Unexpected Riches (Bellingwood Book 13) (20 page)

"She'd love that. Beryl works with Rebecca and I know of at least two other girls who were her students. They were in high school, so I don't know if she's ever taught anyone other than beginners. But you should ask."

They walked into the living room and Tallie stopped again. "This is cool," she said. "So comfortable."

"Peel back one layer and there are still five or six more," Polly said.

"Blankets?"

Polly chuckled. "And rugs on the floor, pillows scattered everywhere." She pointed to the other end of the room. "And look, now cat toys and scratching posts. Smart woman."

"Are you girls done?" Beryl asked.

"For now."

"Then come on downstairs. I've set us up there." She grinned. "It's closer to the kitty toys. That way I can keep them occupied while we eat. They still haven't learned all of their manners. If one jumps up on the table near you, please don't hesitate to pick it up and put it on the floor. I'll give it a firm 'no,' but they need to know what's polite and what's not."

Beryl had decorated the table with shades of browns and golds. Two vases were filled with daisies and cattails carved from wood. The petals were exquisite.

"Where did you find these?" Polly asked, touching a delicate wooden daisy petal.

"It was years ago. I picked them up in a tiny grocery store in Kentucky. Some of the locals made them and I thought they were fun. I probably gave too much, but the area was poverty stricken and a few extra dollars of mine wouldn't hurt me and might help the artist."

Lunch was simple: sandwiches, a tossed salad and a savory vegetable soup.

"This is perfect," Tallie said. "I've eaten so much since coming into town I feel really guilty."

"Did we find anything out last night?" Beryl asked Polly. "All of that data and information and we spent more time listening to me complain about my horrible family than we did digging into the story."

"I flipped through some of the pages that Tallie copied. The page numbers that he'd written down were mostly from the Lester Carter line. In fact," Polly nodded at Tallie. "One of the pages was your family."

"If he had already talked to Ethan and more than likely some of the others out there, why was he going through the genealogy?" Beryl asked. "He already knew their names. And surely they've already put together all of the information that they were going to find from the letters."

"Think about it," Tallie said. "Our family had those letters and you have those boxes of things that your grandpa and Aunt Evaline collected. We can't be the only ones with pieces of history. Ethan assumed there was more out there, but he started out just looking for family stuff, not clues to a treasure. He wanted pictures and things like that. The whole treasure thing was an unexpected fluke."

"Do you think there is even treasure to be found?" Polly asked.

Beryl rolled her eyes heavenward. "It's ridiculousness at its prettiest. Of course there isn't. Think about it. Pearl had been bailing her father out for years. She and Cyrus communicated about her finances on a regular basis, so don't you think that he would have talked to her about that gold after Jedidiah died? If anyone knew where he hid it, Pearl would have known. Ten to one, she found it, returned it to her uncle's bank and the whole episode was finished."

Polly looked at Tallie. "But you didn't find a letter from Cyrus to Lester that the situation had been resolved."

"I don't think so. I can look again. They're in my room back at Sycamore House." She pursed her lips. "What about relatives from Cyrus's line. What if they have any information from that time? Are they still around here?"

Beryl snagged May when she jumped up, snuggled her, said "No" before putting the cat back on the floor. "I wouldn't know them from Adam. And the charts are still at Sycamore House."

"By now it's tucked into my office," Polly said. "Henry and Hayden said they'd take care of it."

"Would you like to stay here while you're in town?" Beryl asked Tallie. "I'd let you have that room over there. I moved back upstairs when that jerk Brit came in. You'd have the run of the whole basement. Well, except for the kittens. They're everywhere. Your own bathroom and the little bar kitchen here. There's the television and I do have Wi-Fi."

"I hate to put you out," Tallie said. "I know you work at all hours and don't want to be the reason you feel you have to sneak around in your own house."

"Don't be silly. I can sneak out to the studio any time. I'd love to have you."

Tallie looked at Polly.

Polly desperately wanted to tell her to please say yes. Tallie hadn't been in the kitchen last night when Beryl exposed her soul to her friends, but this girl was the closest thing to family Beryl had around. "We can drive back and get your things."

"And that tote of Aunt Mildred's papers," Beryl said. "I thought about that last night and was glad Tallie left it in the office. At least that was locked up. I don't know how I'd explain it to the old hag if something happened to her precious, precious charts. Use a scanner, old lady."

"Then I'd love to."

"Good," Beryl said, her face lighting up into a smile. "If you wouldn't mind, maybe we could go through that genealogy chart this afternoon and find some names we can give Aaron."

"What?" Polly asked.

"I got to thinking about it. He's looking for Carters in the towns around here. But there are other family names he should be looking for, too. Tallie would know which of her cousins were the most interested in what Ethan was doing. We can make a list of names for Aaron and then he'll have something to start with. We can also research Cyrus's descendants. Maybe they live close by and have more historical documents we can look at." She stood up, snatching May from the top of the table again. "And I want to see that information that Andy gathered about land owned by the Carters when Bellingwood started. Maybe there's something there."

Polly smiled as Beryl paced back and forth, carrying the kitten. "Do you want help?"

"No. That's okay. We can go through the rest of it later." Beryl spun around. "Maybe I'll promise Andy another trip to Spain if she just sorts it and deals with it."

"She'd love that," Polly said.

"I know. It's really her thing." Beryl sat back down and put the kitten on the floor, then leaned in toward Tallie. "Would you like me to ride back to Sycamore House and help you?"

"You want to do this right now?"

"Are you finished eating? You stopped a long time ago," Beryl said.

"Yes."

"Polly?"

Polly pushed her plate back "Of course. This was terrific."

"I'd serve dessert, but I know you have plenty of sweet stuff at your house and I want to get started on this with Tallie. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all. Shall we take the food upstairs?"

"Oh yes, so the kittens don't get into it." She picked Hem up and put him on the floor. "Miss Kitty spoiled me. She is so polite. All of this kitten training is for the birds. They're getting better, but my goodness, they ignore me when they don't want to be good."

Hem jumped back up to the table and Polly grabbed him. She put him on the floor and picked up her plate and the tray of meat and cheese. "They did very well for a while. We took too long. Let's get going."

CHAPTER TWENTY

Everyone was finally where they belonged by five o'clock and Polly only had a short time before meeting her friends at Pizzazz for their regular Sunday night gathering. After crazy weekends like this, she was often tempted to push the group into meeting once a month, but nobody wanted to give up this time they got away from all of their responsibilities.

The dogs rushed to the top of the steps to greet her and she sat down, nuzzling Obiwan's neck. "It's good to see you, bud. Will you let me rest here for a minute?" She wrapped her arms around him and he sat still as she relaxed against his body.

"Polly?"

She startled, having nearly fallen asleep, even though it was just a split second later.

"What are you doing?" Henry asked, standing over her.

Maybe it had been longer than a split second.

"Just taking a breath."

He reached out so she could take his hand while standing up. "Did you get everyone settled?"

"Tallie is at Beryl's and those two are in love with each other. By the time I finally dropped them back off, they didn't know whether to talk about their favorite brands of oil paints and brushes or all of the family history they share. I'm so glad Beryl has found her. How's Heath?"

"He's asleep in his room. Hayden left about an hour ago to visit a friend here in town."

"And Rebecca?"

"She hovered over Heath all day. As soon as he went into his room, the poor girl crashed on the living room sofa."

Polly smiled, but yawned in the middle of it.

"You need a nap, too," he said.

Polly yawned again. "But a real nap. Not one of those happy naps. And only forty-five minutes so I can be mostly alert for supper tonight."

"You're still going? You have to be exhausted." Henry stopped her in the doorway to the media room. "Have you stopped moving at all this weekend?"

"I'm fine. And I want to go. Nobody needs me to help them or fix something or figure out a mystery. I just get to eat pizza and see my friends."

"If you're sure."

"Do you mind if I take a quick nap? I kind of left you with all the responsibility around here today."

He chuckled. "I watched television and napped on the couch. It hasn't been too difficult. In fact, I should probably spend some time in my office. You go sleep."

"Wake me if you don't see me in time."

Henry kissed her cheek and gave her a gentle push out the door. When she got to her room, she collapsed on the bed and waited for the rush of animals to end. Once they were settled, she turned over on her side, wrapped her arm around Obiwan, tugged him in close and felt herself relax.

~~~

The sky was gray as she stood beside an open grave, surrounded by people she couldn't identify. A young woman dressed in a long black dress and holding a black parasol stood across from her, reading from a book. Polly assumed it was a Bible, but couldn't understand the words coming from the young woman's mouth. Six men carrying a coffin trudged up the hill, marching in time to a song being hummed by the gathered crowd. Polly tried to hum along, but found she didn't know the tune.

She tried to step back, but the people behind her were a solid wall. As she peered into the grave, Polly was surprised to see a flat wooden box at the bottom. There was plenty of open land here, why would they bury a second body on top of the first? She looked back at the pallbearers and saw another set of young men, marching toward them with a second coffin. That must be the way things were done here. Dig one deep grave and fill it with all of the dead family members.

Polly looked around for ropes, trying to understand how they planned to lower the coffins into the ever deepening grave. She looked up as the first pall bearers arrived. They walked around the side of the grave, pushing her away, then tipped the coffin in and let it fall. Polly heard a strange sound and looked over the shoulders of one young man to see glittering gold flutter to the floor of the grave. The second bearers arrived and when the first young men wouldn't move, they put the coffin down on the ground and walked away.

The young woman opened the coffin and people began pouring out of it, filling the hillside. She knew she was looking at all of the Carters that had ever been born and found herself looking for the two that she knew, Beryl and Tallie. She thought maybe one of them was at the back of the crowd, but no one would let her through so she could reach them.

~~~

"Polly wake up," Henry said.

She blew air out of her mouth. "That was frustrating."

"Were you dreaming?"

"I was standing at a gravesite. It was just weird. I saw the gold and all of the Carters. I was trying to find Beryl and Tallie, but no one would let me get to them."

"That does sound weird. Heath and Rebecca are awake and Hayden is back."

"Okay?"

"Well, just so you knew where everyone was when you came out. You were sleeping pretty hard in here."

She crooked her finger at him. "Come here, baby."

Henry bent over and kissed her. "I love you, too. You'd better get moving if you don't want to be late. Rebecca and I have decided that we're doing takeout from Davey's tonight. We don't want pizza and we don't want to cook."

"I'm sorry," Polly said.

"For what?"

"For not cooking a good supper for you."

"That's right." Henry nodded as he walked to the door. "You're a horrible wife and mother and should be ashamed of yourself. It would be helpful if there was somebody we could report you to."

Polly flung a pillow at him, but it landed just beyond the bed.

"I'll let you pick that up," he said and laughed as he left the room.

The dream continued to haunt Polly as she washed her face and cleaned up for the evening. She hated having odd images hover at the edge of her consciousness. She didn't think for a minute that it had anything to do with reality. It was one thing to find dead bodies, but Polly knew for a fact that she wasn't psychic. No, she didn't think the gold was buried in that old cemetery. Andy had explained that one away. She'd just been so surrounded by all of the information about Beryl's family, it was trying to sort itself out while she slept.

"Hey there, you look better," she said to Heath once she stepped into the living room.

Heath was propped up on the sofa, but for the first time since Friday, his face didn't look like he was trying to hold back the pain. "I am better," he said.

Polly brushed her fingers on his cheek. "That's great. A few days away from school and you'll be back to normal in no time."

"I don't have to go to school tomorrow?"

She snorted. "No, honey. You don't."

His face lit up. "Hear that, Hayden? I'll be here all day tomorrow while you're home." He looked back at Polly, concern replacing his relief.

"I'm in no hurry," she said. "We have time. As for tonight, you’re going to have fun without me. I'm gone unless you need something."

"We've got this," Rebecca said. She followed Polly through the house. When they got to Henry's office, she tugged on Polly's sleeve. "He's worried, you know."

"About what?"

"About you guys making him leave."

Polly wrinkled her forehead. "Why would he think we'd do that?"

"That's what Hayden and I told him. But he knows he wasn't supposed to have anybody else in his truck and he wasn't supposed to be with Libby and there's something about those boys who beat him up."

"I know there is," Polly said. "But we aren't about to abandon him because he screwed up. He's a kid for heaven's sake. That's what you do." She sighed. "That's what we all do."

Rebecca startled Polly by grabbing her into a hug. "You're so cool."

Polly wrapped her arms around the girl. "Stay here a minute," she said, releasing Rebecca. She ran back into the living room, bent over Heath and whispered in his ear. "I love you. You can't do anything bad enough to make me stop doing that or not want you to be part of my family. Now quit worrying."

Without waiting for a response, Polly turned and left the room. Rebecca was still standing in the doorway.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Told Heath to quit worrying. Now have a good evening and I'll see you later."

"You're still cool, you know," Rebecca said.

Polly laughed. "We'll see if you believe that in a few years."

She was a few minutes later than usual getting to Pizzazz and nearly everyone was there. Sal waved at Polly when she walked in the front door and pointed to the chair beside her.

"I have your soda already," Sal said. "We were worried you wouldn't be able to come with everything that's going on. But since you didn't text any of us..."

Polly smiled and hugged Sal's shoulders. "I wasn't missing this. It's been a weird weekend. Hopefully tomorrow things will start settling down again. I haven't been back to the Bell House since early last week and there's so much to do before Henry can get started."

"You should let us come help you," Joss said.

"I'd love for any of you to come any time," Polly responded. "But honestly, I feel like I'm getting to know the old house. I'm making friends with it."

Sylvie laughed out loud. "First it's a haunted house, now Polly's insisting that it be her friend. What's next?"

Polly sneered at her. "You never know. Maybe it will grow its own food and weave its own fabric." She threw her hand in the air. "Oh, I don't know what I'm talking about. I took a nap before coming up here and had the weirdest dream about a grave and gold and people coming out of a coffin. It's still hovering right here." She tapped her forehead.

"I hate those," Sal said. "And I especially hate those nightmares that come back over and over. I used to dream about a grave, too." She shuddered. "It was in a clearing in the middle of a forest. I knew that it was mine, but thank goodness it was always empty. I woke up night after night shaken because I'd found myself in that same place again."

"That's kind of creepy," Camille said, sitting forward. "Mine was about trying to walk up a really icy hill. I'd start and then slide back down. Every time I'd get almost to the top, I'd lose my footing and slide to the bottom again. But I haven't had that dream since I was a kid."

"Mine happened when I was young, too," Sal said. "I thought I'd never lose that dream, but one day I realized I hadn't had it for years." She shivered again. "Weird."

"Hello," Sandy Davis said, dropping into a chair beside Joss. "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't find my keys."

"How's Benji doing with the baby this week?" Joss asked.

"So much better. I tell you what, getting out every week has really forced him to get comfortable being a hands-on dad. I didn't realize how much I was stopping him from getting involved with everything." Sandy smiled at them all. "Thank you for letting me be part of this. Not only do I get some sanity, but you're teaching me to do this right."

Sylvie laughed and looked around the table. "How weird is that? You, Joss and I are the only ones who raised babies."

"And I haven't been doing it for very long," Joss said. "I feel like every day is a new opportunity to discover things I probably should have known yesterday."

"Like what?" Sandy asked.

"Oh, yesterday I turned my back for a second to put dishes in the dishwasher and when I turned around, Cooper and Sophie were painting each other with the butter. It was in their hair and all over their clothes." She sighed. "We got to have another bath and the butter now goes into the refrigerator." She grimaced. "Because once they learn a trick that makes Mom crazy, they'll do it again and again, just to see if I react the same way each time."

"Mine was lipstick," Sylvie said. "You might notice that I never wear it. I got out of the habit because it wasn't safe in the hands of my boys. One day I came home after working all day. Jason was maybe five and Andrew wasn't quite two. I collapsed on the couch and before I knew it, they had painted themselves and colored the back of the recliner. Andrew was coloring the bottom of his feet when I got to them."