A Big Life in a Small Town (Bellingwood #2) Read online

  "I'll gather up the dishes and you get dessert," he said and began picking up the plates and silverware.

  She brought a container of ice cream out of the freezer and lifted the lid off the pound cake. "Are you ready for this?" she asked.

  "After that workout, I'm ready for nearly anything. Can I help?"

  "No, you're doing all the work. You can stop any time. Would you like some coffee? Oh wait,” she said, “Dew?"

  "I don't think so. This is going to make me sleep well tonight, caffeine would mess with that."

  Polly sliced the pound cake and put it on the plate. Before scooping the ice cream, she put a small pitcher of homemade chocolate sauce in the microwave for a few seconds. When it was done, she had the ice cream on each plate. She opened a drawer and pulled out two dessert forks and set them on the plates. She fit both plates into her left hand, hooked the handle of the pitcher with her right hand and walked to the table.

  "Just a second," she said and went back to the refrigerator, pulling out a dish of red raspberries in syrup. "I know they're not fresh, but I think they'll do.

  Scooping raspberries over his slice of pound cake, she looked at him as if asking when to stop. He put his hand up and said, "All I can say is wow!"

  She scooped raspberries onto her slice, poured a little warmed chocolate over both the ice cream and pound cake and offered him the pitcher when she was finished.

  Mark took a bite and smiled. "No one has ever made a dessert like this for me. Polly, you'd make a wonderful wife."

  Polly blushed, "How about I make a wonderful friend who says thank you for taking care of my animals and teaching me how to dance. Well, at least how to not make a fool of myself on the dance floor."

  "That's a good start," and he winked at her.

  "I don't want to frighten you, but there is going to be line-dancing and all sorts of other things happening on Saturday night. I would have liked to get you comfortable with the fox-trot, but that's a bit much for one night."

  "I wouldn't have been able to absorb anything else tonight," she agreed. "But it was fun. Thank you for making it fun."

  "I'll tell you what. I know that it's going to get busy around here tomorrow as everyone prepares for the big day. I could come over Thursday evening, though, and anyone who is around and wants to learn some steps, I'd be glad to help. I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but I could probably even convince Lisa to come with me. What do you think about that?"

  "Would you? That would be great." Polly reached out and laid her hand on his forearm. "Thank you. It's been wonderful."

  Mark glanced at the clock on the microwave. "It's nearly ten o'clock. I've got another early morning tomorrow, so I should probably go pretty soon. Can I help you with the dishes?"

  Polly was shocked. "Oh, no! I'll take care of those. In fact, I probably won't even look at them again until tomorrow. I'll take Obiwan down for a walk and then put the food away and deal with the rest later."

  Obiwan heard his name and looked up. When Mark and Polly began walking to the door, he stood up and followed them.

  "Yes, it's your turn for a little attention," Polly said. She pulled on her coat and a scarf, then snapped his leash on his collar before putting her gloves on. Mark was ready to go and opened the door of her apartment, then followed her out into the hallway.

  They walked downstairs and when he got to the door, he took her hand, "Thank you for a very nice evening, Polly. I hope we do this again soon." He opened the front door and they walked out into the cold evening.

  Polly glanced across the street and saw that there was no longer a car in the lot. "I guess I didn't need to worry about anything. I wonder what they were doing."

  "I don't know," he said. "I'm glad they're gone. Be careful."

  "I will. Good night and thank you."

  Mark took her hand again and squeezed it, then walked to his car as she started walking with Obiwan. She saw his lights come on and heard the crunch of his tires on the gravel as he backed out and drove out of the lot. She and Obiwan walked around the building and then back to the front door. She closed it behind her and switched off the downstairs lights, walking up to her apartment. When Polly finally dropped into bed, she shut her eyes, said, "Thank you for taking care of another fear in my life. I can dance," and fell asleep.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Laughing at his antics, Polly brought Obiwan in through the front door, stamping her feet. "You know, if Dad were still around, I wouldn't have missed the forecast of snow. What in the world happened last night, Obiwan?"

  He shook himself and looked up at her with what seemed to be a smile. "Yeah. Yeah. You love playing in fresh snow. I get it. But, what in the world?"

  She started up the first step, waiting for him to join her. "Are you coming?"

  Obiwan sat down at the bottom of the steps and looked up at her. "What are you doing, you crazy dog?" His tail was wagging, so she didn't think anything was wrong but he wouldn't budge. Polly stepped back down on the floor and knelt down in front of him. "I'm not going back outside. It's cold and windy and it's blowing snow everywhere."

  Her phone rang. She saw that it was Henry. "Good morning, Henry. It snowed!"

  "Thanks for the update," he laughed. "Are you going to be okay if we don't get over to plow you out right away? I need to take care of some people first if you don't mind."

  "I'm fine, except that I'm worried about Saturday. Does this create a problem?"

  "The forecast calls for warm weather tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. I think we're going to be fine. Don't worry."

  "If you say so, I'm not going to worry about it. Get here when you can. I'll call Andy and Sylvie and tell them to stay home until later. Thanks."

  "See you after a while."

  Henry hung up and Polly tried to go back up the steps. Obiwan still wouldn't budge. "What is up with you? Come on." She tugged on his leash and he finally stood up, but rather than going to the stairway, he attempted to walk back to the front door. She finally let him and went with him. He bumped his nose on the door and she said, "No! I'm not going back out there. It's cold. You've done everything you need to do and that's enough for now."

  He bumped his nose against the door. The action was strange enough that Polly relented and opened the door. Pulling her scarf close to her against the wind, she followed him as he led her around the building to the door by the stage. He nosed at a something with a fine sheen of snow on top. It had to have been dropped there several minutes ago and she saw footprints leading back to the creek. Polly brushed aside snow and saw that it was a canvas messenger bag. When she pulled it open, there were two plastic covered tubs. She peered through the translucent plastic of the first tub and saw what seemed to be pictures, while the other had a piece of paper in it. Pulling the bag over her shoulder, she led Obiwan back to the front door.

  This time, when they went inside, he got to the first step before she did and wagged as he waited for her to join him.

  Once inside the apartment, she dropped her coat beside the door and followed him to the kitchen, setting the bag on the table as she went past it. After filling his food dish and pouring a cup of coffee, she sat down and opened it up again.

  Polly pulled out the first container and opened it, then released it as if she had been bitten. Someone had taken pictures last night of her and Mark Ogden. Two were taken from her kitchen window, one was when she was standing at her sink and the next when the two of them were looking across the parking lot. There were shots of him arriving at Sycamore House and others from earlier in the day when she had been coming and going. She felt sick. What did they want?

  She opened the next container and there was a folded piece of paper. She had enough presence of mind to stop herself from pulling the paper out. She'd seen enough television to know better, so she went to the kitchen and pulled two pairs of tongs out of a drawer, feeling more than a little foolish. With tongs on each corner, she unfolded the paper and read:

  "Tell th
e bitch to go home. We know she is staying there. We're watching you."

  Polly dropped the paper back into the container and stepped away from the table. She felt tears come to her eyes and she dropped her head to her chest. How could this be happening?

  Then she got mad. All she wanted to do was have a nice place where people could have fun and enjoy being creative. She walked over to the sink and tossed the tongs in, then filled it with hot water. She knew it didn't make sense, but those weren't going back into the drawer after touching that damned note. She thrust her hands in the hot water pouring from the faucet and let it flow over them as the sink filled. When it covered the tongs, she shut the water off and dried her hands on a towel, then walked to the sofa and sat down, staying as far from the table as possible.

  She pulled out her phone and called a very familiar number.

  "Good morning, Polly. Is everything okay?" Aaron Merritt's voice came through and gave her a little comfort.

  "Not really, Aaron. I think I need you again."

  "Do you now! You're bringing action to Bellingwood again, aren't you Polly!" His deep laugh made her feel better.

  "I keep telling you people, it's not my fault!" she laughed.

  "I'm making my way through town right now. Do I need to stop by your place?" he asked.

  "Could you? I have something I need you to see."

  "I'll be there as soon as possible. Have you changed the key to the front door?"

  "No, I haven't. You should be able to get in. I'll have coffee for you when you get here."

  "I'll see you soon."

  Polly still had a few muffins in the refrigerator. She put those on the countertop and then pulled two small plates down from the cupboard. She needed to make a few calls. The first call was to Jeff Lyndsay.

  "Hey, Polly. It snowed!"

  "You're right! It did! Are you going to stay in Ames and be safe?"

  "I'll stay here until the roads clear up. But, I might bring clothes and things with me just in case I have to sleep on your couch."

  "Got it. And yes, you can sleep on my couch." She laughed. "Let me know when you're going to try to get here so I can worry about you."

  "See you later."

  They hung up and she called Sylvie. Jason picked up the phone and said, "Hi Polly! It's a snow day! We don't have to go to school!"

  She smiled. There was nothing better for a kid than a snow day. "That's great, Jason! What are you going to do?"

  "Mom said we could come to Sycamore House with her and maybe we could play in the snow outside. Could we take Obiwan out with us?"

  "You sure can. Could I talk to your mom, though?"

  She heard a thump and assumed the phone had been dropped onto a table, then Jason's voice calling, "Mom! Polly's on the phone for you."

  In a moment, Sylvie said, "Hi, Polly. It snowed. Are you worried about Saturday yet?"

  "Everyone keeps telling me that it snowed," Polly giggled. "But, Henry says I don’t need to worry, so I'm choosing to hold panic off until Friday night. Don’t hurry over here, though. And would you call Hannah and tell her not to try it?"

  "She and I have already talked this morning. We both think the roads will be clear this afternoon. If she can get here, she will. But, no worries. I think the boys and I are going to bundle up and walk over. It's only five blocks and it will be good for us. Right boys?"

  Sylvie chuckled. "They don't care what they have to do as long as they can get to you and the animals. Maybe you should put them to work shoveling off the front steps."

  "Have you made breakfast for them?"

  "We had some cereal. They're good to go."

  "Okay. Well, don't hurry and be careful. I'd rather you stayed at home and were safe."

  "I won't be safe in this apartment with two owly boys if they can't get out and expend a whole lot of energy. This is all for the better. We'll see you in a while."

  "Okay!" Polly said.

  She hung up the phone and quickly dialed Andy. "Good morning, Polly. Can you believe it? It snowed!"

  Polly laughed out loud. "Well, if I hadn't known when I was outside with Obiwan this morning, I would definitely know by now that it snowed."

  "What?" Andy laughed.

  "Everyone I've been talking to this morning has told me that it snowed. It was just funny." Polly shrugged her shoulders and giggled. "I'm calling to tell you not to try to get here this morning."

  "I'll be good," Andy said. "Lydia called and said that when the roads cleared up a little bit, she'd pick me and Beryl up and bring us over to work. I'm going to go outside and shovel my walks. My son had better show up later to plow my driveway if he knows what's good for him."

  "Be careful out there, okay?" Polly said.

  "I will and we'll see you later!" Andy hung up and Polly looked out to see Aaron's SUV pull into the driveway in front of her door. Obiwan's ears perked up and he looked at the front door of the apartment. This time, Polly heard Aaron's feet walking across the floor of the hallway outside her door and she opened it for him.

  "I know," she said. "It snowed."

  He laughed and after wiping his feet on the rug, came inside the door.

  "What do you have to show me?" he asked.

  "It's over here," Polly said and pointed to the table.

  Aaron stood over the scattered photographs and the containers and said, "What are these, Polly?"

  She told him about the car that had been parked across the street the night before and then Obiwan's strange behavior this morning.

  "Aaron," she said, "whoever did this must have put it there while we were out walking and that freaks me out. I can't believe I didn't see him or hear the car drive away, but Obiwan obviously knew it."

  "I know, Polly. It freaks me out a little too. You haven't seen or heard from this girl since Saturday?"

  "Wait! I also got a note from her, telling me she was going to be gone for a while. I didn't find it until yesterday, but it's downstairs. When you leave, I'll walk down and give it to you."

  "Did you touch this note?" Then he shook his head. "Of course you did. That's fine."

  "Actually, I didn't." He looked at her in surprise.

  "I watch television," she laughed, "so I used tongs to take it out of the container and unfold it."

  "Where are they?"

  "In the sink. I had to wash them. Do you want them?"

  "No, that's fine." He snapped on a pair of gloves he pulled out of a pocket and read the note. Then, he dropped it back in the container, gathered the photographs and dropped them in the other container and placed both in the messenger bag. "I'm going to take this with me."

  "I figured you would. Now, can I give you a muffin and some coffee?"

  "No, that's fine. Lydia sent a thermos with me and I got my morning oatmeal before I left," he sighed. "Let's go downstairs and get that other note. I'll let you know what I find out, but there might not be any more information until later in the week. Don't worry, okay?"

  "I can't help but worry, but I’ll try to keep my head about me."

  "I'm going to call Ken over at the police station and I'll let my guys who are driving through here know to keep an eye on Sycamore House. If we can keep them wary enough of coming close, that will help until we figure out who they are and what they want. Did you happen to see what kind of vehicle they were in?"

  "No, I didn't, but Mark Ogden was the one who told me they were over there."

  "Over where?"

  "They were parked in the lot in front of the swimming pool."

  "I'll call Mark and see if he can identify the car."

  "Thanks Aaron. I appreciate it. Tell them there will be coffee here all day."

  "I'll do that. Let's get that note and I need to head down the road."

  They walked downstairs and into the office. Polly opened her desk drawer and pulled out the note she had found in Elise's room and said, "I have an envelope here, would you like me to put it in there?"

  "Sure, that's fine." She did s
o and he slipped it into a jacket pocket. "I'll talk to you later. Now, don't worry."

  "Thanks. I'll try."

  Polly stood in the doorway and watched Aaron drive away, then closed the front door, locked it and went back to the main kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She wasn't sure who would show up today, but the coffee would be hot.

  She went back into the hallway to head upstairs. Sylvie would be busy today getting things ready for Saturday's meals, so Polly thought she might bake cookies and bring them down, in case anyone came in and needed a little sugar. The door blew open and three bundles of coats and boots entered.

  "How did you get here so fast?" she asked.

  Andrew pulled the scarf away from his mouth and said, "Henry brought us over!"

  Sylvie had unwrapped her own scarf and smiled, "He was plowing Mrs. Albert's driveway and saw us walking out of the apartment building and he gave us a ride. He said to tell you he was going to run one path through for you and then be back later."

  "Drop your coats and boots here in the corner," Polly said, "and come upstairs and get warm. That was nice of him!"

  Sylvie nodded. "It was. He's a keeper, Polly."

  Polly smiled. "He's a good guy."

  The boys had both sat down against the wall and were pulling their boots off. They left everything scattered around on the floor and started up the steps.

  "Boys!" Sylvie barked and they both stopped, poised to continue moving. "Come back down and clean up your things. You know better than that."

  They backed down the steps, one at a time, giggling at each other. When they hit the floor, they ran over to their things and pulled everything together in a pile.

  "Better?" Jason asked.

  "Not better," Sylvie said. "Here." She walked over, stood their boots up and then laid the coats on top of them. "Does that make sense?"

  "Yes, mom," Jason said.

  "Good, now you do it." Sylvie picked the coats up and scattered the boots, chuckling as both boys looked at her in shock.

  "Why did you do that?" Andrew asked.

  "I want to know that you understand what is supposed to happen. Now, straighten up your things."