A Timely Vision

Once the woman in the bad green sweater had gotten over me telling her where her lost umbrella was, she went to find two more chairs for me and Kevin. I’d hoped she planned to leave the room and give us some privacy, but she pulled in another chair and sat by the door. It wasn’t that I was nervous about what I was going to do with Miss Mildred. I only hoped the woman could handle it.

“Miss Mildred,” I began, scooting my chair next to hers and taking her hands. “We want to help you. There are so many things going on.”

Her pale blue eyes welled with tears again. “Don’t I know it! They think I killed Lizzie. It’s crazy of course, but they think I’m crazy because I saw her ghost. I can’t tell you how many people I know in Duck who have seen ghosts. I never thought they were crazy.”

“I know. I feel the same,” I reassured her. At this point, I was getting nothing from her. It was like looking into a black hole. “We’re trying to prove you didn’t kill your sister. Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?”

She made a humphing sound. “You mean besides me? You know there have been plenty of times that I wanted to kill her. But I didn’t. It’s one thing to get angry and say things, but you don’t mean them. I can’t believe Lizzie is dead.”

She broke down again, crying for a few minutes. Kevin passed me some tissues, which I handed to Miss Mildred. Finally, she calmed down. “Miss Mildred, right now, we’re trying to keep them from selling your house so you have someplace to come home to.”

“Them? Who’s trying to sell my house, Dae?”

“I don’t know a good way to tell you this, but your brother, Silas, is still alive.”

“Silas? I knew that. Who’d have thought he’d come back after all these years? Why didn’t he phone or come over? How is he?”

“He’s sick. He might not live long.” I’d caught a glimpse of something tangible when she mentioned her brother, but it had no form, no focus. “He’s at an assisted living center in Kitty Hawk.”

“He’s the one who wants to sell my house? Our house, really, since that’s where we grew up. Daddy left it to me when he died with express commands to let Lizzie or Silas live there later if they needed to. We’ll bring him home. No reason for him to live in a place like that. I’ll tend to him.”

I didn’t remind her that she was in no position to bring anyone home. I tried to keep her focused on what was happening. “It seems Silas has given his grandson power of attorney to take care of his finances. His grandson is selling your house.”

“You mean my house and Lizzie’s house.” Her lips grew thin and mutinous. “I was Lizzie’s only heir in her will. That makes double properties for that young hyena to sell. Silas always was a little soft in the head. Does this young devil live in Kitty Hawk too?”

“No. It’s Jerry Richards from the TV station. You know him.”

“I certainly do. And I have a few things that need to be said to him. Dae, help me out of this chair and fetch my clothes. He can’t sell our houses. It’s simply not done.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the woman with the bad green sweater start to her feet. I didn’t want any kind of confrontation to erupt. I knew Miss Mildred liked to have her way. “I’m afraid we can’t do that right now.” I tried to calm her down. “But there’s something we can do to stop the sale.”

Miss Mildred looked at the attendant by the door and seemed to rethink her position. “What can we do, Dae? How can I save Daddy’s property?”

“Do you have a power of attorney document?”

“Of course. Lizzie and I had ours made at the same time by that ne’er-do-well, Bunk Whitley.”

“He never filed anything with the courthouse for either of you. Do you have a copy?”

“That man! He was good to look at, but he was a burden. That’s why I didn’t marry him after my husband died and I let him court Lizzie instead. But I kept a copy of everything. I have a copy of Lizzie’s will too.”

I could feel excitement straining inside me. I glanced at Kevin and smiled. “Where do you keep it?”

She paused and looked at me. “You know, I’m not really sure. It was behind the piano for the longest time. It fell off the top one day, and I couldn’t get that nice man from the church to come and help me move it for several weeks. I’m trying to remember where I put it after that. You know, I left both properties to the town in the event Lizzie and I both died. I thought my house might be a nice park, especially since I left five hundred yards on the beach to the Turtle Rescue League to start a sanctuary.”

That was news. I didn’t expect those properties to be left to Duck. There might be someway we could use that information to stop the sale, if we could find the power of attorney. “Think about it, Miss Mildred. We’ve done this plenty of times before. You think about it and I’ll find it.”

She smiled at me and took her hand away to pat my cheek. “You’ve always been such a good girl, Dae. I’ve been very proud to watch you grow up.”