Secrets and Revelations (Bellingwood #4) (21 page)

"Y'all are slugs!" she called to them as she jogged past. It took her a few minutes to assemble the ingredients and turn the bread machine on and she sauntered back into the bedroom. After setting the timer on her phone, she sat down and rubbed Obiwan's stomach.

"Well, kids. It's been an interesting day. I'll tell you about it sometime. This weekend is going to be kind of crazy and I apologize for it right now. I'll be around whenever I can, but I'm gonna miss you."
Obiwan rolled over, sat up and licked her face.

"I love you too. I should probably go down and check on Jeff. He's been dealing with a building full of quilt judges. That can't have been fun. I'll be back in forty-five minutes or so."

She went out the front door and down the main steps to the office. Jeff was sitting at his desk, his seat leaned back and eyes shut.

"Is everything okay?" she quietly asked.

"I'm awake!" he cried, jerking up.

"Oh, I didn't mean to disturb you," she laughed. "I came in to check on you."

He glanced at the time on his computer. "I'm glad you did. How embarrassing!"

"How did the day go with the judges?"

"It was fine. They're coming back in tomorrow. They told me that part of their decision making process is watching how people react to the different quilts. Whatever. I think they're just trying to draw out the process. But, Marla spent most of the day with them and I think she has them well in hand."

"Good. You've been putting a lot of time in
on this. I hope they recognize that."

"No worries. It's great advertising for Sycamore House. Sylvie and I decided that tomorrow and Saturday we will serve coffee and rolls for people who are here in the morning and then lemonade, ice tea and fruit for those who come by in the afternoon. Hopefully that will draw a few more people out of the downtown
area."

"There's going to be so much going on this weekend, you aren't going to know who is where. Can you hardly wait?"

"I can't wait until Monday. How was your lunch today?"

Polly told him what had happened and her phone's timer rang. "I have rolls upstairs for tonight. I'll see you later."

About five fifteen, while Jason was taking a shower in her apartment, Polly, Eliseo and Jeff were helping Sylvie set up in the classroom. They spread tablecloths and she filled some of the mason jars from the barn raising with candy and placed them on the table. Jason had demanded that she not treat him like a child and do silly decorations, so she scattered some of his favorite treats on the table and let it be.

At five thirty as people arrived, Polly let Sylvie hide in the kitchen while she pointed the way to the lounge. As soon as everyone got there and Sylvie was ready, they'd make their way to the kitchen, but until then Sylvie wanted them comfortable.

Beryl was one of the last people to arrive and Polly gasped when she saw the woman. "What are you wearing?" she asked.

"This? It's my favorite party outfit."

She had on skin tight lime green leather pants and a blouse that seemed to be made of more material than Polly had ever seen. It was wrapped around her, under her arms, across her torso, and flowed down her back. Another piece of matching material was wrapped as a headband whose tails were curled around Beryl's neck. She wore bracelets all the way up one arm and on the other arm, a piece of metal curled its way from elbow to wrist.

"You look like something from a ... a ... I have no idea what you look like. But, it's certainly not ... ummm ... conventional." Polly got out.

"I'm stunning, aren't I." the woman laughed.

"What in the world?"

Beryl leaned in close to Polly and said, "Turning thirteen is one of the hardest things a boy has to do, especially when he doesn't have a dad around. There is every probability that his mother is going to embarrass him tonight and I'm here to make sure that I'm the most embarrassing thing he will remember from this party."

"You have got to be kidding me?"

"Nope. Not kidding. I love our Sylvie, but I bet she's going to cry and that boy is doing his darndest to be a man. All the rest of you want to make sure he has a party. I want to make sure he gets to have a party and some entertainment which will keep his mind occupied on something other than his mama being a mama."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"I've been through this before. I had two brothers whose mama embarrassed them at every opportunity. They quit bringing their friends to the house because she cried every time she thought about them growing up."

"You have two brothers?"

"Oh, damn. My secret is out. I'll bet you thought I was the product of an illicit love-match. Yep, I have two brothers who live around these parts. And there are aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews."

"Where was all of this family when your water heater exploded?"

"I didn't tell them and I made Lydia promise not to tell either. They just get in the way. They're always fussing over me if I let them in too close. They think I'm a crazy bohemian who doesn't know how to take care of herself."

"Look at you!
They're not wrong!"

"Don't you make fun of me, little girl. I did this on purpose and just because I like being a bit crazy, doesn't mean I can't take care of myself. I make more money with my bohemian painter lifestyle than both of my brothers do together and I've seen more of the world than they even know exists. So there." Beryl made a raspberry sound at Polly, who backed up a step.

"You're spitting at me."

"I'll do more than that. Now show me to the party."

Polly followed her friend into the lounge where Lydia and Aaron, Andy Saner and her date, Len Specek were already gathered. Lydia took one look at Beryl and began to laugh.

"She's going to be good. I promise," Lydia said. "I made her swear not to embarrass him tonight."

"You know about this getup?" Polly asked.

"She has drug this thing out more times than I can even count, hasn't she Andy?"

Andy nodded. "My boys will never forget this outfit. And neither will their friends."

"The thing is ... it works," Lydia said. "Our boys still talk about Beryl and her eccentricities, but they love her for it. None of them remember us blubbering or being stupid about them growing up and embarrassing them in front of their friends. We were allowed to be part of their birthday parties for years because of Beryl."

Polly shook her head. "I'll believe you and if this is your reason for dressing like this, you are really the coolest lady I know. If your reason is because you love wearing these clothes, you're still pretty cool, but you are very strange."

"I can be cool and strange all at the same time. You know, I don't want this town to ever think that I'm safe and normal. That's Lydia's job and Andy's too. I don't have to be that person because of them."

"It's because of them that you can get away with this," Polly laughed.

Beryl stage whispered, "Don't ever tell them that. I like to think that I'm the anchor of the group."

Hannah and Bruce McKenzie and their three little ones - Sammy, Emma and little Tyler. who was just toddling around - walked in. When Sammy and Emma saw Beryl, their mouths dropped open and they simply stood and stared.

Emma was the first to speak, "You're beautiful!" she said.

Beryl knelt down in front of her, "Thank you sweetie. You're beautiful too. And you are growing up. You're going to be as tall as your brother someday."

"I am? Sammy did you hear that? Someday I'll be tall like you!" The little boy hadn't shut his mouth yet, so Beryl reached over and took his chubby little hand in her long, slender fingers.

"Shall we get some lemonade for you and your sister?" Beryl asked and led them into the classroom.

Hannah and Bruce both looked at Polly. "She's a little wild!" Hannah said.

"But we love her," Polly remarked.

Jason came into the lounge and looked around. He didn't see anyone but adults, so
he spun back around and left the room.

"Guess w
e're not interesting enough yet," Aaron Merritt laughed.

Henry walked in and planted a kiss on Polly's cheek. He got a glimpse of Beryl in the other room and slowly turned his head to Polly, "What's that?"

"I'll tell you later. It's for Jason's benefit. They say," she nodded toward Lydia and Andy, "that it's a good thing. I think it's weird."

He greeted the others in the room and soon Jeff and Eliseo joined them. A table had been designated for gifts and it was soon
filled with colorfully wrapped packages. Doug and Billy came in with two friends that Polly recognized and pretty soon Jason was back with three boys his age she'd seen around, but didn't know well.

"Is everyone here?" he asked in a loud voice.

He glanced around and his mouth dropped open when Beryl emerged from the classroom with Emma on her hip, playing with the tails of her headband. Sammy followed closely behind them and Jason shook his head.

"Mom says the food is ready. We can eat any time.
Follow me, please."

Beryl slipped up beside Polly and said, "See. He's trying to be an adult tonight. We aren't going to spoil that for him, are we
!”

Outshone by no one
, Beryl was the talk of the party for the first part of the evening. Jason's young friends kept looking at her as if she was an alien from another planet. Andrew couldn't get enough of her and begged to sit beside her at dinner. Doug and Billy seemed proud to admit knowing her and the rest of the adults just let her be who she was. She stood up halfway through the meal and announced that it was time to make a toast to the birthday boy, then proceeded to regale the group with tales of her adoration for Len Specek. Jason didn't know what to do with it all and finally chose to shake his head and laugh along with the rest of the group.

Before she sat down, she looked him straight in the eye and said, "Thirteen is a big deal, young man. In many cultures around the world, this is the year you are now considered a man. That would mean you could take a wife or hunt bears on your own, carry a weapon into battle or pierce your body. Fortunately, in America it simply means you are finally a teenager and you are closer to driving a car than you are to having your diaper changed."

Jason's entire body flushed red and his buddies giggled.

"So here's to the newest young man in our group, may his dreams come true and his mistakes be few." She lifted her glass to cheers of "hear, hear" and sat down again, beaming from ear to ear.

Aaron pulled his phone from his pocket, read the text and stood up. He patted Jason on the back and said, "Folks, I need to step out for a bit. Happy birthday, Jason. Thanks for a great meal, Sylvie."

He kissed his wife and whispered something in her ear, then left the room.

"Is everything okay?" Andy asked Lydia.

"I don't know. He just said he needed to go and that I should ask for a ride home. It's never easy being married to the Sheriff." She smiled as if to assure the room that things were fine and continued to eat her meal.

The group moved into the lounge after supper. Sylvie pointed to a chair and Jason sat down. He looked around the room. "I've never had so many people come to my birthday before. Wow."

"Does it feel weird to have everyone staring at you?" his brother asked and handed him a package.

Jason blushed again. "Uh huh."

Andy pulled a notebook from her purse and flipped it to a blank page. "I told his mother I'd take care of this," she said. "I think it's cute. She's going to make him write thank you notes."

Polly chuckled. That was one of the things her father insisted she learn to do. No gift came into their home without a thank you note being written and mailed by the next day. She still took time to write notes, even though sometimes it just seemed tedious.

Jason proceeded through his gifts, with Sylvie handing packages to Andrew to
carry to his brother. There were t-shirts and video games. Lydia had found a beautiful blue saddle blanket and Andy gave him a pad.

"Those are yours, Jason," Lydia said. "You'll look great on your horse with that underneath the saddle."

He beamed and opened the package from Eliseo. He flipped the hat onto his head and jumped up to hug the man. "Thank you! I love it! It's just like yours!" Then, he realized that he had hugged him in front of all his friends and sat back down quietly, not removing the hat. Jeff had purchased a couple of western style shirts for him and Henry gave him a leather holster with a water bottle.

"That should clip on to the saddle. It is going to get warm this summer. You don't want to be out riding without water."

Jason opened the package from Polly and pulled out his new boots. His eyes shone. "You guys really believe I can do this, don't you!"

"Absolutely!" Polly affirmed. "Nat loves you and I think you are going to have a lifetime of being around horses
, if that's what you want to do."

There were only a couple of packages left and his mother handed him the smaller of the two. He opened it and seemed confused, then his eyes lit up. "Is this what I think it is?"

She handed him the last package and he ripped it open. "You got me a phone! Guys, I finally have a phone! Thanks mom!" He dumped everything from his lap onto the floor and he ran over to hug her. Sylvie glowed as she realized he was holding on to her longer than a quick hug in front of his friends. "Thanks mom," he said again.

"It's ready to go. The battery is charged, just put it in and you're set."

He sat back down and slid the battery into place, waiting for it to come awake.

"Billy?"

The noise and chattering in the room ceased as they heard a voice from the foyer.

"Billy?" The voice was nearly at a shriek and Billy leaped from his seat and ran out into the hallway. Within seconds he returned with a white-faced Rachel. He had his arms around her.
Her makeup was streaked from tears and she was shaking as he led her into the room.

Sylvie quickly went into the classroom and poured a glass of water, Lydia opened her purse and pulled out a small package of tissues. Everyone else seemed to be in shock.

"What's wrong, Rachel?"

"They took my mom!"

"Who took your mom?"

"The Sheriff took my mom!"

Lydia sat back and rolled her head back on her shoulders, her lips drawn tightly and she shut her eyes.

"Why would the Sheriff take your mom?" Billy asked.

"They think she killed Mrs. Rothenfuss."

"What?" The whole room stared at the poor girl and she huddled into a small ball in the chair. Billy was crouching on the floor in front of her, trying to get his hands on some part of her that he could grasp. Finally, he settled for putting his hand on her knee.

He turned and looked at Polly. "What do I do?" he asked.

Hannah and Bruce McKenzie's children had their mouths wide open once again and Hannah picked Tyler up and handed him to her husband.

"It's getting late," she said, “and we should get these little ones to bed. Thanks for a wonderful evening." She picked Emma up into her arms and stepped across the room to Jason. "Happy Birthday, Jason. I will see you tomorrow."

He smiled weakly at her. "Thank you Mrs. McKenzie."

They made their way out of the room.

The rest of the group looked uncomfortable and Polly finally said, "Billy, why don't you take Rachel upstairs to my apartment. Henry? Will you help them get in? I'll be up in a few minutes and then I will see if we can find some answers to what happened tonight."

Billy tried to talk Rachel into standing up, but her weeping turned into wails. He looked helplessly at Henry.

Henry rolled his eyes at Polly and then leaned over and said to the girl, "I know that things seem awful right now, but you need to come with us. Let Jason have his birthday party and if Polly says she'll help, that's what she'll do."

Rachel suddenly seemed to realize she was in a room filled with people. "I'm sorry!" she cried and jumped out of the chair. Henry and Billy followed her. As Henry left, he turned around and said quietly to Polly, "You owe me."

Beryl snickered behind her. "Oh, you really do owe him. That was mean."

"I didn't know how else to get her out of here," Polly said. "He's stable and normal. He'll stick an ice cream sandwich in her mouth and maybe then we can talk to her."

"You go on," Sylvie said. "Doug? Would you mind getting these kids started with games? I have popcorn and chips and snacks in the kitchen that I'll bring in when we get things cleaned up."

Polly watched as everyone else started clearing the classroom. They filled carts with dishes and food. She had every confidence the place would be cleaned more quickly than Sylvie realized.

"Good night, everyone. I'll see you tomorrow at the parade."

She started out the door. "Oh!" she said. "I almost forgot! I have shirts for all of us from Sycamore House." She handed out the beautiful blue shirts which had been embroidered with her logo and a name on each person's pocket. "We'll look great!"

Polly handed a box to Jeff. "Will you make sure Mark gets this? I know he doesn't work here, but he's as responsible for those horses as anyone and he'll be riding in the parade with us."

"I will," he said. "Now go upstairs and rescue your man before he leaps out of a window."

She felt a little guilty about leaving everyone else to help clean up, but felt even more guilty about letting Henry deal with a wailing girl. Billy had to figure it out, Henry was just being a good guy.
She ran up the steps and into her apartment.

Sure enough, Rachel was sitting on the couch surrounded by a dog and her boyfriend, eating an ice cream sandwich. Henry met Polly at the door and she whispered to him, "Is ice cream your go-to fixer upper for women?"

"It works. I go with what works. She's not crying anymore."

"Has she said anything else?"

"Not yet. Can I go back downstairs and help them?"

"You're leaving me?"

"If you'll let me. Haven't I been through enough emotional drama for one day?"

Polly elbowed him in the side. "Fine. But don't you dare go very far."

He escaped out the front door and Polly smiled when she saw the panic in Billy's eyes relent a little.

"Tell me what happened, Rachel," Polly said, moving to sit in the chair beside the sofa. Obiwan sat up to sniff at Polly and she rubbed his neck, then he lay back down and put his head in the girl's lap. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his fur.

"Rachel?"

"I was going to come over here and have dinner with
you, but just before I left, this guy from the Sheriff’s office knocked on our door. Caleb answered it and he came in and asked if our mom was there. She was in the kitchen making supper for her and Caleb. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I was afraid someone had died. I was even afraid it was Billy and they were going to tell Mom so she could tell me.

"Then, he asked her a couple of questions about her relationship with Mrs. Rothenfuss. She looked confused and didn't answer him right away. He told her that she needed to go with him because they had to question her about that woman's death.” She turned her red-rimmed eyes to Polly. "Why would they be questioning my mom?"

"Let me see what I can find out, Rachel. Where is Caleb?"

"Oh crap! I don't know! I just ran out of there and came over here to find Billy. He's probably all freaked out at home and he's alone!"

"Billy, would you try to reach Caleb for me?" Polly asked.

She got up and went into her bedroom and closed the door and dialed a very familiar number.
When he answered right away, she said, "When you left tonight was it because your people arrested Mrs. Devins for the murder of Cindy Rothenfuss?"

"Hello, Polly.
Dinner was wonderful tonight. How are you?"

"Hi, Aaron. I have a very emotional Rachel Devins here at Sycamore House. Is there anything you can tell me about your people arresting her mother?"

"I can't tell you much, Polly. It's an investigation and we're doing what we have to do to find who murdered Mrs. Rothenfuss."

"What am I supposed to do with this girl? And honestly, I think I'm
also going to have to deal with her brother."

"The first thing you can tell her is that we didn't arrest her mother.
We brought her down to ask some questions. We aren't going to lock her up tonight, there isn't enough evidence to suggest that she did anything, but we are asking questions because there is the possibility of a very strong motive. She will probably be home later on, so the girl doesn't have to worry."

"Does she have a lawyer with her?" Polly asked. "I'd hate for her to say something stupid and get herself tossed in jail."

"Now come on, Polly. You know me better than that. I don't want to lock someone up for saying something stupid. I want the truth."

"Does she have a lawyer?" Polly repeated.

"As a matter of fact, she does. He's advising her now and when we are finished, she will be home. That's all I can tell you."

"That's good enough. Thanks for answering my questions. Would you do me a favor, though?"