A Timely Vision

“Five officers this year. Well, one of them is part-time. But as you can imagine, we don’t get a lot of serious crime in Duck. Most of our problems happen over the summer when the renters are here. The rest of the time it’s quiet. We like it that way.”

“Me too. That’s one of Duck’s most attractive features. I like my privacy.”

He smiled a little, and I could feel his eyes assessing me again. Not in a sexual way, like a lot of men might, but in a questioning manner, as though he were wondering who I really was. It occurred to me that if Gramps had met him he’d probably told him all about me, including what a marital catch I’d be. He was probably wondering what kind of woman lets her grandfather look for eligible bachelors for her.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Brickman—”

“Kevin. It was nice meeting you, Mayor O’Donnell. I hope you find Miss Elizabeth before the storm.”

“I’m sure we will.” I glanced at the old hulk of the Blue Whale Inn next door. Only a hint of the slate blue color that gave the inn its name remained on the clapboard. “Call me Dae, please. Everyone does. Good luck renovating the inn.”

With a mixture of interest and surprise, I watched him walk away from Miss Elizabeth’s house and back toward the inn. There weren’t a lot of good-looking, youngish (not high school or college students) single men who lived full-time in Duck. It was going to be fun to watch what happened once the ladies in the community met him.

I called Chief Michaels and asked him to meet me at the house. Then I sat on the wrought-iron patio chair to wait. It wasn’t long before I saw Kevin climbing up on the inn’s roof. He had a bundle of black shingles thrown over one shoulder and a hammer in a holster at his side. He turned around once he was up there and saluted in my general direction. I waved. That’s what mayors are supposed to do.

The pretty blue sky that had made the Fourth of July parade so spectacular was being chased away by angry black clouds coming in from the south. The ocean responded with more whitecaps and thunderous surf. Mary Lou might be right about those sea turtle eggs. I realized that was the next thing on my list. Who knew being mayor would be so crazy?

I’d kind of fallen into it on a dare from Gramps. He’d been the sheriff of Dare County for twenty years before retiring fifteen years ago. He was a big believer in community service and asked what I’d done for my hometown since becoming an adult. Sometimes you have to be careful how you respond to people who want the best for you.

Fortunately, running Missing Pieces wasn’t really a full-time job and Gramps filled in for me when I needed him. Being mayor was only a sometimes kind of job too, so they meshed together nicely.

Chief Ronnie Michaels came huffing around the corner of Miss Elizabeth’s house. He always reminded me of the Marine sergeant on the Gomer Pyle sitcom. His uniform was immaculate, creases exactly where they needed to be. His patent leather shoes never had a scuff mark.

Officer Tim Mabry was at his heels, as always. Tim had told me lots of times that he planned to become the next police chief when Chief Michaels, who was seventy like Gramps, retired. He was building a house on Duck Landing Road after inheriting a small patch of land his grandfather had left him. I knew all of this because he told me every time he proposed to me. Last week had made the sixth occasion this year.

“Mayor.” The chief nodded at me, then turned narrowed eyes on the house. “You say Miss Elizabeth is missing?”

“I don’t really know.” I told him what Miss Mildred had said and threw in what Kevin Brickman had told me for good measure. “Mr. Brickman was here for a few minutes. He was concerned about Miss Elizabeth too.”

“Are you saying you think he could be involved with this?” Tim lifted his police cap and let the breeze cool his sweaty blond head.

“No, Tim. I was saying he’d noticed she was gone and he isn’t from here. Maybe that’s odd. I don’t know.”

The chief laughed. “Yes, ma’am. It’s real odd for people in Duck to know what everyone else is doing. No one ever knows what’s going on around here.”

I agreed, thinking he hadn’t needed the sarcasm.

“But maybe if the mayor thinks something is up with that boy, we should check him out.” Tim rushed in to defend me.

“No need. He came by when he moved in. Believe me, he’s not involved in anything with Miss Elizabeth,” the chief assured him. “But he’d be the kind to notice things, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t,” I admitted. “But if you think it’s fine—”

“Not just fine, Your Honor,” the chief continued. “I can’t divulge everything Mr. Brickman confided in me on his move here to Duck. Suffice it to say, he’s the kind of citizen we want to have here. We’ll leave it at that.”