A Timely Vision

I kept glancing at Miss Elizabeth’s arm sticking out from under the poncho and the banner. It was her watch arm, a dread reminder of what I’d seen from her sister. I couldn’t think about what that meant right now. Instead, I focused on pushing myself forward as Kevin and I slogged through the water. Finally, we reached Duck Road. We crossed the empty street and walked up the ramp to town hall. Every shop, every home, was shuttered against the storm. At least no one would see her this way.

I kicked open the door when we reached the office. Despite the overhang that protected the shops, rain propelled us inside, out of the storm. Nancy got up from her desk, took one look at Kevin and sat back down. She didn’t say anything, just stared at the terrible burden he held.

He dropped to his knees and put Miss Elizabeth on the green and white tile floor we’d had installed last year. I could see he was exhausted. In normal conditions, it was a short walk from the ocean-side beach to the sound. These conditions had been anything but normal or easy.

“There’s no phone service—at least I don’t have any,” I told him. “I tried to call Chief Michaels from my cell. We need to get the medical examiner out here. Maybe the State Bureau of Investigation too. I can’t even remember the last time someone was killed here.”

“I have the radio,” Nancy said. “I could call the chief.”

Kevin and I both looked at her. She hadn’t moved from her place at the computer. “It would be good for you to call the chief,” he replied.

“All right.” She blinked a few times before pressing the button on the radio. “What should I tell him?”

“Tell him to come back to town hall,” I said. “Tell everyone else to go home. We don’t need the whole town here for this. Try to call the medical examiner and the sheriff too.”

“She hasn’t been dead long.” Kevin wiped sand and saltwater from his face. “She was wearing this dress when I saw her leave Tuesday morning.”

“You have some experience with this kind of thing, don’t you?”

The pain I’d seen earlier in his eyes intensified. “Yeah. Too much experience.”

He didn’t seem like he wanted to say anything else about it. I didn’t want to push him. “Thanks for your help. I’m glad you were there with me.” I didn’t even try to stop the tears from coursing down my cheeks. I was a wreck, covered with sand and salt, my hair plastered to my head and eyes red from crying. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

His eyes narrowed on my face. “You knew it was her.”

“I did. I was looking for the watch.” I nodded toward her arm. “It really belongs to her sister. I was helping her find it.”

I couldn’t explain it any better at the moment. I didn’t have time, as it turned out. Chief Michaels and his officers swept through the door. He was followed by the Dare County sheriff and an EMS team. I didn’t want to be there to see anything they might do to Miss Elizabeth, but I couldn’t quite follow Nancy’s lead and run out of the office.

“I think I noticed the coffee shop was still open when we walked past,” Kevin said. “I don’t know about you, but I could use something hot to drink.”

It was a lifeline and I took it. I felt guilty doing so, as though as the mayor, maybe I should stay where I was, with the chief and the EMTs, but I convinced myself that I would only be in the way. I’d done as much as I could to help Miss Elizabeth. At least for now.

By the time Kevin and I left town hall, the storm had abated somewhat, as storms always do. They come up fast and change everything, then the sun shines and people try to figure out what to do next.

I soon found myself sitting across from a man I barely knew, drinking a hot mocha with shaking hands while I dripped all over the floor. I waved at Phil, the owner of the Coffee House and Bookstore. I couldn’t summon a return smile even though that’s what the mayor is supposed to do.

“You’ve never found a dead body before,” Kevin guessed.

He knows about me. Gramps must have told him. “No. I find lost things, not people. I’m sure it was the watch. It led me to her.”

“That could be a valuable service to anyone in law enforcement.” He sipped his double-shot latte. “Have you ever done that kind of work?”

“No! I do what I can for friends and neighbors when they lose their car keys or their rings. I don’t hire out, if that’s what you mean.”

He nodded. “Sorry. I was wondering. Your grandfather mentioned it when I met him. I’m missing a key for a room upstairs at the inn. He said you might be able to find it.”

“That explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“Why you were looking at me so funny when we met. Why you waited for me to look for Miss Elizabeth.”

“I suppose so. You seemed like the most likely person to find her since you find lost things. I’m sorry it happened that way.”

“At least we found her.” I dared a glance at him. “What do you think happened to her?”

“I’m not sure.”