Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines (21 page)

“How much older do they need to be, mother?” Kevin asked, his strong voice shaking. “And Polly says there is evidence clearing you of the murder.”

“I’d like to tell you what I’ve found,” Polly said. “Thomas gave me a flash drive and I’d like to tell you about it.”

“Then we’d like to hear about it,” the woman responded. “Kevin?”

“Sonya?” he called. His wife walked back to join them.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Sonya, this is Polly Giller. She owns Sycamore House in Bellingwood.” His wife’s right hand flew to her throat and she looked at her husband. He went on. “She knew Thomas and has something to tell us.”

He turned to Polly and Henry. “We’ve been very honest with my wife. I couldn’t live with her and hide the secret. She knows everything. The girls don’t know yet, though.”

“I understand. Do you want to meet some evening for dinner and we can talk about this?” Polly began to tick off the evenings in her upcoming week. It was busy, but she would find time.

“If your friends aren’t in a hurry to get back to Bellingwood, we could invite you to our home this evening,” Sonya said. “I doubt that Kevin and Genie want to wait to hear what you have to say.”

Nate and Joss had gotten into his car and started it. The night was cooling off and they were probably trying to stay warm. Polly beckoned and Nate drove over, pulling up beside them.

“I know this extends the evening, but the Campbells have invited us to their house. Do you mind?”

Nate chuckled. “We knew you would want to do something with them after the event. We’re thoughtful that way, aren’t we, wife?” She poked him again, eliciting another oomph. “Of course we don’t mind. Get in. We’ll follow them.”

When they arrived at the Campbell’s home, Sonya showed them to a large living room. “I’m going to put some hot water on for tea or cocoa and take a few minutes with the girls. We started explaining this on the drive home, but it’s a little much. Make yourself comfortable
. Genie and I will be back in a few minutes.”

Polly’s eyes were immediately drawn to the bookshelves and she asked Kevin, “May I?”

He nodded in affirmation and she looked at the shelves. From the days of only owning a couple of tattered books, he’d certainly enlarged his library. Then she found what she was looking for, the first Eddie Powers mystery. The others were there, but this would illustrate her point. She took it to the sofa and sat beside Henry.

Sonya Campbell came in, carrying a tray with a carafe of hot water and mugs
, tea bags and a small pot of cocoa mix. Genie Campbell followed with a plate of cookies and Ellie and Ann trailed behind their grandmother. The girls looked shell shocked and stared at their guests as if they were there to do something terrible to the family. When Genie took a seat in a wing chair, Ellie sat on the floor beside her and Ann pulled the ottoman to the other side, taking positions of support and protection.

Drinks were passed around and Polly felt her stomach grow increasingly tense. The fluttering was beginning to upset her, but she wasn’t sure how to begin. Finally, she handed her mug to Henry and said, “I don’t know how to start.”

“Just tell us what you have to say,” Kevin said. “The girls won’t understand all of it, but we can talk to them later. Go ahead.”

Polly put her hand on the book in her lap and began, “The night Thomas Zeller was killed, he managed to make it to the door of my apartment before he died. He pressed a flash drive into my hand and asked me to ‘find him.’ At first, I thought that the ‘him’ was the murderer, but when I finally figured out what was on the drive, I realized it was his son.

“We had talked about those early years in San Francisco. He told me how messed up he had gotten after that and about being an alcoholic and then finally drying out. What he didn’t tell me was that he had spent a lifetime looking for you. That information is what I found on the flash drive.”

She opened the note app on her phone and pulled up the first picture Thomas had received, then stood up, setting the book on the sofa and walked over to Genie. She knelt down in front of the woman and said. “This is the first picture you sent him, isn’t it?”

Genie Campbell nodded.

“He went to Colorado, and found out everything he could about you. He has receipts for automobile work and found the lease for the apartment you rented. While he was there, he researched his first book so he had a reason for being in town.”

The woman nodded again, not saying a word.

“Then you sent him a second photograph and he moved to Mississippi and did the same thing. Kevin,
he found class pictures of you and more receipts and leases and car purchases. He wrote his second novel while there.” Polly showed the picture to Genie and then walked over to Sonya and Kevin, showing it to them.

“Each time you moved and sent a picture, he followed you, trying to anticipate where you might go next. He obviously had no luck, but he wrote the entire Eddie Powers mystery series while he looked for you.”

Kevin said, “We followed that series and knew that. Mom figured that as long as we were gone, it wouldn’t hurt for him to know where we had been.”

“How closely did you read the books?” Polly asked.

Genie Campbell finally spoke. “I read them pretty closely. I wondered if he would send me a message in the dedication or the acknowledgments, but he never wrote those.”

“That’s because he wrote it in code,” Polly said.

Every face in the room was staring at her by this point.

“What?” Genie asked.

“He wrote it in code. He was in my apartment and signed all of my books, trying to give me the hint. Henry and I figured it out this morning. I don’t think anyone ever realized what he did.”

“Tell me,” she said.

Polly scrolled through her notes until she found the list of codes that she and Henry had uncovered, then picked up the book and walked back over to the woman’s chair. Ann scooted off the ottoman and gestured for Polly to take it.

“He was writing to you … and it’s Eugenie, isn’t it?” Polly asked.

“Yes, how did you know?”

Polly gave a little laugh. “Because he discovered that each time you moved, you changed your names. Your first names were always characters from something Poe had written and your last name always had something to do with a sewing machine. You are a seamstress, right?”

“Right,” Genie Campbell nodded. “I thought I was being so clever and here you’ve found me out.”

“I only did it with a lot of help and a little bit of luck. I might not have figured it out if there weren’t so many instances of it on that flash drive. I’m not sure if Thomas knew about the pattern for your last name, but he definitely knew about the link to Poe.”

“He’s the one who taught me about the passion in Poe’s writing. His favorite poem was
Annabel Lee
.”

“And you taught me,” Kevin said.

“I have to ask,” Polly said. “Kevin has nothing to do with Poe. What happened to the naming process?”

Kevin Campbell closed his eyes and shook his head. “I chose it as my middle name so that I wouldn’t have to be known as Napoleon for the rest of my life. That man had weird taste in men’s names. There weren’t a lot of options. I’ve been N. Kevin Campbell since the day we got our new identities.”

“Oh!” she laughed, “Well, that explains it. It threw me off.”

“Tell me about the code,” Genie said.

“He took the first letter of every chapter and spelled out the words he wanted you to read. Henry and I simply went through each chapter and wrote down the first letter and found it.”

“Why didn’t I put that together?” the woman asked. “We used to talk about different ways authors could tell their readers things. Even if it was for no other reason than to give them another opportunity to look at the book. It didn’t occur to me to think that he might use that, though.”

Ellie and Ann had jumped up and gone to the bookshelf. Each had two books and sat down on the floor, flying through the chapters and trying to remember the letters.

“This is what he wanted you to know,” Polly said and showed Genie Campbell the note on her phone containing the codes.

“Nelly. I still love you. Come back.”

“I can help you. Stop running. Love.”

“My son is perfect. Thank you.”

“I am destroyed. What is left?”

“I’ll wait forever for you.”

The woman took the phone from Polly’s hand and clutched it to her chest. Tears began streaming down her face. Kevin jumped out of his chair and knelt down in front of his mother. She showed him the note and bent over to rest her head on his. They held on to each other as she cried.

He finally took the phone and held it out to Polly. She put the first Eddie Powers mystery into his hand. “Thank you,” he said. “This means the world to us.”

“He was still looking for you,” Polly said. “I think he came to Bellingwood because he knew you were close. None of that research was on the flash drive, but he was writing a book here and looking for you at the same time. That’s why he asked me to find you.”

“How did you know?” Kevin asked.

“It was pure luck,” Polly responded. “If Nate hadn’t mentioned that your mother made costumes for different plays, we wouldn’t have put things together. When Joss told me that you read
The Raven
every fall, I wanted it to be you. But I wasn’t sure until I saw your mother tonight. She hasn’t changed at all.”

Polly put her hand on the woman’s knee. “You are still the beautiful Nelly that Thomas loved.”

The woman began to cry again and this time, Sonya crossed the room with a box of tissues. “I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to talk to him again,” she said to her mother-in-law.

“I am, too. I would have liked for him to know Kevin and his granddaughters.”

Polly stood up. “We should leave.” She pulled a business card out of her wallet. “Call me if you’d like. I would be glad to talk with you about Thomas. His agent is staying at Sycamore House right now, too. She might be able to tell you even more. You are welcome to come over.” She paused. “In fact, there is a Black Masque ball on Saturday night. I suspect you have some Victorian costumes. Everyone will be in a mask and it will be a wonderful evening. If you came, I could introduce you to her then.”

Genie Campbell looked at her son. “What do you think?”

“It sounds like fun. We’ll be there.” He stood up and so did the rest of the room. “Thank you telling us. I’ll be in touch this week.”

Coats were gathered and he walked with them to the front door, stopping Polly as the others went to the car. “My mother needs to talk to someone in law enforcement, doesn’t she? Should I get a lawyer for her?”

“I don’t know. It couldn’t hurt. Sheriff Merritt is running the investigation in Bellingwood and he is a good man. Do you know a lawyer?”

“I have a couple of parents who would help me.”

“Then, contact someone and have them get in touch with Aaron. I don’t know anything about the process, but I’m sure it’s all going to be fine.”

Polly was surprised when he hugged her. “Thank you again. I feel like forty years of hiding is about to be over. It will be strange not to worry that someone is going to realize we aren’t who we say we are.”

“Keep telling her how much Thomas loved her, will you?” Polly asked.

“I will. See you soon.” he said as she joined her friends at the car. She gave a little wave, crawled into the back seat with Henry and sighed as Nate backed out of the driveway
.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

Mindlessly tapping her fingers on the cell phone in front of her, Polly looked out at the emergence of the Haunted Hallway. They’d gotten quite a bit done yesterday. The wall was draped in burlap and sheer curtains, painted with fluorescent paints. There was fishing line coming down from the ceiling and crates in all the corners, draped with more painted burlap. Sycamore House’s main doors had been outlined in strands of orange lights, while pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks were arranged on the front lawn. Halloween had definitely arrived.

She knew she had to call Aaron and tell him what she did
again. As nervous as her stomach had been last night, it didn’t compare to what was happening to her right now. There was nothing worse than disappointing someone, and for some reason she felt just like she had when she was young and had to face her father after doing something wrong.

Finally she gathered her courage and dialed the phone.

“Good morning, Polly,” Aaron said. “I trust that there are no more bodies and you’ve found out something more on Thomas Zeller’s flash drive.”

“Hi, Aaron. Well, uh …”

“You’re kidding. Another body?”

“Oh no!” she exclaimed.

“Then, what’s up this morning. Did you see the wonderful work we did at Sycamore House yesterday?”

“Yes, it’s pretty cool. Your wife is amazing.”

“She is that. So, what’s up?”

“I think I did something bad.”

“What do you mean this time, Polly? If I have to arrest you, my wife is never going to let me back into the house.”

“Not that kind of bad. Bad, you’re going to be mad at me bad. I should have talked to you first
, bad.”

“In the year that I’ve known you, you’ve never really paid much attention to whether or not you should talk to me first. What did you do?”

“I found Nelly and her son and told them that I know who they are.” She waited and didn’t hear anything. “Aaron?”

“I’m still here. When did you figure out who it was?”

“Well, this weekend and then I knew for certain last night and then I couldn’t hold back.”

“Of course you couldn’t.” Polly
heard the laughter in his voice.

“How much trouble am I in?” she asked.

He breathed loudly on the other end of the call, “Tell me the whole story and then tell me who it is that you met last night.”

Polly took him through the entire weekend’s events, from figuring out the code in the books, to Nate Mikkels revealing the possibility of Kevin and Genie Campbell being Thomas’s son and former girlfriend, to
the drama night and the visit to their home.

“I’m pretty sure they’re going to call you,” she said before he could speak. “They don’t seem like the kind of people who are going to run.”

“Polly, they’ve been running for forty years.”

“But that was before he had a wife and children. He’s been settled in Jewell for a long time. I told her that Thomas had evidence proving she didn’t kill that policeman and she just wants this to be over now. Aaron, she lost the father of her son without ever seeing him again. Don’t you think she’s had enough?”

“I need to make some calls,” he said.

“How much trouble am I in?” she asked again.

“You’ve interfered with this investigation, Polly.”

She felt tears spurt to her eyes. He was going to arrest her. “Okay. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“However, you are the one who figured this out, so a little interference isn’t enough to get you into trouble. But promise you’ll call me before you do anything else?”

“I’ll try. I can’t guarantee that, though. I never know what’s going to happen around here.”

Aaron laughed. “Of course you don’t. What was I thinking? Let me work on this end and be careful. Can I ask that of you?”

“I’ll try,” she repeated.

“That’s all I can expect.”

She relaxed when they ended the call. She would live.

Later that morning, Polly looked up from her computer. She’d spent the time paying bills and making sure things were sorted and filed. But now she smelled something amazing coming from the kitchen and that didn’t make sense, because Sylvie was never here on Mondays. She headed for the kitchen, surprised to see Jeff wearing an apron, pulling dishes out of the oven.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked.

“Cooking,” he said.

“I didn’t know that you cooked. Why are you cooking and what are you making? It smells wonderful!”

He put the casserole dish down on the prep table and peeled back the aluminum foil. “I didn’t do this. Sylvie did. We came up with some simple meals that she prepared in advance. All I have to do is get things in the oven. It’s easy. Would you like lunch today? If Sylvie cooked, there is enough to feed an army.”

“What did she make?”

“We have baked steak,” he pulled the tinfoil off a second pan with a flourish. “Mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and fresh fruit. There are rolls with butter and jam and I just need to take the cottage cheese and apple sauce out of the refrigerator.”

“Can I help?” Polly asked.

“Sure,” he shrugged. “I didn’t want to bother you. We came up with this harebrained idea and I didn’t think you needed to feel as if you should do the work.”

“If you’re going to let me eat it, I can help you serve it,” Polly laughed. She walked on into the kitchen and began pulling plates out, then dug around for serving spoons.

“Are they all coming down here?” she asked him. “Do we need to set up a table?”

“No,” he responded. “I’m making up a plate for Lila Fletcher. She couldn’t …” he stopped speaking. “Anyway, I’m taking a tray up to her. Grey Linder
is coming down and so is Natalie Dormand. The other two men in the addition will be coming for theirs pretty soon.”

Jeff opened his phone and swiped it a couple of times, then set it down beside the food. “I have a list,” he said, as he put food onto a plate. “Would you hand me two of those small dishes? The cold food can’t touch the warm food. Oh and a small plate for the roll?”

Polly smiled at him. “You’re a good man.”

“Big bonus. That’s what I’m looking for. A big bonus.”

Polly knew he was kidding. They’d long since worked out his salary package and bonus schedule and he made them happen every quarter. She was certain that Sycamore House wouldn’t be quite as successful without Jeff Lindsay running the place.

When he left to take the tray up the steps, she saw Grey Linder coming around the corner, peering back at the set for the Haunted Hallway. He looked worse than he had when he first arrived and Polly wondered just how much alcohol he was consuming.

Grey looked up to see Polly behind the counter and she could have sworn that he faltered in his steps, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not he should approach her.

“Hello,” she said brightly. “How are you today?” She had no idea why he was acting so strangely, but figured she could assure him that it was safe to be here.

“Fine,” he mumbled. “I’m fine.”

“I have plenty, how many pieces of steak you would like.”

He lifted a single finger and she thought she heard him say “One,” so she put it on his plate and handed it to him. That seemed to stymie him, so she helped him finish filling his plate. He continued to take quick glimpses of her and then look back down and she was relieved to see Jeff return to the kitchen.

“Mr. Linder, would you like Mr. Lyndsay to take the tray up to your room?” she asked, nodding rapidly at Jeff.

Jeff didn’t wait for the man to answer, but picked the tray up and said, “I’d love to do this for you, sir.”

He started to walk away and Grey Linder turned back to Polly, “Did he say anything?” he asked her.

“Did who say anything?” Polly wondered if he was talking about Thomas Zeller, but that had happened over a week ago.

“Zeller. Did he say anything to you?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she responded. “He didn’t say much of anything to me the night he died, if that’s what you’re asking.” She wasn’t about to give out any information about Thomas’s family. They had stayed hidden for so many years, that until they were ready to out themselves to the world, she wasn’t going to let anyone know who they were.

“Mmph,” was all she heard as he turned to follow Jeff.

“That was odd,” she said to herself, pushing the platters around on the counter in order to align them. She chuckled at herself and pushed the bowl of potatoes back out of line. “You’re odd, too, Giller.”

Natalie Dormand walked around the corner. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were deep circles under them. She was wearing a dark grey sweater that she continually pulled across her chest as she walked and even as she spoke to Polly.

“Hello,” she said, coming into view.

“Hi there! How are you doing?” Polly asked.

“I suppose I’m okay. Thank you for providing a few meals here. I was tired of pizza.”

“You really should try some of our restaurants. The Diner has sandwiches and terrific breakfasts and Davey’s is also good.”

“I’ll try to get out sometime.”

“Have you been working a lot?”

“After they gave me Thomas’s laptop, I’ve been trying to clear up his life. I was all he had, you know.”

“How is his latest novel? Was it complete?”

Natalie looked up from the platter of vegetables. Her brow wrinkled. “His novel?”

“I thought it was pretty much finished. You said you were looking for it. I just assumed you’d found it on the laptop once they got it back to you.”

“Oh, that. There is always initial editing that needs to happen.”

“He told me he didn’t like the editing part of the process.”

“He talked to you?” For some reason, Natalie’s face had gotten red. She took a small plate and filled it with rolls and butter.

“We had
several opportunities. He seemed to want a friend.”

“I don’t know why you say that. He had me.”

Thomas had told Polly very little about the woman. In fact, he’d only called her by name once and that was in passing. Whatever she was to Thomas, he saw the relationship as much less personal than this woman did.

“How long do you plan to stay
with us?” Polly asked.

“I have some things I need to clear up. Did Thomas ever talk about his family? I think he was here looking for someone.”

This caused Polly to stop. She wasn’t sure what to say. So, she asked more questions. “His family? I didn’t think he had a family.”

The woman looked directly at Polly, her eyes dark and her face grim. “I know you’ve been investigating his past. You and that girl from the Sheriff’s office. I overheard you talking about him. Don’t think I didn’t know what he was doing here. I knew that every time he wrote an Eddie Powers mystery, he was looking for the woman he loved and her son. You found something, didn’t you?”

“You were eavesdropping?” Polly was beginning to worry and she was ready for Jeff to walk back into the kitchen again.

“I came downstairs to get something to drink last Saturday. You figured out his little code. I found it years ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell him that you knew? Why would you keep that from him?”

“Oh, he needed his little secret. I always figured that if he wanted me to help him find her, he’d ask.”

Polly looked up as she heard men’s voices. Jeff rounded the corner with their two other guests, who swooped in on the counter with gusto and appreciation. Natalie Dormand took her tray off the counter with enough force that the dishes began to slide. Jeff stepped in and stabilized things for her, then smiled as she glared at him and walked away. He sent Polly a questioning look and she raised her eyes as if to say, “I don’t know.”

When the kitchen finally cleared out, he asked, “What was up with her? She looks awful and she looked pissed.”

Polly realized she hadn’t said much to Jeff about what had been going on with Thomas’s flash drive. The way things were going, it was probably better to keep him in the dark. It was going to be easier if she simply avoided the question, so she said, “I think she isn’t getting a lot of sleep while she works to edit his last novel.”