Look Always Forward (Bellingwood Book 11) (19 page)

Polly drove back onto the highway, turning north on Elm Street. She drove past the downtown and turned left on Monroe Street. Gina pointed to a small blue house and Polly pulled into the driveway. She checked her phone to make sure that Darla Landry hadn't called back, but there had been no calls.

"You kids stay here," Polly said. "I'll just knock on the door and see if she answers. Maybe she overslept and had her phone turned to silent."

She walked up the steps to the front porch. When there was no response to the doorbell, she opened the storm door and rapped sharply on the door. "Abby Belran, are you in there? I'm Polly Giller. Are you here?" She knocked twice more and when there was no answer, she got frustrated and tried the door knob.

The door opened and Polly stepped partway in. "Abby? Abby Belran? Are you here?"

Still no response. Polly didn't know whether to be nosy and check further or just to leave it. It felt wrong to walk away, so she stepped back on the porch and held up a finger to the girls, telling them she'd be just another minute.

"Abby? I'm Polly Giller and I'm here to check on you. Are you here?" Polly had entered into the kitchen at the front of the house. She turned left into a small living room. The door to what looked like a high school girl's room was ajar, so she crossed the room and pushed it open, then dropped to her knees.

"No," she said quietly. "Not again.

The young girl lay half on and half off her bed, blood congealed in a pool below her. A large gash was opened at the back of her head and beside her was a broken marble clock that was obviously the murder weapon.

Polly stepped back out into the living room and then in her need to get as far away from it as possible, walked into the kitchen and made a call.

"Oh Polly," Aaron Merritt said. "What have you found?"

"She's just a high school girl," Polly said. "And she lives with her dad. I know this will destroy him. I can't imagine what Dad would have done if I'd died, too. Her mother is gone..."

"Polly, where are you," he asked gently.

"I'm at 109 Monroe. Abby Belran. I've seen too much blood this morning, Aaron. I have three kids in my truck and I don't know what to do next."

"Can you call someone to get the girls? I'm on my way. Just hold on, I'll be there as fast as I can."

"I'll call Sylvie. Maybe she and Rachel can come up. This has been a rough morning, Aaron."

"Make the call. Go sit outside. We'll be there."

Polly went out the door to the porch and gave a quick wave to the truck and started to call Sylvie, but remembered that she was trying desperately to get the bakery up and running. She'd come, but that wasn't fair. Joss would do this for her, but she was out of town. She made another call.

"Hello, dear," Lydia said. "How are you this bright August morning? Are you ready for the kids to be back in school?"

"Hello Lydia and no, I love having them around. It will be nice to have a schedule again, though. I have a favor to ask. Are you busy this morning?"

"I'm making a chicken casserole for Sandy and Benji Davis. They just brought home a new baby. Why do you ask?"

"Is the casserole in the oven yet?"

"No, I just finished mixing it. Do you need me?"

"I really do. I would have called Sylvie, but she's got too much on her mind this week."

"No, honey," Lydia said. "You were right to call me. How can I help you?"

"I have three girls sitting in the back of my truck and I just had to call your husband."

"Oh, honey. I hoped that poor Julie Smith would be enough."

"Me too, but I walked into it this morning. I swear, Lydia, sometimes the universe goes out of its way to get me involved. Would you be able to pick the girls up and take them back to Sycamore House for me?"

"Kayla and Rebecca?" Lydia asked

"And Gina Landry. We were at her house because her brother had fallen and hurt himself really badly and their babysitter hadn't shown up. Then I came over to check on the babysitter and she's the girl I found."

"This sounds awfully convoluted," Lydia said. "But I've put the casserole in the refrigerator and after I wash my hands and find my keys, I'll be right there."

"Thank you so much. You're a life saver."

Polly gave Lydia the address and ended the call. Now she had to decide what to tell the girls in her back seat. She preferred being up front and honest with the kids in her life. It made answering questions so much easier. She took a deep breath and walked over to the truck.

Rebecca opened the back door and said, "What's up?"

Polly looked at the ground and then back up and said, "I need to tell you what's happened."

"Oh no," Rebecca said and reached out to touch Polly's arm. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Kayla asked and glanced at Rebecca before looking at Polly. "Really? Really?"

"Girls, Abby has died. I don't know how to say it any easier than that. The Sheriff is going to be here in a few minutes and I need to stay and talk to him. Mrs. Merritt is going to take you back to Sycamore House."

"She's dead?" Gina asked. "How?" She burst into tears.

Rebecca and Kayla both put their arms around her shoulders.

"I don't know," Polly replied. "That's what the Sheriff will figure out. But you will be fine at Sycamore House with Rebecca and Kayla. Do you like dogs?"

Kayla leaned in to divert Gina's attention. "Polly has the best dogs. Obiwan is big, but all he wants to do is love you. Han is crazy, but he's a big goofball. And they're named after the movie Star Wars. Have you ever seen that movie?"

Gina looked up at her, tears streaming down her face. "No."

"We'll watch Star Wars." Kayla looked at Polly. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is."

"I just saw it the first time this year," Kayla said. "And now I've seen it like a million times. They love it at Polly's house."

Kayla continued to talk to the little girl and Rebecca turned back to Polly. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to stay with you? Kayla can take care of Gina."

Polly reached in and hugged her, then whispered in her ear. "You're amazing. I'm fine. It's been a lot of blood this morning, but once you three are back home and the Sheriff takes care of things here, I'll settle down."

Rebecca pointed at Polly's pocket. "You should call Henry. You know how much he hates it when he finds out about this stuff from somebody else."

"I think I'll keep you. Is that okay?" Polly asked with a smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

For the second time that morning, Polly knew that the sirens coming through town were for her. She backed away from the truck as Lydia pulled in behind her.

"Are you okay?" Lydia asked before she was all the way out of her Jeep.

Polly smiled. "I'm fine, but I'm glad you're here. It would be good if the girls could get out of here before it turns into a big scene.

Rebecca unbuckled her seatbelt and reached to unbuckle Gina's. "This is Mrs. Merritt," she said. "She's the Sheriff's wife. We're going with her now."

Gina and Kayla climbed across the seat and stepped down beside Polly.

"You will be fine," Polly said to Gina. She bent over to give her a quick hug. "I promise it will all be fine."

"Not for Abby," Gina said.

Polly knelt down beside her. "You do know that Abby doesn't feel anything right now. Do you believe in heaven?"

Gina nodded.

"Then you have to believe that's where she is. She isn't thinking about dying or pain or anything. Isn't that right?"

"I guess so," Gina said.

"Come on girls," Lydia said, putting her hand on Kayla's shoulder. "I know where everything is in Polly's kitchen and I think today would be a good day for chocolate chip cookies."

Polly watched them drive away as the first sheriff's vehicle pulled in. She took a deep breath.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Darn it, Polly,” Aaron said. "I wish you could identify the murderer as easily as you find the bodies.” He nodded at his team as they headed for the front door.

"Where's the fun in that?" Polly asked. "I shouldn't have to do everything for you, should I?"

"Most of the time, you do anyway. Now tell me again how you came upon this scene?"

Polly explained the odd phone call and her discovery of Gina and Brennan Landry and then, the mother's concern over their babysitter not showing up.

"And Mrs. Landry is in Boone now at the hospital?"

"I suppose," Polly replied. "I think the boy hit his head hard a couple of times, so there is at least one concussion." She shuddered. "I should try to find someone to clean that bathroom up. Between him passing out and his sister trying to help him, there was a lot of blood."

"You've had more than your share of blood today," he said. "And I've seen its effects on you. How ya doin'?"

"Okay, I guess. There wasn't anyone else around to take care of things, so I just kept moving without thinking." Polly glanced at the back of her truck. "I have the bloody towels in there. I should start soaking those pretty soon."

He patted her shoulder. "If Lydia is at your place with the kids, ask for her help. She's gotten pretty good at cleaning up bloody messes."

"You? Were you hurt often?" Polly frowned at him.

"No, not me," he said with a laugh. "But five kids create plenty of blood. And poor Jill had bloody noses all through her adolescence. Plenty of blood in Lydia's lifetime. Ask her. Please. I don't want to have to send a unit to rush you to the hospital because you passed out and hit your head on the washing machine."

"Do you think Abby's death is connected to Julie Smith's?" Polly asked. Before Aaron could answer, she continued. "And do you know yet to who trashed the coffee shop and killed Julie?"

He shook his head. "We've talked to most everyone who knows her. I can't make a connection between her death and Denis Sutworth. There's nothing there. We talked to a few friends that she planned to meet that evening at the General Store. They assumed she was worn out from starting work and stayed home."

"I'm surprised she didn't text them," Polly said. "Kids know everything about each other's movements these days. Not much is left to the imagination." She sighed. "I know Rebecca is going to need a cell phone pretty soon, but I'm not ready to lose sight of her face and only see the top of her head."

He nodded. "Our kids were pretty much done growing up by the time everybody had cell phones. I can't imagine what Lydia would have done if she'd caught them with their faces buried in electronic devices. Video games and computers were bad enough. They thought she was a mean, mean mama."

"They all turned out pretty well," Polly said, smiling up at him. "I think both of you did just fine."

A deputy called Aaron's name and he turned and acknowledged it with a wave. "I'm needed. You've had enough of a day that maybe you should go home and put your feet up."

Polly checked the time on her phone and saw she had missed a text from Henry. "Maybe I'll avoid everything and take the kids and Lydia out to lunch at the diner. I could use comfort food."

He gave her a quick hug and went inside the house. Polly backed out of the driveway, carefully avoiding the emergency vehicles. She breathed a sigh of relief once she crossed the highway and pulled into her own drive. After turning the truck off, she shut her eyes and thought back over the absolute insanity of the morning. Was there anyone else in the world who had things like this occur as part of their daily lives? How in the world did an unpublished number get into Gina Landry's phone? She hadn't thought to ask anyone yet what Abby's actual number was.

Then she remembered Henry's text and swiped the phone to look at it.

"I'm going to be late tonight. There's a problem at the Harris house in Ogden. How's your day?"

Polly texted back,
"That's cool. Do you have a minute to talk?"

Her phone rang and she swiped the call open. "Hi there, hot stuff. No time for me or for Nate tonight, huh?"

"It was you ... all you," he said. "My time is always for you. So what's up?"

"I did it again."

"Oh no." His voice fell. "I can get someone else to handle the Ogden job. Maybe Dad would go down."

"No, no, no," Polly said. "That's not why I told you. I just didn't want you to hear it from someone else." She chuckled. "Well, okay. Rebecca reminded me to call and tell you so that didn't happen."

He laughed. "I think we should keep her."

"That's what I told her this morning. She was terrific. Henry, I love her so much. How did we get so lucky?"

"Sarah did a wonderful job raising her," he replied. "If we don't screw it up these next few years, she can do anything with her life that she wants to do. Now tell me what happened?"

Polly described her morning to him and he made enough noise as she retold the tale to assure her that he was listening.

"Do you think the two murders are connected?" he asked.

"I asked Aaron that same question and didn't get a good answer. He wasn't avoiding me, there was just too much other stuff going on. But think about it, Henry. When have I ever found two dead people and not had the deaths be connected?"

He sighed loudly. "Why am I not more upset at the fact that you just said that last sentence out loud?"

"Because you're getting used to me?" she said with a weak laugh.

"I guess that's it. Are you sure you're okay?"

Polly nodded. "I'm fine. Just sitting in the truck in the garage. Lydia has the kids upstairs. I need to get the towels inside and have her help me de-blood them and then I am taking everyone out to lunch."

"I love you, sweetcakes. Take care of yourself until I get home tonight, will you?"

"Thanks, Henry. I love you too. And to tell you the truth, I feel better now than I did before you called. You always do that to me."

"That's me," he said. "Your human Valium."

"You're just as addicting."

"Go do your thing. I'll be home as soon as I can."

Polly sat back in the truck seat when the call was ended. She didn't want to go upstairs and deal with people. If she just sat here and took a quick nap, she wondered if anyone would notice. But there were too many things to deal with. She got out of the truck and walked to the bed where the basket of bloody towels had been hidden. Taking a deep breath, she took the basket out and went inside. She was at the top step when Obiwan skidded to a stop in front of her. Laughter and noise filled her apartment. There were more people here than just Lydia and the three girls.

"Too many people here to let you keep an ear out for me?" she asked the dog.

She put the basket up on Henry's desk so the dogs couldn't get into it. The last thing she needed was bloody towels strewn around the house. Rebecca had put a dirty towel atop the others so she didn't have to look at the blood, but Polly needed to get away from the coppery scent.

A large party greeted her in the dining room. Beryl was at one end of the table with Rebecca and Kayla, while Gina was in the kitchen with Lydia and Jean Gardner. Jeff and Andrew were setting the table while Eliseo, Sam Gardner, Jason and Ralph Bedford were peering at a computer tablet in front of Jason.

Jeff looked up and saw her and crossed the room. "There you are," he said. "We decided you needed a party. Lydia and Jean have been cooking up a storm. All we needed was you."

"I..." Polly looked around. "It hasn't been that long," she said. "How have you been cooking up a storm?"

"Lydia called me," Jean said. "We haven't cooked much, just bacon for BLTs. The tomatoes and lettuce are from the garden out back and the bread is Sylvie's. I whipped up cole slaw and beans and Lydia just took cupcakes out of the oven. We'll frost those after everyone has eaten."

"You whipped up cole slaw and beans," Polly said, shaking her head. "How does that even happen? I was going to take us out for lunch. I didn't expect this."

Beryl looked up. "Sometimes we just need to be reminded that life is easy. You can't accuse me of making cooking easy, but I can certainly enjoy the easy life."

"Why are you here?" Polly whispered to Beryl when she got close enough.

"Lydia called and told me what you'd been through this morning. It was either have lunch with you or sit in front of a blank canvas, frustrated because it hasn't yet told me what I'm supposed to paint." She winked at Rebecca as if the two of them had a private joke. "I'm hoping that all of you will inspire me so that the afternoon is better than the morning."

Polly glanced at Eliseo. "I can't believe you're up here, too. That's awesome."

He shrugged. "We had to eat and when Lydia called and asked if we had any tomatoes and lettuce in the garden, she invited us to come up and have lunch."

"What about Sylvie and Rachel?" Polly asked. "And Evelyn?"

Lydia smiled. "Don't worry. I checked on them all. Well, I had my helpers check on them. Sylvie is up at the bakery and Rachel is catering a luncheon at Memorial Hall. Kayla and Rebecca delivered lunch to Evelyn and Denis and I think that pretty much takes care of it, don't you?"

"Seriously," Polly said. "When everything falls apart, you're the only person in the world I want to organize my life. Thank you."

"I spent years taking care of and organizing the lives of five kids. I miss it. This is my favorite thing to do in the world. All it takes is a few phone calls and a little time." Lydia put a bowl of baked beans at either end of the table and then came around to give Polly a hug. "You needed some love today."

"Thank you," Polly said. "I have one more favor I need to ask of you, though. How do you take blood out of things? I have a basket of towels from the Landers house. They're covered in the red stuff and I can't think about them any longer."

Lydia grabbed Polly's hand and then released it. "Where's the basket? We can't let that set."

"It's on Henry's desk in there," Polly said, nodding to the office.

"Jean," Lydia called. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Are you good?"

"You go on," Jean Gardner said, waving Lydia away. "I have plenty of good help." She took two bowls of slaw from the counter and handed them to Andrew, talking quietly to him and pushing him toward the dining room.

Lydia left the room and then put her head back in. "Don't use your bathroom in here for a while, Polly. I'm going to soak them in the tub. Is the salt still in the same place downstairs?"

Polly's brows furrowed as she looked at Lydia. "Yes? Why?"

"Don't think about it. I've got this." Lydia smiled and soon Polly heard the water turn on in the small bathroom.

Where in the world would she be without this woman? And why didn't Lydia's daughters rely on her more? Polly often felt like she absorbed an awful lot of Lydia's time, but the woman never complained and was always available when needed.

Beckoning Jeff over, she said quietly, "Gina and her brother made a horrible bloody mess in their bathroom. I can't clean it up. Do you think that if I paid Barb and Cindy an ungodly amount of money, they'd meet me there and scrub it down?" Barb and Cindy Evering were the mother and daughter team who cleaned rooms at Sycamore Inn.

He shrugged. "I can't imagine why not. But why don't you wait until after lunch and check with Gina's mother. She might not want people in her house, especially if she comes home this afternoon."

"You're right," Polly said. "I was just trying to help."

"We'll eat. You'll call her and find out what's happening and then, if you still want to, I'll call Barb. I'm sure they'd be glad to help. Especially for an ungodly amount of money," he said with a grin.

"I'd pay anything to not deal with that," Polly said. "Anything."

~~~

Polly was surprised that she hadn't heard from Darla Landry. The house had finally quieted down enough to think about something other than interacting with people. Eliseo and his crew had gone back outside, Jean Gardner was helping Kayla and Gina cook in the kitchen, Beryl and Rebecca were still at the table working in a sketchbook, and Andrew had taken the dogs out. Lydia was nowhere to be found. Polly couldn't imagine where she might have gone, but wasn't too worried.