Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (22 page)

Lin couldn’t
disagree but the appetizers had left her feeling pretty full so she chose a
bowl of Outer Banks Chowder to finish up with.
 

“If we’re not
careful, I’m going to fall asleep before we get to Ocracoke,” she sighed.

“ Wait till we
get to the ferry, you can nap going over,” Neal ordered two espressos to
provide a jolt of caffeine.

The espresso
was great, but Lin didn’t need the caffeine to wake her up.
 
As soon as they exited the restaurant
she was jolted to full attention by the view at the gas station across the
street.
 
An ancient pick up truck,
covered with salt spray and dust, but unmistakably black, was pulled up at the
first pump.
 
The driver’s back was
turned toward them as he filled the tank, but his height and bulk were
evident.
 
It had to be Mike.
 
Lin grabbed Neal’s arm just as the
driver turned around and faced them.
 
His eyes met Lin’s in an icy stare.
 
She was certain now; they were being followed, and this man was up to no
good.

Neal guided her
to the car, and they waited before leaving the parking lot.
 
Mike finished gassing up his truck and
went inside to pay.
 
“Let’s leave
right now,” Lin urged.

“No,” Neal was
serious.
 
“This is an island, and
there are only two directions we can go anyway.
 
Let’s see what he’s going to do.
 
If he’s headed our way, I’d rather be
behind him.”

“But, if he
goes the other way, he might just turn around and come back.” Lin wasn’t sure
what Neal had in mind.

“That might be,
but we’re better off trying to determine how serious he is about keeping up
with us.”

Just then Mike
returned to his truck.
 
He’d have to
see that they were still parked at the restaurant, but he gave no indication;
he got in his truck and pulled out, heading south toward Buxton and Hatteras
Village.

After a few
minutes, Neal pulled out and drove over to the gas station.
 
“We may as well top off here ourselves,”
He said, “we don’t really have to have gas right now but it won’t get any
cheaper as we get further down the island.”

He used the self-service
pump to fill the tank while Lin went inside to purchase some snacks for later.

“ I knew that
bowl of soup wouldn’t be sufficient,” Neal grinned as he turned south on the
highway.

“Stop that,”
Lin fussed. “I’m not at all hungry after that wonderful lunch.
 
I just believe in being prepared.
 
Who knows, the salt
air’s
said to bring on an appetite. ”
 
She
tried to make light of their situation, eager to restore the atmosphere of fun
they’d enjoyed all morning, but it was hard.
 
She kept looking for evidence of the
black truck.

She thought
about suggesting they stop at one of the local police stations to report that
they were being followed, but when she thought about it, she didn’t think that
anyone could really do anything about it.
 
After all, Mike had simply been nearby, he hadn’t approached them or
threatened them in any way.
 
They
couldn’t prove anything at all.

They continued
their trek down the coast, stopping along the way for a short walk down the
beach followed by a visit to the Kinnakeet Lifesaving Station.
 
Viewing the exhibits about the rescues
carried out by the lifesaving teams on the Banks over the years reminded Lin of
Tom Miller’s stories about the many shipwrecks.
 
They saw no sign of Mike and his truck
anywhere.

Lin was happy
that this was also the case when they pulled into the parking lot at the
Hatteras Island Visitor Center.
  
“Maybe Mike’s given up the
chase.
 
He might’ve turned back
while we were walking on the beach or visiting Kinnakeet,” Lin was hopeful that
this was the case. “I’m wondering who he’s working for,” she added, “Billy
Thornton’s in jail.”

“Yeah, but he
might’ve told him to stay on it, or maybe his lawyer has,” Neal suggested,
“After all you’re a potential witness, if he goes to trial.
 
You’ve been asking about Dorrie and we
both talked to Connie Frazier.
 
Maybe he’s looking for insurance that, if you do testify, you won’t make
him look bad.”

Lin hadn’t
really thought about having to testify in any fashion.
 
She hoped that wouldn’t happen but
realized it might.
 
Another thing
bothered her.
 
If Billy did hire
this Mike, how did he know him?
 
Apparently Mike worked at the Simon Gallery in Manteo.
 
Almost as soon as she asked herself this
question she had a possible answer.
 
Mike probably lived on the beach somewhere.
 
He might work in Manteo but, no doubt,
he went back and forth all the time.
 
Tim’s Bar and Grill, that’s it, she thought.
 
I’ll bet he hangs out there and I know
Billy was a regular.
 
Ken Parker had
mentioned that some of the guys at Tim’s wouldn’t hesitate to do someone’s
dirty work, for a price.

They had
reached the base of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, tallest on the east
coast.
 
The stairs to the top
weren’t open but a ranger was on hand explaining how the
lighthouse
was threatened by the eroding sands on Hatteras Point
.
 
She described the major project that
moved the lighthouse to safety at its present location and reminded folks to
view the exhibits in the visitor center that included more information about
this feat.

As they
listened to the talk, Lin’s mind wandered.
 
The ranger had described how the ever-drifting sands of this coast
caused the shoreline to change all the time.
 
Buildings are threatened and shipwrecks
exposed, Lin thought, recalling the information Tom Miller had shared.
 
In fact, wasn’t Hatteras Point the place
where Liz Frazier claimed to have found jewelry?

After they had
left the visitor center, Lin suggested that they walk down to the beach for a
few minutes.

“OK,” Neal
agreed, “ but we can’t stay long if we expect to catch the four o’clock ferry.”

“I just want to
go far enough to see if there are any timbers from shipwrecks in view,” Lin
replied.

They climbed
the dune line to a point where they could see almost the entire beach spread
before them.
 
The rip currents that
were common at the point were evident in the rippling surf, but there were no
timbers visible.
 
They retraced
their steps back to the parking lot and headed for the ferry landing.

The
forty-minute ferry ride from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island was free.
 
The state of North Carolina ran the
service regularly, generally every hour, but the schedule was more frequent
during the busy summer tourist season.
 
There were other ferries from the south end of Ocracoke that connected
to Cedar Island near Morehead City and to the town of Swan Quarter.
 
These rides to the mainland were toll
services and took more than two hours.

When they
arrived, cars were already beginning to line up for the four o’clock trip.
 
The ferry could be seen approaching in
the distance.
 
Lin scanned the line
of waiting cars as Neal pulled into the row indicated by the person preparing
to load the ferry.
 
She gasped aloud
when she spotted the old black pick up three spots ahead of them.
 
The driver wasn’t present.
 
She grabbed Neal’s arm, “Look up
there.
 
It’s him, or rather his
truck.
 
Where is he?”

People had
exited their cars once in line and were walking about chatting and enjoying the
sunshine. A few had even gone over to the docks to feed the waiting gulls.
 
Mike was nowhere to be seen.
 

“There he is,”
Neal had spotted him.
 
“He’s over by
that building; it looks like he’s talking on the phone.
 
Cell service had been spotty all day as
they traveled down the banks, but there was apparently good signal here.
 
Lin realized that Neal was getting out
of the car.

“Wait here and
keep an eye on him,” Neal said, “I’ll be right back.”
 
He was gone before Lin could
protest.
 
Mike wasn’t looking in
their direction at all.
 
He was deep
into his conversation.
 
Neal was
walking toward the truck trying to keep the cars between him and Mike’s line of
sight.
 
Lin saw Mike stop talking
and put his phone in his pocket.
 
She held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t return to his car just yet.
 
He looked in their direction, and Lin
felt sure he’d probably spotted their car.
 
She just hoped he hadn’t spotted Neal.
 
Thankfully, Mike went into the building,
where a sign indicated there were restrooms.
 

Before Mike
came back outside, Neal was back.
 
He’d copied the license plate number for the truck.
 
“When we get the chance, maybe we can
find out more about who this character is.
 
If he bothers us on Ocracoke I’m calling the local cops.
 
Otherwise, we can give this information
to Ken Parker when we get home.”

Lin nodded and
reached out to grab Neal again, “Look, he’s coming back.”

Mike walked
swiftly back to his truck.
 
He was
looking in their direction and his eyes met Lin’s just as he reached his
vehicle.
 
There was an ugly sneer on
his face.
 
For a moment Lin was
afraid he was going to come to their car.
 
Her grip on Neal’s arm tightened.
 
She was relieved when Mike opened the truck door.
 
He gave one last, long look in their
direction then got into the truck and started the engine.
 
Sand and gravel scattered as he pulled
the truck out of line and headed back toward the highway.
 
They saw him turn back toward the north
and speed away.

“You can let go
now,” Neal grimaced, “I’m going to be black and blue.”

“Sorry,” Lin
released her grip, “What do you suppose that was all about?”

“I’m not sure,”
Neal replied, “if I had to guess, I’d say that he knew we’d probably head to
the ferry so he came down here to wait.
 
When he saw us arrive he probably phoned his contact to report we were
heading to Ocracoke.
 
My guess is he
was called off,” he turned to smile at her. “I don’t think we have anything
more to worry about, at least not while we’re there.”

“He could take
a later ferry couldn’t he?”
 
Lin was
still nervous.

“Yes, but I
doubt he does.
 
He knows we’ve seen
him now. I’ll talk to Ken about all this when we get back.
 
He might not be happy with you just now,
but he will try to protect us, I feel sure.”

Lin tried to
relax but she still felt shaky.
 

“We’ve at least
ten minutes before the ferry loads, why don’t we walk around a bit, everyone
else seems to be enjoying the sunshine.”
 
When they left the car, Neal took her hand and led her over toward the
water.
 
There were some kids there,
feeding the gulls.
 
Brown pelicans
were cruising low over the waters of the sound.
 
From time to time one dived swiftly and
rose again with a fish dangling from its bill.
 
The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun
danced on the rippling water.
 
Gradually, Lin let herself relax.
 
This was a perfect day and she was determined not to let anything else
spoil it.

The ferry horn
signaled and everyone returned to their cars.
 
Soon they were all loaded and pulling
away from the landing.

There was an
inside passenger lounge, but since the day was nice most of the passengers
gathered outside, either on the main deck in front of the parked cars or on the
passageway outside the lounge.
 
Some
of the kids were tossing pieces of bread at the flock of hungry gulls that
apparently followed each ferry that made the trip.
 
Someone spotted several dolphins
swimming alongside, and that generated a rush to the port side to try for
photographs.
 
Lin and Neal remained
in place on the deck, leaning on the rail and simply enjoying the peace of the
moment.
 
Gradually, the tension generated
by being followed seemed to leave Lin, and she smiled at her companion.

“The rest of
this weekend is just for us, nothing else to worry about.”

“You’re right
about that,” Neal took her hand and tucked it into his arm, “No more
distractions, other than those we generate for ourselves that is…” he winked
and brushed his lips lightly across hers.

The ferry
landing was at the opposite end of the island from the village of Ocracoke
itself.
 
They decided to drive
directly to the village and check into their lodgings.