A Spirited Gift

“I know this is hard for all of you,” I said to the crowd, “but it’s hard on us too. Now I want all of you to make a line, single file, and come to the desk one at a time with your questions and problems. We’ll do the best we can to get answers for you. I know most of you—Martha, Vergie and Andy—you’ve lived here all your life like I have. We get through these things together but not by going crazy.”

“Thanks,” Nancy whispered as the crowd grumbled but made a line that stretched out the door. “I was about to take out my pistol and shoot a few of them.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” I asked as I took a seat and got ready to talk to people.

“I did—I called you and everyone else on the council. I guess none of your cell phones are working yet. Home phones are still offline too. We’re just blessed up here to have working phones to add to the chaos.”

I apologized. I had no way of knowing about the chaos here. While Nancy manned the phone, I wrote down names and questions as each person had their turn. Basically, the Harris Teeter, the only grocery store in Duck, was running out of food and none was expected for at least another day. I told Martha again that I wasn’t sure when UPS would pick up, but I would keep her package until I heard from them.

Andy Martin, who ran the ice cream and Slushee store, was understandably upset because there was no power. “My ice cream is ice goo, and my Slushee machine won’t work without electricity. Isn’t there some way to get some? I know the hospital has power and some of the houses in Duck have power. Why don’t I?”

“You might want to consider buying a generator, Andy,” I said. “Since your business depends on your freezer, it’s a good idea. For now, I’d suggest you clean up and close down for a few days. We must be almost at the end of your season anyway.”

He nodded. “I close for the winter and these last few days are important to me. I don’t understand why the power comes on for some people and not everyone.”

“My best advice on this is to talk it over with the power company. You know there’s only so much we can do from town hall. I’m sorry about your ice cream, and I hope you have insurance to cover it.”

He nodded and put his cap on, then left the line.

Almost all the questions, the bulk of which focused on water leaks, power outages, and beach erosion, went the same way. People asked, and I offered suggestions but had no definitive answers.

Little Hailey Baucum, the daughter of Reece Baucum, claimed to have seen a ghost ship. “I saw it last night, Mayor Dae. It was real old looking, and there was no one on it.”

Reece, who’d been there to complain about a broken water main, grinned. “You know how kids are.”

“Sounds like the Andalusia,” said Vergie, Duck’s postmaster. “You know how people see her from time to time. Especially after a bad storm.”

I knew. The Andalusia was a Spanish treasure ship that had foundered off the coast of Duck around 1720. Several sailors had made it to the coast to tell of the huge treasure that went down with the ship. Though hundreds of people had searched for it, no one had ever found the gold and jewels that were on it.

Through the generations, Duck citizens, and even some vacationing visitors, had called or written about seeing the ship off the coast. The Andalusia was our resident ghost ship. We all knew the story.

“There was a moon last night,” Nancy reminded me while she was on hold with the North Carolina Department of Transportation asking for a time reference for the bridge repairs.

Hailey nodded her head with the vigor of an eight-year-old. “I got a telescope for my birthday last month, so I got a really good look. It was the ghost ship for sure. The moonlight was shining on it, so I could see no one was there. But it was sailing anyway. The sails were like big spiderwebs. No way they could catch any breeze like that.”

“Well, don’t worry. A lot of people have seen the Andalusia , but the ghosts never come to Duck,” I assured her. “They seem to stay on the ship, and they never bother anyone. We have a book here that we write down every time someone sees her. The sightings go back to the 1800s. You’re in good company.”

I felt a chill sweep through the room as I finished speaking. My own personal ghost appeared at the back of the line of people waiting to see me. “Why are ye filling the child’s mind with such drivel?” Rafe demanded. “There are no ghosts on that ship. Those poor souls lie at the bottom like so many others.”

I couldn’t answer him, since I was fairly sure no one else could see or hear him. I smiled at Hailey and gave her a sucker. Nothing like a ghost to put ghostly events into perspective.

As soon as possible, I was going to find Shayla and see if there wasn’t some way to lay this ghost to rest.

Chapter 16