs could be made. At least the damage wouldn’t get any worse.
I really didn’t want to be at the inn when Sandi’s husband got there. But I felt like I owed it to her. I was the one who noticed she was gone—and had found her body. I hoped that obligation didn’t include telling him about Matthew. It seemed like too much for a person to hear at one time.
By lunchtime, the inn was cleaned up and all the holes were patched, at least temporarily. With no supplies coming from the mainland, we were going to have to make do for a few days. I knew from past experience that it would be a rough time for everyone, but we’d get through. We always did.
Some of the mayors came back to the inn, since they couldn’t make it through to their homes and there was nowhere else to go. Motels were full up with refugees. We’d heard stories about houses with roofs missing, cars upside down in the middle of Duck Road and electric poles down across the island.
The Blue Whale had become a refuge for stranded travelers and local residents whose homes were badly damaged. They kept coming and Kevin found places for them. At lunch, we put together a meal for over two hundred people, many of them strangers. It was one of Duck’s finest hours.
We were joking around in the kitchen when Shawn Foxx arrived with his two little girls. I knew him right away even though it had been a few years since I’d last seen him.
“I heard my wife is missing,” he said. “I hope you have some news for me.”
Chapter 9
Althea, who was used to dealing with small children at the library, took the two little girls into the next room, promising them ice cream. Everyone else cleared out of the kitchen, leaving Kevin and me to talk to Sandi’s husband.
I wanted to tell Kevin that he could leave too. This wasn’t his responsibility. But I knew when he pulled up a chair for Shawn and then sat down opposite him that he wasn’t leaving. I was glad to have him there. I’d been mayor of Duck for two years, but I’d never had to tell anyone that their wife was dead. I wouldn’t be involved now except for that feeling inside that I should be the one to break the news.
“I don’t know if you remember me, Shawn,” I began. “I’m Dae O’Donnell. Sandi and I went to a few conferences together.”
“Sure. I remember you. What’s this all about, Dae?”
There was no easy way to tell the story. I told him that I’d noticed Sandi was missing during the night and that we’d found her this morning. “I’m so sorry.”
He took it well. The only sign that he was upset was a tightening around his eyes and mouth. Of course he’d been a marine for many years. He probably wouldn’t break down and cry in front of us.
“What happened?” he asked, glancing at Kevin. “What was she doing outside during the storm anyway?”
Kevin introduced himself and shook Shawn’s hand. “We’re trying to figure that out. Everyone else was in the lobby, since we felt that was the safest place. We don’t know how she got outside.”
Shawn’s gaze flickered over us. “What are you saying? You mean someone might’ve
At this point I thought it was a good idea to be a public official. “We don’t really know yet. EMS took her to the hospital. I’m sure they’ll do a full autopsy. All we know right now is that Sandi died during the night and we found her outside in a shed. Again, I’m so sorry. If there’s anything we can do—”
“Can I see her?” he asked.
“I’m sure you can, but they moved her to the hospital. I’m sorry.”
“What about her assistant?” Shawn asked. “She didn’t come here alone. Maybe her assistant knows something about what happened. Where is she?”
I didn’t know what to say. Sandi must’ve told him her assistant was a woman. This was going to get awkward very quickly. “Her assistant is in the bar, actually. We thought it would be best if he waited here until travel was better.”
“Matthew Wright,” I said, hoping that didn’t mean anything to him.
Shawn brought his beefy fist down on the tabletop. “I knew it! I told her—I warned her—to stay away from him. I warned him too.” He got to his feet and his chair tipped over. “Where is he? That skinny little runt has a lesson to learn.”
Kevin stood up too. He wasn’t as big as Shawn Foxx. I hoped there wasn’t going to be a problem between them. “Not here, Foxx. Not now. You’ve got two little girls in there who just lost their mommy. You can rip Wright a new one later.”
Shawn’s eyes lost that killer look, and he picked up the chair. “Sorry. I knew something was going on between them. She told me it was over. Not like this was the first time for Sandi. I don’t know what it was—she was never happy just being with me and the girls. Wright just happened to be the one
I took a deep breath and was glad I didn’t have to tell him that his dead wife had been unfaithful. It was bad enough telling him he had a dead wife.
“You and the girls are welcome to stay,” Kevin said. “You must’ve had a hard time getting here from Manteo. I know the roads are a mess.”
They started talking about the storm, and it turned out both of them were volunteer firefighters. I got up and got them both a cup of coffee, glad the tension had eased.
Marissa was peeking around the corner as I walked by. “Is everything okay? I hope that big guy isn’t going to hurt Kevin.”
“I think it’s fine now. It was just a shock.”
“I guess it would be a shock to find out the person you loved was cheating on you.”
I didn’t say anything, refusing to add to the local grapevine. There were bound to be rumors and speculation
