A Timely Vision

Kevin came out of the corner and smiled at me as though he understood. He couldn’t possibly, of course. He hadn’t been here, and I felt pretty secure that no one had told him about it yet. If he stayed for a while, he was bound to hear about those times. I didn’t fool myself into thinking otherwise. “If you don’t need me to be here anymore, I’m going home to work on the roof,” he said.

“Need you to be here?” Tim asked. “She has me and the chief. We’ve known her all of her life.”

I extended my hand to Kevin. “Thanks for coming. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Even with that part about touching dead people to find their stuff?”

“Even with that.” I shivered. “No way that’s going to happen.”

“I figured as much. I’ll talk to you later.” He nodded at Tim and the chief. “Gentlemen.”

The chief nodded back, but Tim looked away. When Kevin was gone, he had his say. “I can’t believe you asked him to be here.”

“He was with the FBI.” I defended my action. “I thought he might know more about the way the SBI does business.”

“More than us?” Tim followed the chief and me out of the office. “Come on, Dae. You wanted him around because he’s new and all mysterious and everything. I saw the way Shayla was with him last night.”

“I’m not Shayla.” I turned to the chief. “Are you driving?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He took my hint and told Tim to go out on patrol. Then the chief and I headed to the parking lot and got in the car. It was already hot as only July can be in the South. “You know, you should give that boy a break, Mayor. He’s loved you all his life. Why don’t you make an honest man out of him?”

I was used to people in town talking to me about personal things. They’d been doing it since I was born. “I’m not ready for anything like that, Chief. Tim’s nice, but he’s not for me.”

“And Brickman is?”

“I didn’t say that. I don’t know what Tim’s talking about. I was with him last night. Shayla was with Kevin. We were all together at the inn to look for the key. That’s it.”

The chief nodded and smiled as he turned out of the lot and headed toward Miss Mildred’s street. “So he’s Kevin now, huh? I guess you two are moving fast. Poor Tim. He never saw it coming.”

I didn’t answer that. Thankfully, we were in Miss Mildred’s driveway before he could think of anything else to say. It’s not that I mind people discussing my personal life. Well, I do, but short of moving away, there’s not much I can do about it. And not that I don’t talk about other people’s lives. But I wasn’t really ready to share any more information about Kevin. Not that there was any more to tell.

Andy Martin of Andy’s Ice Cream was trimming the hedges in Miss Mildred’s yard. He shut off the electric trimmer when he saw us. “I’m glad you’re here, Chief. Miss Millie has been frantic for you all morning.”

“I know. I brought the mayor with me to help with the situation.”

Andy smiled. “Better the two of you than me. Miss Millie can be hard to handle, bless her heart. And she did just lose her sister. Is it true you all found Wild Johnny Simpson up at the Blue Whale yesterday?”

“That’s right,” the chief responded. “Does Millie know about it yet?”

“Probably. She still reads the paper. That’s where I got it.”

“Damn newspaper people!”

“Think they’ll have a reunion since both of them are dead now?”

“Doubtful. Johnny has been dead a good thirty years, according to the SBI. Don’t start spreading rumors, Andy. Mayor, let’s go inside.”

I knocked at the big front door, bougainvillea draping across it in pink splendor. I didn’t hear any movement inside, so I turned the handle and pushed it open. “Miss Mildred? Where are you?”

The front hall closet door opened, and she popped her head out. “Do you see her out there?”

“There’s nobody out here but me and the mayor, Millie,” the chief assured her. “Come on out of there.”

Carefully looking around the room, the old lady did as he requested. “Thank God you’re finally here, Ronnie. Lizzie has been here all night long. She probably heard you pull up, and it scared her off.”

“Come and sit down, Miss Mildred,” I coaxed. “Have you eaten? Let me make you some tea.”

“Tea?” She made a spitting sound. “Child, I need some strong coffee with a little brandy in it. It keeps my heart beating.”

“I’ll get that for you, if you’ll eat something. I don’t think you should have brandy on an empty stomach.”

We all walked into the spotless, sunlit kitchen. Lines of copper pans hung alongside large copper utensils on the yellow wall. I found some eggs and butter, then slipped bread into the toaster. Chief Michaels helped her sit down at the wooden table, then sat beside her.

“I know you’re going to think I’m crazy,” Miss Mildred began, shaking her head.

“I don’t think any such thing,” the chief assured her. “You’re just agitated. Who wouldn’t be with their sister dying that way and all?”

She sniffed. “And Dae still hasn’t brought my watch back. You know, this whole thing started when I asked her to find Mama’s watch.”