A Timely Vision

Kevin stepped up and inserted the key in the lock. It made a grating sound as it turned. The door swung open on stiff old hinges. There was a strange whoosh of air that carried an unpleasant odor. I supposed any room would smell bad after being closed up for thirty years.

This room faced the ocean too. I could see the beach through the dirty panes. The moonlight flowed in like a spotlight, illuminating the room. A desk with an old crook-neck lamp was barely visible in one corner, a simple bed and chest of drawers completing the room.

“Is this it?” Shayla asked in a very quiet voice.

“What were you expecting?” I responded.

“It looks like someone’s sitting at the desk over there.” Tim pointed. “Must be a trick of the light.”

Kevin walked closer to the desk. The beam from the flashlight shone on something I’d hoped never to see again—a dead person. But this time, it was only the skeletal remains. Empty eye sockets stared back at us. Bony fingers rested on the desk.

I heard Shayla gag beside me, and we both stepped back from the grisly scene.

“Someone’s sitting at the desk, all right,” Kevin said. “I think he or she has been here for a long time.”

Chapter 7

Tim and Kevin hustled Shayla and me out of the room before calling the police. When Chief Michaels finally arrived, he came trudging up the stairs rather than using the elevator. Who knew the chief and I had a fear of elevators in common? Not that he’d admit it.

“I don’t understand why we couldn’t look around a bit,” Shayla complained from the floor where she’d plopped down at least half an hour earlier. “You both have police training. They wouldn’t have known we were in there.”

“It’s about crime-scene preservation,” Tim began. He paced up and down the dark hall ranting about people who disturb crime scenes and how difficult it makes life for police officers. “Don’t you agree, Brickman?”

“Yes. Otherwise I’d be in there cleaning out that mess.”

“Imagine whoever it is being in there all this time,” I added. “We thought Duck had a low homicide rate. Instead, dead people are lurking everywhere.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case, Mayor.” The chief came out of the room as another man came up behind him. “This is Agent Brooks Walker of the SBI. He’s here to check this out with us.”

Agent Walker shook my hand briefly. He was a short man, barely five feet. I could see his graying brown hair in the flashlight beams as several other Duck police officers joined us. “Mayor O’Donnell. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances. You seem to have a knack for finding dead people.”

I was about to vigorously defend myself when Kevin stepped in and shook hands with him. “It looks like we meet again, Agent Walker. Whatever bad luck Mayor O’Donnell is going through right now, I seem to be part of it too.”

Agent Walker looked up at Kevin, and a small smile appeared on his mouth. “Yes, that much is evident. Who are these people?”

Tim introduced Shayla, then said, “We already met, Agent Walker. I’m Officer Mabry, the chief’s assistant.”

“That’s right. I knew I recognized you.” Walker shook his hand, then glanced around the crowded hall as he put on some latex gloves. “Let’s take a look at what we’ve got here, gentlemen.”

Two hours later, Shayla and I were still waiting to find out what was going on. The chief had informed us as delicately as he could that he didn’t want us to leave the Blue Whale until they’d had a look at the crime scene, in case he had any questions. Kevin and Tim had become part of the group investigating upstairs while we waited downstairs in the bar.

“You think they like us for the murder?” Shayla asked as she sipped a Coke.

“You watch too much TV.”

“There’s nothing else to do out here in the winter. I’m lucky if I have one or two tarot readings a week. What do you do?”

“I read. Books, not palms or cards. Once in a while, I watch TV or help Gramps work on the boat. Last winter, I painted the house. You know that.”

“Sounds to me like your life is as boring as mine. Without tourists, we’re nothing.”

It was a depressing thought but one I knew many permanent residents (especially those with businesses) agreed with. People talked all the time about ways to bring tourists down to the Outer Banks in the winter. It never quite seemed to happen. I was glad I didn’t make it a campaign promise.

“How long does it take to do this anyway?” Shayla whined.

I heard the squeak of the old elevator. “Sounds like it must be done. Quit slumping over that drink and sit up straight.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Kevin, Tim and Agent Walker entered the bar as we heard the elevator heading back up to the third floor. “Where did you say you found that gun, Brickman?” Agent Walker asked.

“It was behind the old cash register.” Kevin showed him the secret drawer. “I was fooling around and found it.”