Tuesday Tales: From the Word THANKS

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate this Thursday. Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales and another scene from A Case of Mistaken Identity. Our word prompt this week is Thanks. I don’t have a cover for the book yet, but I did use AI to create an image of the way I see Evie Chambers.

“This is where they found the body,” he commented. “I thought that might interest you since you mentioned it again last night. The police cordoned off the area and had techs combing the beach at low tide for a couple of days, but I don’t think they found anything.”

He bent down and picked up a rock, rinsed it in the water, and handed it to me.

“This is a piece of sea glass. It could be anywhere from twenty to two hundred years old. A glass vase or some other item made of glass falls into the water. Over the years, the current tumbles it around, breaks it into small pieces, and then polishes it. This little nugget might even come from the wreck of the Empress of Ireland herself. There’s no way of knowing, but if you use your imagination, why not? You can take it to a jeweler, have him polish it some more and turn it into a pendant.”

I closed my fist over it before shoving it inside the front pocket of my shorts. “Thanks. I’ll do that, and who knows? It could come from the Empress. There was a lot of glass on board.” I looked out into the water. “Anything is possible, right? I suppose if the police were that thorough, they wouldn’t have missed much. The current would’ve carried anything light enough to float along with it, and anything heavy is probably buried in the sand.”

I’d somehow stepped back and the next wave washed over my feet, making me gasp.

“Oh, that’s cold.”

Al laughed. “I did warn you.”

I was about to come back with something witty when I noticed something hanging on a piece of driftwood that must’ve floated in after yesterday’s storm. Gritting my teeth, I waded into the shallow water, reached into the tangled branches, and pulled out what looked like the top half of a mesh diver’s bag. As soon as I had it, I hurried out of the water while I could still feel my feet.

“Look at this.” I held up my prize.

“What did you find?” Al came over to me.

“Probably nothing, but it looks like part of a diver’s bag. I have a couple just like it.”

He cocked his head. “You didn’t mention that you were a diver.”

Oops, I hadn’t meant to let that particular cat out of the bag yet.

Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.