Bully in the Burbs (Garden Girls Christian Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Hope Callaghan

  She opened the kitchen door and stuck her head inside. “Want to go for a walk?”

  Mally thumped her tail against the door and pushed past Gloria as she trotted out onto the porch.

  Gloria grabbed her cell phone, a lightweight jacket from the hook and her house keys. She locked the door behind her but left all the lights on.

  Mally darted ahead of Gloria, the path so familiar the two of them could probably make it back there with their eyes closed.

  She stepped off the porch and glanced across the street at the small farm. The farm had once belonged to James and his family. James’ grandparents had lived there for many years.

  When they passed on, James’ brother, who had never married, lived there for years until one day, he up and moved away after having met some woman on the internet. The last time Gloria had talked to him; he had married the woman and was now living somewhere in Minnesota.

  The house sat vacant for several years before James finally sold it. He split the money from the sale evenly amongst the siblings. Local farmers had purchased the property, but only for the farmland. No one had ever moved into the house.

  The empty house hadn’t bothered Gloria. She rather liked the fact there was no one directly across the street. It appeared that was all about to change. Over the last few days, Gloria had noticed strange cars parked in the drive. She had even caught a glimpse of a young couple with a baby.

  Gloria had a sneaking suspicion that the farmers had sold the house, which meant that soon she would have new neighbors.

  For now, the house was empty, except for a dim light that shone through the front window, which is what caught Gloria’s attention. There hadn’t been any lights on in that house for years. Maybe whoever had bought it had left an interior light on by accident.

  She shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention to more pressing things.

  Halfway across the backfield, Gloria’s cell phone rang. It was Paul. “How’s my girl?”

  “Overwhelmed,” Gloria admitted. The cell reception was good and Paul was coming in loud and clear.

  “Did you find anything out about Jill’s place?” he asked.

  Gloria told him how her day had gone and ended with Lucy taking Jasper home with her. “So I dodged another dog?” he teased.

  “So far,” Gloria admitted. “There are more that need to be rescued.”

  She knew there was no way she could take all of those dogs. Even if she convinced every single one of her friends to adopt one of the dogs, there would still be too many. She couldn’t just set them free. That was irresponsible.

  On top of that, what would stop the Acostas from going out and getting more to replace the ones they had sold?

  No. There had to be another plan…a better one. She needed to find out more about the people who ran the mill – Jessica’s parents. She could send someone else over there to sort of scope the place out, maybe glean a little more information into the Acosta’s background and in the process find out more about Jill’s place!

  “…so we could honeymoon on Mackinac Island.”

  Paul was talking. Gloria hadn’t heard a word he had said, although she caught the tail end. “That would be lovely,” she replied.

  Paul snorted. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”

  “Only the part about Mackinac Island,” she admitted. “I love that place.”

  “We can’t honeymoon there in the middle of winter, unless you plan on getting there by snowmobile,” he pointed out.

  That was true. The island was somewhat remote, accessible only by boat or small plane. In the winter, the only way to get there was by snowmobile. Visions of Gloria in an elegant, lacy dress wearing snowmobile boots, snow pants and a ski jacket filled her head.

  “Maybe we should go somewhere warm and save that for next summer,” she suggested.

  She changed the subject. “About that puppy mill. Aren’t those illegal?” she asked.

  Paul paused. “Not that I know of…at least not if they’re registered.”

  “Can you find out?” she asked.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he promised. “Are you too busy with all of your dilemmas to have dinner with your betrothed?” he teased.

  She was in the woods now and had settled onto her favorite log. “Of course not.”

  “Good. I can’t make it tomorrow but I have the next night off. Maybe we can have dinner at that Italian place you investigated not long ago over in Lakeville…what was the name?”

  “Pasta Amore.” Gloria was surprised she remembered, what with all the stuff running through her head.

  “Yes, dinner at Pasta Amore,” he agreed.

  After Gloria finished talking to Paul, she wandered over to the edge of the creek. The water level had dropped. Fall had been dry but winter was on the way and it would fill back up during the winter season and when the snow melted in the spring.

  She glanced around the woods that she loved. The place had brought her many hours of quiet reflection when she needed to be by herself and clear her mind. She wondered if this would be her last visit before Paul and she married and if Paul would come here with her, too.

  On the one hand, she wanted to share it with him, but on the other, it was her own secret hideaway. She guessed she would have to start sharing some things.

  Mally had finished splashing in the creek and raced over to Gloria. “Ready to head back, Mally?”

  Mally circled her several times and then raced ahead to the edge of the woods.

  The light on her answering machine was blinking when Gloria stepped back inside the kitchen. She hung her jacket on the hook near the door, stepped to the kitchen counter and pressed the button on the machine. It was Jill.

  “Hey Mom. It’s me.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I called to find out if you came up with anything on the house. It looks like we didn’t get the house we put an offer in on yesterday. The owners went with another offer so we are once again homeless.”

  Gloria could hear the frustration in her daughter’s voice. “Anyways, call me back. Thanks.”

  Gloria promptly dialed her daughter’s number. Tyler answered. “Hi Grams. Mom said we might be moving in with you.”

  A stab of sheer something ran through Gloria. She had offered to let Jill, Greg and the boys live with her if they needed to, but she hadn’t seriously pondered the idea.

  If Gloria couldn’t figure out who was trying to stop them from purchasing the house on Pine Place, they may very well have to move in with Gloria – lock, stock and barrel!

  She had visions of Paul, her kids and her grandkids all living under one roof. She wondered if perhaps she could just run away.

  She grinned as she envisioned dragging her suitcase out of the house…peeling out of the driveway in Annabelle as if the devil himself were on her heels.

  He went on. “Ryan and I already decided that we’re gonna live in the tree fort.” Well, that solved some of the crowding issues!

  Gloria swallowed the lump in her throat. “That’s quite a thought, Tyler,” she said. “Is your mom there?”

  Tyler handed the phone to his mother.

  “Sorry Mom. You know that would be a last resort,” she assured her. “Did you find anything out about the house?”

  “Not much…yet,” Gloria admitted. “I’m still working through some of the clues and will be on it first thing in the morning,” she vowed. With a vengeance, she silently added.

  “We have a couple houses to look at tonight, but I can already tell that they won’t work. They’re either in the wrong school district, the yard is too small or the price is too high.”

  Perhaps Gloria could add a little more cash for the purchase. Desperate times called for desperate measures. “I may be able to give you more money if you’re close on price,” Gloria told her.

  Jill stopped her. “No! We aren’t going to do that. First of all, it wouldn’t be fair to give me more money than Eddie and Ben got and second of all, you’ve already been far
too generous.”

  Jill had a point. If Gloria gave her daughter more money, it would only be right to give her sons more, too. “Well, don’t give up on that house yet, Jill. I haven’t failed to crack a case yet.”

  Jill sighed. “True. If ever there was a time I needed you to get to the bottom of something, now is it!”

  Gloria reassured her daughter it was a top priority and hung up the phone. She stared at the silent phone in her hand and closed her eyes. “Dear God. Please help me figure out who is trying to stop Jill from buying that home.”

  She lifted her head and gazed out the window. Gloria needed help and fast. There was only one place to go.

  She grabbed her purse from the table, the keys from the hook by the door and headed to Dot’s Restaurant.

  She swung by Lucy’s place on the way. Lucy met her at the door. “Where are you going?”

  “Dot’s Restaurant. I need some help on Jill’s house.” She told her about her conversation with Jill.

  Lucy scrunched her nose. “Wow! Yeah, this is a 911 emergency, for sure. Let me get my purse.”

  Gloria stood at the door and waited. Jasper wandered over, his tail wagging. He looked different, somehow…happy. She bent down and kissed his head. He smelled fresh, like lemons.

  Lucy was back.

  Gloria looked up. “Did you give Jasper a bath already?”

  Lucy laughed. “Yep. He loves baths. He had a ball.”

  “Woof!” Jasper turned adoring eyes to Lucy.

  “I’ll be back before you know it,” she promised her pooch.

  Two sad, brown eyes bore into Lucy’s own. “Ugh! Don’t look at me like that!”

  Gloria grinned. “Better get used to it. I call it the pitiful play. Don’t worry, he’ll be thrilled when you return and completely forget that you left him at home.”

  Lucy glanced down at Jasper one final time. “I hope you’re right,” she fretted.

  The girls discussed the house on the way to Dot’s place. This one had Gloria stumped, something that had never had happen before. She always had an idea on how to solve a mystery, but this time her mind was blank.

  “Maybe you have too much going on,” Lucy pointed out.

  Wasn’t that the truth! The house, Dot’s cancer, the puppy mill, the wedding and the holidays was so much! Her head was spinning just trying to organize the events. Now she had to wonder if Jill and her family were going to have to move in.

  Soon, she would be ready for the nut house. It wasn’t that she didn’t love them all to pieces, but there was only so much one person could take!

  “You can come stay with me,” Lucy offered.

  Gloria pulled Annabelle into an open spot in front of the restaurant and shut the engine off. “I may take you up on that…seriously.”

  Dot’s Restaurant was busy but not packed. Gloria caught a glimpse of Margaret and her husband, Don, in a booth in the back.

  Dot was standing near their table, coffee pot in hand.

  Gloria pointed at the pot. “You’re not supposed to be here,” she accused her friend.

  Dot lifted a hand. “I can’t help it. What am I supposed to do? Sit home and twiddle my thumbs, worrying that the cancer cells are multiplying?”

  True. Dot had a point. If Gloria were in the same position, she wasn’t sure that she would be able to sit still.

  She changed the subject. “How is Odie adjusting?”

  Dot pointed a finger toward the kitchen. “He’s great! He’s in the back, helping Ray.” She leaned forward. “He loves that dog!”

  Gloria was relieved. She felt responsible for dragging Dot along to the puppy mill in the first place.

  “How is Jasper?” Dot asked.

  Lucy settled into the chair next to Margaret. “He’s adjusting quite nicely.”

  Dot raised a brow. “Really?”

  “Lucy came over to help me with the dogs and Jasper took a liking to her,” Gloria explained.

  “Huh.” Dot shoved a hand on her hip. “Lucy has a dog. Miracles never cease.”

  “What miracle?” Ruth had come up behind Gloria and now stood near the table. She shrugged out of her jacket and dropped it on the back of the chair.

  “Lucy has a dog,” Dot explained.

  Ruth raised a brow. “Lucy? Our Lucy?”

  “We can tease Lucy later.” Gloria changed the subject. “I need all of your help and fast!”

  Chapter 12

  Gloria outlined her dilemma. The girls clucked in sympathy when she got to the part where she feared her entire family would be moving in, lock stock and barrel. “So I need to figure out what in the world is going on at that house and fast!” she finished.

  Dot had returned with several cups of coffee and a small pot of hot water and packet of hot chocolate for Lucy.

  Lucy dumped the packet in the bottom of the empty cup then poured hot water over the top. She stirred the mix and took a sip. Her face puckered. “I think they stopped putting sugar in this stuff.”

  She reached for several sugar packets, tore the ends off three and dumped them into her cup. She stirred the contents and took a sip. “Much better,” she decided.

  Her gaze turned to Gloria. “What about another stakeout?”

  “But what would we stake out? The house is empty,” Ruth pointed out.

  Margaret snapped her fingers. “What about the real estate agent? She must know something more that she hasn’t shared.”

  Gloria suspected the same…that Sue Camp knew more than she was letting on. “I’ll track her down in the morning.”

  Dot returned. “Follow the money.” She refilled the girls’ cups and set the carafe on the edge of the table.

  Gloria looked up. Her eyes narrowed. “Follow the money and find out who cashed in the previous earnest money deposits.”

  She patted Dot’s hand. “Great idea. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Love has clouded your head,” Lucy joked.

  “That, or fear,” Ruth added.

  After Gloria and Lucy finished eating, they climbed back in the car. Lucy was carrying a small folded napkin.

  Gloria pointed at her lap. “Whatcha got in there?”

  Lucy’s eyes fell to her lap. “Just a little snack for Jasper.”

  “Hm.” Gloria smiled knowingly. Yep. The dog had officially taken over and now controlled Lucy’s life. She hoped that Max liked dogs…

  Back at Lucy’s ranch, Gloria waited for her friend to make her way inside before she pulled out of the driveway and headed home. She would need to get a good night’s rest. She wanted to be up early the next morning to corner Sue Camp in her office!

  ***

  Gloria, feeling guilty that she had left Mally at home the last few trips from the farm, decided to bring her sidekick along. Mally was happy as a clam to be in the car and going somewhere – anywhere!

  Green Springs Premier Realty’s parking lot was almost empty, except for two cars. She hoped that one of the cars belonged to Sue Camp.

  Gloria slid out of the driver’s seat. “I’ll be right back,” she told Mally. She wasn’t sure if they allowed dogs in the office and she didn’t want to give Sue Camp a single excuse for not talking to her.

  The front office door was unlocked. Gloria turned the knob and stepped inside. A young woman sat at the front desk, filing her fingernails. She looked up when Gloria closed the door behind her.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I’m looking for Sue Camp.”

  The girl’s eyes darted to the back of the building. “Let me see if she’s in.”

  Gloria smiled. “Thank you.”

  The girl slid out of the seat and scurried down the hall and out of sight.

  The girl returned a few moments later. “She is here and will be right with you.”

  Gloria nodded, then turned her attention to the bulletin board, chock full of houses for sale.

  Moments later, a surprised Sue Camp wandered into the reception area. “Oh! Hello Mrs. Rutherford. What b
rings you to my office bright and early this morning? Looking for a new home?”

  Sue Camp had heard the gossip. She knew that her client’s mother had given her money to purchase a new home.

  “I’m sure that my daughter, Jill, told you that as of right now, they are still moving forward on the purchase of 726 Pine Place.”

  The woman rested her hip against the counter. “Are you sure? I mean, that house has her a little rattled what with the mysterious notes and such.”

  Gloria pulled her purse in front of her and leveled her gaze. “Why do you think those things are happening, Ms. Camp?”

  The woman shrugged. “I wouldn’t have the slightest idea.”

  Gloria took a step forward. “None whatsoever?”

  The woman was nervous. Gloria could smell it from a mile away. “Who keeps the deposit money when a deal falls through?”

  “Not me,” she answered.

  “The sellers?” Gloria probed.

  “I don’t know where you’re going with all these questions.” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Look! I have no idea who is trying to drive off buyers. All I know is that it’s not me.”

  She turned on her heel and stomped into the back office, slamming the door behind her.

  The girl behind the counter gasped. Her mouth fell open, then quickly closed. She promptly clamped it shut and picked up her nail file.

  Gloria turned on her heel and slowly stepped out the front door. Something was going on and Gloria was determined to find out what!

  She climbed behind the wheel of her car and headed to Rapid Creek. There was still one neighbor Gloria hadn’t talked to; now was as good a time as any.

  She pulled in the drive at 726 Pine Place and climbed out of the car. Still prominently displayed in the front yard was the “for sale” sign, minus the “pending” part.

  Gloria stepped to the end of the drive and turned left, toward the two-story house next door. Once again, she heard the loud thump of rock music before she reached the door.

  Someone had tossed a newspaper into the grass out front. Out of habit, Gloria reached over to pick it up. The yard was full of land mines. Big land mines. Whoever lived inside this house had a large dog - or two.