Daisy Lane (33 page)

“You’ve got to earn her confidence,” Stuart said. “One of you has got to become a sort of fatherly figure to the girl.”

“Mamie’s wrecked my chances,” Knox said. “It’ll have to be you, Trick.”

“I spoke to Sandy and Stacey,” Trick said. “They’re doing their part. They aren’t happy about having her live with us, of course, but they understand what’s at stake.”

“I can’t have her live with me right now,” Knox said. “I’m just not in a position to take her in until Meredith gets out of the hospital. Even then, I’m not sure that would work out.”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to my boys,” Stuart said. “But I will as soon as possible. If we could get her smitten with one of them that would help.”

“You’re just hoping one of your boys will knock her up,” Knox said. “He’d be the son who laid the golden egg.”

They all laughed.

“Now, now, now,” Stuart said. “I’m fine with my cut, boys. A rising tide will lift all our boats.”

“I’m willing to sell you all the land on the east side of the river,” Knox said. “But without the mineral rights.”

“Don’t need ’em,” Stuart said. “All I need is all that precious acreage with access to the interstate.”

“Is the new highway confirmed to cross between Pendleton and Rose Hill?”

“Congressman Green’s aide showed me the plans,” Stuart said. “It will make that particular parcel very valuable. Plenty of room for Peg’s business and a strip mall.”

“How’s the wind farm project coming along?” Knox asked.

“Done deal,” Stuart said. “Legislators meet next month. It’s tacked on to the roads bill.”

“How in the world are they getting around the environmentalists?” Knox asked.

“Congressman Green is a genius,” Stuart said. “One of his ex-staffers created a nonprofit agency to study the environmental impact of land development on the local ecology. Green got it federally funded, and any favorable finding we need they can get.”

“That’s going to help us in all our projects,” Trick said. “It’s like an automatic stamp of approval from the tree huggers.”

“We’re still purchasing other land elsewhere to be protected in exchange for what we develop,” Stuart said. “It’s just much less desirable than what we have to work with here.”

“And the endangered gray flying squirrels?”

“Succumbed to a mysterious disease,” Stuart said. “It was a very sad thing.”

All three men laughed, and goose bumps rose up on Grace’s arms.

“So what are our next steps?” Stuart asked.

“I need to get my hands on one of those trust statements,” Knox said, “and get her to sign that L.O.A.”

“Stacey and Sandy have got to gain her trust,” Trick said.

“I’ll see what Hugh and Lucas can do,” Stuart said.

Stacey’s mother called down the stairs that Stuart’s phone was ringing.

“Coming,” Stuart called back. “I must have left it in the kitchen. It’s probably Peg, calling to see if I’m coming to her campaign committee meeting.”

“I’ve got a bank board meeting,” Knox said. “I’ve got to go.”

“Just leave all this,” Trick said. “I’ll come back down later and clean it up.”

Grace listened to them talking as they went back down the long hallway and up the stairs to the kitchen. As soon as she was sure they were all upstairs she crept out from her hiding place and looked at the many documents on the pool table. There were building plans, email print-outs, and official-looking letters. She paused, considering what she should do next.

She hated the way they had talked about her, as if she were a weak and stupid child they could manipulate to get what they wanted. To them she wasn’t even a person; she was a means to an end. She wanted to ruin their plans. She wanted to show them she wasn’t as witless and helpless as they thought she was. She also wanted someone to know what they were up to, to get them in trouble. She gathered all the papers, rolled them into one messy tube, folded it, and shoved it in her backpack.

The sliding glass door made only the quietest swish sound as she opened it, let herself out, and slid it to a close behind her. Grace ran up the steps to the first floor level. Through the windows she could see Knox, Trick and Stuart in the kitchen with Sandy. She ducked down behind the shrubbery, scooted past the windows, and then rounded the corner of the house into the driveway. She hurried across the cul de sac to the Eldridge Inn and down the driveway until she reached the entrance to Rose Hill City Park. She crossed the park, darted between the houses on Lilac Avenue and came out in the alley between Lilac and Rose Hill Avenue.

All the way down the hill she considered whom to take the papers to. Then she remembered there was one person who gave the most excellent advice, if only she could find a phone she could use in privacy. Hurrying down Main Street she saw that the Bee Hive was still open.

“Hey, Grace,” Claire said as she entered. “I heard you were going to a slumber party tonight. What happened?”

Claire had a client in her chair and another waiting, so Grace didn’t feel free to talk.

“May I use your phone,” she asked. “Do you have one in the back?”

“Sure,” said Claire, with only a slight suspicious frown. “Go right ahead.”

Elvis’s mother answered.

“May I tell him who’s calling?” she asked after a long hesitation.

“Grace,” she said. “A friend from school.”

“Certainly!” his mother said. “Hold on just a moment.”

There was a muffled sound, as though Elvis’s mother was holding the phone against her body while she spoke to her son. Then he was there.

“Good evening, Grace,” he said. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Grace said. “Was this a bad time to call?”

“No girl has ever called me before,” Elvis said. “My mother is currently breathing into a brown paper bag, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. I, on the other hand, could not be more delighted.”

Grace outlined her dilemma and described what she had in her backpack.

“No police or government officials,” Elvis said. “They may already be in league with the bad guys or will hand it up to someone who is.”

“Okay,” Grace said.

“Hmmm,” Elvis said. “It needs to be someone with the power to protect the evidence, some sort of immunity from prosecution, perhaps. Someone who won’t have to say how they came by it. Tell me, do you know any members of the press?”

“I do,” Grace said. “Tommy’s guardian is the editor of the
Rose Hill Sentinel
.”

“Quaint paper,” Elvis said. “My mother takes it purely as a demonstration of her support for the traditional press. She says it has a liberal bias so that might make the editor more sympathetic to your cause.”

“Ed Harrison is a good person.”

“And by that you mean …”

“I don’t think he’d help them cover it up.”

“Good, good,” Elvis said. “Take it all to him. You’re his source so he has to protect you. Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone else what you’ve done. You’re going to need an alibi. Work on that after you give the goods to Ed.”

“An alibi? What for?”

“You stole something very valuable, Grace,” Elvis said. “Before long they’re going to notice the papers are missing and so are you. As a consequence you may be a prime suspect. My advice is to copy everything, put the papers back, and then establish yourself somewhere. Understand?”

Grace hung up and punched in Tommy’s number.

“Tommy, it’s Grace,” she said when he answered.

“Hi,” he said. “How are you?”

“I’m in trouble,” she said. “Is Ed there?”

“He’s at the Rose and Thorn,” Tommy said. “What’s wrong?”

“Can you come over to the Bee Hive?” she asked him. “It’s kind of an emergency.”

“I’m on my way,” he said.

Grace went back out into the salon, where Claire’s last customer was paying. Grace waited until the woman went out the door to speak.

“I’m sort of in trouble,” Grace said, “and the Rodefeffers might come looking for me.”

“Oh my goodness,” Claire said. “Let’s get these curtains closed.”

Claire closed all the curtains and drew the blinds on the front door. As soon as Tommy arrived, she shut and locked the front door.

Grace spread the papers out on the counter for Claire and Tommy to look at. Someone banged on the door and they all jumped. Turned out it was Hannah. They let her in.

“What’s going on?” Hannah said. “You all look guilty. I want in on it, whatever it is.”

“Grace was just about to tell us,” Claire said. “Listen.”

As soon as everyone was filled in, there was a brief silence.

“Holy Hottentots,” Hannah said.

“Oh my,” Claire said.

Grace said, “I want Ed to put all this in the paper.”

“Tommy, you run down to the Thorn and get Ed,” Claire said. “Hannah, how can we distract Trick and Sandy so that we can sneak these papers back in after Ed copies them?”

“Leave that to me,” Hannah said. “I just need something to eat so I can think.”

Claire dug through her purse and then handed Hannah a candy bar.

“Ah, chocolate,” Hannah said. “Some of my finest schemes have been fueled by the cocoa bean.”

After Ed returned with Tommy, Grace repeated her story again.

As Ed listened and looked at the evidence, his mouth fell open in slow motion. When she was through, he studied her with a fierce look on his face.

“I stole them,” she said. “Are you going to turn me in?”

“Heavens no,” he said. “I’ll make copies while you guys figure out how to get them back into Trick’s house.”

“I’m on that,” Hannah said, licking chocolate off her fingers. “I’m almost there.”

“Do I really have to put them back?” Grace said.

“It would be better if you could,” he said. “Then they won’t know how we got the evidence.”

Ed’s hands were shaking as he rolled up the papers and put them under his arm. Seeing him nervous made Grace extra nervous. He left by the back door.

“So as far as you know, only Knox, Trick, Stuart, and Sandy were in the house,” Hannah said.

“Yes,” Grace said. “They thought I went with Stacy and the Machalvie twins to Morgantown.”

“Those young girls have no business going barhopping with those rotten Machalvie boys,” Claire said. “What are Trick and Sandy thinking?”

“They just want Stacey not to starve herself to death,” Grace said. “She can do anything she wants as long as she weighs 90 pounds.”

In fifteen minutes Ed came back and handed Hannah the rolled up stash of papers.

“I’ve got the manager of the printing press in Pendleton on standby to reprint the whole issue,” he said. “He feels the same way about Knox and Stuart as we do. I’ve got to write up the whole thing and lay it out, and there’s not much time. Can you take it from here?”

“Never fear!” Hannah said, as she put her hands on her hips. “The Masked Mutt Catcher is here!”

Ed left and Hannah began stuffing the papers back into Grace’s backpack.

“Did it seem like they were done with these?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah,” Grace said. “Knox and Stuart had meetings to go to, and Trick said he’d clean up later.”

“It all depends on whether Trick has gone back downstairs yet or not,” Hannah said. “If he hasn’t missed them, you can put them back where they were.”

“But how can I know?”

Hannah picked up the phone and punched in a number.

“Hi, Sandy,” Hannah said. “Is Trick there?”

Grace stared wide-eyed but Hannah mouthed, “It’s okay.”

“Hey, Trick,” Hannah said into the phone. “How’s it going? Good, good. Listen, there’s some chick down here at the Rose and Thorn who’s shouting your name and threatening to come up to your house. She looks to be about six months knocked up. I thought you might want to come and have a word with her. Sure, no problem. Neighbors have to look out for each other. Have a good evening.”

Hannah hung up the phone.

“Now you run back down to the Thorn,” she told Tommy. “Tell Patrick I said to stall him. Take Claire’s cell phone. Call me when he gets there and when he leaves.”

“What are we going to do?” Grace asked.

“You’ve got to go back up the hill and put these back on Trick’s pool table.”

“You go with me,” Grace begged.

“Of course,” Hannah said. “I’m going to distract little old Sandy-kins while you sneak the plans back into the basement.”

“What can I do?” Claire said.

“You are command central,” Hannah said. “We’ll all meet back here when we’re through.”

“If you’re not back in thirty minutes, I’m coming up to Trick’s,” Claire said, “and I’m bringing Scott.”

Hannah’s cell phone rang, and after she finished listening, she hung up and said, “Trick’s at the Thorn.”

Grace’s heart beat fast as Hannah drove up Pine Mountain Road.

“I’ll knock on the front door and keep Sandy talking while you put the plans back,” Hannah said.