Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines Read online

  She chuckled, “I love you too, Henry.”

  Doug and Billy came around the corner and into her office.

  “Henry, can I call you back in a bit? Doug and Billy are here.”

  “Sure. I love you. Talk to you later.”

  “I love you too.”

  The two young men were roommates, living in the apartment above her garage. Polly felt like they were her two younger brothers. She’d met them last fall when renovation had started on Sycamore House. They worked for an electrical contractor and had ended up as part of her family.

  “Hey Polly, was that Henry?” Doug asked.

  “I certainly hope so,” she laughed. “Who else would I be telling that I loved them?”

  “You say it all the time to everybody,” Billy deadpanned.

  Doug nodded in agreement. “We’re going over to Dad’s to get his power washer. We’ll be back.”

  “Thank you. Eliseo will organize this, but I appreciate you.”

  “If we borrow your truck, we could bring back a ladder.”

  “Uh,” she hesitated.

  “It’s only across town,” Doug laughed. “I’m a good driver. I promise.”

  Polly tossed him a key. “You hurt it, I’ll mess you up,” she said.

  “Deal.”

  They walked out of the office and she heard Billy say, “Dude! She doesn’t trust you. Maybe I should drive!”

  Polly almost stopped them. She stood up from her chair, then sat back down. “If I trust them in my house, I trust them with my truck,” she muttered. She loved her truck, but only because it had belonged to her dad. It had gone into storage after he died and was one of those things that made her think of him every time she drove it. She wasn’t sure how she would ever let it go, so she did her best to take care of it.

  She looked down at the flash drive on her desk. “Crap,” she said and looked at the time. She knew Aaron went to ten thirty church with his wife. Polly had time to call him. She didn’t want to explain why she hadn’t done so yesterday, but figured she might as well face the music.

  “Polly?” Aaron’s deep voice was a little hesitant when he answered her call.

  “No more bodies. I think one is enough for this week, don’t you?”

  “Well, that’s good news. What’s up this morning?”

  “First of all, Lila Fletcher came back early this morning. She said she’d been gone.”

  “I’ll have one of my boys stop up and talk to her. What else?”

  “Did you hear about the vandalism here?”

  “I heard it on the scanner. Talked to Ken. It sounds like he’ll do what he can. Did you need me to do something with that?”

  “No, we’ve got it. But, I’ve done something bad, even though it was totally unintentional. I’m afraid you’re going to be mad at me.”

  “I’ve been mad at you before. It doesn’t do me any good. What did you do?”

  “I kind of forgot to tell you about a flash drive that Thomas Zeller gave to me just before he died.”

  “You what?” Aaron sounded more irritated than usual.

  “I totally forgot about it until late last night when I was talking to Henry on the phone. I dropped it into the pocket of my robe and I found it there when I put it on last night.”

  “Why did he give this to you?”

  “I don’t know, Aaron. He told me that it was only for me and that I was supposed to find him.”

  “Find who?”

  “I don’t know that either. I haven’t had time to go through the files.”

  “You’re just going to give it to me? No argument?”

  Polly was shocked. “Why would I argue with you? I want you to find out who killed him.”

  “You’re sure you don’t want to figure it out?” he teased her.

  “If I do figure it out, that would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it?”

  “Not the way you do things. Your luck, the murderer will show up and try to hurt you and I’ll have to rescue you. I’d like to tell you to just let me do my job and keep your nose out of things, but I’d be making noise into the wind, wouldn’t I?”

  “Maybe?” she laughed.

  “Polly, you give me a headache.”

  “I don’t do it on purpose. It’s not like I ask these people to die around me. I keep insisting that it’s not my fault and no one seems to listen.”

  “Lydia and I will stop by after church. With this vandalism episode, she isn’t going to rest until she’s wrapped her arms around you at least once.”

  “We’re washing down the front of the building this morning. Hopefully it will be clean by the time you get here.”

  “What does Henry have to say about all of this?” Aaron asked.

  “Excuse me?” she said.

  “Lydia would probably swat me for that question, wouldn’t she? I’ll ask again in a different way. Is Henry helping you clean this up?”

  “Not exactly,” Polly laughed. “He’s still in Michigan.”

  “That’s right. That has to be frustrating for him.”

  “I think it is. But not in that ‘caveman gotta protect his woman’ way, though.”

  “Oh. No. He would never act like that,” Aaron laughed.

  “Not if he wants to live through the next week,” she responded. “He’s smart and doesn’t treat me like I’m going to break just because I’m a girl.”

  “He is smart,” Aaron replied. “And one of the smartest things he did was corral you. You’re good for him, Polly.”

  “Thanks, Aaron.” This was the longest conversation she’d ever had with Aaron about something other than a dead body. His wife was one of her best friends, but Aaron usually let the two of them chatter while he remained quiet, observing and rarely commenting.

  “I’ll see you later. If you still need help with cleanup, you know I’ll be there.”

  “I think we’ll be fine, but thanks.” She watched as Jimmy Rio and Sam Terhune drove into the parking lot. Jimmy parked his truck and they got out.

  “Good-bye, Polly.”

  “Bye, Aaron. Hug your wife for me.”

  She hung up and when she got outside, said, “Hi guys. Thanks for helping today.”

  “This is really something!” Jimmy said, “When Henry called, I couldn’t believe it. Who would do this to you?”

  “I’ve got nothing.” Polly shook her head and rolled her eyes.

  Eliseo came around the corner of the building.

  “Hi Jimmy. Hi Sam,” he said.

  “We’ve got two power washers and some hose here. Where do you want us to hook up?”

  “Follow me,” He strode toward the garage and they followed him, the end of a hose trailing behind them. Doug drove in with Polly’s truck and parked. He and Billy jumped out, unloaded a ladder, then went back to pull more hose and another washer out of the bed of the truck.

  “Do you think your water pressure can handle this?” Doug asked.

  Polly shrugged. She had no idea. “Ask Eliseo,” she said.

  He was coming back, carrying one end of a ladder. “We’ll be fine. We’re going to run one from the kitchen and then one from the other side of the building.”

  “But,” Polly interrupted.

  “No, I’ve got it,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

  “Okay. What can I do?”

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Really. I need to do something or I’ll go out of my mind.”

  “You’re going to get wet.”

  “Then I’ll get wet. It’s going to be 82 degrees today. I think I’ll live through it.”

  “When the paint and water comes down to the sidewalk, you need to sweep it into the gravel. We’ll wash it down again after the walls are clean, but I don’t want it to stain the concrete.”

  “Brooms in the shed?” she asked.

  “They are. Let me get these hoses hooked up and water running. Guys, we’re going to begin up high and wash it down. Jimmy, you work on the doors. Henry and I are most worried
about those. The windows and brick should clean right up.”

  As they were setting up, cars were slowing down on the highway in front of the parking lot and several drove through. The first person to pull in was a couple Polly had met several times with Henry. She could not believe that she didn’t remember their name.

  “What happened, Polly?” the husband asked.

  “Paint. All over everything.”

  “Do you know who did it?”

  “I don’t have a clue. Ken Wallers was here earlier. That’s all I could do, I guess.”

  “Wow, that’s too bad. I hope it cleans up for you.”

  “So do I. But, Henry seems to think this will do the trick and I figure if anyone knows, he does.”

  “He’s a good man, that Henry is,” the man said. “Well, good luck!” They drove on out and before she took two steps toward the shed, another car pulled in. This time it was Lisa Bradford, Polly’s mail-person.

  “Wow, Polly, this looks awful! Who did it?”

  Polly shook her head. “I have no idea. It’s disgusting, isn’t it?”

  “Have you called the police?”

  “Yep, Ken was here earlier. Now we just have to get it cleaned up.”

  “If you need anything from the store, we’ll be up there after one o’clock. I’m sure Paul has some stuff that would help.”

  “Thanks, Lisa. If I need him, I’ll let you know.”

  “If we don’t hear from you, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She waved and drove off. Paul Bradford ran the hardware store in town. Polly hoped that by the time he opened his store, everything would be clean and his assistance would be unnecessary.

  She continued to the shed behind her garage, ignoring other cars that drove through to peer at the damage.

  Polly hated being the subject of conversation, even though she knew there would always be some level of interest in her because she’d bought and renovated the old high school. Between the bodies she kept finding and the Percherons and now this, people had plenty to talk about. She sneered as she grabbed a couple of brooms, and thought, “Well, this ought to keep the lips of all the church biddies in town flapping. I’m sure they’re praying for my soul now. Next thing you know, they’ll tell me that if I’d been in church this would never have happened.”

  “Hey, Polly?”

  She turned around, relieved that someone would distract her from her nasty thoughts. Rachel and Jason were coming up from the barn.

  “Yeah, Jason. What’s up?”

  “Mom says I can stay if you need me.”

  “I think we’re fine. You can go to church.”

  “Please?” he begged.

  “Nah. It’s probably bad enough I don’t go on a regular basis. You need to go.”

  “Rats,” he said. “I finally get a good reason not to and you won’t let me get away with it.”

  “Is it really that bad?” Polly asked.

  “No. It’s fine. I just thought I could hang out here.”

  “Call your mom and tell her Rachel is bringing you home. Okay Rachel?”

  “Sure. Whatever,” Rachel shrugged. “I gotta go, too.” She looked up as Billy came out of the building. “Hey, Billy,” she said.

  “Hi Rachel. Did you ride this morning?”

  “Yes, we did. Jason and I were just polishing tack. I’m going to take him home. So, you aren’t going to church today?”

  “No, I’m helping with this. Are you mad?”

  Polly stifled a giggle. Kids were awesome.

  Rachel said, “No problem. You’re probably needed here.”

  “Okay.” He turned around and opened the front door again to go inside without saying anything else.

  Rachel stood there looking at his back and watched the door close. She took a short breath and let it out, then said, “Come on, Jason. We’d better go.”

  “Rachel?” Polly stopped her.

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t let it freak you out. Boys can be terrible communicators sometimes.”

  “I know. He does pretty good, but sometimes I want to kill him.”

  “I’m guessing that might be a pattern,” Polly laughed.

  “Mom says I need to tell him how to talk to me. Doesn’t that seem like something his mother should have taught him?”

  “Like he’d listen to her?” Polly asked.

  “I suppose you’re right.” Rachel gave a quick shudder. “I don’t want to have to tell him how to be nice.”

  “Here’s the deal,” Polly said conspiratorially, “You either talk to him when you guys aren’t mad at each other or you will be telling him when you’re having a huge fight.”

  “We don’t fight,” Rachel responded.

  “You will. Trust me. If you are frustrated with him now, you’ll fight with him later.”

  “Yuck,” Rachel spat. “I hate talking about that stuff. And I know he hates it. He’d much rather talk about his computers or games or movies.”

  “Rachel! We gotta go!” Jason called from the passenger door of her car.

  “I gotta go,” Rachel said. “Thanks, though.”

  “Have fun!”

  Rachel waved and ran to her car. They drove out of the parking lot and Polly turned around to see Doug on the ladder, beginning to wash down the brick wall. She was relieved to see paint coming off the brick. They might get through this after all.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Returning the casserole dish to the oven, Polly checked the time. Henry was stopping at his house before coming over. He wanted to unpack his things first. They planned to eat at six o’clock and she hoped he meant what he said when he told her he was hungry. She’d cooked hearty and she’d cooked plenty.

  Everyone had worked until about two o’clock cleaning down the front of Sycamore House and she was fairly pleased with the result. Her beautiful front doors didn’t clean up quite as much as she’d hoped, and she was afraid that meant Henry was going to have to strip them down and refinish them. What a terrible time of year for that to happen, but at least they were no longer covered with bright yellow paint.

  Her friends had stopped by after church with lunch. Lydia and Andy, Sylvie and Beryl had gone to the grocery store and picked up food to make quick sandwiches. When Polly had given Thomas Zeller’s flash drive to Aaron, he glanced through the files on her computer and agreed there was an awful lot of information. None of it seemed to have a flashing red light over it that said, “Here’s the murderer, read me.,” though.

  Eliseo had finally pulled Polly back into the parking lot and asked her to look up at the building. “I think we’ve done it, Polly. It looks good.”

  She had thanked the others and was frustrated when they wouldn’t accept any money.

  “It’s what we do, Polly,” Jimmy Rio had assured her. “This was a bad thing that happened to you. We like being able to help out.”

  “At least let me send you guys to Davey’s for supper.”

  The boys had all looked at each other and grinned. “We’ll take some of that action. Tonight’s prime rib!”

  “I’ll make the call. Dinner with everything you want … even dessert … is on me.”

  The four had walked away, making decisions about what time to meet up for dinner.

  “Billy?” Polly had called out.

  “Yes ma’am,” he said with a laugh, knowing how much she hated that term.

  “Well, I was going to tell you that you could take Rachel, but maybe I shouldn’t be that nice to you.”

  “I’m sorry,” he dramatically said and stuck out his lower lip. “I’ll be good.”

  “Call her and if any of you other guys have figured out how to ask a girl on a date, feel free to invite them out tonight. You’ve been amazing today and I owe you.”

  She watched Billy punch Doug in the shoulder and both of them laughed. Sam Terhune and Jimmy Rio looked at her and she said, “What? I wasn’t kidding. Invite your girlfriends. That’s good with me.”

  “Thanks, Miss Giller,” Sam said.
“Thanks a lot!”

  “The horses won’t need much tonight, Polly,” Eliseo said. “We did good work this morning. Jason and I will get them in and fed. Henry’s coming home, isn’t he?”

  “Yes. Thank you, Eliseo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  When Polly got up to her apartment, she pulled chicken out of the freezer and set it in a warm water bath in the kitchen sink, then ran down the back steps with Obiwan. They wandered through her back yard, and down along the creek. When they got to the fence for the pasture, they wove in and out of the trees until they came to where Nan and Nat were standing.

  “Hi there,” Polly said, reaching out to rub Nan’s muzzle. Obiwan yapped at the two of them, then pulled the leash to keep moving. Polly felt Nat graze the top of her head with his lips. “I love you too, but it looks as if Obiwan is in a hurry. I’ll see you in the morning.” They continued down between the fence and the trees and the two horses followed.

  “We have a parade,” she laughed. They followed the fence around the pasture to the highway and then she picked up the pace and they jogged back to Sycamore House.

  “Can you believe those big guys live with us, Obiwan? How crazy is that?” They went in the front door and up the steps to her apartment.

  “Okay, everyone,” she said. “We’re on a mission. We have two and a half hours to get a good meal on the table, the apartment cleaned and I need a shower. Who’s up for helping me get this done?”

  Since she was standing in the kitchen when she made her grand announcement, all eyes were watching her. “I know, I know,” she said. “Treats it is.” She tossed a fresh rawhide bone into the living room for Obiwan and opened the bag of dental treats for the cats, giving them a few. “If you aren’t going to help me, the least you can do is leave me alone while I work like a crazy woman.”

  Promptly at six o’clock, her front doorbell rang and she flung the door open.

  “I missed you!” she said, ready to pull him into her arms, but then saw that his hands were full. He had a small bunch of mums in one hand and a plastic grocery bag in the other.

  “I missed you, too.” He leaned forward to kiss her and she put her hands on his cheeks and held him until he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. When she finally let him go, he said, “I always like coming back to that.”