Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines (22 page)

“She looked upset.”

“I think she’s still pretty upset at losing Thomas. They might have been closer than I realized. Did you get Grey Linder settled in?”

“I tell you what. It worries me when our guests look worse after they’ve been here for a while than they did when they arrived. It’s like he has aged ten years since he got here.”

“Do you think he’s drinking a lot?”

“I don’t know for sure. He wouldn’t let me in his room. I’m going to take food back to my office and shut the door unless you want company.”

“Don’t worry about it. I should go upstairs and spend some time with the animals.”

“Okay, I’ll clean things up later.” He covered the bowls and platters after they both filled their plates and then Polly took hers and went into the back hallway to head for her apartment.

Everything seemed strange today. Maybe it was the spooky stuff in the hallway or the odd interactions she’d had with her guests, but she was ready for something normal and she couldn’t think of anything better than a few minutes with her dog and cats.

The washer and dryer were spinning away and she hoped Eliseo knew there was food in the kitchen. She’d text him when she got upstairs. Jeff had more than likely spoken with him, but she couldn’t help herself. Right in the middle of typing the text into her phone, it rang. Henry’s picture popped up in the screen.

“Hey there, hotstuff,” she said. “How are you today?”

“I’m good. Just checking on you. What ‘cha up to?”

“About five six, depending on the shoes I’m wearing.”

“Smart Alek. What have you been doing today?”

“Paying bills. It was boring. And now I’m getting ready to eat an amazing lunch with my favorite boy.” She looked down at the dog.

“I hope that’s Obiwan or Luke.”
             

“He’s going to be drooling on my feet if I’m not careful.”

“Now I really hope that it’s Obiwan.”

“So do I,” she laughed. “So what’s up with you?”

“I was worried about your conversation with Aaron. Did you live through it?”

“He was only a little mad at me. I came through relatively unscathed. It’s good to have a reputation for being independent. He didn’t have high expectations for much else.”

Henry didn’t respond and she knew he was trying not to laugh.

“Henry?”

“Yes, Polly?”

“This is serious. Don’t tell anyone about the Campbells, okay?”

“I haven’t. I won’t. But why are you telling me that?”

“I got some weird vibes around here today.”

“No problem. I don’t have anyone I would tell. But last night was a pretty interesting night, even for you.”

“You haven’t been around the times I’ve found bodies. Last night was pretty tame.”

“Have you ever thought about how strange that is, Polly? You found a long lost son and old girlfriend of a dead author and you think it’s tame.”

“Welcome to my life since I arrived in Bellingwood.”

“Speaking of your life in Bellingwood, I can’t believe there haven’t been any more vandalism incidents.”

“Hush your mouth!” Polly drawled. “I’m happy that I don’t have to fix anything or clean anything up. Maybe whoever was doing it got over being mad at me.”

“That would really be nice. I hate worrying about you.”

Her first reaction was to tell him that she could take care of herself, but she decided to let it go. “I’m glad it’s been quiet. I can use the quiet.”

“You enjoy your lunch and your quiet. Do you want to do something tonight?”

They’d been out a lot this last week and Polly didn’t want to go anywhere. The rest of the week was going to be crazy as they prepared for Halloween and then the Black Masque Ball. She just plain didn’t want to.

“No?”

“Does that mean you don’t want to do something at all or can you not do something with me around?”

“I can not do something with you around. I really want to watch stupid television or Star Wars or something mindless and eat simple food. Is that okay with you?”

“I’ll be there around six thirty. Will the boys be gone by then?”

Sylvie usually picked her kids up by six, even on her latest nights.

“Yep.”

“Love you, pretty girl. See you then.”

“Love you too.”

She set the phone on the table beside her plate and took a bite. Sylvie had outdone herself. Obiwan wagged his tail, as if to tell her that she should share, but she patted the top of his head. “You never get human food, you beggar. I love you very much, but today isn’t going to be any different.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

Once she realized there wasn’t going to be any more sleep, Polly finally got up and sat on the edge of her bed. She’d been tossing and turning for the last hour. The animals were too close, the blankets were too warm, the pillow was uncomfortable, everything was annoying. Leia had finally taken to the cat tree in protest after being pushed back and forth between Polly’s legs.

“S
orry,” Polly whispered. “I don’t know what my problem is.”

The thing was, she did know. There was something about the conversation with Natalie yesterday at lunch that had been bugging her and she couldn’t put her finger on it. The jealousy thing was weird, but that wasn’t it. Then again, maybe it was.

Polly had never questioned whether or not the woman should have access to Thomas Zeller’s laptop. He was paranoid and worldly enough to have password protected it if he hadn’t wanted others to have access. She shrugged her shoulders. Maybe she should have called his publisher and asked questions.

Since she’d moved back to Iowa, Polly had found that she lost some of her big city paranoia. No longer did she assume that people were out to get her. She waved at them on the highway and looked up and spoke to them when she was downtown. She still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that the locals left their cars running when they had to run into the bank or the post office. It had taken quite a few months, but now was a point of pride that she could walk away from her truck without locking it.

As far as Polly was concerned, if Natalie Dormand said she was the person to take care of Thomas Zeller’s things and have access to his laptop, that was the right thing to do. Why would anyone lie about that? But something was still off.

Polly went
into the kitchen. Thank goodness Henry wasn’t staying here any longer. It would kill her to feel trapped in the bedroom. Living alone and having the freedom to move around without bothering anyone else was a wonderful feeling.

The clock on the microwave told Polly that it was two fifty-two in the morning. “I don’t want to be awake at this hour,” she said to Obiwan, who had followed her, hoping for something more to eat. Opening cupboard doors and then the refrigerator offered her nothing of any interest, and then she saw a box of cocoa mix.

She filled her favorite mug with water and set it in the microwave, turning the timer on. “Should I put something a little extra in there so I can go back to sleep?” she asked. “If you don’t tell anyone, I’ll give you a treat.”

At that word, he
wagged his tail. “You’re easy,” she said. “You’d tell on me for another treat, wouldn’t you!”

When he heard the word again, he
walked over to stand in front of the cabinet where the treats were stored. The microwave dinged and Polly took the mug out and set it on the counter. She opened a package of cocoa into it and stirred, waiting for it to cool. When she couldn’t wait any longer, she opened a drawer and took out a dish cloth, wrapped it around the mug and started for the living room. A plaintive woof stopped her in her tracks.

“Whoops. I promised, didn’t I!” she laughed. A treat on the floor and another in her hand would keep the boy happy.

Television was awful. There weren’t even any reruns on that held her interest, so, since a Star Trek:TNG DVD was still in the player, she began watching and then groaned. Season Two. Not her favorite. Oh well. Watching Picard and Riker debate Data’s sentience was at least a little entertaining. She took a sip of the cocoa and when Obiwan curled up beside her on the couch, pulled the blanket over both of them and leaned back.

The noise in the background dulled as she shut her eyes and tried to figure out what had bothered her about the conversation at lunch. It didn’t take long for Polly’s mind to drift
away, making no connections at all. The afternoon had been filled with her friends, setting more props into place for the Haunted Hallway.

Henry had come by at six thirty
. Polly accused him of watching for Sylvie’s car to leave and when he brandished a paper bag, protesting his innocence, she let him off the hook. He’d picked up fried chicken and mashed potatoes from Davey’s and they watched mindless television all night long. Henry had finally plucked the remote from Polly’s hand after she had been around the dial the third time, stopping for nothing.

“I’m going home,” he said. “You should go to bed.”

“You’re not my mother. I’ll go to bed when I want to go to bed!” Polly had whined.

“Did you just whine at me?”

“Maybe.” That time she stuck her lower lip out and pouted. “I wish you didn’t have to go. I know we don’t do anything exciting, but I like having you around.”

Henry had tucked the blanket in around her on the sofa. He bent over and kissed her, then put the remote back in her hand. “I like being here, too. But, both of us need sleep tonight. I’m not going to be around much tomorrow. I have a job up in Lehigh and we are on the road early. Text me when you get moving.”

“I’ll walk out with you.”

“Nope. You stay put. Obiwan and I will take a quick walk and then I’ll let him back in and lock up.”

“You’re awfully good to me.”

“Remember that the next time you want to yell at me for something stupid I’ve done, okay?”

Polly had smiled up at him. “I owe you a few of those.”

Henry had done just as he said and when Obiwan came back up the steps he called out, “Good night, pretty girl. I’ll talk to you later!”

“Good night.”

She had waited long enough for him to get
home and then texted him,
“Did you get home safe? No boogey man to bother you?”

“I just walked in the front door. Good night, Polly. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Polly had watched the news, taken the remote around the channels once or twice more and decided to go to bed. Henry was pretty wonderful, putting up with her boring evenings.

The ringing of her phone woke Polly again. She was still on the couch and the cats had curled up around her. She fumbled around looking for the phone, nearly knocking the full cup of cocoa on the floor. Some sloshed out on the table and she whimpered. It was seven thirty and the phone call was Eliseo.

“I’m late! I’m sorry!” she said, jumping up and dislodging the animals. “I’m on the way.”

“I was getting a little worried. Do you want me to take care of things down here this morning?”

“No, I’m coming. I need to find my head and I’ll be right there. How long have you been here?”

“A little while. We’ll wait for you.

Polly quickly got dressed. Calling her dog, she ran
full speed to the barn.

Eliseo looked up when she
rushed in. “That didn’t take long!”

“I’m sorry. I was up in the middle of the night and fell asleep on the couch.”

“Did something else happen?”

“No, I think my mind was trying to talk to me, but I couldn’t focus enough to hear it.” Polly opened the door to Daisy’s stall and put her hand on the horse’s neck.

“Good morning, girl,” she said, feeling the strength of the horse under her fingertips. With one light connection to the horse, Polly stopped thinking about rushing around and stepped in to the stall. She wrapped her arms as far as she could around the horse’s neck and hugged her. Daisy nuzzled Polly’s hat. “I’m glad you are here, too,” Polly said. “I’ll be right back with your breakfast.”

She stepped
back into the alley and into Demi’s stall. A quick pat on his shoulder and Polly took off for the feed room. Eliseo was filling buckets and laughed at her when she darted in. “They’re good to have around, aren’t they?”

“They are. Thanks for waiting for me this morning.”

“When I drove in and didn’t see any of your lights on, I knew you weren’t moving too quickly, so I spent some time cleaning up the shed behind your garage. I didn’t want to come down and wake up the horses without you.”

“Thank you. I start missing these guys when I don’t get down here every day.” She headed back to the stalls and after making sure that Demi and Daisy were fed, gave them a few minutes of quiet with their breakfast. She wandered back into the feed room and found Eliseo sliding bales of hay out of the upper loft, so she hefted them into place, building up the stacks. This was work she’d never done with her father on their farm. He hadn’t asked her to do much while she was growing up. He kept insisting that it was more important to him that she do well in school and have plenty of time for the activities she chose to participate in.

Mary, on the other hand, kept Polly very busy around the house. She didn’t believe in idle time. If Polly wasn’t busy with homework or practicing her flute, she was cleaning or doing laundry. Polly hated washing windows and cringed every time she came home from school and saw the bucket and squeegee sitting on the front stoop. But, they did the work together and Polly learned to never be afraid of hard work.

She and Eliseo opened the doors to the outside and let the horses into the pasture, then began the process of mucking out stalls. They worked in silence and her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with Natalie Dormand yesterday. Polly was breaking up a bale of hay in Demi’s stall and gasped out loud.

“Is everything okay, Polly?” Eliseo entered the stall with a worried look on his face.

“I just figured out what’s been on my mind for the last eighteen hours. I’m sorry to have startled you.”

“That’s okay. As long as you didn’t hurt yourself. What did you figure out?”

“Thomas Zeller wrote another Eddie Powers mystery!”

“Okay?” he seemed puzzled.

“He hasn’t written one of those since the early nineties. He wrote one every time he was searching for his son and his old girlfriend. Whenever they left a community, she mailed him a picture and then he went there to find out about her.
That’s what Natalie Dormand said to me yesterday. She’s reading another Eddie Powers mystery. She knows he was close to finding them.”

“What does that mean, then?”
             

“I’m not really sure. I wonder if I can get my hands on the manuscript.”

“Can’t you just ask her?”

“I don’t think she’ll let me near it. She seems really offended that he and I had a friendship. I might call Anita down at the Sheriff’s office to see if they kept a copy of it somehow.”

Eliseo nodded and walked away with the wheelbarrow in order to dump it. Polly began sweeping in the main alley, her mind racing. She rushed through the rest of her chores and when she was finished, ran back to her apartment, waiting rather impatiently for her dog to catch up.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Polly called to Obiwan. He rushed up the stairs, wagging his tail. Breakfast was coming.

When she finally got to her office, she quickly waved to Jeff and dropped into her chair. Before the computer came to life, she made the call to Anita,

“Good morning, Polly. What’s up?” was Anita’s reply.

“You didn’t happen to keep an image of Thomas Zeller’s computer before you gave it back to Natalie Dormand, did you? And by the way, did you all do any background checks on her?”

“What are you thinking?”

“I want to make sure we handed his life to someone who is who she says she is.”

“And the manuscript?”

“If this is another Eddie Powers mystery, there might be a code in it for Genie Campbell. He hasn’t written one of those in years and it’s a big deal!”

“Let me check and I’ll get back to you. It might be later
today, though. I have a desk full of work to do here.”

“No problem. Thank you for looking into it for me.”

“I’ll call you later.”

“Thanks.” Polly sat back in her chair. She could stand it no longer. She got up and ducked into Jeff’s office.

“I’m going to my apartment. Call if you need help with lunch.”

He looked up, “I don’t need you today. Hannah should be here any time. She’s going to do some baking for afternoon meetings and handle lunch today.”

“Really?” Polly was surprised. Hannah didn’t usually work during the week. She and her husband had a little one who demanded a great deal of her time.