Tomorrow's Promises (Bellingwood Book 7)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "I mean, my dad's a cop."

  Every time Polly turned around she was running into someone in law enforcement.

  "Well, that just figures," she said, shaking her head.

  "What do you mean?"

  "It means that sometimes things just work out the way they're supposed to. Would you mind calling your dad and asking him about this? Here, I'm friends with the Sheriff in Boone and I've asked them to help me. We just hadn't gotten that far with it." She held up her phone. "Let me give you my information."

  "I'll call Dad this afternoon. I won't be home until Sunday, but you'll probably hear from him before that."

  "I just don't believe this," Polly said. "I don't believe it. It's a weird small world."

  The doors opened and Sylvie came out, followed by a nurse pushing Andrew in a wheelchair.

  "Polly!" he said. "They let me put a green cast on. Isn't it great?"

  "Sure. Great. How are you doing?"

  "The doctor said he was lucky and just needs a few weeks in a cast." Sylvie looked down at him. "Climbing trees on a dare. You are going to be the death of me."

  "Mrs. Donovan?" The receptionist called Sylvie over, leaving Andrew beside Polly.

  He held his arm up. "I'm going to see if Luke will hold on with his claws. Then I can lift him up. If I put a long sleeve shirt on, people will think that he's holding onto my arm."

  "Uh huh," Polly said.

  "So bud," Roy said. "It looks like you're going home today. I hope you had fun, even with a broken arm."

  "I had a great time. Wasn't it great, Rebecca?"

  She didn't say anything, just nodded her head.

  "I can't wait to come back next year. Will you be there, Roy?"

  "If you are, I guess I'll have to be. I need to protect the camp from the likes of you."

  "Cool!" Andrew turned to Polly. "Mom said that if I was really nice, you might take me to McDonald's for lunch." He dug into a pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "I'm supposed to give you this and you're supposed to take it."

  Polly laughed and took the money. "Do you think Rebecca wants McDonalds too?"

  "You're coming with us?" Andrew was stricken when he looked at his friend. "You don't want to stay at camp until tomorrow? You're going to miss everything. Polly will take care of me. You shouldn't have to leave just because I got hurt. Tell her she doesn't have to go."

  "It's okay, Andrew. I think she's ready to go home. And hey, I'm with her," Polly said. "It wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you there."

  Rebecca stepped up to stand beside the wheelchair. "I have my stuff. I'm ready to go."

  "Let's get this train a-rolling," he said. "I can walk."

  The nurse who had been pushing his wheel chair laughed a little and said, "You're mine until you get to the car. Then you can do whatever they'll let you do."

  Roy stood up and put his hand out to Polly again. "I will call my father."

  "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. You've lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I had no idea how I was going to find this girl. Who knew."

  Sylvie came over and kissed her son on his forehead. "You're free to go," she said. "But be careful this afternoon. I don't want to hear about any more chaos."

  Andrew put his feet on the floor and tried to propel the wheelchair forward, then looked up at Polly with a puppy dog face. "Can we go to the bookstore in Boone?"

  Everyone laughed and Polly said, "Not today. I need to get back to Bellingwood. We had a tornado up there, you know."

  "It didn't wreck the bookstore in Boone, did it?" He gave her a sly grin.

  "Whatever. I'll be right back with the truck."

  Sylvie gave her a hug. "Thank you so much. I owe you."

  "You owe me nothing. Now run, get back to school and learn something extraordinary to feed us."

  "Got it." She kissed her son once more, shook Roy Nelson's hand, and patted Rebecca's head before running out the door.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  One book was all Polly took home from the bookstore, but it was a beauty. As soon as Andrew had asked about going, she knew she'd be unable to resist. The owner was prepared for her, setting the temptation of a leather bound edition of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea on the counter when Polly walked in. It had just come in from an estate sale. Andrew and Rebecca ran over to the freshly updated kid's section and sat down to look at the newest books in several series' they loved to read. Two white cats had joined Zekey, the black lab, and one jumped up while Polly stroked the cover of the book. He rubbed against her hand and she rubbed his head before opening the book. It was perfect. There were still plenty of empty shelves to fill in her living room. This was a good start.

  "Can we go up and play with Obiwan and the cats when we get back?" Andrew asked, once they were in the car and heading north.

  "Sure," Polly said. "They've missed you this week."

  "We had fun, though, didn't we?" Andrew looked at Rebecca, waiting for her to be as enthusiastic as he was.

  "It was okay," she said.

  "You had a poopy cabin. Those girls weren't very nice. I had a great cabin. Roy was awesome." He leaned forward across Rebecca. "One night he and one of the other counselors switched us in our beds while we were sleeping. We didn't even wake up!"

  "He switched you?"

  "Yeah. I woke up on the other side of the room!"

  She laughed. "That's crazy!"

  "When I got up one morning, he put plastic wrap on our doorway. I didn't run into it, but Devin did. He bounced and sat down on the floor. It was funny."

  "That sounds like a lot of fun."

  "Have you ever had your bed short-sheeted?" Andrew asked.

  Polly nodded. "When I was in college there were a few times it happened."

  "To you?"

  "Once to me. It's a little surprising."

  "Roy didn't come to dinner one night. They told us that he had to go into town to get something. When we went to bed after the bonfire, all of our beds were done. He watched us get into bed and then laughed at us. I'm going to remember that one and do it to Jason sometime."

  "You'd better be careful. Jason might not think it's as funny as you did."

  Andrew bobbed his head up and down. "He'll think it's funny."

  "None of that happened in your cabin?" Polly asked Rebecca.

  "No, they were too busy playing with their makeup or talking about boys." She looked at Andrew. "One of them wanted to kiss you."

  "I don't think so," he said, then asked, "Which one?"

  "Abbymae. She thought you were cute and told me that I didn't deserve you."

  Polly reached around Rebecca's shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "That wasn't very nice, but it wasn't about you. It sounds like she just wanted to scare you away from him."

  "He's my best friend. She doesn't know anything."

  "Girls are weird," Andrew said, looking down at the floor. Then he held his arm up, his mind moving to a different topic. "I need to get a marker so people can sign my cast."

  "I'm sure I have something in the office you can use," Polly said.

  She pulled into the garage and tried to get to Andrew before he jumped out of the truck, but he was already heading for the back door with Rebecca close behind him. "No problem, I'll get the bags," she muttered and took their duffel bags out of the back. The two had run up the steps to her apartment and she heard them laughing as they found the animals.

  "Send Obiwan down," she called up and waited for her dog's nose to come around the banister. He came bounding down the steps when he saw her. This felt more normal. Kids in her house, the dog ready to go outside, and everyone preparing for a wedding rehearsal dinner tonight. By now most of the out-of-towners should be gone. She ducked into the auditorium and found Eliseo, Jeff and Rachel working. Jeff was running the vacuum while Eliseo and Rachel were setting up tables.

  "Do you need help?" she called
loudly, to be heard over the sound of the vacuum cleaner.

  Eliseo waved her off and shook his head. Rachel just smiled, so Polly went out the back door with her dog. They wandered over to the garden at the corner of the lot. It had held up pretty well under the storm. Some plants had snapped, but several people who cared for the garden were here midweek to clean out the mess. They did such a beautiful job with this, the corner had turned into a lovely spot. Polly often saw people walking through the garden, taking a moment to sit and listen to the waterfall in the pond or just enjoy the peace and quiet it offered.

  Her phone buzzed and she sat down on the park bench, letting Obiwan nose around. As she pulled the phone out of her pocket, he lay down on the warm paving in front of her and stretched out.

  It was Joss.

  "Hey!" Polly said. They hadn't talked much at all this week. Nate had gone back to work because one of his pharmacists had lost her home and Joss had kept herself busy at the library while they waited for the phone call that would change their life.

  "Do you have a minute?" Joss asked.

  "Sure, what's going on?"

  Her friend began crying on the other end of the call.

  "Joss, what happened?"

  "We aren't getting the baby. The girl decided not to put it up for adoption at the last minute. Her grandmother is going to help her raise it."

  "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. Can I come get you? Are you at the library?"

  "No, I'm home. Nate will be here pretty soon."

  "Joss, I'm just heartbroken. When did you find out?"

  "Just now. I called him, then I called you. I don't want to talk to anyone else. Everyone has gotten so excited for us and they shouldn't have to get caught up in our emotional roller coaster."

  "I understand that. But I want to come over and hold your hand and hug you."

  "No, that's okay. Nate is going to be a wreck. He bought this silly sports bag with different balls in it so he could teach the baby all about football and soccer."

  "I'm so sorry."

  "This is the hardest part, Polly. I was fine with waiting, but to have my hopes yanked away at the last minute … I want to be sick."

  "And you can't hate the girl for wanting to keep her baby."

  "I know! But I want to be mad at someone."

  Polly patted her knee and Obiwan sat up, putting his head there so she could stroke it. "I could bring my big dog over for you to cry on. He's pretty good about that." She heard a faint chuckle on the other end of the call.

  "Maybe we should just get a dog and some cats."

  "That's the way I like to do it. Really, though. When can I come hug you? I love you, sweetie."

  "I love you too. How about I call you later? After Nate and I have talked. It won't take long. He'll come in and fall apart, then he'll go back out to his garage and beat on some metal or something."

  "Just let me know. Henry will be working again this evening, I'm sure. He's trying to get as much done before it starts raining again and that's supposed to come in tonight."

  "You know I feel so guilty being upset about this. There are people who have lost a lot this week and I know that I'm still going to get a baby, it's just not happening right now."

  "Your stuff is your stuff and theirs is theirs. You've done what you could to help this week and it isn't wrong for you to be sad. Don't do that to yourself."

  "Okay. I just wanted to call so you weren't wondering. I hear Nate's car. I'd better go."

  "I love you, Joss. Give your husband a hug for me."

  "Bye."

  "Well, that sucks," Polly said to Obiwan, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "I was kind of looking forward to having a baby around."

  He nudged her hand, looking for more affection. "No not that," she said. "I'm not having any babies, but Joss and Nate are going to be great parents and they were going to let me play and hand the baby back."

  She stood up and walked back to the building, wandering in and out of the young sycamore trees lining the driveway. "Sometimes I feel like such a kid, Obiwan, and other times I feel so old. That young punk camp counselor down at the hospital made me feel old today."

  Obiwan took off at a run and Polly looked up to see Henry's truck drive in.

  She jogged over to meet him, "What are you doing here?"

  "I came in to get some things from the shop and thought I'd see if I could get a hug."

  "Man, I've missed you this week."

  "Me too. Next week won't be quite so bad. I'm tired of working until after dark every night."

  "Have you heard anything about your Uncle Loren?"

  "Not much. Stu told Dad that there might be others."

  "Other deaths?"

  "Yeah. I hadn't heard anything about it."

  "Around here?"

  "Well, not around here." Henry smirked at her. "If it had been around here, you would have found the bodies, right?"

  Polly swatted his belly. "Stop it. But what do you mean?"

  "Around Iowa. It's mostly old guys who live alone in the country. I didn't know there were so many."

  "I guess I didn't either. And I can't believe the newspapers aren't all over this."

  "It's been happening over the last few years. Anita found the connection and Aaron's not saying anything because they think the person who did it is probably still in town."

  Polly stepped back. "I'm sorry, what? They live here?"

  "Yeah. I guess they move into an area and live for a few weeks, then kill an old man who doesn't have family. Apparently they're sticking around after it's done, too, because no one notices them leave. They fade in and then they fade out. The first one Anita found happened down by Hamburg, and then one up by Estherville and last winter an old man was killed in Osage."

  "We have a serial killer in Bellingwood." Polly leaned on the truck. "That makes me a little woozy."

  "Well, if it's any consolation, you aren't a target and if Uncle Loren was, the killer is probably already trying to find their next town."

  "They've never killed more than one person in a town?"

  "Not yet."

  "This is just so weird. Is the person stealing from these old men?"

  Henry nodded. "Yeah. That's part of it. But Aunt Betty kept an eye on the place. She didn't think anything strange was going on, but then, she didn't see everything."

  "Well, he was killed on the road and she didn't see that."

  "During the tornado."

  "I suppose that's right. Were the others killed in their homes?"

  "Yeah. I think so. You'd have to ask Anita."

  "I was almost there this morning," Polly said. "So close. But now I have a couple of kids upstairs with the cats. I think Rebecca was done with camp and Andrew is pretty proud of his cast."

  "At least you have company. I'd better get back to work."

  "Oh Henry, Joss called."

  "Are they headed to Omaha?"

  "No, they're not getting the baby. The birth mom decided to keep it."

  "I'm sorry. That's not what they needed to hear this week."

  "I know. Would you give Nate a call sometime this evening? He's going to be in his garage, I think."

  Henry pursed his lips with just a shade of disgust. "Guys don't do that."

  "Tell their friends they've got their back?"

  "Call to check up on them. We show up with a six-pack or something."

  "So, show up with a six-pack or something."

  "I'm working late tonight."

  "So, your buddy is upset and because guys don't call to commiserate, you are going to let him deal with this by himself?"

  "He has Joss. He doesn't need my shoulder. He wants to work it out in his head. We'll figure it out later."

  "You men drive me crazy."

  He pulled her into a hug. "Just because you're an upfront, face-it-down-right-now kind of girl, doesn't mean that everyone is like that."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, you go back to work. I'm going to check on the hotel. I think
everyone was supposed to be out of there by this afternoon."

  "I love you, my little buttinsky." He walked away from her to his truck door and pulled it open. "Will that one work?"

  "Not on your life," she said.

  "I'll keep trying."

  She put her hand on Obiwan's collar as Henry backed out and drove off. "Buttinsky. That one may cost him."

  Polly opened the door and found Andrew and Rebecca at his desk under the back stairway.

  "Look!" Andrew said, showing Polly his cast. "I asked Jeff for a marker and he gave me these." He held three up for her. "Will you sign it now?"

  "Let me send the dog upstairs first." Polly opened the door and Obiwan went in, then turned around and looked at her. "Later, you goofball. Go on up." She shut the door slowly and he didn't move from the first step. Silly dog, making her feel guilty for not being around anymore than she was. She missed him too.

  "Okay, where do you want me to sign it?"

  "Anywhere. Look. Jeff drew a picture of me lying down in front of a tree. See how my arm is crooked?"

  "Cool." Polly signed her name and drew what she thought looked like paw prints and a couple of horseshoes. "That should cover all of us, what do you think?"

  He admired her work. "Jason tried to tell me I couldn't write since I was wearing a cast. But I can. It doesn't hurt. I'm not going to break it again if I write, am I?"

  Jason was getting tired of his brother and did his best to not spend much time around him. Sylvie knew that the boys needed to have separate rooms so Jason could have his own space. They just weren't ready to make that change yet. Once she was finished with school, she promised Andrew and Jason that they would find a larger home to live in. Andrew was looking forward to getting his own dog, even though his mother wasn't quite ready for that commitment.

  "Don't listen to your brother. Did the doctor say anything to you about writing?"

  "No."

  "Well, it seems like he's the one who would know."

  "Okay."

  Polly bent over and picked up Rebecca's duffel. "Do you want me to take this over to your room?"

  "I'll do it. Mom said she's glad I'm back," Rebecca said, taking the bag out of Polly's hand. "Do you think she really missed me?"