The ambulance and emergency truck pulled over in front of Polly’s truck, with Aaron's SUV right behind. Two EMTs jumped out and ran over to Polly.
"She was talking to us and now there's nothing," Polly said, standing up to make way.
Josh stood up as well and stepped around the girl, nearly losing his balance on the grass at the edge of the shoulder. He looked down at the ditch and gave Polly a wry smile.
Polly watched Aaron walk toward them and moved around the vehicles to get to him. She was thankful this had happened here and not on one of the busier highways. They'd be fairly safe from oncoming traffic.
"What's happened, Polly?" he asked, looking at the EMTs who were working over the girl.
"We were talking and a few minutes later, she wasn't." Polly reached out and took his sleeve. "I thought I had her."
"Did she say anything?" he asked.
"Her name is Lynn. That's all I got. She has to be okay."
One of the EMTs turned to Aaron and gave him a slight nod in the negative.
"No," Polly moaned and sagged against him.
"Who is that?" Aaron asked Polly.
She turned to see Josh and his mother standing in the shade of her truck. Madeline had pulled her son close, wrapping her arms around him as they watched the scene unfold.
"They're from Stratford and just stopped to help me. I don't know their last name," Polly said. "Just good people."
"I'm going to talk to them. Go sit in your truck. Call your husband. Take a deep breath or two."
Polly's legs felt like lead weights as he walked her back to her truck. Aaron opened the door and gave her a hand as she climbed in. She leaned back again and shut her eyes. This was going to be a hell of a week.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Opening the door to her truck, Polly climbed in, shut the door, and leaned back against the seat. She watched the frenetic activity on the highway in front of her and found herself holding back tears. The sound of a sharp rap on the passenger window made her jump and she waited while Aaron climbed in with her.
"Will you be okay to drive home?" he asked.
She sat forward and rearranged herself in the seat so that she looked like she was more alert. "Yeah. It's only a few miles."
"This is different than you've ever faced before. Are you sure? I can get one of my boys up here to drive you back into town."
"Thomas Zeller died in my arms," she said. "None of it’s ever really easy. Everybody thinks it's no big deal for me."
"That's because you want them to think that, Polly," Aaron said quietly. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "You don't want anyone to feel sorry for you."
"You're right, there," she said. "They have their own things to deal with. I can handle this, but sometimes I need..." She paused. "I don't know what I need. My life moves too fast for me to sit around and feel sorry for myself. I didn't want to go home because if I leave again, the animals will make me feel guilty. The kids will be back in a while and I won't let them see me fall apart over this. Especially with Stephanie and Kayla gone. Rebecca doesn't need to worry about me. The truth is, I'll be fine. I just need a few minutes to huddle into a ball by myself and fall apart."
"Do you want me to call Lydia? She’d love to see you."
Polly smiled at him and shook her head. "Thank you, but I really will be okay and I'm sorry I said anything. I just wasn't expecting her to die." She gestured with her head at the car parked behind them. "How's the kid doing?"
"He'll be fine, too. I don't think he even knew what was going on. Thank you for letting him help, though. That will be a good memory for him - that he at least did something."
"I've never seen the girl in Bellingwood," Polly said. "Did you recognize her?"
"No. She isn't familiar. All she gave you was a first name?"
"Yeah. Lynn. But she knew that I found dead bodies. She recognized my name, so she has to be from around the area. Right?" Polly liked the feeling of his big hand around hers. He was calm and steady as she worked to regain her sense of stability.
Aaron nodded and looked up as one of the emergency workers waved to him. "I need to talk to these guys before they leave. Are you sure you're okay to drive?"
"It's only a few miles," Polly said with a reassuring smile. "I'll go straight home." She took her hand back, then said, "Oh. I think I heard from Stephanie this morning."
"You did?" Aaron had his hand on the door handle, but stopped to look at her. "Did she call?"
"No, I got a text from an odd number telling us they were okay and not to look for them. I've given the number to Jeff so he can keep texting her."
"All you need to do is communicate. We will do everything we can to keep her and her sister safe if they come back."
"I know that and so will we. Jeff offered to have her move into his apartment with him until this is settled."
"We're already keeping an eye out in case her father shows up. Everybody is watching for him." Aaron waved back at the EMT. "I need to go now. You should be able to turn around."
Polly looked into the rear view mirror and saw the car behind her drive away. "Thanks, Aaron. I'll be fine."
"I'll call later to check on you," he said and got out of the truck.
As Polly backed away from the scene to turn around, it struck her that in less than an hour, people would travel this part of the road and never know what had just happened. Life was so fragile. In mere moments, that poor girl was gone. If Polly hadn't been there, she'd have died alone.
"One set of bones would have been more than enough," she muttered. "Can I be finished now for a while?" She came to a stop, then turned the corner leading to Bellingwood. When Polly drove into the garage, she turned the truck off and opened the door. Jumping down to the floor, she was surprised at how weak her legs felt and stumbled before grabbing the handle.
"Whoa," Polly said, standing upright. She made her way around the front of the truck and went inside, then up the steps to two happy dogs on the top landing. "I love you, too," she said. "Just let me get in the house." Obiwan and Han followed her into the media room. Polly looked longingly at the sofa. All she wanted to do was collapse, but if she fell asleep, she didn't want to be out here when the kids got home from school.
She finally made it into her bedroom and pushed the door shut enough for privacy with a gap for animals to pass through. Kicking her shoes off, she dropped onto the bed, reached over to Henry's side and grabbed the comforter, rolling it around herself. She knew the temperature in the house was warm, but she'd started to chill. Obiwan jumped up and put his head on her shoulder while lying down beside her and Han wandered around the floor, trying to figure out what was going on.
"I just need to be quiet for a minute," she said. "Just a few minutes. Okay?"
The phone in her pocket rang. Polly turned over to reach for it, saw it was Henry and answered, "Hey there."
"Aaron just called me. Why didn't you?" he asked.
"Don't yell at me," she said. "I'm sorry."
"I'm not yelling. I didn't mean that. Where are you?"
"In bed with Obiwan."
"Are you okay, honey?"
"I don't think so, but I will be. Don't worry."
"Do you need me to come home?"
"No," she said. "I'll be fine. Don't worry." She felt tears start to choke her. "Talk to you later." Polly quickly hung up before she cried all over Henry and put the phone on the table.
"Yes I do," she said to Obiwan. "I need him to come home." She pulled her dog closer and finally relaxed enough to sob into the nape of his neck.
"I wanted her to live," Polly said. "She shouldn't have died. Why did she die?" Polly cried and cried by herself with the dogs on her bed. Obiwan wiggled around to get in front of her and nestled in her arms, while Han tucked himself in behind her legs. Polly yanked tissues from the box beside her bed, blew her nose and forced herself to slow her breathing. Tears continued to leak from her eyes so she yanked a few more tissues, dabbed at her eyes, then rol
led her head on her neck, trying to relax.
~~~
Polly woke up with no idea what time it was. She sat straight up, knowing that she needed to get everyone moving for the day, confused though, at the sound of the television. She checked the time on her phone and was even more confused. Two o'clock. She took a couple of deep breaths, looked around for the animals and when she found none, looked down at her clothes and realized that she'd fallen asleep in the middle of the day. But who was watching television and why were the dogs okay with that?
"Obiwan?" she called tentatively. When he didn't come running into the room, Polly headed for the kitchen and peeked into the media room.
"What are you two doing here?" she asked Rebecca and Andrew.
"Half day, remember?" Rebecca said. "Where did you come from?"
"I was in my room." Polly scratched her head. "Did you take the dogs out?"
Andrew waved his hand over his head. "Took care of it already. They're good to go."
"Thank you," Polly said. "Did you at least have lunch?" She realized that she was starving. "I'm going to have a sandwich."
Rebecca came over to the dining room. "Are you okay? You look kind of out of it and you never eat lunch this late."
"I'm fine," Polly said. "Thanks. It's just been a weird day."
"Weird day, like fun weird day or dead body weird day?" Rebecca asked.
"I hate that you even know to ask me that," Polly replied. "But yeah. I found a girl on the highway going down to Boone."
Andrew clicked the television off and ran over to join them. "You found someone? Was it bad? Was she hit by a car? How long was she there before you found her? How old do you think she was?"
"Stop it," Rebecca said. "And grow up, would you? Somebody died."
Andrew frowned and said, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Polly said. "But I don't want to talk about it."
The two kids looked at each other, surprise evident on their faces.
"Was it someone you knew?" Rebecca asked quietly, reaching out to take Polly's hand.
"No, that isn't it. I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything right now."
"Because Stephanie and Kayla are gone, too. Right?" Andrew asked.
"That must be it." Polly said with a smile.
"Everybody's asking about them at school," Rebecca said. She scooted past Polly into the kitchen. "I can't believe Stephanie didn't tell anyone where they were going. Not even the secretary knows and she knows everything about everybody."
Polly picked Leia up off the counter and snuggled her face in the cat's neck. Leia tolerated it for a few minutes, then pushed out of her arms so Polly would put her down. Instead of returning the cat to the counter, Polly lowered her to the floor and Leia took off. "What are you doing?"
Rebecca looked up. "I'm making you a sandwich. You aren't running on all cylinders."
"If I'm not going back over to the Bell House, I should probably take a shower."
"We could help," Rebecca said.
Andrew looked at the two of them. "Help Polly take a shower?"
"No, silly," Rebecca said. "We should go to Bell House and help her work."
He groaned.
"You'd do that?" Polly asked. "Awesome. Let me put my shoes on."
She was in the dining room, laughing to herself, when she heard Andrew whisper to Rebecca. "What did you do?"
"I don't know," Rebecca replied. "I never dreamed she'd take me up on it."
"We'll run up to your house so you can change into old clothes, Andrew," Polly called. She'd been tempted to tell them she was kidding, but the more she thought about it, the better the idea sounded. Maybe she could work off some of this funk by hauling bushes and shrubs out of the dirt.
Rebecca came into the living room. "You're really going to take me up on that?"
"Why not?" Polly asked. "It's a beautiful day and I'm not a fan of you sitting in front of the television all afternoon."
"We could work on our homework..." Rebecca's voice trailed off as she realized how hopeless that sounded.
"I won't work you very hard," Polly said. "I promise. Just come with me."
"Okay," Rebecca said with a sigh. She stuck her head back into the dining room. "I'll be back. If we’re really going, I'd better change my clothes."
Polly chuckled as she sat down on the bed to put her shoes on. She made a quick call.
"Hello there," Sylvie said. "Is my boy giving you trouble?"
"Only a little bit. We're running over to your house so he can change clothes, then we're going over to the Bell House and work in the yard. I doubt that we'll be back by the time you get off work, so you should pick him up over there."
"If I want him back, that is," Sylvie retorted. "Actually, I'm at home. I was going to call and see if you wanted me to take them off your hands for the afternoon. I'd rather pull weeds with you all. I'll bring his clothes and meet you. How does that sound?"
"He’ll love that," Polly said with a laugh.
"Is it evil and rotten that I think it’s hilarious?"
"We'll just be evil and rotten together. I'll see you over there."
Polly hung up and slipped the phone back in her pocket, then finished tying her shoes and went back out to the living room. Rebecca hadn't emerged yet - more than likely taking time to make sure that her sloppy clothes looked just perfect. The poor girl went back and forth between treating Andrew like a brother and a boyfriend. Polly and Henry never knew which Rebecca would show up.
"Your mom is meeting us at Bell House," Polly called out. "She's bringing your clothes."
"Noooo," Andrew whined. "Do I have to go?"
"Yep. Now it's a full-blown plan in process. Gather up your things, because you'll go home with her after we're done."
"And just when I thought I was going to have a relaxed afternoon," he muttered loud enough for her to hear.
Rebecca came out of her room, dressed in a pair of shorts and a nice t-shirt.
"You look nice," Polly said.
"Thank you. I think it's always important to look nice."
Polly chuckled. "Even when you're going to work in the dirt?"
"Especially then. No reason to look like a slob."
"I guess so. Are you ready?"
"Can I take my sketchbook?"
"You can put it in the truck, but I doubt that you'll have much time. We have lots of debris to haul."
Rebecca ran back into her room and grabbed a bag. "Just in case."
The dogs weren't any happier this time when Polly left, but she and the kids managed to get out and into the truck without too much trouble. She drove to the Bell House and pulled into the driveway, thankful that the team from the DCI was gone.
"I want to look in the hole," Andrew said, jumping out of the truck.
Rebecca followed him. Polly wanted to tell them to be careful, but stopped herself. They were always being told what to do and if there was one thing she knew about Rebecca; it was that the girl was careful.
"Polly, this is cool!" Andrew yelled.
"It's a hole," she replied.
"But it had bones down there. It's like a room in the ground."
"It is a room in the ground, you moron," Rebecca said.
"But..." Andrew started, then said, "Never mind."
Sylvie pulled in and Polly waited for her friend.
"Your mom's here," she called back to Andrew.
"Okay."
Sylvie walked around the truck with a plastic grocery bag filled with clothes. "Where is he?"
Polly pointed. "He found the hole."
"That's pretty cool, you know?" Sylvie said. "A hidden room with a tunnel. You just never know what you'll find in these old houses. I know Andrew hoped that there would be something awesome in our house. He spent weeks scouring every inch of the basement for a hidden room."
They walked through the open breezeway to the other side of the garage.
"Can I go down there?" Andrew asked. "I could jump in."
Sylvi
e looked at him. "How would you get out?"
"How did Polly get out? Did she use the tunnel?"
Polly shook her head. "Eliseo had to bring a ladder."
He looked around. "Where is it? Let's check this out."
"I don't know where it is, but no, you're not going down there," Sylvie said. "Now, here are your clothes. Go into the garage and change. We have work to do."
"Man, I never get to do anything fun," he complained. Andrew stomped his feet as he walked toward his mother and when she didn't let him take the bag, looked up at her. "What?"
"You know what." Sylvie raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah. Sorry."
Polly turned around at the sound of another vehicle pulling in and was surprised to see Henry's truck. "Just a sec," she said and ran back to the driveway.
"Hi there," he said when he got out of the truck. "What are you all doing over here?"
"I was in a funk, so we came over to work it out on the yard. What are you doing here?"
"Heath is meeting me to get those windows carried inside and start building you a porch."
"Now?" Polly pulled him into a hug. "Already?"
"It's as good a time as any. Will that help your funk?"
Polly didn't let him go. "You have no idea."
"I've been thinking on this whole house renovation thing and I have a couple of ideas I want to pose to you." He took her hand and they walked toward the lumber.
"What?" she asked. "Don't keep me in suspense."
"What if I bring water and electricity in and we let Heath and Hayden move in this summer and rough it while they do demolition? We'll pay them over and above, but it wouldn't cost nearly as much as hiring subcontractors. Dad and I will teach them how to do the work and maybe we could turn the garage into a shop with some of your dad's tools and equipment."
" That's a great idea," she gasped. "Have you talked to them?"
He shook his head. "I wanted to talk to you first, but I know Hayden was considering hiring on with a road crew again and I'd just as soon put him to work here so he can be close to his brother."
Polly leaned on him. "I had the worst day going and you just made things a whole lot better." She reached up and kissed his cheek, grinning at the stubble. He hadn't shaved for a few days. "Thank you."
Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14) Page 8
