A Timely Vision

“What evidence is there besides her seeing Miss Elizabeth bring her purse to her?”

“That speaks to her frame of mind, Mayor. She lost it when she realized what she’d done. Agent Walker and I believe the DNA tests will confirm that the blood and hair on the shovel we found in Millie’s garden shed will match Lizzie’s. Millie’s fingerprints were all over Lizzie’s purse. How much more do you want? We would’ve tried to put the purse snatcher away just finding the purse at his motel room.”

That was a dizzying amount of information. I didn’t want to hear it. He was right about that. But I also still felt that all this so-called evidence added up to someone trying to point the finger at Miss Mildred. “She’s being framed for this, Chief. I don’t know why you can’t see that.”

“Who would possibly think of doing something like that, Mayor? With all due respect, you should leave this kind of thing to the professionals.”

“The professionals are wrong this time, Chief. I’m sorry, but I’m not giving up on Miss Mildred that easy. I’m certainly not going to let someone sell her land out from under her as they set her up to take the blame for Miss Elizabeth’s death.”

He glared at me. He’d done that before, but this time I felt the impact more deeply. “I’d hoped to explain the situation to you, but I can see you’re as stubborn as your grandfather. When he got the bone between his teeth, he never let go. That’s what made him such a darn fine sheriff. Just remember, you aren’t a law enforcement official.”

Was that a threat? My hands shook as I played with my stapler. “I appreciate that. And I know you’ve done all you could for Miss Mildred. If there’s a personal issue I can help you with, I hope you know Gramps and I will always be there for you. You’re part of the family, Chief.”

He smiled, or what passed as smiling for him. “Thank you, Mayor. But I’m fine. I only wanted you to know that there’s nothing illegal going on now. Everything is well in hand.”

I nodded, and my voice almost broke when I said, “What about Silas Butler, Chief? How long have you known he was alive and living in Kitty Hawk?”

Chapter 15

Chief Michaels got up and walked to the door. I thought he was going to leave rather than answer my question. He stopped for a moment with his hand on the door handle. When he turned back, the grimace on his face made me aware of his anger.

He came back to my desk and leaned on his hands, glaring down at me. “Are you questioning my integrity, Dae O’Donnell? I’ve been in law enforcement since you were in diapers. Are you saying I did something wrong?”

I really wanted to back down. I wanted to hold up my hands and assure him that I would never question anything he did. I could give him my big mayoral smile and pretend I wasn’t serious. Anything to get him to leave.

But I couldn’t do it. “I guess I’m asking if you’re part of this whole auction thing for the sisters’ properties. I’m sorry, Chief. I don’t want to ask that question, but I’m not the only one asking.” I was, but he didn’t have to know.

He paused for a long moment, then looked out the window at the sound with his hands held behind his back, legs spread, like an old-time sea captain. “You do things for a long time on autopilot. I guess because you know your way around so well. Maybe too well.”

He sat back down and faced me. “I’ve only known about Silas for a few months. Of course I went to visit him when I found out. I never expected to see him again.”

“What happened? Why isn’t he buried in Duck Cemetery?”

“He turned state’s witness against Bunk Whitley. It was the only way we could get at him. Old Bunk was the real problem back then. He was into everything from gambling to prostitution. Silas worked for Bunk.”

“And you agreed to pretend he was dead so Bunk wouldn’t kill him.” That made so much more sense than thinking the chief had gone rogue.

“We did. Horace knew about it too. He was there with me that night. We took Silas across to the mainland and were supposed to keep him at a motel until the trial. But Bunk was too clever for us. He skipped out and was never heard from around these parts again. Silas was too scared to come back, though. He left the island. He told me he only came back to die because it didn’t matter anymore. Then Miss Elizabeth was killed.”

“Their properties came to him, didn’t they?”

He nodded. “Silas told me about it right after we picked up Millie.”

“But there are no other relatives, so he gave it to Chuck Sparks to sell.”

“Not exactly. There’s another relative, Mayor. Silas has a grandson. He’s the one selling the properties. I assume he has power of attorney over his grandfather’s affairs. I knew it was coming. That’s why I went down there yesterday, to ask him if there wasn’t some way to stop it.”

“What did he say?”