"I'm going to go wait for Eliseo, mom. I don't want him to get lost in the crowd." Before she could say anything, he was off and cutting through various groups of people. Andrew was reading his book, ignoring everything that happened around him.
Jason and Eliseo returned before the service started and Sylvie had been right. Music filled the hour long service and before she knew it, the pastor had pronounced the benediction and everyone was up and moving.
Polly whispered to Henry, "That didn't take long at all! I was expecting to be here forever!"
He chuckled. "Maybe everyone wants to hurry over to Sycamore House for ice cream and pie!"
Polly checked her watch. It was only eleven thirty. There was plenty of time. They made their way through one of the lines to get a sandwich and corn and came back to their seats. She'd seen all of the families who were hosting Roy's kids. The boys were glad to see each other and ran back and forth from family to family until finally everyone settled in to eat.
"Roy isn't coming up for lunch, is he?" she asked Henry.
"No. I think he'll be glad to get the boys back to Chicago so they have freedom again. Either that or Sheriff Merritt needs to catch Mrs. Rothenfuss' killer so they can leave Sycamore House in peace.
"Who do you think did it?" Polly asked.
"I have no idea. It's hard to even think about it. These guys work in town. What kind of seedy underbelly of the community are they part of?"
Polly saw many of the people she knew from Bellingwood and soon, she and Henry picked up their chairs and walked back to his truck, stopping to speak with folks as they walked.
"I'm starting to get more comfortable here," she said. "I can put a few more names and faces together."
"It will get easier every day." He took her chair and tossed it in the bed of the truck. "Do you need me right away this afternoon?"
"No, that's fine. Just drop me off and whenever you come back - it's cool."
She stepped on the running board and climbed into the truck. It was never easy and trying to look ladylike while attempting the feat was nearly impossible.
"I have to stop next door at Mrs. Wilder's house. She caught me as I was leaving this morning and asked if I would look at her air conditioner. She's afraid it's not working as it should."
"Didn't you have to fix her furnace last winter?" Polly asked.
"I'm fixing it all the time. She told me that she was hoping it would outlive her." He chuckled. "Honestly, Polly, I don't think the woman is ever going to die. She's perfectly healthy. I may need to call her son."
"As long as she has you around to fix things, why would she buy anything new?"
"Don't even say that. It's like you are in her mind."
"Oh you love the attention and you know it."
He sighed. "My dad was always fixing things for her, so I guess his only escape was to run away to Arizona. Wanna run away with me?"
"Not yet. Maybe in forty or fifty years, though!" She winked at him and opened the truck door after he pulled into her driveway. "Thanks for taking me, I'll see you later."
She ran up the steps to her apartment and heard the television. Jaleel and Mickey were parked on her couch with Obiwan curled up between them. The cats jumped down from their perches on the back of the sofa to greet her.
"Hi guys, anything interesting on TV?"
"No, we're watching a movie. Roy went out to get some lunch. Is this okay?"
"Sure! You're fine. I'm just going to change my clothes."
She pulled on jeans and a light blue cotton sweater and slipped into her comfortable flip flops, then went back into the living room.
"Obiwan, come with me. You need to go outside."
"I wish I could take him out," Jaleel said.
"Maybe another time. We'll be back in a few minutes though."
She took the dog out and walked over to the trees by the creek. Obiwan knew every scent that was here and had marked every tree, but he still took his time.
"Let's go, you crazy dog. I have other things to do today!"
When Polly and Obiwan got back upstairs, Roy had returned with sandwiches and corn on the cob and the boys were seated at Polly's table with him. He looked up when he heard her.
"Thank you for allowing us to use your apartment," he said. "It's been a lifesaver."
"Well, I think it's the least I can do since the boys are trapped here. Maybe you boys can sneak into the kitchen later and get some pie and ice cream. I'll let Sylvie know you're coming down."
She turned to Roy. "I'll text you when things get going and Sylvie has some free time in the kitchen."
"Thanks, Polly."
By one thirty, the tables were filled with pies. Those which were entered into the contest were pulled back and marked. The judges had taken their seats on stage and Jeff was organizing the young people who would be running pieces of pie back and forth. Sylvie had another group of kids lined up in the kitchen to serve and manage ice cream.
The auditorium filled with people, laughing and eating dessert. Polly could always tell when someone's pie was in front of a judge. She watched the tension ripple around the room until marks were made and they moved on to the next one. This was so much fun to watch from the outside. She was glad that she wasn't competing today.
Sylvie gave her a nod and Polly texted Roy that the boys could come downstairs. Their friends were all seated together at one of the tables while the hosts milled around the room. The boys were laughing and joking until one of them recognized Mickey in the kitchen and whispered to the others and pointed. Polly quickly strode over to their table and silenced them.
"Are they living here now? What's going on? Are they in trouble? Did they kill that woman?" The questions came popping out of the boys' mouths.
"If you can wait a minute," Polly said, "I’ll send Roy out to tell you what’s going on. Everything is okay and the boys are fine."
She threaded her way through the crowd and ducked into the kitchen. Mickey and Jaleel were sitting at the back table with a large bowl of ice cream and two pieces of pie apiece.
"Where's Roy?" she asked Sylvie.
"Right here, Polly," he said, coming out of the storage room. "What's up?"
"Your kids in the auditorium have an awful lot of questions. They got a glimpse of Mickey and are curious. Maybe you should go spend some time with them. I'll stay in here with the boys."
Roy rolled his eyes. "Of course they did. Thanks Polly. I'll talk to them."
"At least they're all together," she called as he left the room.
"This is a mess, Sylvie. I wish we knew who did this so these poor boys could get back to normal."
"They're going home on Tuesday, aren't they? And since this closes down Bellingwood Days, at least the crowds won't be wandering around."
"I suppose. I don't like it, though."
"Could I have some more ice cream?" Jaleel had come up to stand between the two women.
"Sure, honey. I'll bring you another bowl. Go on back and sit down."
But the boy didn't move. He stared straight ahead and then instinct must have finally kicked in and he dropped to a crouch behind the counter.
Polly ducked down with him. "What is it, Jaleel? Did you see him? Is he here?"
The boy's eyes had gone white and his skin was pale and clammy. He pointed to the auditorium. "He saw me. He's going to know I told you. He's going to kill us!"
Sylvie stood her ground and watched the crowd while listening to Polly ask questions.
Polly looked up at her. "Do you have your phone?"
"Right here."
"Text Aaron that Jaleel recognized the murderer and he's in the room. You haven't seen anyone try to get out, have you?"
"He's trying to leave right now," Sylvie said.
"Do you see who it is?"
"It's Mike Lee, the teller from the bank. He's heading for the door."
"Call Aaron. I'm going after him."
"Polly!" Sylvie cried.
"Call Aaron!"
&nbs
p; Polly saw a tall, blond man moving quickly through the tables. She ran out the door to the hallway and rushed to the main doors where he would exit, then stood there and waited for him.
She stepped inside the doors and saw him come barreling at her. He had picked up speed and began darting to move past her. She moved with him and before she knew it, he had pushed her backwards onto the floor and was running past her into the hallway heading for the front door. Polly jumped up and ran after him, but was stunned when Eliseo simply put his arm out and caught the man in the chest, dropping him to the ground.
"Did you need some help, Polly?" Eliseo asked, chuckling. "I assumed that any person who was willing to put you on the ground might need to be stopped."
She panted, "He's the one who murdered Cindy Rothenfuss. Don't let him get up."
Eliseo looked down at Mike Lee. "He'll sit here until the Sheriff arrives, won't you buddy."
Aaron came out of the middle doors of the auditorium and looked at the three of them beside the stairway.
"You just won't let me do my job, will you, Polly?"
"He was getting away!"
Two deputies came in the front door. One of them, Stu Decker, she knew very well. He had spent hours at Sycamore House while she, Lydia, Beryl and Andy had sorted through crates of pop culture that had been found in the basement when she first arrived.
"He wasn't getting away, Polly. We were ready for him."
"Well, no one ever tells me anything!" she complained. "How did you know he'd be here?"
"Everyone from the bank is here today because of the quilt show. I had a feeling something might erupt. It always does around you, so I invited my boys up for pie and ice cream. They hadn't made it inside yet. I'm so glad you didn't disappoint me."
"Will you tell me why you killed her?" Polly asked the man who had been lifted up by Stu Decker and stood with his hands cuffed behind his back.
"She was about to ruin everything."
"Stop right there," Aaron said. "I don't want to hear another word until you know your rights."
Mike Lee spat on the floor. "I know my rights. I figure those little brats have told you everything and you have my fingerprints by now. I'm done."
Aaron shook his head and looked at Stu, who quickly recited the guy's Miranda Rights to him.
"Whatever," Mike Lee said. "I killed the bitch. We had a good thing going and I was about to seal the deal. She panicked and I told her that I didn't need her anymore."
"What did you need her for?"
"It was all her idea. I just moved a little bit of money every day from people I knew never checked their statements. I've been doing this a long time. I know who does what. It's amazing how many people come in to me and ask me to help them balance their checkbooks. I started offering to do it for more and more people when I noticed they were stumbling through with the other tellers. Everyone thought I was so nice."
"How long has this been going on?" Polly asked, thinking back to the elderly couple who had been at his window the day she was making a deposit.
"About four months. She came in and started flirting with me. I couldn't believe the boss's wife was paying any attention to me. Usually, she's all uppity around us. She took me to lunch and then she showed up at the bank one day just before closing and well ... let's just say we had a relationship. Then, I don't know whether she found Jesus or what, but she told me I had to stop and put everything back. The auditors are coming this week and I had to be out of town before they got here."
"So you decided to kill her?"
"We were going to meet in Boone for one last fling. I made her think I was begging her for it. At first I thought I would be able to talk her out of it, especially since she was willing to see me. But then I realized she'd never stop harassing me. She told me what she had done to the Devins family and that Mr. Devins finally had to leave town because she threatened him. I either had to get rid of her or give everything up. So, I was going to kill her down at the Ledges, but my car broke down. It was just pure, dumb luck those boys went off in the ditch instead of killing me. I knew who they were and figured they didn't have much of a life anyway. All I had to do was scare them back to Chicago."
"Heard enough, Polly?" Aaron asked.
"All of this for money?" Polly had an overwhelming urge to hit the man, but restrained herself.
"It was a lot of money. I was even going to take her with me until she went psycho on me."
Polly turned to Aaron, "It sounds like that was about the time she was going crazy on everyone around here. I'll bet she just couldn't manage any more guilt."
Barry Rothenfuss had walked into the foyer in the middle of Mike Lee's confession, his sister-in-law with him.
"Is it over now, Sheriff?" he asked.
"I think it is, Barry. I'm sorry for your loss and that one of your employees had anything to do with it."
"The auditors will be in tomorrow morning. I'm going to have a terrible time explaining how I let this get so out of hand."
Angela took his arm, "I won't leave tonight. There's no reason for me to hurry back to Bettendorf. I can call my boss and get some extra time. If you need me, I'll be here."
Polly slid a glance at Aaron who gave her a small smile.
"You go on back in and enjoy the rest of the afternoon," Aaron said to her. "I'll get these boys headed down to Boone and be back before Lydia even knows I've gone."
Eliseo took Polly's arm, "Did he hurt you?"
"I'm fine," she said. "Maybe a little embarrassed. I can't believe he knocked me down like that."
They followed Barry and Angela back into the auditorium. The judges were announcing the winners of the pie contest and though Polly didn't recognize any of the names, she grinned as they took their ribbons from Jeff and Sylvie. She loved having Sycamore House filled with people doing things they loved.
The room grew quiet as Barry Rothenfuss followed Jeff up to the stage.
Jeff introduced him and Barry spoke.
"I know that there have been many rumors about my wife's death and I thank everyone in the community who chose to support me through this, rather than perpetuate any ugliness. The quilt show has been a passion of hers for years and I am proud to support any group that creates these beautiful pieces of artwork.
“The judges have spent time with each of these quilts and I am proud to announce that Visions of the Sea by Mabel Otto is our first place winner this year. The second place winner is African Morning by Betty Muning and third place goes to Lisa Bradford for her Boys at Play. Congratulations to each of these women for their hard work this last year and I look forward to seeing you all again next year.”
He handed the microphone back to Jeff and quickly left the stage. Jeff followed him and guided him into the back storage room. Polly saw that Angela was waiting at the door and slipped through it to follow them. Now that the excitement was over, the noise returned to higher decibel levels.
"I can't leave you for a minute, can I?" Henry came in the front door with Aaron.
"You told him, didn't you," she accused the Sheriff.
"Don't yell at him. You're the one who chased a murderer," Henry laughed. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she sputtered. "Just fine. If you'd been here earlier, maybe you could have been the one to stop him in his tracks, but no. I needed Eliseo to give me a hand."
"You didn't need anyone. We were on it, remember?" Aaron laughed.
"You. Go find your wife," Polly said. "Tell her not to worry about me. I'm fine."
"You find bodies and then get into physical altercations. Polly Giller, you are going to be the death of me."
"But, it will be a fun death, right?" She laughed. “Who would I call if I found your body, though, and can you imagine those odds at the death pool over at the elevator?”
“You have got to be more careful, Polly.” Henry said to her, steering her away from the auditorium toward her office.
“I will. I promise,” she said.
"You're
not even going to protest?"
"Not today. Bellingwood Days is nearly over and everything has been a success. Roy can let his boys run free, now that no one is threatening them. My auditorium is packed with people having a good time, my horses are healthy and happy, and I have watched two of my favorite young boys do things they never would have considered doing a year ago. It's been a great week."
She stopped and looked up at him. "Don't even think about bringing up the bad stuff. I know it's all out there. I know that I'm probably not done with Ruth Ann Marshall and I'm certain that there will be more between me and Uncle Clyde."
He laughed, "That doesn’t surprise me! You can't let something like that go. You are going to have to try to fix it with him, aren't you?"
Polly batted her eyes at him, "And you will help me, won’t you."
"You know I will, pretty girl. You know I will." He pulled her in close and kissed her. "Is there anything else good that you can think of?"
"I told you I loved you," she whispered in his ear. "And I meant it."
"I know,” he smiled, then said. “I love you too.”
THANK YOU
I hope you have enjoyed uncovering some secrets from Polly’s life. There are plenty more to be revealed over the years.
Check out the Bellingwood Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pollygiller
for news about upcoming books, conversations while I’m writing and you’re reading, and a continued look at life in a small town.
Diane Greenwood Muir’s Amazon Author Page is a great place to watch for new releases. Book #5 – will be released at the end of January 2014 and there will be a Christmas short story to watch for in December 2013.
Recipes and decorating ideas found in the books can often be found on Pinterest at:
http://pinterest.com/nammynools/
And, if you are looking for Sycamore House swag, check out Polly’s CafePress store:
http://www.cafepress.com/sycamorehouse
HIDDEN IN THE TREES
CHAPTER ONE
Secrets and Revelations (Bellingwood #4) Page 31
