"He's always hurting himself, if it's the same boy I'm thinking of," Kayla said. "He comes to school all the time with bandages on."
They drove past the inn and Polly waved at Grey, who was standing in front of the rooms, talking to one of the cleaning ladies.
"That man is kinda different," Kayla said. "He talks weird."
"He's a nice man," Polly responded. "He talks the way people used to talk. Very courteous and polite."
Kayla leaned forward as they entered the trailer park. "She lives down a few spaces from us. Turn here."
Polly followed Kayla's directions to a blue trailer with an attractive deck in front and flowers in flower boxes on the front windows. She pulled in beside it and said, "You two stay here unless I beckon for you, okay?"
She didn't wait for them to respond, but jumped out and headed for the front door.
The inside door was open when Polly knocked on the sill. "Is anyone here?" she called out.
A young girl ran to the door and said, "Who are you?"
"I'm Polly. Are you Gina? Were we just talking on the telephone?"
The girl looked at Polly, then back in toward the back of the trailer and then at Polly again. "He hurt himself really bad this time. There's blood everywhere."
"Did you try to call your Mom?"
"She can't take calls at work. They get mad at her."
"I know you aren't supposed to let strangers come into your house, but do you know Rebecca and Kayla?" Polly waved at the girls in the truck, then turned her hand and gestured for them to join her.
"I've seen them before. They're older than me, though."
Rebecca came up to stand beside Polly. "Hi, Gina," she said. "Is your brother hurt?"
"He's bleeding," the little girl said.
"This is Polly," Rebecca said. "She's my mom now. Can she come in and try to help?"
Gina looked to the back of the trailer again and finally she said, "Bean can't talk anymore. Maybe you better." She tripped the lock on the storm door and pushed it open.
"Can you show me where he is?" Polly asked.
The girl took Polly down a hallway and when she turned into the bathroom, it looked as if there had been a murder. Blood was everywhere. A boy was lying on the tile floor with a towel wrapped around his head.
Polly stepped back out and took a deep breath. She went in, knelt down beside him, and said, "Bean, can you hear me?"
His eyes fluttered open and she breathed a sigh of relief, then drew out her phone. "I'm calling the EMTs. He needs a doctor. Gina, why don't you go out and talk to Rebecca and Kayla while Bean and I wait. Okay?"
Gina shook her head. "I'm not leaving him. We're supposed to take care of each other." She sat down beside her brother and took his hand into her lap, clutching it with both of her little hands.
Polly dialed 9-1-1 and gave them her location and the situation in front of her. When she hung up, she said, "Gina, I need you to find a blanket for your brother. He's lost a lot of blood and his body is going to be cold. He needs to warm up."
"But it's summertime," Gina protested.
"I know, but this is different. Go get a blanket. Hurry." Polly tried to put as much urgency into her voice as possible. The girl jumped up and ran out of the bathroom.
"Someone is coming to help you, Bean. You're going to be okay," Polly said. "Just hold on. Can you tell me what happened?"
He mumbled something and she bent in closer to hear what he said, but that was when Gina came running back in with a comforter. "I took this off my bed," she said. "Well, the end of my bed because it's too hot to have on in the summer. Mom's going to be mad if it gets blood on it, though."
"That will wash out. And I doubt that she'll be mad at you for taking care of your brother."
"He hurts himself all the time. Mom says he's always pulling stupid stunts. She says that sometime he's going to do something so stupid he can't come back from it."
"What did he do this time?" Polly asked.
Gina took her brother's hand again. "He fell off the roof."
"How did he cut his head?"
"When he broke one of Mom's flowerpots out back with his head. He made it to the bathroom and passed out on the floor and fell down again and hit his head on the pot."
The poor kid probably had a concussion.
"We need to call your Mom," Polly said. "I think he's going to have to go to the hospital. He's hurt pretty badly. Do you have her phone number?"
"She'll get in trouble," Gina repeated.
"I'll make the call and deal with whatever trouble comes from it. Can you get me her number?"
The sounds of sirens interrupted whatever Gina was going to do and Polly stepped out of the room to meet them. The first person in the door was the same young man who had brought Denis to Sycamore House. Polly led him to the bathroom and told him what she knew, then turned to ask Gina for her mother's number again.
It took a few moments to get through the switchboard, but Polly finally made them understand that it was an emergency and they put her on hold.
"Hello, this is Darla Landry. Who is this? What's wrong?"
"Mrs. Landry, my name is Polly Giller. I own Sycamore House here in Bellingwood."
"I know who you are. Why are you calling me?"
"I'm at your home with your children. Your son fell off the roof and cut his head open quite badly and I'm afraid he might have a concussion. We've called the EMTs and they believe he should go to the hospital."
"What? How did you get there?" Before Polly could respond, the woman said, "I'm clocking out and I'll be home in a minute."
"I can tell you everything, but would you talk to the EMT. They may direct you to the hospital in Boone instead."
Polly handed her phone over and after a short discussion with the boy's mother, he handed the phone back and they wheeled him out of the trailer.
"Are you still there, Mrs. Landry?" Polly asked.
"Yes. Do you have Gina? Where's her babysitter?"
"Is that a girl named Abby?"
"Yes. I knew she was going to be late this morning, but she should be there by now. I don't know what to do about Gina."
"I can take her back to Sycamore House with me if you don't mind. My daughter, Rebecca, and her friend, Kayla are with me. They know Gina and Brennan from school."
The woman took a short breath. "Rebecca is the girl you adopted after her mother died, right?"
"That's right. I promise you that Sycamore House is a safe place for kids."
"I know that," Mrs. Landry said. "My kids did the after school program there on Mondays. Gina knows the building. You're okay with this? You don't mind?"
"I don't at all."
"How did you get there, though?"
"I'm not sure how it happened, but the number that the girl, Abby, programmed into your phone came into my office," Polly said. "Gina sounded worried and I asked my girls if they knew who she was and we came down here. Kayla lives not far from you. Can you give me any more information on Abby? What's her last name? I feel like we should check on her."
"It's Abby Belran. I'll try to reach her, but she lives up on Monroe. One-o-nine. It's on the north side. A little blue house. If I hear that she's okay and just skipped out, I'll call you back. This is your cell phone, right?"
"It sure is."
"Does Gina still have the other phone?"
"Yes she does."
"May I speak with her?"
Polly handed her phone to Gina. "Your mom wants to talk to you."
"Mommy?" Gina asked. She listened and looked up at Polly and then glanced at Kayla and Rebecca, nodding the entire time. "Okay. I will." Finally she handed the phone back to Polly.
"Mrs. Landry?"
"Gina knows she's going with you. Thank you so much for taking care of us today."
"No problem. I'm glad I was here. I'll talk to you later when you know more about your son."
They hung up and Polly glanced back toward the bathroom. She thought about the amoun
t of blood that had been in that room and all of a sudden, she saw spots and felt dizzy. She groped for the wall and Rebecca reached out to grab her arm.
"Are you okay?"
"Chair. Sit me down," Polly said.
Rebecca and Kayla led her to the couch, Polly sat down hard, and then dropped her head between her knees. She took a few deep breaths and waited for the dizziness to pass.
"What's wrong?" Kayla asked.
Rebecca chuckled. "Blood." She rubbed Polly's shoulders and said, "I couldn't believe you were in that room taking care of that boy. I thought you would pass out."
Polly looked up at her. "I guess he needed me more than I needed to faint. I hate to ask this of you, but are either of you in good enough shape to be able to gather up those towels and the blanket? I want to take them back to Sycamore House and wash the blood out before it sets in too much."
"I got it," Kayla said. "Do you have a laundry basket, Gina?"
Once they were in the truck, Polly took several deep breaths before driving away. She turned to the girls in the back seat. "Gina, have you ever been to Abby's house?"
Gina nodded. "I know right where it is."
"Okay. I want to check on her next. Does she live with her parents?"
"Her mom is dead," Gina said. "It's just her and her dad. She has a sister in college, but Abby's still in high school. Her dad isn't home much. I think he drives a truck."
Polly drove back onto the highway, turning north on Elm Street. She drove past the downtown and turned left on Monroe Street. Gina pointed to a small blue house and Polly pulled into the driveway. She checked her phone to make sure that Darla Landry hadn't called back, but there had been no calls.
"You kids stay here," Polly said. "I'll just knock on the door and see if she answers. Maybe she overslept and had her phone turned to silent."
She walked up the steps to the front porch. When there was no response to the doorbell, she opened the storm door and rapped sharply on the door. "Abby Belran, are you in there? I'm Polly Giller. Are you here?" She knocked twice more and when there was no answer, she got frustrated and tried the door knob.
The door opened and Polly stepped partway in. "Abby? Abby Belran? Are you here?"
Still no response. Polly didn't know whether to be nosy and check further or just to leave it. It felt wrong to walk away, so she stepped back on the porch and held up a finger to the girls, telling them she'd be just another minute.
"Abby? I'm Polly Giller and I'm here to check on you. Are you here?" Polly had entered into the kitchen at the front of the house. She turned left into a small living room. The door to what looked like a high school girl's room was ajar, so she crossed the room and pushed it open, then dropped to her knees.
"No," she said quietly. "Not again.
The young girl lay half on and half off her bed, blood congealed in a pool below her. A large gash was opened at the back of her head and beside her was a broken marble clock that was obviously the murder weapon.
Polly stepped back out into the living room and then in her need to get as far away from it as possible, walked into the kitchen and made a call.
"Oh Polly," Aaron Merritt said. "What have you found?"
"She's just a high school girl," Polly said. "And she lives with her dad. I know this will destroy him. I can't imagine what Dad would have done if I'd died, too. Her mother is gone..."
"Polly, where are you," he asked gently.
"I'm at 109 Monroe. Abby Belran. I've seen too much blood this morning, Aaron. I have three kids in my truck and I don't know what to do next."
"Can you call someone to get the girls? I'm on my way. Just hold on, I'll be there as fast as I can."
"I'll call Sylvie. Maybe she and Rachel can come up. This has been a rough morning, Aaron."
"Make the call. Go sit outside. We'll be there."
Polly went out the door to the porch and gave a quick wave to the truck and started to call Sylvie, but remembered that she was trying desperately to get the bakery up and running. She'd come, but that wasn't fair. Joss would do this for her, but she was out of town. She made another call.
"Hello, dear," Lydia said. "How are you this bright August morning? Are you ready for the kids to be back in school?"
"Hello Lydia and no, I love having them around. It will be nice to have a schedule again, though. I have a favor to ask. Are you busy this morning?"
"I'm making a chicken casserole for Sandy and Benji Davis. They just brought home a new baby. Why do you ask?"
"Is the casserole in the oven yet?"
"No, I just finished mixing it. Do you need me?"
"I really do. I would have called Sylvie, but she's got too much on her mind this week."
"No, honey," Lydia said. "You were right to call me. How can I help you?"
"I have three girls sitting in the back of my truck and I just had to call your husband."
"Oh, honey. I hoped that poor Julie Smith would be enough."
"Me too, but I walked into it this morning. I swear, Lydia, sometimes the universe goes out of its way to get me involved. Would you be able to pick the girls up and take them back to Sycamore House for me?"
"Kayla and Rebecca?" Lydia asked
"And Gina Landry. We were at her house because her brother had fallen and hurt himself really badly and their babysitter hadn't shown up. Then I came over to check on the babysitter and she's the girl I found."
"This sounds awfully convoluted," Lydia said. "But I've put the casserole in the refrigerator and after I wash my hands and find my keys, I'll be right there."
"Thank you so much. You're a life saver."
Polly gave Lydia the address and ended the call. Now she had to decide what to tell the girls in her back seat. She preferred being up front and honest with the kids in her life. It made answering questions so much easier. She took a deep breath and walked over to the truck.
Rebecca opened the back door and said, "What's up?"
Polly looked at the ground and then back up and said, "I need to tell you what's happened."
"Oh no," Rebecca said and reached out to touch Polly's arm. "Are you okay?"
"What?" Kayla asked and glanced at Rebecca before looking at Polly. "Really? Really?"
"Girls, Abby has died. I don't know how to say it any easier than that. The Sheriff is going to be here in a few minutes and I need to stay and talk to him. Mrs. Merritt is going to take you back to Sycamore House."
"She's dead?" Gina asked. "How?" She burst into tears.
Rebecca and Kayla both put their arms around her shoulders.
"I don't know," Polly replied. "That's what the Sheriff will figure out. But you will be fine at Sycamore House with Rebecca and Kayla. Do you like dogs?"
Kayla leaned in to divert Gina's attention. "Polly has the best dogs. Obiwan is big, but all he wants to do is love you. Han is crazy, but he's a big goofball. And they're named after the movie Star Wars. Have you ever seen that movie?"
Gina looked up at her, tears streaming down her face. "No."
"We'll watch Star Wars." Kayla looked at Polly. "Is that okay?"
"Of course it is."
"I just saw it the first time this year," Kayla said. "And now I've seen it like a million times. They love it at Polly's house."
Kayla continued to talk to the little girl and Rebecca turned back to Polly. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to stay with you? Kayla can take care of Gina."
Polly reached in and hugged her, then whispered in her ear. "You're amazing. I'm fine. It's been a lot of blood this morning, but once you three are back home and the Sheriff takes care of things here, I'll settle down."
Rebecca pointed at Polly's pocket. "You should call Henry. You know how much he hates it when he finds out about this stuff from somebody else."
"I think I'll keep you. Is that okay?" Polly asked with a smile. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
For the second time that morning, Polly knew that the sirens coming through t
own were for her. She backed away from the truck as Lydia pulled in behind her.
"Are you okay?" Lydia asked before she was all the way out of her Jeep.
Polly smiled. "I'm fine, but I'm glad you're here. It would be good if the girls could get out of here before it turns into a big scene.
Rebecca unbuckled her seatbelt and reached to unbuckle Gina's. "This is Mrs. Merritt," she said. "She's the Sheriff's wife. We're going with her now."
Gina and Kayla climbed across the seat and stepped down beside Polly.
"You will be fine," Polly said to Gina. She bent over to give her a quick hug. "I promise it will all be fine."
"Not for Abby," Gina said.
Polly knelt down beside her. "You do know that Abby doesn't feel anything right now. Do you believe in heaven?"
Gina nodded.
"Then you have to believe that's where she is. She isn't thinking about dying or pain or anything. Isn't that right?"
"I guess so," Gina said.
"Come on girls," Lydia said, putting her hand on Kayla's shoulder. "I know where everything is in Polly's kitchen and I think today would be a good day for chocolate chip cookies."
Polly watched them drive away as the first sheriff's vehicle pulled in. She took a deep breath.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Darn it, Polly,” Aaron said. "I wish you could identify the murderer as easily as you find the bodies.” He nodded at his team as they headed for the front door.
"Where's the fun in that?" Polly asked. "I shouldn't have to do everything for you, should I?"
"Most of the time, you do anyway. Now tell me again how you came upon this scene?"
Polly explained the odd phone call and her discovery of Gina and Brennan Landry and then, the mother's concern over their babysitter not showing up.
"And Mrs. Landry is in Boone now at the hospital?"
"I suppose," Polly replied. "I think the boy hit his head hard a couple of times, so there is at least one concussion." She shuddered. "I should try to find someone to clean that bathroom up. Between him passing out and his sister trying to help him, there was a lot of blood."
Look Always Forward (Bellingwood Book 11) Page 18
