Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change (8 page)

“I’m just not ready to do that, Ken. You have no idea how much I don’t want to start down that path.”

“Okay. Well, if you get another email, let me know.” He stood back up and reached across the desk to pat her hand. “It will work out. I don’t have very many unsolved cases on my desk.”

She grinned at him. “It’s a good thing you live in a small town.”

“It’s also a good thing you call Aaron with the murders.”

“Should I be calling your office?” Polly was afraid that maybe she’d offended him.

“Polly, you don’t need to worry. Aaron and I have a very good working relationship. And personally, with as many as you’ve discovered, it’s probably better to spread the joy.”

“You’re sick.”

“But I made you smile and that’s better than you worrying. Okay?”

“Thanks, Ken.” Polly stood up and walked with him to the door. “It was wonderful meeting your wife the other night. I had no idea she was a teacher.”

“She loves it. Every year she threatens to quit when the kids get harder and harder to manage, but then she falls in love with them. They’ll probably have to wheel her out into a nursing home when she’s ninety-six.”

“That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it? To do a job you love for the rest of your life?”

“It really would. Now, don’t worry today. It won’t fix anything.”

“Thanks, Ken.” Polly turned back to Jeff’s office. “You’re safe from my whining. I’m going over to Henry’s and I won’t be here this afternoon when the boys get here. If you see them, could you let them know I’m gone?”

“Sure. There’s a rehearsal dinner here tonight, so Sylvie will be here late. The boys might be, too.”

Polly nodded. “That’s right. She told me. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll be back before that.”

“Ken was right, you know.”

“About what?”

“Worrying isn’t going to make today any better.”

She waved him off and grinned. “I know, I know. I’ll be good.”

Rachel was walking past the office and Polly joined her as they went to the kitchen. “Do you know where Doug and Billy are working today?” Polly asked.

“I think they’re on a job over in Lehigh,” Rachel said. “Why?”

“Because I need to have Anita Banks come up and look at something on my computer and I want Doug to take her to dinner.”

Rachel giggled, “He likes her. I’ve never seen him so shy. He isn’t like that with regular girls. You know, girls he doesn’t have a chance with.”

“Why wouldn’t he have a chance with them?”

“Oh, I said that wrong. They’re mostly girls he’s not interested in that way. But he likes Anita, even if she’s a little older. He thinks he isn’t smart enough or cool enough for her.”

Polly shook her head. “Boys have as much drama in their heads as girls do, don’t they!”

“No kidding. Billy and I keep telling him to call her, but he’s so afraid she’ll say no that he won’t do it.”

“Haven’t they gone out a couple of times?”

“Billy asked her to come up for a couple of gaming nights and she had a good time, but Doug is like, totally intimidated.”

Polly grimaced at Rachel, “Did you just like, valley girl me?”

Rachel burst out in laughter. “I did, didn’t I? Sorry!” She swatted at Polly’s arm. “You’re hilarious. So are you going to set Doug up again?”

“I’m going to give it my best shot. Will I get in trouble if I call him at work?”

“They eat lunch from noon until one. That’s the best time. Billy told me I can call him then.”

“Okay, thanks.” Polly reached the back kitchen door. “Have fun today.”

“I will. You too.”

Polly got back in her truck and snarled at the red spray paint on the garage door. She had quit feeling sorry for herself in the last half hour and now she was just mad. This was her house and no one was going to get away with messing with it. Even if she had to camp out in her pickup truck all night she wasn’t going to let this happen again
.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Oh Polly, I’m here!” Lydia’s voice rang out when Polly answered the phone.

“I’m on my way down. I’ll be right there,” Polly said.

She’d gotten more done at Henry’s than she expected and hoped he’d be happy with her progress. A long, hot shower had washed off the filth of the day and she felt normal again. She grabbed the loaf of bread she’d made, called out a goodbye to the animals, went down the steps and out the door.

Lydia was tapping her fingers on her steering wheel and when Polly opened the door she laughed at the music coming from the radio. “Earth, Wind and Fire?” Polly asked. “I had no idea.”

“They make me wanna dance.” Lydia turned the sound down. “I’m a little impressed you know who they are.”

“Mary played their music when I was young. She said it made working around the house more fun.”

“Your Mary was a smart woman.” Lydia pointed at the garage door. “What are you going to do about that?”

Polly sneered. “I’m going to paint the door bright purple. What do you think?”

“You aren’t serious, are you?” Lydia gulped loudly.

“Not really.” Polly gave a small chuckle. “Graffiti remover and a fresh coat of paint will clean it up. I really want to find who did this and chain them to the door until they fix it. Then, they can go to jail. At least this time, though, it’s on the back of the house and not as many people will see it.”

“You do tend to draw a crowd.”

Polly rolled her eyes. “I hate that. So, what is this woman’s name?”

“Lori Victor. Her little boy is Seth. She knows we’re coming, so you don’t have to worry about her being surprised to meet you.”

“Oh, thank goodness. It’s bad enough that I found her poor husband. I’d hate for her to think I was some kind of ghoul who got off on other people’s grief.”

Lydia laughed. “Honey, you are far from being ghoulish. I explained who you were and that you were also a friend of mine.”

“Thank you. Aaron said they didn’t have many friends.”

“It’s hard to make friends in a small town if you don’t get involved in church or have kids in school. She didn’t work outside the home either, so there weren’t many options open to her.”

“Then I’m glad you let me come along. Does she have family?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask many questions on the phone.”

Lydia parked in front of a brick house. All Polly could think about was the sadness filling that home. A young mother shouldn’t have to raise her child alone. She hesitated before opening the car door.

“I appreciate you coming today, Polly,” Lydia said.

“This is harder than I realized. I just need to take a breath.”

Lydia got out and waited while Polly negotiated the melting snow on the curb. They walked up the sidewalk to the front door and Lydia stepped forward to ring the bell.

A woman about Polly’s age answered the door. “You must be Lydia Merritt,” she said. “I’m Lori Victor. Please. Come on in.”

Lydia handed her a large picnic basket she’d carried from the Jeep. “There is plenty of food for both you and your son and Polly made one of her amazing loaves of bread.”

Lori Victor stepped inside, allowing both of them to enter, then shut the front door behind them. “Please have a seat. I’ll put this on the table.” Polly handed her the bread and after wiping the bottoms of her shoes on the rug, followed Lydia in and sat on the sofa. There were toys on the floor, but no little boy.

“Would you like some tea or coffee?” Lori asked.

Lydia smiled, stood up and removed her coat. “I would love some tea. Polly?”

“Tea would be great,” Polly said and when Lori went out, took off her own coat and sat back down. In a few moments, the young woman came back carrying two glasses. Lydia moved a couple of coasters into place and Lori set the glasses down.

“Where’s Seth?” Lydia asked.

“He’s sleeping.” She checked her watch. “He should be up soon.”

“I would love to meet him. There are never enough little ones in my life.”

Lori checked her watch again. “He has another fifteen minutes. I’d like to keep him on schedule, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” Lydia picked up her tea and took a drink, set it down and then reached over to place her hand on the young woman’s knee. “I’m really here to find out how I can help you through this. Do you have any family or friends around?”

Lori shook her head. “There’s no one here. Bruce’s family lives in California.”

“Will there be a service for him?”

A shrug and a sigh. “There’s no one here who cares and his family isn’t religious. Maybe they’ll want to say good-bye.” Her eyes filled with tears. “When I called his mother, she told me they would have a private memorial. If I wanted to come, she’d let me know when it was scheduled.”

“Oh my,” Lydia breathed. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s nothing you need to worry about. They never liked me.” She turned away and took a breath.

“Surely Bruce’s partner and J. J., Ryan, and Patrick would want to celebrate his life.”

Lori passed her hand across her eyes and then scowled. “Wayne might, but the rest of them can go to hell. They treated him like dirt when he was alive. I don’t want them around to share in my grief.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lydia said.

Lori shook her head. “It’s not all three of them. But Patrick’s marriage to that woman didn’t help. Again, I’m sorry. This isn’t yours to deal with. I will figure it out.”

“We’re here to help if you let us,” Polly said quietly.

Lori finally looked at her. “You
‘re the one who found him,” she said.

“Yes I did. I wish I had known him before that. I wish I had known you before today.”

“Was he …” Lori stopped. “I don’t even know what to ask. You don’t know what he went through before he died. It probably wasn’t even real to you.”

“Oh, it was very real,” Polly said softly. “But I knew that I had to be careful so Sheriff Merritt could get all the information he needed. I’m so sorry, though.”

“I called the police when he didn’t come home, but they told me I had to wait. I couldn’t make them understand that Bruce was never late and he would never stay away overnight. He knows I need help with Seth.”

She checked her watch again. “Excuse me. I need to wake him up.”
She slipped quietly up the steps and Polly smiled as she heard her speaking to her son. It took several minutes before they came back down the steps.

Seth Victor was a beautiful little boy with a bright smile and the flat face and slanted eyes that signified Down syndrome. This woman not only had lost her husband, but now had to raise a special needs child on her own.

He grinned at the two women on the sofa and said, “Hi.”

Lydia moved off the couch to the floor, kneeling in front of him. “I’m Lydia and this is Polly. You are beautiful!”

He beamed at his mother and she smiled down at the two on the floor.

“Can you show me your toys, Seth?” Lydia asked, crawling over to the play area at the edge of the living room. He toddled over and plopped down in front of some blocks and began to collect them. Polly watched as Lydia sat in front of him.

“She’s wonderful with children,” Polly said to Lori.

“She must be wonderful with everyone. I can’t believe she’s here.”

“If she asks to help you, she means it sincerely. The woman doesn’t offer without expecting someone to say yes. Will you stay in Bellingwood?”

Lori shrugged. “I don’t know. There are programs for Seth here and I’ve made contact with therapists. The elementary school is prepared for him. They’ve had several children with Down syndrome.” She smiled. “Have you ever met Maude Wallers?”

“I met her just the other night for the first time. She seems like a wonderful teacher.”

“She’s the teacher they put me in touch with when I first realized that we would be putting him into school next year. She and Ken have a daughter who is now in high school.”

“With Down syndrome? I had no idea,” Polly said. “I talk to Ken all the time and he’s never said anything about his kids.”

“Just having a single person around who understands what Seth needs means the world to me, but now that Bruce is gone, I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to stay. I need to get a job, but I can’t afford to leave Seth alone.”

“Is this why you don’t want to fly back to California?”             

“Seth is horrible on plane trips. By the time we are landing, I’m certain the entire plane is ready to shoot us. He’s miserable, I’m miserable and so is everyone around us. Bruce’s family isn’t comfortable around him either. His parents are disappointed that they don’t have a real grandson.”

The two looked over and Lydia was on her back, flying a small plane over her head toward the window and back to the little boy.

“She has grandkids, right?” Lori asked, chuckling.

“A bunch, and her kids aren’t finished. She’s the happiest grandma around.”

“I’ll bet her family loves her.”

“We all do and you will too.” Polly watched Seth and Lydia play and then had a thought. “Lori, has Seth ever been around horses?”

“No. He’s scared of dogs, but that’s because they bark and startle him. Why?”

“Maybe he would like an outing to a big barn with four immense horses, a couple of donkeys and two barn cats. I would love to have you two come see my menagerie.”

“We saw you with them last fall. Those are big horses. I’m not sure if he would be comfortable around them or not.”

The little boy heard the word ‘horse’ and rummaged through a pile of toys. He held up a small plastic horse.

“Thee horth?” he asked.

Lori nodded and Polly rushed ahead. “They are big, but they are gentle giants. The donkeys are as sweet as can be, too.”

Lydia captured his attention again and Lori looked back at Polly, “We’ll have to see. I have quite a few things to take care of before ….” her voice trailed off and she abruptly stood up and left the room.

Polly looked at Lydia and mouthed, “What did I do?”

Lydia tilted her head to the dining room and said, “Go.”

Polly followed Lori into the dining room and found her bent over the table, her shoulders shaking. Polly touched her shoulder. Lori looked up and seemed to steel herself.

“I’m sorry,” she mouthed. “I’m not ready to deal with all of this.”

“It’s okay. You worried me.”             

“Seth is going to miss his daddy. They were best friends.”

“This has to be unbelievably difficult,” Polly said. She wanted to reach out to the woman, but didn’t feel as if Lori was looking for sympathy.

“The Sheriff asked if I knew anyone who wanted to kill Bruce.”

“What did you say?”

“The boys were making it impossible for Bruce to do his job. They didn’t pay him enough and once he started bottling, they cut him out of the decisions. He wouldn’t stand up for himself. We were never going to get ahead. I knew things were going to be bad when those three moved back to Iowa. We were doing just fine without them. Not like any of those entitled brats would do the hard work, though. They just want to strut around and be proud of themselves for bringing Secret Woods to Bellingwood. The only reason they came back here was to show off all their money and to show the town what successes they are.”

“I didn’t see that in J. J. and Ryan,” Polly said.

“Have you seen what they drive? J. J. has a Mercedes Roadster and a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Ryan is driving a Dodge Ram that is too big for him and Patrick buys Jaguars for his pretty little bride. They’re showing off.”

“You’re probably right,” Polly tried to laugh off Lori’s fury. “But if I could afford a Mercedes Roadster and a Rubicon, I’d certainly buy them.”

“Wayne and Bruce built the infrastructure of this winery over the last five years and will never get any recognition for it. Sometimes I watch Patrick’s stupid little twit living high off the hog and it infuriates me. I couldn’t work because of Seth and now I don’t know what I’m going to do.”