"But that's not what we're out here to talk about tonight. This is supposed to be fun and those years were definitely not fun."
"How long did you stay with him?" Sal asked.
"Much too long. Jason was getting old enough to know that his dad was hurting me. I don't even know if Andrew remembers him, though." Sylvie took another drink and then reached for a tortilla chip and dipped it in the queso dip. "One day I saw my fear reflected in Jason's eyes and that's when I knew it was time to deal with it. My boys weren't going to grow up afraid for their mom and they weren't going to learn how to hurt others."
"What did you do?"
"The next time he beat the hell out of me I called the Sheriff. Aaron Merritt was the one who showed up. He took one look at me, saw that there were two little boys in the house and got us out of there. I moved in with my mom for a while and then got my own place. Anthony went to jail. I don't know what Aaron said to him but he never came back to Bellingwood. I divorced him while he was in jail, packed his stuff and gave it to Aaron. He's called a couple of times over the years, but I never saw the man again."
"Do the boys ever ask about him?" Joss asked.
Sylvie gave her a weak smile. "Jason hates him. I don't know how to fix that because the man was evil. He didn't just beat me up when he was drunk, he beat on me whenever he felt like it."
"Why did you stay?" Sal asked.
"I don't know. I had no job and two little boys that needed me." Sylvie rested her head in her left hand, then looked up at them. "My dad knocked my mom around some. It wasn't as bad as what Anthony did to me, but he always made her believe that she'd done something to deserve it. When we first got married, things were fine. He got mad, but he never really hurt me. He wasn't even really too bad when Jason was born, but after Andrew came, it was like we were all too much for him. And I knew that I pissed him off. I was taking care of two little boys and ..."
Sylvie had been speaking with her eyes on the table. She looked up and around at the three sitting with her. "I almost made the same excuses that I made back then. I don't care that I pissed him off. It took me a long time to figure out that it wasn't my fault. Neighbors had called the police several times before Aaron finally showed up and made me deal with it."
Polly put her hand on Sylvie's knee. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"I am too," Sylvie said, "But I learned how to take care of myself and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I wish Jason had never known that kind of fear, but I can't change what was."
"Jason already keeps an eye on people to make sure they are taken care of. He's going to grow into a terrific young man. He's got a lot of compassion," Polly said.
"Yeah, but I'm going to end up killing him before he gets to be that terrific young man," Sylvie said, laughing. "Oh, he's got some serious attitude. If Eliseo wasn't around to make him straighten up, I'd be punishing him every day."
"I'm never having children," Sal moaned.
"Yeah, like that'll happen. How could you not bring those gorgeous babies into the world," Sylvie replied. She looked at Joss and Polly. "Can you imagine how pretty those babies would be? With Mark and Sal's good looks?"
Sal rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'd be a crazy mother. They wouldn't have a chance."
All of a sudden, everyone turned to Joss and Sal said, "Oh, I'm sorry dear. See! I'm a horrible person. I'm not even sensitive to my friends."
Joss chuckled. "I'm fine. Stop worrying about me. We'll get our baby and then I'll make you all sick to your stomachs when you have to listen to my ooey, gooey baby talk."
"Hey, isn't that your guest?" Sal asked, trying to nonchalantly nod at a woman a few tables away.
"Where?" Polly asked.
"Well, don't stare. Over there under the flickering sconce. Maybe you can't see her from your angle."
Polly tried to stealthily stand up and spy on the table Sal was pointing to. It looked like it might be Lois Wexler, but she couldn't be sure. "Who's she with?" Polly asked.
Sal gave her a 'how should I know' look and both Joss and Sylvie had their backs to the rest of the room so they weren't able to see what was happening.
"I didn't know she had any friends in town." Polly craned her neck in order to see what was happening at that table, but she couldn't get a good enough angle to see faces.
"Oh sweetie, you're pathetic." Sal got up and strode across the room, causing every person to turn and watch her. Sal was tall, but tonight she was wearing heels that gave her extra height. The girl drew attention and walked with the confidence of someone who was completely comfortable with that. She smiled in greeting as she approached Lois Wexler, bent over and said something to her and then waved to Polly, who gave a little wave back.
"She has no fear," Polly said with a sigh. "I've always envied that in her."
"This coming from you?" Sylvie said. "Every time I think about running away from something that scares me, I think about you moving out here and opening Sycamore House."
"Yeah, but I've been able to do most of this because I have people around me."
"You didn't when you started."
"Well yeah. I did. When I met Henry, I knew that he would take care of everything for me."
"Is that when you fell in love with him?" Joss asked.
Polly snorted with laughter. "Uh. No. He says he fell in love with me right away, but it took me a long time. And it took me even longer to admit it. But, really, Sylvie. If it weren't for you and Jeff and Eliseo, I wouldn't have the courage to do half the things I do around here."
"But you are always so straightforward when you deal with people," Sylvie protested.
"Uh huh. Because I just can't imagine they're so stupid as to keep going down such an insane path. When it doesn't make any sense to me, I have a terrible habit of saying things I shouldn't. And it's not like you don't deal with stupid people and put them in their place."
"You went into the police station in Oelwein to get Jessie with no fear," Joss said.
"Because you and Sal were right there and I had no other choice. If I hadn't, that poor girl would have had nowhere to go."
Sal slid into her seat. "See. That wasn't so hard."
"Who was she with?"
"Oh, it's just the sweetest thing. She's taking her granddad out for pizza."
"Her what?" Polly gasped.
"It's this cute little old guy. He seemed so happy to be spending time with her."
Polly bent down and lowered her voice, "Lucy said that Ralph Bedford was with his granddaughter at the diner last week. I didn't know he had one." Polly stopped. "What if she's the murderer?"
"You don't suppose, though …" Joss said.
"How can I not suppose? What if the murderer has been staying at Sycamore House all this time?"
Sylvie whispered, "But I thought she was supposed to be traveling from town to town in Iowa. Why would she have come in on a plane?"
"I didn't see her come in an on airplane. I just saw her at the car rental place," Sal interjected. "Wouldn't Bunny just pass out if she thought she'd sat in the back seat of that car with a murderer?" She started to laugh. "I can see it now. She'll be calling all of her former beaus, asking them to come protect her. A murderer knows what she looks like!"
"Stop it," Polly said. "Poor Bunny's not here to defend herself. But I have to do something about this."
"You have no proof that it's her," Sylvie said.
"So I'm supposed to let this poor old guy die tonight because I have no proof? That's not right!"
"Does it make sense, though," Joss said quietly, "that she killed Henry's Uncle Loren? He never comes into town. When would she have met him? Especially if she'd only gotten here on Friday."
"You're right," Polly said. "But I still don't like this." She took her phone out and looked around the table. "Are you going to laugh at me if I call Aaron?"
"Well, you'd better do something fast. They're headed out the door," Sal said.
Polly spun around in her chair, in time to see the door
close behind the girl.
"Damn. I don't even know who that man was." She got up and tried to weave through the crowd in the restaurant, but it seemed to have grown since they came in. She kept having to stop and wait while people got up from their seats or tried to sit down. Who in the world would expect a pizza place in Bellingwood, Iowa, to be this busy? By the time she got to the front door, they were nowhere to be seen.
Polly went outside and dialed Aaron's phone anyway.
"Polly? What's up?"
"Well at least you didn't accuse me of finding a body," she said.
"I figure one per day is plenty, even for you."
"Have you checked on Lois Wexler, the photographer who has been staying at Sycamore House?"
"I don't think so. Why?"
"Okay, just hear me out and then tell me whether or not I'm nuts."
"You're usually not nuts. Go ahead."
"I don't know how Loren Sturtz fits into this, but Lucy told me that Ralph Bedford was at the diner last week with a girl who said she was his granddaughter. Her description matches Lois Wexler. I just saw her at Pizzazz. I'm here with Sal and Sylvie and Joss. Sal went over to say hello to her because they gave her a ride up to my place last Friday."
Polly could almost hear him putting the pieces together in his mind.
"When did she make the reservation at Sycamore House?" he asked.
"I don't know that. You'd have to ask Sarah or Jeff."
"Okay, anyway ..."
"Anyway. Sal came back and said she was having pizza with a little old guy and the girl said he was her grandfather. He didn't deny it. Now why would Lois Wexler come to Bellingwood and stay at Sycamore House if she was here to spend time with her grandfather?"
"Do you know who the man was?"
Polly still felt like a newcomer to Bellingwood some days. People who had lived there all of their lives knew everyone. She was just starting to get to know enough people that she recognized the same faces over and over.
"I'm sorry. I don't."
"And Sylvie and Joss didn't recognize him?"
"They didn't get a good look at him. Aaron, if I'm right, what if she hurts this poor guy tonight?"
"I'm surprised she's picked up another one so quickly if that's really who she is. I would have thought she ..." Aaron stopped. "No, I don't know anything. Okay. I'm coming up. Lydia is just going to have to eat leftover pizza for the next few days. Maybe someone saw them together and knows who he was and we'll just do a gentle check-in on him tonight."
"So, you don't think I'm nuts?"
"Well, I didn't say that, but thanks for calling."
"Do you need us to stay here for any reason?"
"No. That's fine. Enjoy the rest of your evening. I'd like to know when she made the reservation at Sycamore House and when she plans to check out, though."
"Do you need that tonight?"
"Jeff says you won't learn how to use the system at Sycamore House. Is it a problem for you to get that information?"
"I'll ask Sarah to help," she said. "And Jeff needs to stop telling on me."
"Then yes, I'd like it tonight. Otherwise, I'll be there tomorrow morning."
"Thanks for not laughing at me about the strange connections I make. Sarah will call you later with the information you need."
"You be good tonight."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Opening the door to the living room as quietly as she could, Polly glanced back at her husband, who was sleeping peacefully. She wanted to get down to the barn and spend time with the animals before another crazy week started. He turned over, opened his eyes and peered at her.
"What are you doing up so early?"
"Going to the barn. I'll be back soon."
Henry stretched. "I should get up, too. I'm taking Ben and Amanda up to the Diner for breakfast. I think she's finally ready to start talking about building their new home. You should have seen her last night. It was like a light finally switched back on."
"I'm so glad."
"You missed all the fun last night," he said. Polly hadn't gotten back until after midnight. Sylvie had taken off earlier to get her boys home, but Joss was glad to be out and Sal announced she was establishing her independence. It had been a lot of fun.
"What did I miss?"
"Believe it or not, I think Ben is going to try to rent the house that Eliseo is living in. When Eliseo got back from the hospital, he was ready to talk to my family about buying Uncle Loren's house. I took him over to Aunt Betty's and we met my parents there. Nothing is set in stone yet, but it's going to happen.
"That's good news. He'll be happier out in the country."
"The man never stops. He just keeps working and working. I feel lazy next to him."
"Yeah. That's what you are. Lazy. I'll be back. Gotta go." She waited for Obiwan to join her, then slipped out of the door and pulled it shut only to find Jessie reading on the couch in the living room.
"What are you doing up this morning?" Polly asked.
Jessie jumped up. She was dressed in jeans and an old t-shirt. Polly was so thankful the girl's clothes had made it to Bellingwood. At least she had something of her own.
"Can I go down to see the horses with you?"
"Of course."
"I met Eliseo last night and he's really nice. He told me that if I came down with you in the morning, I could help."
"You want to help?" Polly couldn't help herself. She laughed, wondering if the girl knew what she was getting into."
"Those horses are big and they're so pretty. But Eliseo said that they weren't scary."
"Come on," Polly said, crossing to the front door. "You'll love them. Everyone does. It's hard work, but in the summer Jason is here every day and with all of us working, it goes pretty fast."
"Jason told me that Eliseo would teach me how to ride. I've never done that before."
"Eliseo is an amazing instructor. Jason had never been around a horse until last summer and you can believe how far he's come."
They got to the side door and Polly held it open while Jessie walked through.
"I talked to my little brother last night. He said Dad's going to be okay."
"But you talked to your dad yesterday, too, didn't you?"
"Yeah. But I wanted to hear it from Ethan. Dad would lie so I wouldn't worry. We're going to talk again today after Mom goes to work. Ethan has to stay home and take care of him. Mom made him quit his job before they came out last week."
"Well, I suppose someone had to, and your Mom is supporting the family right now."
"But Ethan was saving money to go to college. She told him that they were going to use his savings if Dad couldn't work."
"Sometimes there just aren't any good answers," Polly said. The last thing she wanted to do was create more division between Jessie and her mother, but this was too much. Even parents made horrible decisions sometimes.
Obiwan ran for the pasture while Polly opened the door to the barn and flipped the lights on. She was surprised they'd gotten here before Eliseo and Jason. "Is this what you expected?" she asked Jessie.
Daisy came to her feet first and Jessie stepped back from the stall when the horse's massive head came out to greet them.
"Wake up everyone," Polly called out. "We've got a guest." She poked her head into Demi's stall and wasn't surprised to find both cats curled up on top of him.
"Look at this," she said, beckoning Jessie over. "That's Hansel and Gretel. He's their favorite. Mostly because he's so easygoing." She tripped the latch and opened the door. The cats were used to people now and didn't immediately run away when someone new came into their space, but they looked up warily.
"He won't move if they're on top of him," she said. "Kneel down here and rub his nose. Let him sniff your hand. Go slowly," Polly directed, hunching down on her knees.
"It's so soft," Jessie said.
"I know. It makes me melt every time." Polly heard a noise behind her and barely stood up before Tom's head gave her a
push. "Hey," she said. "No shoving!" She bent over and hugged his neck.
"We also have two donkeys down here. Tom and Huck."
Tom approached Jessie, nosing at her side.
"You're new. He's looking for a treat. That's generally how we introduce him to new people."
The cats had both stood and stretched. Gretel took off when Tom entered the stall, but Hansel tried to find a soft place to sleep on Demi's haunches again.
"Let's back out," Polly said, "so Demi has plenty of room to get up once he decides to kick the cat to the curb. "Come on, Tom. Out with ya."
"Demi's a weird name," Jessie said when they got back out into the main alley.
"Yeah. We have Daisy and Demi, Nan and Nat. Their former owner named them for characters in the book Little Men."
"And you have Tom and Huck and Hansel and Gretel?" Jessie asked with a smile.
"We like to read around here."
"Good morning, girls," Eliseo said coming into the barn. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's my fault," Jason said, right on Eliseo's heels. "Well, it was Mom's fault. She was late."
Eliseo nudged him, "Don't disrespect your mom, son. She's doing everything she can to give you a good life."
"Yes sir," Jason said, his shoulders drooping.
"Why don't you show Jessie here where the feed is and we'll break her in this morning," Eliseo rubbed the boy's shoulder and gave him a little push.
"It's down here." Jason picked up the pace and when he passed Jessie, stopped, and waited a moment for her to follow him.
Eliseo had stopped to greet each of the horses. When Demi heard his voice, he shook the cat off and came to his feet. "How are you doing, old man?" Eliseo asked, stepping in to scoop up the cat. "Don't you ever get tired of these little ones sleeping on top of you?"
He didn't wait for a response, but walked back out and pushed his hip at the donkey who was trying to get close.
"You really love it down here, don't you?" Polly said.
"I wake up every morning grateful for the chance to come in and spend time with these animals."
"Are you sure about taking on another student?"
His lips pulled up into the half smile she'd gotten accustomed to seeing. "As long as they're ready to work hard, I'll never turn one away."
Tomorrow's Promises (Bellingwood Book 7) Page 23
