The Root of All Evil

by Shannon VanBergen

  We drove by slowly, not even attempting to hide the fact that we were gawking.

  Greta sat back in her seat. “Well, that didn’t take her long,” she spat. “We need to tell Stan.”

  “What exactly do we tell him?” Grandma asked. “That we saw them hugging? That doesn’t really seem like something bad.”

  Just then, we saw Sydnie stand on her tiptoes and kiss the guy.

  “No, but that does!” Greta said.

  Poor Stan. I didn’t think he was going to take the news well.

  We drove down Sydnie’s street in silence, except for Greta who would occasionally make a “tsk tsk” sound. I could tell she was silently shaming Sydnie for two-timing Stan.

  “So, what do you think?” Grandma asked us. “Do you think Sydnie is behind all of this? Do you think she somehow put out a hit on Stan?”

  “I don’t want to believe it,” Greta said. “But it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

  “Honestly,” Grandma said, turning toward the retirement village, “I’m so emotionally wrapped up in this, I can’t think straight. And that’s not like me, not like any of us.”

  “It’s because of Lily,” Greta said sadly. “We’ve never worked a case that involved a child before. That sweet little thing has us all distracted.”

  A few minutes later, we were back at the retirement community. Grandma sighed. “Should we all go in and tell him?”

  Greta agreed. She looked down at the container of cookies on her lap. “I suppose I can give him these—maybe they will soften the blow a little.”

  As much as I loved her cookies, I didn’t think they would be enough to mend a broken heart.

  We walked up to Hattie’s door and said hello to the police officer still stationed outside. Greta handed him a cookie and he took it with a smile. “Grandma Greta’s famous sugar cookies,” he said with a smile. “My favorite!”

  Greta beamed. I imagined she kept the guy well-fed.

  Hattie opened the door and blinked into the sun. “It’s so bright out here! Come in, come in.” We walked into her kitchen, which felt like it was the same temperature as outside. I didn’t know how that woman could stand it being so hot.

  Hattie leaned close to Grandma Dean. “Look at my eyes! Are they still green or are they turning white?”

  Grandma backed away, trying to reclaim her personal space. “They’re green, Hattie. Why would they be white?”

  “Because I feel like I’m turning into one of those little creatures that live in caves. You know the ones, they’re all white and completely blind because you don’t need your eyesight in the dark.”

  “Like a salamander?” Greta asked. “I saw that on the Discovery Channel one time.”

  “Yes!” Hattie exclaimed. “Like a blind little salamander! Or a cave cricket! That’s what that man has reduced me to!”

  “Well, turn on a light,” Grandma exclaimed as she walked into the living room and flipped on the overhead light.

  Stan came flying out of his bedroom. “I heard a light-switch! Who turned on a light!”

  We gasped when we saw him. Stan looked frail, and we had never seen him so paranoid.

  Grandma softened her tone and reached out to him. “Stan, it’s okay. There’s an officer right outside. You’re safe in here.”

  He looked around frantically and didn’t seem to believe her. If he was already like this, he wasn’t going to take the latest news well.

  “Stan, we need to talk to you about something.” Grandma took him by his good arm, the other one still in a bandage, leading him to a chair and motioning for him to sit.

  Hattie looked at us, concerned. “Do you have news about the case?”

  “We might. At first, we felt like somehow Larry Kramer was involved, though we couldn’t figure out how. But the more Nikki and I talked about it, we think he might actually be innocent. Yes, he’s a complete dirt bag, but he does a lot of business in town so maybe that’s why his name keeps popping up.”

  Hattie looked confused. “So, who do you think is behind this then?”

  Grandma looked at Greta and I, and when neither of us spoke up, she took a deep breath. “Stan, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but we think it’s Sydnie.”

  Stan leaned forward and what little color he had drained from his face. “What? Why would you think that?”

  “We just drove by to check on her and we saw her.” Greta stopped, not wanting to go on, but to my surprise, she did. “And she was embracing her bodyguard.”

  “It does makes sense,” Hattie said. “She was after your money before and maybe she wants it again.”

  “But you can hardly blame her, Stan,” Greta said quickly. “You should’ve seen the place her and Lily were living in before. That’s not a place for a little one. I think all this is just her ill attempt to get money from you to take care of Lily.”

  “So, she hired someone to kill me? To get my money?” Tears filled Stan’s eyes. “How would she even be able to do that?”

  “It’s the internet,” Hattie said. “It will be the death of us all. Just you wait and see!”

  Stan rested his head in his hands and we all sat there silently. Finally, he lifted his head. “So, what do I do now?”

  “I think we call your attorney,” Grandma Dean said firmly. “We invite Sydnie to a meeting with him and you offer her money to go back to Alabama and take care of Lily.”

  “You want me to just pay her off and let her take Lily out of my life for good?” Stan could barely get the words out.

  “It’s either that or you continue living like this.” Grandma waved her arm around the living room.

  Stan looked at the carpet and closed his eyes as he thought it over. “I’ll call Harry right now. I’ll have to move some money around, but I can give her enough that her and Lily can live comfortably for a while.”

  It broke my heart to see Stan like this. He left the room and even though I couldn’t tell exactly what he was saying, I could hear his muffled voice as he talked to his attorney.

  When he emerged a few minutes later, his eyes were red. “It’s done. We’ll meet at three.”

  I didn’t like the time and obviously, neither did Grandma Dean. “Couldn’t he meet with you earlier…or later?”

  Stan didn’t answer. He just plopped himself down in a chair in the living room.

  Greta headed to the front door. “I’ll let the officer know you’re leaving this afternoon and to follow us to your lawyer’s office.”

  “No, don’t!” Stan flew out of the chair. “Don’t tell him.”

  Greta looked at all of us and we were all surprised by Stan’s reaction.

  “Why not?” Greta asked. “It’s his job to protect you.”

  Stan shook his head. “If I walk out that front door, I’m a sitting duck. I can’t bring any attention to the fact that I’m leaving. You guys need to sneak me out the back door. If the killer is out there, he’ll be watching the front door, waiting for the officer to escort me somewhere. We can’t let anyone know I’m leaving. By the time we leave the meeting, hopefully Sydnie will have called this whole thing off.”

  Grandma shook her head. “Stan, I don’t like this plan.”

  “Well,” he said, his voice firm. “I don’t like this situation, but I guess we’re all just going to have to deal with it.”

  Not only did Stan not like that situation, but he didn’t like the one that came a few hours later either.

  Chapter 19

  “I’m not wearing that,” he said to Grandma Dean.

  “It’s the only thing we have that fits you. Now put it on.”

  He trudged into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later. Grandma and Greta tried not to snicker, but Hattie let loose. “I need to take a picture of this for Virginia! Won’t she be surprised at how well you fit into her dress.”

  “No pictures,” Grandma said, holding up her hand. “This is hard enough without you making fun of the poor guy.”

  “Well, it’s his
own fault,” Hattie said defensively. “We could all just walk out the front door, but NO! He has to go incognito out the back.”

  “It’s the safest way,” Stan said quietly.

  None of us were sure it was.

  Greta handed him another piece to his costume. “Here, put this on.”

  Stan sighed and took the wig. He put it on his head, but he didn’t seem to have it on right. Grandma Dean fixed it then stepped back and looked at him. “Do you want any makeup?”

  “Certainly not,” he said gruffly. “This is humiliating enough.”

  “Well,” Hattie said, handing him a pair of Virginia’s flats. “This is the last piece of your outfit. You should be thankful Virginia is such a Yeti and you can wear her clothes.”

  “That’s not very nice,” Greta said. “Maybe Virginia is the perfect size and we’re all just short!”

  “Nope,” Hattie said. “That woman can practically change the light bulbs on her ceiling fan sitting on her couch!”

  “She’s not that tall,” Grandma Dean said, adjusting Stan’s wig again. “But I am thankful she could run something by for Stan.” Grandma sighed. “Okay, you ready to do this?”

  Stan nodded and put on Virginia’s shoes.

  “You two riding along?” Grandma asked Hattie and Greta. They looked at each other and it was clear they weren’t.

  Greta reached out and held on to Stan’s arm. “I think it’s best if this is just a family affair. I’ll be right here for you when you get back.”

  Hattie looked at Stan and huffed. “I just don’t want to get shot.”

  We all flashed Hattie our usual disappointed look, but I figured we all felt the same way—we just weren’t rude enough to say it.

  We snuck Stan out the back door and walked along the pool area until we reached the back gate. Grandma Dean had moved her car earlier and got as close to that area as she could. I got in the front seat and Stan sat in the back. The drive to the lawyer’s office was mostly silent until Grandma asked about Sydnie. “Did you tell her why you wanted her to meet you at your lawyer’s office?”

  Stan looked out the window and watched the world go by as we drove down Main Street. He sighed. “I made it sound like it was about buying a house. She sounded excited. Her bodyguard will be bringing her.”

  Sadness tugged at my heart. The last week had been a roller coaster for all of us, but I couldn’t imagine what it was like for Stan.

  We got there before Sydnie did and Stan made a beeline for the bathroom to change out of Virginia’s clothes. When he came back out, Stan’s lawyer, Harry Berkshire led us to a large room. He gave us all expensive-looking bottled waters, but none of us opened them. Instead, we left them sitting in front of us on the large wooden table. Every time one of us shifted in our seats, the leather beneath us would squeak, adding to the awkwardness in the room.

  It wasn’t long until Sydnie walked in carrying Lily. Her smile vanished when she saw Grandma and I sitting on either side of Stan. “What are they doing here?” she asked, her voice concerned.

  Stan couldn’t speak. Instead, he sniffed and Grandma reached over to take his hand.

  “What’s going on?” Sydnie asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

  ‘The gig is up,’ I wanted to say. But I had a feeling she knew that.

  “Down, down.” Lily’s tiny voice seemed to echo in the room as she squirmed in her mother’s arms. She fought to get down, reaching out for Stan. It was almost too much for the poor man to bear.

  “Would you like for me to take Lily outside?” I offered, standing up.

  “No, what I would like is for someone to tell me what’s going on here.”

  Harry put his hand on her back and led her into the room and to a chair. “If you’d sit down, we can get started.”

  I was thankful that Harry was taking the lead. As soon as Sydnie sat down, Harry started. “Stan is offering you a very generous amount of money so you can go back to Alabama and take care of your daughter.”

  Stan let out a sound that sounded like a muffled whimper. Lily looked at him and reached out her arms to him. Stan buried his face.

  “And why would he do that?” Sydnie asked angrily.

  “Because it has been brought to our attention that you have ulterior motives for being here,” Harry continued. “And we feel it’s in Stan’s best interest if you take this very kind offer and leave immediately.” He slid a sheet of paper to Sydnie and she looked at the amount typed onto it. I couldn’t see exactly what it was from my chair across the table, but I could tell there were several numbers involved.

  “If you sign the contract stating that you’ll call off any…ill plans you may have toward Stan, we can wire you the money by this afternoon.” Harry held out his pen and waved it a little when Sydnie didn’t take it right away.

  “Is this what you want?” Sydnie asked Stan.

  “Yes,” he said quietly.

  Lily squirmed even more on Sydnie’s lap. “Down, down” she said again, reaching for Stan. But her words seemed different. When she repeated it again, we realized she wasn’t saying “down,” she was saying “Dad.”

  Stan couldn’t take it anymore. He got up and ran out of the room.

  “I hope you’re happy!” Grandma Dean yelled at Sydnie. “You’ve broken that man’s heart more than once! But I can promise you this, it will be the last time!” Grandma ran out after Stan.

  Harry pushed the paper closer to Sydnie. “All you have to do is sign this and all of your troubles will be over.”

  Sydnie pushed away from the table and spun Lily around, putting her over her shoulder. “I’m not signing anything. It’s true, I don’t love him, and I know he doesn’t love me. But I thought he could love Lily.” Her voice cracked. She backed away from the table, then stood there for a second. I thought she was going to walk out, but instead, she leaned over and signed the paper.

  “You’ll call off any plans to hurt Stan?” Harry asked matter-of-factly.

  She narrowed her eyes at us. “I would never hurt Stan.”

  “No,” I said. “But you would hire someone to kill him.”

  “You people are crazy,” she said. She turned to Harry. “Make sure I have that money this afternoon so I can get out of here as soon as possible.”

  He nodded and Sydnie stormed out of the room.

  I thanked Harry for his time and walked outside to the parking lot. Sydnie had just finished buckling Lily in her car seat and she glared at me one more time before she got in the passenger side of her bodyguard’s black SUV.

  I looked at Grandma Dean, who was standing outside of her car, her face completely white. I could see Stan sitting in the back sobbing.

  Grandma met me at the front of the car. “I talked to the bodyguard while you and Sydnie were still in Harry’s office.” Her face was twisted with concern.

  “What did he say?”

  “I confronted him about the hug. He said that Lily had wandered off and he found her in the neighbor’s yard. He said that even though Sydnie had been flirtatious the last two days, the hug was because Sydnie was thankful he had found Lily. That’s it. Nothing more.”

  “And the kiss?”

  Grandma sighed. “He claims he doesn’t remember it.”

  I took a deep breath. Did we really just jump to conclusions and ruin things for Stan? I looked up at Grandma Dean. “She signed the papers,” I said slowly. “So maybe she’s guilty after all.”

  Grandma shrugged. “I just hope this whole thing is over with.”

  As we got in the car, it started to rain. Grandma immediately turned the windshield wipers on full blast, expecting the usual torrential downpour that seems to happen every other afternoon here. It would probably be over before we even got home.

  As we drove away, I glanced back at Stan. His head was back against the seat and was tilted so he could look out the window. He seemed to be watching the rain as it slid down the glass. The dark sky made the mood that much more somber as Grandma Dean dro
ve silently through town.

  I leaned my head against my seat and closed my eyes. I wished the squeak of the windshield wipers would drown out the sound of Lily’s voice in my head calling out “Dad.”

  Suddenly, I heard tires squeal. They sounded so close that I bolted upright, expecting to see a car right outside the window. I didn’t see a car, but instead, I heard a sound that was ear-shattering. For a moment, all I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears. I could see Grandma Dean shouting something but I couldn’t make out the words. Then all at once, the sound came rushing back and Grandma was screaming, “Take a picture! Take a picture!”

  I looked into the backseat and Stan was covered in blood. His window had been shot out and he was yelling something I couldn’t understand. I grabbed my phone and took a picture. I was shaking so badly I didn’t know if the picture would turn out or if it would just be one big blur.

  “Text that to Owen,” Grandma yelled. “Tell him we’re headed to the hospital. Stan’s been shot!”

  I tried to send it, but I was shaking so badly that I had to try several times to hit the send button. As the message went through, I noticed the time on my phone. 3:23.

  It seemed like it took forever to get to the hospital. I ran in the emergency entrance and explained what happened. Within seconds, Stan was loaded onto a stretcher and rushed inside. Grandma was already on the phone with the Grannies, telling them to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

  Grandma and I stood in the emergency room waiting area and held each other as we cried. “Sydnie must have called the hit man when we left the lawyer’s office.” I sniffed. “She wanted all of his money, not just whatever he offered her.”

  Detective Owen came up behind us. He was out of breath and I imagined it was from him running through the hospital. “What’s going on?”

  Grandma spun around and looked at him. “What are you doing here?” she yelled. “Why aren’t you tracking down those license plates?”

  “What license plates?” he yelled back.