A Watery Death (A Missing Pieces Mystery Book 7) Read Free Page A

it became. Now I could see other things about the people I chose to read. I could also pick up items and know everything about them.
    Sometimes what I saw in people and their belongings wasn’t pleasant. On the other hand, I had helped people. I still thought of my gift as the ability to find missing pieces—just like the shop. The hard part was finding the right place for each piece.
    I’d seen something else when I held Kevin’s hand.
    He was upset about not being able to share our relationship with his family. He was thinking about his parents and brother who lived in Maryland. They hadn’t come to visit him yet and seen the remarkable things he’d done with the old inn.
    Kevin wanted them to meet me too. I knew he wasn’t close to his family. He rarely spoke of them and hadn’t seen them for years.
    We didn’t talk about that. I didn’t want him to feel like he couldn’t keep something from me. Instead, we talked about the parade the next day, and the renovation of my heavy, old-fashioned mayor’s coat.
    “I’m sure if Darcy has taken off about fifty pounds on that coat, it will fit you right,” he said.
    “It wasn’t made for me. I’m sure Mad Dog had it made for him since he expected to be the first mayor of Duck after incorporation.”
    He touched a strand of my sun-bleached brown hair. It was always a bit windblown, no matter how hard I tried to keep it neat.
    “Why wasn’t Mad Dog the first mayor? I know the town appointed you. Why didn’t they pick him?”
    I shrugged. “Gramps was sheriff back then. He had a big reputation and had worked hard to bring about the town’s incorporation to fight off the big hotel that had wanted to build on the Currituck Sound. He has at least as many friends as Mad Dog. Gramps wanted me to be the first mayor. I guess that’s why they picked me.”
    Mad Dog was Randal ‘Mad Dog’ Wilson. He was from one of the founding families of Duck, just like my family, the O’Donnells.
    He was a mountain of a man—tall and broad—who was used to getting his own way. He had once been a popular race car driver and had spent several years on the town council.
    He’d run against me for the mayor’s spot last year and lost. That meant he’d lost his seat on the council too and had subsided to simply being a problem about everything that went on in town.
    “Well even if the mayor’s coat seems too big for you, sweetheart, the job fits you well. I can’t imagine a better official for this town.” Kevin smiled and lightly kissed me.
    “Thanks. You know I love my work, and getting that salary is nice too.”
    The town council had voted to give me a small salary now. It wasn’t enough to live on, but it was enough to help me through the lean months over the winter when the shop didn’t make much money.
    “Of course it was decent of them to give themselves salaries too.”
    I didn’t comment on that. The town had the money for it. The salaries weren’t huge. I didn’t feel bad about it, though it had been controversial.
    Lunch was delicious, as always. Cody Baucum stopped by our table to ask how everything was. He and his brother, Reese, owned Wild Stallions. Reese and Cody were similar in appearance—medium height and build, sandy brown hair and brown eyes. Some people had a hard time telling them apart even though they weren’t twins.
    Cody had become a town council member during the last election. He’d had dozens of great ideas so far. I believed he’d be a huge asset to Duck as we continued to grow. It was good to have someone under fifty on the council besides me.
    “I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking forward to the council meeting tonight.” Cody refilled our water glasses. “Mad Dog and a few other people are bringing a petition to close down the gambling ship.”
    “You’re kidding. I thought we were over that and everyone loved having the extra money it brings in in.”
    He shrugged. “I’m sure merchants like it. I like it. How