A Finder's Fee (27 page)

T
he Dare County deputy sheriff who drove me back to
Duck was not a talkative person. Traffic was heavy for that late in the year, creeping almost bumper-to-bumper between Manteo and Duck. I couldn’t see anything that would cause the backup, but the deputy answered his radio a few times. He obviously didn’t want to share any information he’d received.

My worst fears had been realized with La Donna’s new confession. I cautioned my overactive imagination to wait for the facts. As we’d been discussing the last few days, anyone could make a mistake.

Did this involve Chief Michaels? Had La Donna told Sheriff Riley how Joe had ended up buried in the car? I didn’t want any of it to be true.

I realized that I hadn’t even had a chance to tell Tuck about the two different stories involving Joe’s race car. I guess it wouldn’t matter anyway, if La Donna was confessing. Forty years was a long time to remember if Chief Peabody had given Lightning Joe a ticket the night after he’d been killed or a week later.

The same thing could be true for when Pam recalled her parents finding the car. She was only a child. Her life was suddenly very stressful. Her memory might not be clear either.

Traffic was still heavy when we reached Duck. Not wanting to go through one more silent moment with the deputy, I asked him to let me off at the boardwalk. I thought Nancy might have more information on what was going on. She usually did. Being the town clerk, she heard everything. She didn’t always want to share, fearful that people would call her a gossip. Unless she knew something for fact, she rarely indulged in idle speculation.

Though she could be
persuaded
.

“Dae.” She smiled when she saw me. “I’m glad to see you. I suppose you’ve heard that the DA has dropped all charges against Councilman Wilson. It’s crazy. Now La Donna is saying she killed Joe Walsh. I thought she’d flipped out at the meeting from the stress last night, you know? I can’t believe she could kill anyone, can you?”

I sat down at her desk. The office was empty. Chris was probably out supervising something. He was very hands-on, which was what made him such a good town manager.

“I was with Sheriff Riley when he got the call about La Donna.” I explained about Pam having her brother’s car towed to Mad Dog’s house. “Something is still wrong.”

“What’s wrong?” Mad Dog’s booming voice interrupted our conversation from the doorway.

I’d had Chris put WD-40 on the office door last week because it was squeaking. My mistake.

“Go on, ladies.” He sat down near us. “What doesn’t seem right? That La Donna Nelson killed Joe Walsh instead of me? Why? I’ve never hurt another human being in my life. I thought you were on my side, Dae.”

“I’m not against you, Mr. Wilson.” I tried to be polite about it. “I know you didn’t kill Joe. I trust the things I see more than any police report. That doesn’t mean I can imagine La Donna killing him either. Can you?”

He looked away, studying his walking cane for a moment. “I’m not saying she did it—she’s saying it. Not that I’d think of her as being a killer, but it always seems as though it’s easier to imagine a man committing violence.”

Nancy’s expression was carefully guarded. She didn’t want to lose her job.

I had no such issues. “I’m sorry. It made sense, looking at the facts. I’m glad you’ve been exonerated. Please don’t expect me to like the idea that La Donna could go to jail.”

“Bah.” He got up and waved his cane around. “You’re sorry I still have some time to campaign. I could still win this election.”

Nancy and I watched him walk out the door before saying anything else. Nancy even made sure the door was closed all the way.

“I guess that’s who he is.” She shrugged as she sat back down at her desk. “What are you gonna do?”

“Beat him in this election anyway. It’s what I was going to do to begin with. At least now, people will feel like it’s fair and that I didn’t find the car with Joe in it to ruin Mad Dog’s life.”

“You go, girl.” Nancy grinned. “Oh, I forgot. A woman stopped in here to talk to you. I sent her down to Missing Pieces. I guess you weren’t there either.”

“That’s okay. I’m headed that way now. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie.”

I couldn’t stand it. I had to know. “Have you heard anything about Chief Michaels being part of this thing with La Donna?”

She stared back at me with her pretty brown eyes. “No. So far, everyone is saying she did it. I’ll keep my ears open.”

I hugged her. I hoped not to hear that news.

I walked down to Missing Pieces and found my big buyer of the Lucian Smith estate waiting patiently on a boardwalk bench outside my door.

I panicked for an instant—I hoped she didn’t want her money back. I’d already given a large portion of it to Dillon.

Then I looked more closely at her. The years had been kind. Rosie Carpenter was still youthful. After Pam pointing her out in the old photos, I realized that’s why I’d recognized her. Her name wasn’t Carpenter anymore. That had been a long time ago.

She stood when she saw me. “Hello, Dae. I wanted to come back and clear up a few things. I meant to do it when I was here before and I got sidetracked. Could we go inside and talk?”

I opened the door and hung up my coat. Rosie, now Barbara Rose Carpenter-Walsh-Reece, took off her jacket and made herself comfortable on the burgundy brocade sofa.

“I came down here to see what was going on.” She fiddled around with the cuffs on her pretty green sweater. “I was as much in the dark as anyone else. Unlike Joe’s sister, I thought he’d abandoned me. After all, we were both very young and I didn’t expect it to last.”

“So you never looked for him?” I put some water on for tea.

She smiled sadly. “I’ve looked for him every day that we’ve been apart. I went on with my life when I realized he probably wasn’t coming back for me. Not a day has passed that I haven’t wondered if he’d pull up in that old black car and take me away. I love my husband now, Dae. But not like I loved Joe.”

I made two cups of tea and sat beside her. “So you came down here when you heard I’d found him. In some ways, that must’ve been a relief.”

“In some ways. At least I knew it wasn’t his choice to leave me. I knew I could stop looking for him too.”

“Do you have any idea what happened that night after the accident at the track?”

“Not exactly. Joe and I left the track together. He took me to my dad’s trailer after we had dinner. He said he was coming up to Portsmouth the next day. He was going to talk to my father about us. He never got there.”

“His sister said she and her parents found Joe’s car on the side of the highway the next day. They took it home with them. You never heard from him again?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you know of any sheriff’s deputy here that Joe had trouble with—especially one that might have been interested in you romantically?”

“Oh, honey, every deputy had trouble with Joe.” She laughed. “He was a very bad boy. That’s why all the girls loved him. As far as a deputy being interested in me, you might not be able to tell it now, but they all had crushes on me. There was one who actually asked me out—Deputy Rogers. He seemed so old. He was probably thirty. At that time, he was ancient to me.”

“Did Deputy Rogers ever threaten Joe over you, that you know of?”

“Not as far as I know. Joe probably wouldn’t have told me if he had. He never threatened Joe in front of me. Why are you asking all these questions? I understood that they arrested Donnie for killing Joe now. I would’ve put money on Mad Dog myself. I can’t imagine Donnie killing anyone. She worshipped Joe.”

“Donnie? You mean La Donna?”

“Sure. She’s the one who started calling me Rosie. I called her Donnie.”

I thought about it for a minute. “You two were friends, even though you were both in love with Joe?”

“We were. He was our Archie. We were his Betty and Veronica. We would’ve done anything for him.”

I started to ask her what changed, what had made Joe choose her over La Donna? Then the door opened, and a tall, thin man with black curly hair came to find his mother.

“I need to get back, Mom,” he said.

He was an exact copy of his father, only older with a few gray strands tucked into the black curls.

Rosie smiled and introduced her son, Joseph.

It seemed I had my answer.

“S
he bore him a son.” Maggie kept repeating the words
as though it astounded her. “He was trying to do right by her then. Not up and leaving her. You have to find the rotten sot who killed that baby’s father!”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Rosie’s words gave me a lot to think about as I received packages from Stan and sold a few trinkets to some teenagers whose parents were visiting Duck.

“I wish I’d had Thomas’s son.” Maggie forced me to slow down so she could look at herself in the mirror. She smoothed her hand across her flat stomach. “I would’a made a good mother. Thomas would’a made a handsome lad.”

La Donna’s lawyer was all over the TV, joined by photos of her and Joe from the past, and a recent photo of her that looked like the one from the Duck Web site. She was still in the hospital.

Chief Michaels refused to answer questions as he walked out of the building with their mother. Luke seemed to be in his element, explaining how La Donna’s confession had brought real justice to the case. He also noted how difficult it was to take on a case where the murder had happened so long ago.

There was no mention of how Joe had come to be buried in his car. Luke didn’t give anything away as far as other suspects that might have helped her.

Kevin walked into the shop as the news turned to weather, and I switched off the small TV. “I thought you hated the news. Or is it that you only like Duck news?”

“I need to get into the hospital to see La Donna.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. I’m sure she’s well guarded.”

“Anyone can walk into the hospital.” The scheme was forming in my mind. “All I have to do is get in there and sneak into her room.”

“What would this accomplish?”

“By holding her hands, I might find out for sure if she killed Joe. He was lost to her. It’s possible.”

Kevin sat down. “Let’s think about this for a minute. La Donna has confessed to killing Joe. She must think she did it. I don’t know what else you could hope to see. I know you really like her and she’s your friend—”

“It’s not just that. I don’t particularly like Mad Dog, and I wouldn’t really call him a friend, but I tried to help him because he needed me. I have to see if I can help La Donna.”

“You know, I heard they’re having a rally for you at Duck Park this afternoon. The election is tomorrow, Dae. I know you want to be mayor again. Maybe you should concentrate on that today.”

“Thanks for reminding me about the rally. I forgot. Cailey will kill me if I don’t show up.”

“Good. Then that’s settled.”

“I have plenty of time to go to the hospital, see La Donna, and come back for the rally. Or I will have if you volunteer to drive me to Kill Devil Hills. If I have to waste time trying to find someone going that way, it might take too long.”

He got to his feet. “All right. I don’t want Cailey to kill you. I’m ready when you are. You’re lucky I brought the pickup instead of the cart.”

I laughed and started to close down the cash register. “No, you’re lucky. It’s a long ride from Duck to Kill Devil Hills in a golf cart. Believe me. I’ve done it too often.”

I still had two more browsing customers who came in before I could change the sign from open to closed. Mrs. Fitzsimmons, who’d recently moved from Florida to Duck, also came in to pick up her UPS package. She complained, as she always did, that she had to come out to get her package instead of receiving it at her home.

I explained, as I always did, that she and her sister didn’t live off of a real road, more a sand track, so Stan couldn’t deliver to her house.

“Well, it wouldn’t have been that way back home,” she fussed. “I think Duck needs to catch up with the rest of the world. My sister and I will bring that up at the next town council meeting.”

She walked out with her package, banging the shop door closed behind her.

“She didn’t even say thank you,” Kevin said. “Maybe I should ask the town council to pass an ordinance about that.”

I finally turned the open sign and ushered him out the door so I could lock it. “Okay. Just do it when I’m not there.”

“I’ve never seen you miss a meeting.”

“That’s right. Let’s go.”

When we were in the pickup headed toward the hospital, Kevin asked if I was trying to prove to myself that La Donna was really guilty.

“I guess so. Or maybe there might be something that I could pick up on in her memories of what happened. Memories aren’t always exact. I’d like to see for myself that she really killed Joe. I think that’s the only way I’ll ever believe it.”

“You know you’re asking to be disappointed. Sometimes bad things happen. You called it right with Mad Dog. Most of the list of suspects are people you look up to and care about. All of them can’t be innocent.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

I knew he was right, but it made me angry. I stared out the window and thought about La Donna and all the times she’d been there for me. I hoped to see something else when I held her hands.

“Can you think of anyone La Donna could be trying to protect by confessing?” Kevin asked.

“I think we both know the answer to that.”

“Are you going to feel any better about this if you hold her hands and see Chief Michaels either killing Joe or helping her get away with it?”

“Will you please stop being so logical?” I requested, only half joking. “I wish I had a better plan. This is all I’ve got.”

“Sorry. Sometimes you have to let go.”

“Not yet.”

“What was that about the gambling casino at the meeting before the fight broke out? Where did that come from?”

“It’s the first I’ve heard of it.” I was glad he’d changed the subject. “The man presenting the project works with Dillon.”

“That’s interesting. How likely is it that the council would pass that kind of project?”

“Not likely at all. Duck was incorporated to fight off that kind of development.”

“Has Guthrie contacted you about it? He might want your help trying to pass it.”

I didn’t want to get into a conversation with him about Dillon. There was too much about him that I didn’t want Kevin to know.

“I’m only trying to do what the ATF wants me to.”

Kevin pulled the pickup into the hospital parking lot. He shut off the engine and started to get out.

“You don’t have to come in with me. I’ll be fine. If you have something else to do, I could call you when I’m ready to go.”

He opened the door. “The only thing I need to do here is make sure I don’t have to bail you out of jail. I’m coming in too.”

His phone rang, and I waited impatiently for him to answer. I could tell it wasn’t good news. “I guess you get your wish. A pipe broke and water is flooding the first floor. I have to go back to Duck. Call me when you’re ready anyway and I’ll come and get you.”

I kissed him quickly, knowing I wouldn’t call. He’d barely be getting back to the Blue Whale before I’d need to leave. I’d find a ride back.

There were reporters in the hospital lobby, waiting for any developments in the case. I wondered what it was that made them so interested in this particular instance. We had things going on all the time in Duck. None of them caught the press’s fancy like this one. Maybe it was the whole bizarre nature of it. I wished it could be better publicity, but as I’d found with Missing Pieces, even bad publicity was better than none.

Sheriff Riley got off the elevator, and the press moved in to question him. I noticed Chief Michaels coming from the stairway and considered that this might be the best way to get into La Donna’s hospital room.

I grabbed his sleeve as he started to walk by me. His face was a mask of exhaustion and fear when he turned back.

“Mayor O’Donnell. What are you doing here? Is there something I can do for you?”

“I know you don’t believe that the things I see are real, at least not all the time.” I rushed into my speech before he could walk away. “I want to see La Donna. I want to hold her hands and see what she’s talking about. I know you can’t believe she killed Joe.”

He rubbed his hand across his face. “No, I don’t believe she killed anyone. The important thing is that she believes it. Even if you could look into her thoughts, I’m afraid that might be all you’d see.”

I stared hard into his brown eyes. “You didn’t kill him, did you? She isn’t covering up for you.”

I thought he might be offended. He barely seemed to notice the accusation.

“No. I didn’t kill him—but if I’d known she was going to do this, I would’ve confessed to the whole thing. I’d do anything to keep her out of prison.”

“Then let me see her, Chief. What can it hurt? If I see her killing Joe, we’re no worse off than we are right now.”

He put his hand on my shoulder, and I jumped.

“Okay. What do you need?”

I rode up the elevator with the chief and a group of deputy sheriffs. It almost seemed too easy. I thought convincing the chief would be much harder. I hoped he didn’t have his expectations set too high.

The deputies looked at me like I didn’t belong there when we all got out on the same floor. It was like a prison environment already with at least five deputies standing outside La Donna’s hospital room door. The chief explained to the captain that I was the mayor of Duck and had demanded to see my constituent.

I wasn’t sure if Sheriff Riley would have gone along with it if he’d been there, but the captain agreed, and the chief and I went into the room.

They left us alone with La Donna. She was sitting up in bed beside a window. She was actually pretty in her green hospital gown. Her thick brown gray hair was pulled back from her face with a black headband. She looked sad and pale.

Chief Michaels took one of her hands as he approached the bed. She smiled at him and turned to me.

“I’m so glad to see you, Dae. It’s lonely here—when people aren’t asking me questions.”

“Who was here asking you questions this time?” Chief Michaels was still trying to protect her, even though it was beyond him now.

“Don’t worry. It’s the same old questions from the DA. I guess you have to expect as much when you’ve confessed to a crime.”

“There’s no point in them badgering you about it,” he growled.

“I’m fine.” She touched his worried face. “Really.”

I hated to be the one who needed to ask her more questions, but that’s why I was there. “We were so worried about you after the meeting. Are you okay now? What happened?”

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she was trembling. “It’s been hard keeping this secret for so many years. I went on with my life, acting like everything was fine, when I knew it wasn’t. When I heard Joe’s sister accuse Mad Dog again, and they started arguing, I couldn’t do it anymore. All the strain from telling myself it should be me in Mad Dog’s place spilled out. What kind of person am I who could let him go to jail for my crime?”

Chief Michaels smoothed his hand down her hair. “You were scared, that’s all. Anyone would be. I’ve seen grown men cry when they realized they were caught.”

“I was terrified,” she admitted. “I think I managed to convince myself that it never happened. Joe was gone. No one knew what had happened to him. Everybody guessed that he’d left town, since Mad Dog couldn’t race anymore. I thought many times that it didn’t really happen at all—until you found him, Dae.”

That made me feel incredibly guilty. It seemed finding Joe had brought such heartache to so many people. It was wrong for him to be down there, under the sand, all those years with no one knowing what had happened to him. Still, I was sorry I’d been involved.

“I know everyone keeps asking, La Donna, but could I
see
what happened to Joe? He was lost to you. You know I find lost things. If you think of him that way, it might work.”

“What good would that do? I know what I did. I didn’t want to admit it, but I
know
.”

“La Donna.” I took her hands in mine. “How did Joe get in Mad Dog’s car? How did you bury him?”

“Dae—” Chief Michaels started to warn me.

“It’s not like she’s the first person to ask, Ronnie. I’ve answered this question a dozen times already.”

He nodded, grudgingly, his usually square shoulders drooping.

“I’ve thought a lot about it.” Her eyes unfocused as she held my hands tight. “I think I blacked out. I found out that Joe had married Rosie and that they were going away together. I was so angry, so hurt. I wanted to hurt him the way he’d hurt me. After I did—after I hurt him—I guess I couldn’t cope with it. I forgot the rest. The doctor I’ve talked to here at the hospital said it isn’t unusual.”

“I can’t tell you how many people come to me thinking they know the whole story of how they lost something. When I look at it, there’s more. I might be able to help you fill in the gaps that you can’t remember.”

She stared at me for a long moment. “All right. I’ve looked at the rest of this ugly time in my life. I suppose I might as well let you look too.”

“Think back to what you lost that day. Think about Joe.”

I closed my eyes. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to make a connection. This time was almost immediate. I had that strange feeling of slow motion and cold that shivered through me. La Donna’s thoughts of when she lost the man she loved took us right to the spot.