Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold (27 page)

T
HE NEXT MORNING
H
ARRIET WAS UP BRIGHT AND EARLY
. She had spent a restless night as the events of the day before played in her mind like socks in a dryer, one tumbling over the other. She didn’t want to disturb Martha, who was still snoring away, so she and Humphrey walked softly out of the room.

“Come on,” Harriet whispered. “Let’s make coffee.”

But Henry had beaten her to it.

“Mom,” he said, startled. “It’s not even six o’clock. What are you doing up?”

“Same as you, I guess,” she said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

“Yeah, it was pretty exciting yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“Well, I don’t know if exciting is the right word, but you’re the writer.”

Henry smiled. “I’ll get you coffee.”

“Thank you, dear. I hope Prudence is taking the day off.”

“She is.” Henry poured coffee into Harriet’s favorite mug, the one with the butterflies. “And we talked last night. She’s going to quit the council. Even if it means that wimpy Hannigan takes her spot.”

Harriet poured Half and Half into the mug. “Good idea. I am so glad to hear that.”

“Me too.” Henry sat and sipped his coffee. He had been scribbling on a legal pad.

“Were you working?”

“Oh, kind of. Sometimes I think there is a real novel I want to write. Not a Western. Something more … literary, as they say. I was just making notes.”

“Oh, that’s nice, dear.”

The two sipped coffee quietly for a couple of minutes. Humphrey sat between them.

“Henry, I’m sorry,” Harriet said.

“Sorry? For what?”

“You know, the whole gold mine fiasco. I’m just an old, stupid head.”

Henry scribbled on his paper. “Nah, you’re not a stupid head. People get caught up in things.”

“It sounded so good. And there really is gold in the mountains.”

“That’s why people like Crickets can take advantage of—”

“Silly old ladies like me.”

Henry smiled. “I was going to say people. People they think have money.”

“Will you do me a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Never ask me exactly how much money I gave him.”

“That much?” He sipped.

“No. Yes. Maybe. But please. Don’t ask.”

“Now what will you do? Find a salt-and-pepper-shaker club, I hope. There has to be one around here, at least in Sacramento.”

“Yeah, I’ll probably do something safer with my money, like invest in shakers.”

“Glad to hear it.”

They talked for a little while longer until Martha found her way into the kitchen.

“You look like you could use coffee,” Harriet said.

Martha grunted. Harriet poured.

“I think I’ll leave you two alone,” Henry said. “I should get to work. Prudence is taking the day off so she’ll probably sleep for a while.”

“Oh, good,” Martha said.

Henry snagged a box of Little Debbies and headed toward the den.

“Good writing,” Martha called.

Henry waved.

By seven-thirty the builders were back with their machines and tools. Harriet was hoping a Daisy would drop by so she could discuss the changes. But she never got a chance to. Agent Willers called and asked her to drive into the FBI field office that morning.

“We just need you to make a statement,” Agent Willers said. “And that should be it. Unless Winslow changes his mind.”

“So he confessed to the whole thing?”

“Did she say anything about Lily?” Martha asked. But Harriet shooed her away.

“4500 Orange Grove, Sacramento,” Harriet said as she wrote the address on a paper towel. “Across from the Tower Market. Okay. Eleven o’clock. Roger Wilco.”

Agent Willers laughed. “Over and out.”

Harriet tapped off the phone. “We have to go to the FBI. How exciting.”

“We?” Martha said.

“I’m not going by myself.”

“Did she say anything about Lily?”

Harriet shook her head. “Sorry.”

“Maybe I can do something about getting Lily while we’re there.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Harriet said. “That’s probably handled here, in Grass Valley.”

Harriet hugged Martha. “We’ll figure something out. I promise. You will get Lily. Now we should get dressed and leave by nine-thirty. I don’t want to be late for the FBI.”

Martha giggled. “The FBI. Who would have ever believed you’d be mixed up in a federal investigation? What a hoot.”

“I know,” Harriet said as she walked to the bedroom. “The FBI. Hey, I wonder if they’ll fingerprint me.”

“You’re the victim. I don’t think they fingerprint victims.” Martha followed her into the bedroom.

“Do you think there will be a lineup? They always looked so fun. Sitting behind the two-way glass. Picking out the perp.”

“Perp?”

“Perpetrator.”

“I know that. I just can’t believe you said it.”

Harriet and Martha changed into street clothes. Harriet chose a pretty, light blue dress with a white collar. She wore her high top Chucks.

“You’re really wearing those sneakers to the FBI?” Martha, who was wearing sensible brown pants but a wild and colorful, flouncy blouse, asked.

“Sure. See.” Harriet stood and modeled. “Red, white, and blue. Very patriotic.”

“You are a card, Harriet Beamer.”

“I better go tell Henry that I need to go to Sacramento.”

“What if he wants to go with you?”

“Nah, it’s just a statement. I doubt I’ll be there more than
an hour. There’s no reason. And besides, he won’t want to leave Prudence.”

“He’s a good husband.”

Harriet took a breath. “Yeah. He really is a good husband. So much like my Max.”

Harriet and Martha found Henry outside looking at the construction.

“Hey, Mom,” Henry called. “Just checking. Manuel said the inspector came by yesterday and everything looks good.”

Harriet kept her distance. She didn’t want to get her outfit dirty. “That’s nice, dear. But I’ve been meaning to tell you. I want to make the bathroom bigger.”

Manuel dropped his hammer. “You can’t.” He turned to Henry. “She can’t do that. It’s all set.”

“Mom, you can’t. It’s fine the way it is.”

“But I want a bathtub.”

“No. Sorry,” Manuel said, shaking his head. “It’s too late for that. You should have said something sooner.”

“Please, Mom,” Henry said. “It’s fine the way it is.”

Harriet nodded her head. “Okay, I understand.”

“Let it go,” Martha said. “Maybe you can still get the bay window.”

“Then I want a bay window in the front. The south side.”

“Now, that we can do,” Manuel said. “That we can do. But you must talk to the Daisies first.”

“I know. Look, Mom, I’ll talk to Daisy about the bay window. But it will cost more,” Henry said.

“What better place to put my money than into my home?”

“Ah, Mom,” Henry said, “now, that sounds like the perfect scheme.”

Harriet tried to get closer but there was just too much dirt. “Listen, Henry,” she called. “I have to go to the FBI.”

“FBI?” Manuel said.

Harriet glanced at Manuel. And then at the other workers. They stopped their hammers.

“Yes, the FBI,” Harriet said. “I have … business.”

“Ah, man, look,” Manuel said. “Maybe the bigger bathroom would be okay. I could just push this wall here back to there and, si, yes, it could be done.”

“You can?” Harriet said. “That’s just peachy.”

“Really?” Henry said to Manuel. “She is not going to the INS. Really. Her business has nothing to do with you guys.”

Manuel slapped his forehead. “No, really, man. Wow, you had me scared.”

“But I can still get my tub?”

“Sure, si,” Manuel said as he turned his back. “You can get your tub. Bañera estúpida. ¿Lo que viene un jacuzzi?”

Henry pulled Harriet aside. “That was terrible, Mom. You had those guys scared to death.”

“I know. Tell him I’m sorry. But you have to admit that the look on his face was priceless. Now I really do need to get to the FBI building.”

“Hold on, Mom,” Henry said. “What gives?”

“Agent Willers called. She said I need to make a statement. And answer some questions.”

“Maybe you should take Prudence. In case you need representation.”

Harriet waved the thought away. “Nah. It’s just a statement. And I’d rather she rested. Martha will be with me.”

“You are like an old pro at this now.”

“Hey, watch that old talk.”

“Sorry, Mom.” Henry laughed.

Harriet and Martha walked on toward the car.

“We better get going,” Martha said.

“Call if you need to,” Henry called, now standing on the front steps. “You know what? Call me when you get there. So I know you’re okay. And, Mom, don’t do anything.”

“He’s such a worrywart,” Harriet said.

“Can you blame him?”

Henry found Prudence in the kitchen with Humphrey.

“Morning,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel terrific,” Prudence said. “I’m sorry about last night, but it felt just like … like before.”

Henry kissed her. “Never apologize for being cautious. And please, honey, if this happens again, don’t just assume it’s hormones. I’d rather rush you to the hospital a hundred times than have you worry.”

“I love you, Henry Beamer,” Prudence said.

Henry put his arms around Prudence. “We are going to have the best babies in the world.” Then he grabbed a box of cereal from the top of the refrigerator. “Honey Bunches. Want some?”

“Sure,” Prudence said. “But where are your mother and Martha? I sort of thought Harriet would be in here making breakfast.”

Henry joined Prudence at the table with two bowls and the milk. “The FBI.”

Prudence poured cereal into her bowl. “The FBI. You mean, in Sacramento?”

“Yes. Agent Willers called and asked her to come in to make a statement. Martha went with her.”

“Oh, okay, yeah, that’s pretty standard procedure. She’ll be fine.”

“I wanted her to take you along in case she needed representation or help or something.”

“Yeah, that might not have been a bad idea. It’s pretty
intimidating, but your mom is strong and she has Martha with her, even though they won’t let Martha into the interrogation room with her.”

“Interrogation room?”

“It’s just a name. They just want your mother to tell her story. Then it should be over since Win and Crickets confessed to the whole thing.”

“Good.” Henry filled her cereal bowl and poured milk into it. “She’s a pip. And I guess she can handle herself. You should have seen the performance with the builders earlier.”

“What did she do?”

“She manipulated Manuel into redoing the structure a little to accommodate a full-size bathtub in the bathroom and a bay window on the south wall.”

Prudence smiled as she chewed oats. “How?”

“She mentioned the FBI and, of course, the guys thought she meant INS. They would have built her turrets and a moat if she had asked at that point.”

“Oh, that’s awful. And how do we know they aren’t legal?”

“I think Manuel is, but if you could have seen the other guys … They were pretty scared.”

Henry gave Prudence her cereal and then refilled his coffee mug. “I feel sort of bad for Martha. I think Martha is pretty serious about trying to take Lily.”

“I know she is, but she would have to move out here. I really don’t think they’ll let her take her across state lines. Then, even if she does move, there could be residency issues.”

“Oh, it doesn’t sound too good.”

Prudence stirred her cereal. “I’m afraid not.”

“That’s too bad. I get the feeling Martha sees it as a way of making up for what happened to Wyatt.”

“Yeah, probably. But the laws are pretty exact with this stuff.”

“I think I’ll write to him today. Wyatt. Let him know I care.
Gee, Pru, you could have stuck bamboo shoots under my fingernails and lit them on fire and I would never have said Wyatt would be in that kind of trouble.”

“So he was a good friend.”

“Yeah. For a while. He did get kind of distant after college. He dropped out. And I got so busy with the business and everything. I should have stayed in touch.”

“Oh, well, you know what they say about hindsight. All you can do is let him know you’re here for him and keep doing what you were called to do.”

“Thanks. So what are you doing today?”

“Well, after I resign from the council, I’m just going to do some work here and take it easy. I guess I’ll see what is happening with Lily, if they’ll even tell me.”

“Sounds good. You know what? I’m going to make a raspberry torte for Mom today.”

Prudence patted her belly. “Chip and Dale love raspberries.”

H
ARRIET WAS HOPING
A
GENT
W
ILLERS WOULD BE THERE
to greet them, but she wasn’t. Instead, a very tall man who reminded her of Lurch from
The Addams Family
brought her into a sterile, boring room with nothing but a table and hard chairs. This after she and Martha were scanned, identified, and given huge badges that read “Visitor” to wear on their chests. The badge didn’t even say “Hello.” Harriet thought this was unfortunate.

The only good thing about the whole experience was that Harriet learned she was allowed by law to have a support person with her—as long as that person didn’t say a word during the interview. Martha certainly agreed to keep silent and was just as glad as Harriet that she could tag along.

“Are they here?” Harriet asked.

“Who?” asked Agent Gilmore, or Lurch as Harriet called him—but not to his face.

“Winslow and Crickets.” She sat on one side of the table. The agent sat on the other. Martha took a seat in the corner. Harriet thought she looked like she had been pickled. She sat so straight.

“No, ma’am.”

Harriet felt her knees go wobbly even though she was sitting. She hadn’t expected to be so nervous.

“Sorry, ma’am.” Agent Gilmore showed her a piece of paper that had many lines on it. “First, tell me what happened, and then you’ll need to write it all out.”

“Really? Write the whole story?”

“The whole story.”

Harriet sighed. “Okay.”

“Now,” Agent Gilmore said, “why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“Okay, well, I met Lily at the café and …”

There was a knock on the door.

“Excuse me,” Agent Gilmore said. He pulled open the door.

“Agent Willers,” Harriet said. “Am I glad to see you.”

“Hi,” Agent Willers said. “I wanted to be here with you.”

“Oh, thank you,” Harriet said. “I’m glad you’re here. How’s Lily?”

“She’s okay,” Willers said. “She had a good night at a good place. They’ll find a permanent place for her soon.”

Martha chimed up much to the dissatisfaction of Agent Gilmore, who really seemed pretty bored about the whole thing. But maybe that was just the way the agent always behaved. “Can she please come live with me? I’ll take good care of her.”

“Not sure about that,” Agent Willers said.

“Can you tell me what I need to do to at least try to get her?”

“Are you sure?” Agent Willers asked.

“I am,” Martha said. “More sure than anything for quite some time.”

“Okay, I’ll check into it,” Willers said.

“Can we get back to the investigation?” Gilmore asked.

“Okay, okay,” Harriet said. “Like I was saying, I met Lily at the café, and she told me about her dad, Old Man Crickets, and the gold mine.”

Gilmore was writing everything down.

“Keep going,” Willers said. “He can write fast.”

Henry was having a good writing day. He had gotten through two chapters and was re-reading for clarity and to add a word here and there. But when he heard Prudence in the kitchen, he took a break.

“Come on, Humphrey. Let’s get lunch.”

“Hey,” Prudence said. “Did I disturb you?”

“No, no. I need to eat lunch.”

“Me too,” Prudence said. “How about burgers again?”

“On the grill?” Henry said.

“Why not?”

“Maybe I’ll see if Manuel and his men want to join us.”

“Oh, now, that’s a sweet idea,” Prudence said. “Maybe make up for your mother’s practical joking.”

Henry dashed out to start the grill. “Hey, Manuel,” he called.

“Yeah, boss,” Manuel said.

“I’m putting burgers on the grill. Would you and the guys like to have lunch?”

“Seriously, man?” Manuel said. “Sure. Thanks.”

“Great. It’ll be a few minutes.”

“No trouble, man. Thanks. Hear that, boys?” Manuel called to the other workers. “Lunch is on the boss today.”

Henry and Prudence formed the meat into patties and assembled buns and condiments. Prudence made lemonade, took some potato salad from the fridge, and dumped chips in a bowl. “I’m afraid I have some bad news,” she said.

“What?” Henry asked.

“Nothing about the babies. It’s about Lily.”

“Oh, don’t tell me,” Henry said. “I was hoping.”

Prudence followed him outside, carrying the bowls with potato salad and chips. “Well, it’s not that it can’t work out. But I think Martha would definitely have to move to Grass Valley to get guardianship of Lily. And that might take a lot of paperwork
and take a lot of time, and then Lily would be eighteen, and then it’s moot.”

“Oh wow, she’s going to be so disappointed.” Henry dropped the burgers onto the grill. They sizzled and popped. A flame shot up from the grease, but it was quickly gone. The smell of the meat grilling was almost immediate. Henry loved that aroma. So did Humphrey.

“Do you think she’d move out here?” Henry asked.

“She might. With Wyatt in jail in Pennsylvania, though, she might not want to be so far from him.”

“Yeah, that’s something to consider,” Henry said.

“Oh, this is just so awful.” Prudence sat down at the table. Humphrey came by, obviously on the prowl for a handout. “When it’s cooked,” Prudence said to the dog. Then she said to Henry, “I think she might have her heart set on it.”

The whole experience took nearly two hours, and by the time she was finished, Harriet felt like she had run a marathon with Humphrey on her back. She even found herself in tears at certain times, thinking about how gullible she had been. She was never so glad for anything to be over.

“Thank you,” Agent Willers said. “This is never easy. But thankfully you got out before it was too late.”

“Yeah,” Harriet said. “Live and learn.”

Agent Willers walked Martha and Harriet to the door, where they turned in their badges. “Can I keep it?” Harriet asked. “A souvenir.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Agent Willers said. “Drive safe now and, Harriet, don’t lease any more gold mines without a thorough investigation first.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I have learned my lesson.”

“Glad to hear it. And by the way, thanks for helping us. You did your country a service. These guys will never hurt anyone else like they hurt you.”

“Or Win’s daughter,” Martha said.

“Yes, I won’t forget about her,” Agent Willers said.

The ride home was peaceful and quiet. Neither Martha nor Harriet had much to say until they arrived back in Grass Valley.

“This has been some vacation,” Martha said.

“One of a kind, I bet.”

“I’ll say, but I would like to see more of the town,” Martha said.

“But you might need to extend your visit a little to do that.”

Martha let go a chuckle. “A little? I was thinking of staying forever, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. But what if you can’t get Lily?”

“I like it here. And I really want to try to help Lily, and I was thinking, if she can’t come live with me, then maybe we can be friends. Maybe they’ll at least tell me where she lives and we can see each other.”

“That’s the ticket,” Harriet said.

“Yeah. I think I’ll come back to stay.”

Harriet pulled the car into the driveway. She saw that the walls of her Grammy Suite had gone up and was struck by a terrible thought. She didn’t want it to be terrible. But it was, so she just had to ask.

“So, Martha, when you move out, where will you live?”

“Oh, I just assumed we’d share the Grammy Suite.”

Harriet swallowed. She didn’t want to be rude or unloving but …

“I’m just kidding. I couldn’t live with you. Not for all the gold in the mountains. I’ll get my own place.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Harriet said. “You know I love you, but I need my space.”

“And so does your collection. I’d just be in the way.”

“I’ll say,” Harriet said.

“You don’t have to be that happy.”

“Hey, I smell burgers again,” Harriet said. “Henry must be grilling.”

Harriet and Martha went to the back of the house and, sure enough, there was a party going on with Henry and Prudence and the workers. Even Daisy Day was there with her partner, Daisy Knight.

“Hey, join the fun,” Henry said. “We’re celebrating.”

“Celebrating what?” Harriet asked.

“Everything,” Prudence said.

Harriet snagged a burger from a plate and bit into it. “This is delicious,” she said. “Testifying is hard work.”

“Is that your phone ringing, Mom?” Henry asked.

“Oh, yes.” Harriet rifled through her bag.

“Hello,” she said over the noise and music.

“Harriet? It’s me. Lily?”

“Who? Lily? Oh my, how are you, dear? I am so worried. It’s Lily, everybody. It’s Lily.”

“Oh boy,” Martha said. “It’s Lily.” Harriet repeated, “How are you, dear?”

“I’m okay,” Lily said. “I’m staying with a nice family. For now. I miss Pop but … well, you know.”

“Lily,” Harriet said, “I am so sorry this happened.”

“Yeah, me too. But I guess it will be okay. I’m kind of glad it’s over.”

Harriet walked away from the noise into the kitchen. “You don’t have to run anymore.”

“I know. But, I … I just wanted to tell you something,” Lily said.

“What’s that, dear?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry I marked you. I’m sorry I got you into trouble.”

“I’m not in trouble,” Harriet said. “Oh, I’m really angry about all the money, but it wasn’t all for nothing. I found gold.”

“You did?”

“Yep. Right here at home. It’s an absolute gold mine with hot and cold running blessings. There’s not a gold nugget on earth that could compare.”

Lily was quiet.

“Lily,” Harriet said. “Are you still there?”

“Yeah. I just wish …”

Martha walked into the room. “Can I talk with her?”

Harriet nodded. “Listen, Lily dear, Martha wants to say something.”

Martha took the phone. “Hello, Lily? I … I just want you to know that … well, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to petition or whatever they call it for you to come live with me. I’m moving to Grass Valley.”

“Put it on speaker,” Harriet said.

Martha set the phone on the counter and pushed the little speaker button.

“You mean it?” Lily said.

“I mean it,” Martha said. “I’ve known it for a while. I knew I wanted to be with you from the moment I saw that silly eyebrow ring glittering in the sunlight.”

“Okay,” Lily said “But when? When can it happen?”

“I don’t know, and I can’t even promise you. The court might say something else, but you’re almost an adult. When you turn eighteen, we can be together for sure, if that’s what you want.”

“You mean it?” Lily said. “But … why?”

“Oh, someday I might tell you. But for now, it’s just that … well, you need a home, and I need a granddaughter.”

Lily seemed to be crying. “I wish it was today,” she said through sniffs. “I wish I could live with you today.”

Harriet held Martha’s hand. “Me too,” Martha said. “But I have to get back to Pennsylvania and sell my house and pack and … and, well, do some stuff.”

“Thank you,” Lily said.

“We’ll stay in touch,” Martha said.

“Okay,” Lily said. “And, Martha?”

“Yes, honey?”

“I never got to know my real mother all that well. I know I made it sound like I knew her, that it hadn’t been so long since she died. But she died a long time ago. I like to think that she was a lot like you.”

Martha swiped her tears. “I love you, Lily.”

Martha tapped off the phone.

Harriet wrapped her arms around her friend. “Now see, maybe, just maybe, all that glitters
is
gold. In one way or another.”

“Yep. Let’s get back to the party.”

Harriet and Martha walked arm in arm to the deck.

“Yep,” Harriet said. “I’ve got a real gold mine here.”

The next six months whizzed by faster than greased lightning. Harriet settled into her Grammy Suite before Christmas and was as happy as a clam with all her salt and pepper shakers displayed around her. Lily, who had loved the lamb Harriet bought her, made a point to drop over almost on a weekly basis. She was studying for her GED. Harriet helped as much as she could. And Martha was in the process of moving lock, stock, and barrel across the country. Wyatt understood.

But the big news of course was the birth of the twins. A little early, but healthy.

Prudence had gone into labor on March 16, three weeks before her due date.

“Henry was a mess,” Harriet said on the phone to Martha the next day. “An absolute mess. They wheeled him out of the delivery room.”

“Oh no,” Martha said. “How is Prudence?”

“She’s recovering. They ended up doing a Cesarean. So she’s sore, but she’s so happy. And the babies are so cute. Small but adorable.”

“Names?” Martha asked. “Did they choose names yet?”

“Maxwell Henry, you know, for … for my Max.” Harriet sniffed back tears. “And Emily Maxine.”

“That’s wonderful,” Martha said.

“Oh, Martha, I can’t wait for you to get here. We have so much to do, and …”

Harriet smiled as she continued to chat with Martha. She did have so much to do, but already she had a feeling, a feeling that maybe, just maybe there was another adventure out there.