“Are you saying Chief Michaels is calling Max’s death a murder?” I latched on to his words, not their intent.
“Well.” He sniffed and hitched up his pants. “I think it’s likely, don’t you? I mean someone doesn’t get blown up accidentally, right?”
“Did you ever find the cannon or any sign that a cannon had been around before the explosion?” Gramps joined us at the doorway. “Thought I’d see what all the whispering was about. The two of you come in and eat before everything is cold. That way, we can all hear what you’re saying.”
“Not a cannon.” Tim did as he was told and we walked into the kitchen. “But we found some wheel marks that could fit a cannon frame and a set of truck tire prints from the vehicle that may have delivered it.”
“Both of them overlooking the museum on the hill?” Kevin asked as he helped himself to maple syrup.
“That’s right.” Tim took off his hat and sat down at the table. “These pancakes smell great, sir.”
“Thanks.” Gramps smiled at me and put out another plate and cup. “Dig in.”
“How are you feeling, Dae?” Kevin asked as we ate.
“I feel fine,” I answered, actually meaning it. “I’m going to open Missing Pieces today and check in at town hall. Maybe the chief and whoever else can question me there.”
“Are your hands cold?” He nodded significantly at the gloves I was wearing.
“Yes. I guess it’s the injuries from the explosion.” That’s it! Nothing more. I don’t want to discuss it right now.
“It’s been a mild winter,” Gramps reminded me. “You’re sure everything is okay, honey?”
I glared at Kevin for bringing it up. He knew it would cause trouble. I assured Gramps that I was fine, then Tim started wondering if I should go back in for a checkup.
I changed the subject by talking about the fishing trip Gramps had booked today on his charter boat. Tim changed it again by telling us (me) that he was thinking about buying his own place with his overtime pay.
“You already live in your parents’ old house,” I said.
“Yeah.” He grimaced at Kevin, who wasn’t looking at him. “But I’m thinking about moving. I’m starting to think about my future now, Dae. I’m not a kid anymore.”
I agreed with that, but I knew he’d never sell his parents’ house. He’d marry someone from Duck, and they’d have a family right there. Not that there was anything wrong with that idea. I wished I felt that way about him and everything could be wrapped up nice and neat between us.
I glanced across the table at Kevin, who was still talking about fishing with Gramps. I didn’t want to fall in love with someone who wasn’t from here and probably couldn’t appreciate the way we lived. I wasn’t even sure if Kevin would stay in Duck.
Gramps asked how the Blue Whale, Kevin’s hotel, was doing. “It’s been slowing down after tourist season, like everything else around here. It’s nice after being so busy at the end of the summer. I can appreciate the downtime. That’s what I was looking for when I came here.”
Kevin had purchased the old Blue Whale Inn, sight unseen, after leaving the FBI. He’d been an agent for twelve years. He’d said from the beginning that he didn’t want that life anymore. Sometimes at night it drove me crazy thinking he might go back to it anyway.
“After being closed for thirty years, there must be plenty to do anyway,” Gramps remarked. “It looked like it caught right on again once you got it open. People always loved that old place.”
Tim’s radio went off, calling him to an accident on Duck Road going toward Sanderling. He wiped his mouth, gulped his coffee and thanked Gramps for breakfast. “Can I drop you at Missing Pieces?” He was asking me but glaring at Kevin over my head.
“That’s the wrong way,” I reminded him. “But thanks, Tim. I appreciate the offer. I’m actually looking forward to walking down like I usually do.”
“All right. I’ll see you later, Dae. Take it easy. Don’t try to do too much like you always do. But make sure you give Chief Michaels a call.” He nodded at Kevin. “Brickman.”
Kevin nodded back. “Officer.”
When Tim left, the conversation around the table went with him. Gramps needed to get to his boat, and I was anxious to get on with the day. I helped clear the table, hoping Kevin wouldn’t ask anymore leading questions. Maybe he thought I’d told Gramps about my new abilities.
“I’ll see you at supper.” I kissed Gramps’s head with its thinning white hair before he put on his straw hat. “Have a good trip today.”
“Don’t forget tonight’s bingo night. I won’t be here for supper.” He nodded toward Kevin. “Make some plans of your own. I won’t be home until late.”
He winked at me as he began gathering up his lunch and other items for the trip. I knew what he was thinking. He used to be the same way with Tim. Maybe I was more transparent than I thought. Was it obvious to everyone that I had feelings for Kevin?
I grabbed my purse and headed for the door.
Kevin was right behind me. “Gloves?”
“I have to get through this,” I explained when I was sure the door was closed behind us so Gramps wouldn’t hear. “I don’t know exactly how to do that yet. I thought I could wear them for a while. They seem to help.”
“You can’t figure it out that way.” He followed me down the steps and into the sandy street. In Duck, everyone walks everywhere, but we still don’t have any sidewalks. Sidewalks were on my agenda as mayor. “You have to keep working with it. What did Shayla say?”
“She said my chakra was messed up. She’s going to try and realign it again today.”
“I thought she might be more help. That’s why I left yesterday.”
I smiled at the threads of sunlight that touched the edges of his dark hair. The sun peeked through the heavy shrubs that grew all in one direction along the edges of Duck Road. His eyes were like the Atlantic side of Duck, more gray than blue. I felt like I could walk with him forever.
“Dae?”
“Uh-yeah? Sorry. Shayla’s trying to help. I guess she’s not sure what to do with someone who falls over when she touches the wrong things.”
“You have to keep trying, keep working with it,” he urged as we walked and avoided the few cars that passed us. “You can’t shield yourself from it with gloves.”
“I touched most of the stuff in Missing Pieces before I left yesterday,” I added, sounding like a child trying to impress a favorite teacher.
“And?”
A stubborn, demanding favorite teacher. “Most of it seems to come in fragments that aren’t very strong. Not like the coin and the coffee card. Only the miniature had that kind of energy.”
“Miniature what?”
I explained about the portrait, trying to keep the excitement down but failing. Though I was still sad about losing Max, I couldn’t help but be thrilled to find out he’d been right about Theo Burr. “Max thought he had DNA evidence that Theodosia lived here and had a child. He was right, although he was wrong about her not knowing who she was. She didn’t want to go home again. She created a new life here and never told anyone who she was.”
“You saw all that from touching a tiny picture?”
“Some of it was like connect-the-dots and intuition. It was like I could feel what she was thinking when that portrait was painted.”
We walked along the road toward the Duck Shoppes and Missing Pieces. Town hall was on the boardwalk too. Traffic still wasn’t very heavy. As Kevin had said, most of the tourists had gone home, leaving the 567 full-time residents here for the coming winter. We had some Canadian visitors in the fall and winter, but mostly, they went to Myrtle Beach. It was good to have the revenue that the crowded streets and restaurants brought in the summer, but I was always glad for the quiet of winter.