A Spirited Gift

He smiled in a sad, avuncular way. “Dae, it has never been my intention to hurt you in any way by the things I’ve said and done. I’ve known you since you were a baby. You’ve grown into a wonderful, caring young woman. I’m proud that you were the first mayor of Duck. I just think we need some new blood in the position—a firmer, perhaps masculine, hand on the reins.”

This was Mad Dog at his worst—pretending we were friends, almost relations. All the time he was talking, I knew he didn’t mean a word of it. He’d spoken out several times after my election, once demanding that the town take another vote. The problem was that no one had run against me, not even him. He was busy running for town council at the time.

“I appreciate that,” I said, playing the game. “But please consider that your words could cause more headaches than they’d be worth to you. I know we both want what’s best for Duck. Nice talking with you.”

“Going to see your boyfriend?” He baited me even as I walked away from him. “Mr. Brickman could be a liability to your campaign, you know. There are many people here in Duck who might not like the idea of their mayor prancing around town with her boyfriend.”

I ignored him. I knew from the past that we could argue all day and never reach any kind of agreement. There was no point in wasting my time with him. He was going to do whatever he wanted anyway.

I started around the side of the Blue Whale, careful to be observant as I went. I was looking for anything out of the ordinary—something that not even the most experienced police officer would think was a clue—something that would call only to me.

Of course there were countless footprints and the track from the stretcher they’d used to take Sandi away. Kevin was right about the scene being compromised. I still wanted to give it another look.

Shawn Foxx apparently had the same idea. He looked up as I walked closer. “Is this where she died?”

“Yes. Maybe. I’m not really sure.”

“But this is where you found her?”

“Yes.” I could answer that at least. I felt terrible for him, but I didn’t know what to say that might give him closure. “I’m sorry I don’t know more.”

He stood up and looked out at the sea. “I always knew something like this would happen to her. I begged her not to keep meeting those other men on the side. What did she think would happen?”

“I don’t know. Would you like to go inside and sit down?”

“No.” He glared at me and clenched his fists. “How could she do this to me and the girls? Why didn’t she ever think about them?”

I certainly didn’t have an answer to that question. I’d asked it many times myself. I didn’t understand the attraction of infidelity, but I never thought Sandi would end up dead because of it. “The police will find out who did this, Shawn. You just need to take care of yourself and the girls.”

“You know what, Dae? It doesn’t matter. I don’t even care anymore.”

I watched him stride around the side of the inn.

Rafe appeared—who could stop him? He was furious about the things Mad Dog had said to me. “I can’t believe ye let that scurvy dog speak to you in that tone—and you the Lord High Mayor of this town!”

I couldn’t complain. He’d kept to the rules about leaving me alone when I was with other people. “That doesn’t mean all that much anymore,” I told him. “I guess it meant something in your day?”

“A man like that would be clapped in irons,” he replied. “Depending on the mercy of the mayor, he could find himself flogged too.”

I smiled, concentrating on the area around the shed. “We don’t do much flogging nowadays.”

“More’s the pity from what I’ve seen!”

“You were in the shop when Kevin told me about Sandi being murdered.”

“Aye. That doesn’t break our treaty, girl. You said not to speak to you—I did not speak.”

“I think I said not to hang around,” I corrected.

“A pleasant thing to say to a man whose corpse still bears marks from the hangman’s noose!”

I refused to feel guilty for the gaffe. “How did you know that Sandi was murdered? I mean before Kevin told us. Is that a ghost thing?”

“I don’t know what ye mean by ‘a ghost thing,’” he said. “Unless you’re speaking of common deduction. I heard all the same things you heard. It was simple to conclude she met up with foul play. Did you really think she was just standing out here and let the storm kill her?”

“Not everything is that cut and dry,” I explained, feeling kind of stupid. I reasoned that he probably had more experience with murder than I did. And I wanted to believe that she’d died accidentally.

“If you say so. What are you looking for out here?”

“A clue—something that will help tell us who killed Sandi.”

“Such as what?”

“I don’t know. I’ll know it when I see it.”