A Spirited Gift

“Admit it—you’re excited. You love all that old dusty stuff. Look at what you collect here. I know you want to prove your ancestor was wrongly put to death. It’s your kind of thing.”

“You really think he’s related to me and not just saying that so I’ll help him?”

“I think it’s the only thing that could have brought him and held him here. Blood is very powerful. It’s hard for any spirit to get a foothold in our world much less be able to speak to the living. It’s the bond between you that gives him strength. Look how he can follow you around from place to place. That’s very unusual. He’s definitely your ancestor. Don’t you have a family tree or something?”

I remembered hearing something about my grandmother having started work on family records. I wasn’t sure if that was for the O’Donnell or the Bellamy family. I’d have to ask Gramps about it.

“It’s weird thinking I have an ancestor that was a pirate,” I admitted. “I always think of my predecessors as being hardy Duck folk—Bankers who survived by their wits and backbones and who held on to their homes with their fingertips when the storms came.”

She shrugged. “You never know, do you? We don’t get to decide where we come from. I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that Marie Laveau is watching me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and she’ll have some urgent need to be avenged.”

Only Shayla would think being haunted by a pirate ghost was a good thing. I asked her to look up information about getting rid of Rafe in case our agreement didn’t work out. I could tell she thought I was crazy not taking full advantage of this opportunity, but I was worried about the potential consequences of having a ghost in my life.

Shayla went back to her shop, and I got out the duster to go over my treasures. I considered what she’d said about Rafe helping me identify things I’d found from his time. I didn’t need his help anyway. And it wasn’t worth having a pirate looking over my shoulder.

How would I know if he was there—even now? What about when I dressed, showered, spent time alone with Kevin? I didn’t want to constantly feel his presence or be the butt of his pirate jokes all my life. He was very good at making fun of me already.

I realized as I finished dusting that something was missing. I couldn’t tell at first what it was. It seemed that something was out of place. Then it came to me.

A small, gold makeup case, its crest set with red and green stones. It had been on the counter when I was speaking to my father. Had he picked it up because it looked valuable? I hated the idea that he’d steal from me.

He was going to be disappointed if money was his motive. The eighteenth-century piece was valuable—but only to the right collector. It had graced the vanity of Lady Suzanne Forester, a wealthy beauty who briefly lived in the Carolinas with her uncle, Lord William Forester.

But the stones weren’t real. The gold was good, but—

I stopped in midthought, hating that I was accusing him in my mind. Gramps had told me so much about him being a shady character—and I knew something about his checkered past from my own research.

But that wasn’t me. I tried never to judge a person without first knowing them.

I knew Shayla didn’t pick it up. I was fairly sure Rafe couldn’t pick it up. But maybe the case had fallen. I’d had it on the counter for a customer who would’ve already purchased it, except for the storm.

I was on my hands and knees looking for the case, fueling my guilt about accusing my father, when Kevin stopped by. He looked exhausted, filthy from working with the cleanup crew in the street.

“I’m on my way home for a shower and some sleep,” he said. “Just wanted to stop by and let you know that the medical examiner is calling Mayor Foxx’s death a murder.”

I got to my feet—thinking about what Rafe had said. “If the shed collapsing didn’t kill her, what did?”

“The small-caliber bullet shot at close range into her heart. The ME said whoever did it was standing almost on top of her when it happened.”

“That’s terrible.” Even though I’d seen a gun in my vision and felt Sandi’s fear, I’d really hoped this wouldn’t end up as a murder.

“Yeah. Another death at the Blue Whale.” His smile was tight and not amused. “You think it’s something following me around?”

I didn’t answer—though the similarities of our circumstances struck me. I knew the Blue Whale had a dubious past. This was bad news on so many different levels. I hated to think of Sandi’s two little girls going through a murder trial.

But it was the soft pirate I-told-you-so laughter I heard from close behind me that made me shiver.

Chapter 19

I left Missing Pieces with Kevin—I didn’t want to be alone. My favorite places were suddenly too empty, too likely to be visited by a ghostly pirate. We were going to have to have a word or two about that. I should’ve added “No laughter in the background of conversations” to my list of demands.