"Is there anything the law is going to do to him or anything they can do for him?" Lydia asked.
"Well, the thefts of the stuff in the school are long past the statute of limitations unless you five come up with something that got stored there in the last three years. Honestly, though, I suspect he's not so much a thief as he is someone who sees something, picks it up and stows it away. It wasn't so bad when he was busy all the time working at the school, but the older he's gotten, I'm going to bet that wagon he totes around has more in it than pop bottles.
"The landlord says he never misses his rent and pays his bills on time. There's no reason to arrest him, so I have to be careful. But, if he needs our help, I want to make sure he gets it."
Lydia looked sad, "That would be too bad. And I suppose it does make sense when you look at it that way. Even if he was taking things out of kids' lockers, he probably thought he was getting them all together in the right place. He spent a lot of time down there in the basement and maybe having all those things around him made him feel like he was part of the kids' lives.”
"He didn't have a family or anything, did he?" Polly asked.
"No. Even when I knew him in the seventies, he was a lonely old man. He'd stand by himself at all of the basketball and football games, leaning on his broom. Other custodians came and went through the years, but he stuck around, doing his job and keeping an eye on the place.
"Andy and Sylvie probably remember better than I do, but when they closed that building, he was pretty upset. He looked like he lost the only family he'd ever had. And the worst thing is, if he lost all the memories he'd collected about that family, it had to even be harder on him.
"He seemed to do alright for a few years. I think he worked at the elementary school for a while, so the school could make sure he had some money coming in.
"You know, Aaron. You might want to talk to the principal over there to make sure they don't have something like the cache found in Polly's school." Lydia had been slowly running her hand up and down her husband’s forearm while she talked.
He reached across with his free hand and grasped hers. "That's a good idea, love. You're so smart. I'll call her on Monday." Aaron keyed some strokes into his phone and set it back down on the table.
"They finally had to let him retire," Lydia continued her musing. "You remember that, don't you Aaron? The whole community came out for it. That was in, what, 1995? I think that's about right. We still had three kids in school here in town. But then, when he didn't have anything to do, he cleaned up the streets. He picked pop bottles up and recycled them. You know, he was picking trash up too." Her face became pensive. "We all thought he was throwing it in the trash bins around town. What if he took it all home. Oh, Aaron. We have to help this man!"
"I love you, dear. We will do what we can for him. But, we can't do anything if he doesn't want our help. There's nothing illegal about picking up trash and keeping it,” Aaron explained patiently.
"I know that, but it's just wrong! He can't live that way and be healthy."
Aaron rolled his eyes. "Well, it looks like my wife has a new project."
He continued, "Before you go off your rocker, dear, you have to let me talk to him first and make sure he hasn't done anything wrong with all this stuff he's got laying around. If Sylvie thinks he took the coat out of her locker, he could still be taking things from people."
"Oh, you know better than that,” she challenged. “She knew it wasn’t lost, but who knows if she didn't leave it on a bleacher or in a chair in one of the classrooms. Maybe she went back to get it and it was gone. That wasn't really stealing, now was it? And it was twenty years ago. It was a non-event in her life and you can't turn it into a big event now."
"Well," said Aaron to Polly, "I guess this is my fault. I asked for it and I got it. I can almost guarantee that by Easter of next year, poor old Doug Leon will be living in an immaculate apartment and will somehow find himself participating in social events all over town. Poor old guy."
Polly laughed with him, "And he'll love it or else, won't he!"
"Well!" Lydia said, scowling at both of them. "We'll see, won't we!"
"I am curious, though, about the coat and t-shirt that don't fit the timeline," Polly said.
"So are we. DCI is doing their job and they'll let us know when and if they have something. I suspect we'll know more midweek and I'll be sure to let you know what I can." Aaron replied.
After dinner, they cleaned up the kitchen and Aaron went downstairs to turn on the television. Polly and Lydia followed him down and before too long, Polly found herself nodding off in the big sofa. She jolted awake when Lydia said, "You know, the bed upstairs is much more comfortable."
"What?" Polly said, looking around, "Oh. Sorry."
She and Lydia were alone. "Aaron has already gone to bed. Let's you and I go upstairs and find pillows for our heads, alright?" Lydia turned off the television and followed Polly up to the second floor. "Goodnight dear. I do enjoy having you here. It's like a party every time you show up."
Polly sighed, "I'm ready to have real parties and not nights out because people might be threatening my life."
"We take what we've been given, dear. And I'm glad I've been given a little time with you. Good night, dear. Sleep well."
Polly opened the door to the room she had used before, saw her bag at the foot of the bed, went into the bathroom to wash her face and teeth, pulled her clothes off and put a nightshirt on. When she crawled under the blankets, she remembered that she had immediately fallen asleep the last time she had been in the bed. That was the last thing that crossed her mind until the next morning.
Chapter Twenty
Polly pulled into the parking lot of the school and sat for a moment in her truck leaning her head back and wondering when it was going to get normal again. When would she be able to go home by herself and soak in a long shower or put her feet up and read a book or stretch out and watch television or sit in front of the computer for a couple of hours doing mindless reading? She felt a little tired of having to rely on other people to take care of her and wanted to let everyone get back to their normal lives so she could get back to hers.
Aaron hadn't heard anything about Joey this morning before she left their house and she assumed he had probably hit the road and run. Now that he had another assault in his back pocket, sticking around would be stupid and she didn't think he was stupid. She sighed, reached over and grabbed her overnight bag and got out. The gravel and grass was still scuffed up from the activity last night as she walked to the front door. Putting her key in the lock, she opened it and went inside, being careful to relock the door behind her. A quick shower and maybe another nap would help get her head back together before Lydia picked her up to go down and see Doug in the hospital.
She shook her head. Stupid kids. They should have run away. She wouldn't have cared what Joey did to this place as long as they were alright. She dropped her keys on the newel post and walked upstairs to her room. The mess he'd made of that room was enough to make her want to cry last night, but she had time today to get it all back in order.
Polly opened the door to her room and dropped her bag on the floor in surprise.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" she asked. Joey was sitting at the end of her bed. Everything had been straightened up, the bed was made and her suitcase was packed with her clothes.
"It's time to go, Polly. I'm not going to put up with any more of your protestations." He stood up, took the suitcase in one hand and grabbed her arm with the other.
She wrenched away from him. "I'm not going anywhere with you." She fumbled in her purse for her phone and he knocked it to the floor.
"Polly, I have been more than patient with you. But, finding two young men in your house last night was more than even I could tolerate. You have got to stop having all these relationships with other men. You know how jealous I can be and yet you continue to test me."
"You ass," she said. "Those boys are
ten years younger than me and they've been staying downstairs because someone tried to break in. I would never do anything stupid with them. But, that doesn't make any difference," she went on. "This is absolutely crazy. I'm not going with you."
"I was afraid you were going to be stubborn about this." He pulled a small gun out of his jacket pocket. "You see, I knew that eventually you were going to force me to do something rash. I guess we're at that point now. Pick up your purse and your bag. We're leaving."
Polly didn't know what else to do so she obeyed him, scooping her phone into her purse as she bent over to grab the overnight bag.
"Now, we're going out to your truck. Move it,” he demanded.
She walked down the stairs and he snatched her keys off the post.
"You'll drive," he said. "Now get in the truck."
He took her purse and bag from her and tossed them in behind the front seat. They both got in and she said, "Well, where are we going?"
"They might expect us to head east. We're going to Kansas City, instead, by way of Omaha. Now, drive."
He handed her the keys and she turned them in the ignition.
"Don't do anything foolish, Polly,” he said. “Head over to Highway 17 and go south. We're not going through Boone. We're not going to go anywhere near your precious little friends. There's no one now who will stop me from making you my wife."
"Bet me," she said under her breath, but decided that it wasn't yet time for her to escalate the situation, so she asked "How did you get in the school?"
"Oh you all are so trusting with your stuff. I don't know how you got so lazy and stupid. It must be from breathing all this pig crap out here. You had extra keys in your purse, so I took one of those yesterday morning.
“After all the activity last night, I knew you'd run away from this place, so I came back, unlocked the door and made myself at home. You had a pretty nice thing going there, it's too bad you won't be able to finish it. But, I promise that if what you want is a building to renovate, I'll find one in Boston and we'll work on it together. Just think of all the fun we could have. You could do all of your fun little things and I might open up a learning center. Maybe even a museum. I could bring in some artifacts and hire people to spend time deciphering them. We could do everything together and it would be a wonderful life. We’d even build an apartment so our children would grow up in the middle of all of the excitement. That's what you want, isn't it, baby?"
Polly ignored his comment and asked, “So, what happened after Billy chased you off." She turned and glanced at him, "Do you know you put that poor boy in the hospital? This is another assault charge for you! When Sheriff Merritt gets his hands on you, he's going to make sure you don't come up to breathe for a very long time."
"He's not going to catch me, Polly. We'll be long gone before he knows what has happened. And besides, if they were to find me, I'd claim self-defense. I was protecting the property of my wife. How was I to know those boys weren't there to hurt you and destroy everything. They had weapons and it seems they weren't afraid to use them." He rubbed the side of his head, then curled his upper lip, "In fact, I might even press charges against the one who hit me. That was assault with a deadly weapon, you know."
"That's crap, Joey. You attacked them and you know it."
"I was only protecting what was rightfully mine, Polly. If you would simply stop protesting against our love and agree I am right about us, everything would be okay. I don't want to have to hurt anybody, but if they're trying to take you away from me, I have to stop that. It's not right and I can't allow it."
Polly breathed out. She knew better than to expect lucidity from him at this point.
"Alright then, where did you go last night when you ran away from the school?"
"Oh, Polly, these hicks out here are so easy. I parked my car in an abandoned barn down the road. Doesn't anyone ever lock anything? I drove in and there was no one around. Miles and miles of emptiness. I can't believe there isn't more crime out here,” he shook his head in disgust, then continued, "I started walking back into town, and this farmer in an old pickup truck pulled over and asked if I needed a ride. He was going up to Webster City and was more than happy to drop me off at the convenience store on the highway. Stupid man thought he was doing some great favor for a poor boy heading into town to see his mama. I spun quite the yarn for him about how I'd come in to Boone from North Dakota on the bus and that my mama was too sick to come down to get me, so I decided to walk home. He asked me a couple of questions about where she lived and since this town is so ignorant and names its streets after presidents and trees, it was easy to make something up. The old man drove off feeling like he'd been a Good Samaritan. I'll bet he went back to his house and told everybody there about what a wonderful thing he'd done.
"I saw all the flashing lights over here and figured that the sheriff was here. Has he been making passes at you too, Polly? He shouldn't do that. He's supposed to represent safety to his constituents and his wife would be upset if she knew he was messing around with you."
"Joey, that's sick. He and his wife are friends of mine. Both of them. And he would never do anything like that. He has honor that you will never understand." she retorted.
"I don't believe you, but that's alright. We're leaving all of that behind. When I finally get a ring on your finger, the whole world will know that you are taken and that I have the right to ensure your safety. No one will ever lay a hand on you again," his eyes got dark as he looked her up and down, "except me. And then, I am going to enjoy every minute I have with you. I've waited a long time for this. And I agree that it was smart of you to make us wait to get physical. It will be that much better when we're finally married. You will find out how much I can give you pleasure and how much I want to do that for you."
Polly shuddered. She couldn't help it. Something in the deepest part of her heart must have kept her away from Joey physically all those months. He'd never tried anything with her, but she'd never encouraged anything either. There had been plenty of other boys in her life who had received her kisses and a little passion, but not Joey. As she thought about it, it occurred to her that was weird. Wow, her brain was smarter than she gave it credit. Or her heart or something like that.
Joey was still blathering at her about all of the functions they would attend together and how he would dress her in beautiful gowns and then enjoy taking them off of her. He went on and on about the nights he wanted to spend with her until she completely shut him out. She didn't want to hear it, but she wasn't going to argue any longer with him.
Polly drove and kept trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this. It was beyond anything her imagination could come up with. They drove through Des Moines and she turned onto Interstate 80 heading west.
It had been years since she'd been to Omaha and that time her Dad drove. He had taken her and two friends from high school over to the Joslyn Museum for a doll house exhibit. They'd thought they were so uptown. He'd made it a big weekend for them. The Joslyn, the zoo, a big steakhouse with Christmas tree lights all over. They'd walked around downtown and had ridden in a horse drawn carriage. It had been a wonderful weekend. She barely remembered those girls now and wondered what they were doing on this Sunday.
Her truck made a beeping sound and she realized they needed gas.
"What was that?" Joey asked.
"We need gas. Can I pull off at the next exit?"
"Well, of course! You stay in the truck and I'll fill the tank."
"Joey. I'm going to have to go to the bathroom," she said.
"We'll deal with that. Let's get gas first and then pull up to the front and we'll go inside."
She did what he asked. She pulled up and he reached over and took the keys. He ran inside and paid for gas, then came back out and pumped it himself. When he got back in, he told her to pull up to the front of the store. They both walked inside, his hand firmly on her elbow. He walked with her to the bathroom and said, "I'll wait right here for
you. Please don't do anything stupid. I won't hurt you, but I don't want to hurt anyone in here, either." Before she could walk away, he nudged her with the gun in his pocket.
Polly went in, sat down and tried to think. How was she going to get out of this? She'd heard of kidnap victims who left messages on bathroom stalls, but realized didn’t have any way to make that happen. She was going to have to think about that at the next stop, so she got up and went back out. Joey hadn't waited. He was checking out at the cash register and when he saw her, he stepped away and took her arm again. Walking back with him, she waited while he paid for the items and they went out to the truck. The clerk never looked at either of them and Polly couldn't signal anyone around her.
"You're still driving. I don't trust you. Now get in. I promise things will get better when we get back to Boston. I really do promise, Polly." He tried to reach across the seat to kiss her on the cheek, but she backed up and pushed him away. He moved to his side of the truck and pulled his seatbelt on.
Polly pulled onto the interstate and Joey took two bottles of water out and opened one, placing it into the well in front of her. "Here. I didn't want to get you any caffeine. We're going to make as few stops as possible."
She didn't say anything. She didn't want to talk to him and while she drove, she tried to come up with any possible remedy to this situation. No one knew she was even gone. The clock on the dash read eleven thirty. Lydia was supposed to pick her up at one o'clock to go to Boone, but until then she was on her own and they’d be in Omaha by then. Joey had thrust her purse with the phone in it behind her seat and set the overnight bag and suitcase on top so it was out of easy reach. There was nothing she could do without provoking him, so she continued to drive.
All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) Page 21
