Look Always Forward (Bellingwood Book 11)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "After he got yanked in by the police he said he wasn't going home again so he broke into the old shoe store. He's hiding there."

  Polly looked at the boy on her couch. He'd transformed from being a bully to scared boy. She didn't know if it was real or just in her mind. In the last hour or so, he'd become a real person to her, no longer a kid who was part of the crowd. She desperately wanted to help him.

  "I'll call Aaron." She stood up and said to Henry, "Find out who the other kid is. We need to make sure he's safe." She stepped into Henry's office and took out her phone. Was it really just earlier today that it had been lost to her?

  "Polly Giller, haven't we had enough for one week?" Aaron asked, when he answered the call.

  She walked toward the back of the apartment and stood by the railing. "I need you to come over. Heath Harvey is here and has told us that Ladd Berant was the one who killed Julie Smith and Abby Belran."

  "What?" Aaron demanded. "How did he get to you? Do you believe him?"

  "He was hiding in my garage. And yes, I believe him. I want to help this kid, Aaron. He's a mess."

  "Of course you do. It's been a while since you've rescued someone. Like what? A week?"

  "Stop it. Just come over. You've still got access to the building, right?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I'll be right there. I don't know why I'm even needed in this county," he muttered. "As long as Polly Giller is around, she'll find the bodies and catch the killers."

  "Stop it. I'm not catching any killer. I'm safe in my own apartment. You're going to go catch the killer."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just need me to do the dirty work. Fat lot of good I am."

  Polly laughed. "Quit whining. You love me and you know it."

  "It's a good thing, too. I'll be right there."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Gently closing the door after Aaron and Stu Decker took a very willing Heath Harvey downstairs to the conference room, Polly leaned against it and took a deep breath. When she asked Heath if he wanted her to call his aunt and uncle, he broke down.

  "He won't care," Heath said. "He'll make them send me to jail just to get me out of his hair. You just wait. You'll see."

  "What about your brother?"

  "No. Please no. He never comes back here. He's got a whole life. Don't screw it up because of me."

  "He'd want to know that you need him."

  Heath's eyes begged her to listen. "Please don't call him yet. His classes just started and he doesn't need this right now. He's doing really good. I'm the loser in the family. Leave him alone."

  After he was gone, she went into Henry's office and called the phone number he'd given her for his uncle's house. A woman answered and Polly started in. "Mrs. Harvey?"

  "Yes. Who's calling please?"

  "Mrs. Harvey, this is Polly Giller at Sycamore House in Bellingwood. I need to speak with you about your nephew."

  "What's that boy done this time? We aren't responsible for his actions. He won't listen to us."

  Polly didn't want to tell Mrs. Harvey that yes, she was responsible for Heath's actions if they were his legal guardians. That might cause more trouble than he needed right now.

  "He got himself into trouble this evening, but he needs his family to take care of him more than anything. He was witness to a murder and is talking to the Sheriff."

  "I knew it," she said, a sharp edge in her voice. "I told my husband that he was going to grow up to be a no-good piece of trash, just like that woman his father married. You can't trust people like that. He was headed down this path from the day he was born. He looks just like her and is just as bad. It's all in the genes, you know."

  Maybe it wasn't the uncle. This woman was a joy.

  "He will need legal help. Does your family have a lawyer?"

  "We're not getting any lawyer for that boy. He burned his last bridge with us. We tried. We really did, but it was no use. He was never going to amount to anything."

  "Ma'am, Heath is a junior in high school. He's just a kid. You can't expect him to handle this on his own."

  "Of course we can. We've done more than our share for him. It's over. I wash my hands of him."

  "I hate to push this issue, but might I speak with your husband?" Polly asked.

  "He'll tell you the same thing," Mrs. Harvey responded. "But just a minute. Will? Will Harvey come here! I know you aren't too deaf to hear me yelling. Come talk to this lady from town. She says Heath is in trouble again and I told her we ain't gonna bail him out. He got himself into it and he can get himself out of it."

  Polly waited and finally heard the phone change hands.

  "Hello?" The man sounded like he had just come awake.

  "Mr. Harvey, this is Polly Giller at Sycamore House in Bellingwood. Your nephew is here this evening talking to Sheriff Merritt. He witnessed a murder last week and has been in trouble. He's going to need his family and a good lawyer."

  "I see," he said.

  Polly waited for him to say something more and when he didn't, she pressed on. "Does that mean you will help him?"

  "No, miss, it doesn't. My wife was right. We've invested money and effort into that boy and he don't appreciate any of it. We put a roof over his head and food on the table. He won't work on the farm and ev'ry time I turn around, he's hopping a ride into town and don't come home until all hours. Sometimes we haven't seen him for a week until he comes back for more clothes. If he made this bed, he's going to have to sleep in it."

  "This is your brother's son, Mr. Harvey. You're just going to hang him out to dry?"

  "Well, missy, I'm not sure as to how it's any of your business, but it's high time we start protecting ourselves here. He's just going to be like pouring money down a rat hole and some one of these days he's going to do something that will cost so much money to fix he'll bankrupt me. After all these years we've put into the place, it would be a shame to lose it because of a half-assed kid who can't see fit to take responsibility."

  "So okay," Polly said. She didn't want to end the conversation because she didn't want this to be real. Heath Harvey knew exactly what his aunt and uncle were like. No kid should have to live like this. She wondered how broken he was by this point and if he could be salvaged. "Can you give me his brother's phone number?"

  "I don't have it," Mr. Harvey said. "He'll call on Sunday, looking for the boy. We'll tell him to contact you at where did you say? Never mind, he can look it up for himself. Good-bye now."

  Polly stared at her phone, not believing that he had just disconnected. He'd almost sounded relieved at the end. Maybe he and his wife could sleep well tonight, knowing where Heath was, even if it meant they'd left him to the wolves.

  She saw Rebecca standing in the doorway. "How long have you been there?"

  "A while. Is this about the boy who went downstairs with Sheriff Merritt?"

  "I thought you were in your room."

  Rebecca smiled at her. "It's not like I can't hear things. I peeked out and saw. Is that the people who were taking care of him?"

  "His aunt and uncle. Heath's parents were killed in a car accident."

  "Don't they want him?"

  Polly pursed her lips and slowly shook her head. "I believe he's too much for them. They don't have any kids of their own and he's been a handful."

  "It's because he thinks he's all alone. He needs someone to show him love - like you do with me. If I had to go somewhere strange after Mom died and they didn't love me, I'd be mad all the time, too. It isn't fair that he's punished because his parents died."

  "You're right," Polly said. "It isn't fair."

  "But he hasn't done anything really bad yet, has he?"

  "I don't know," Polly said. "I just don't know. He should have gone to the police after his friend killed Julie and especially after he killed Abby."

  "He's just a kid, Polly," Rebecca said. "And that Ladd Berant is mean. He scares everybody. If he tells people to do something, they either do it or he hurts them. He killed two people. Doesn't it ma
ke sense that Heath would be scared?"

  Polly beckoned for her to come over to the desk and wrapped her arms around the girl, burying her face in Rebecca's hair. "You're right. It does make sense," she whispered. "I don't know what to do about this."

  "We should have a family meeting," Rebecca declared, stepping back. "Come with me." She reached down and took Polly's hand.

  Polly let Rebecca pull her out of the chair and into the media room.

  "Sit there. I'll get Henry," Rebecca said.

  In a few moments, the two were back and Rebecca pointed to the space beside Polly on the couch. Henry gave Polly a wry grin and sat down beside her.

  "Family meeting?" he asked.

  "I dunno. She's in charge," Polly said.

  "We won't take notes or anything," Rebecca announced, "But this is our first official family meeting. Do either of you have anything that needs to be brought up before I begin?"

  Henry and Polly looked at each other, shook their heads and Polly said, "No, I believe you have the floor."

  "Okay then. I just listened to you talk to Heath Harvey's aunt and uncle. They don't want anything to do with him and I believe that he's not a lost cause. Do either of you disagree with me?"

  They looked at each other again and Henry asked, "Where is this going?"

  "Just answer the question." Rebecca started firmly and then put a hint of pleading in her voice. "Please?"

  "Okay, I don't think that very many people are lost causes," he said. "I'd have to get to know Heath better before I answered that with any confidence, though."

  "Polly?"

  "Well, it says something that he came here. He knew he'd find help. And once he started telling us what had happened, he was pretty upset about the whole thing. He knows his life is in the toilet and has accepted that." Polly looked up. "I guess I don't know for sure."

  "I do. No one is a lost cause. I think you should make him part of the Sycamore House family."

  Henry started to protest and Rebecca put her hand up to stop him. "Since I got here and since your businesses have grown, you have gotten safer. You don't take as many risks."

  'That's not true," Polly said. "Denis Sutworth is downstairs and I hired Grey at the Inn."

  "Those aren't risks," Rebecca said. "You aren't involved with Denis Sutworth, you're just giving him a place to recuperate. Evelyn's doing all the work. And Grey isn't that big of a risk. If you don't like him, he's gone. And what have you done lately, Henry? Have you gone out of your way to help someone?"

  "Uh, that's not what I do,'" he said. "I support Polly."

  "That was a lame answer," Polly said with a laugh. "But he's right. His strength is what allows me to be risky."

  "Then I think you need to risk it with Heath and Henry needs to support you. That boy needs to be loved and he needs strong men around him to teach him how to be a man, not a jerk. You have Eliseo and Henry and Jeff here. Look at what they've done for Jason and Andrew."

  "But those two have a strong mother. She believes in them and loves them," Henry said. He looked at Polly. "I don't think this is a good idea. We have no idea what kind of trouble this boy would bring with him."

  Polly sat back on the sofa. She loved the fact that Rebecca saw herself as part of the family and yet wasn't overly protective of her relationship with them. That was really something. In fact, Rebecca was really something. Could they handle a sixteen year old troubled boy? She glanced at Henry. It was a lot to ask of him. He'd gotten a whole lot more than he bargained for when he fell in love with her. It wasn't that the two of them expected to have a traditional family, but this was over the top.

  Rebecca walked over to the bookcase and looked across the titles until she landed on what she was looking for. "Do you remember this book?" She handed it to Polly.

  "Crap," Polly said, her eyes filling with tears. "Jo didn't think she could do it either."

  "But she did and she changed their lives," Rebecca said.

  Henry bent over to see what Polly was holding. "Little Men?"

  "You're Daisy, aren't you?" Polly asked with a smile.

  "And you're Jo and he's Papa Baehr," Rebecca responded.

  Polly tried not to giggle. It was just a day or so ago that she'd called Henry 'papa bear' because he was so protective of Rebecca.

  "That's where the horses' names come from," Polly said to Henry. "Demi and Daisy were twins in the story. Jo had inherited land from her Aunt March and started a school where children who needed to learn and to be loved came to live - Plumfield. The first boy to join them was Nat. He was shy and played the violin." Polly smiled. "Let's just say that he's our Andrew, okay? And then came Dan. He introduced all sorts of bad behavior to the school. And that's where Heath comes in, isn't it."

  "Dan needed Plumfield, but they needed him, too," Rebecca said. "Heath needs you guys. Really bad."

  "How much did you hear tonight?" Polly asked.

  Rebecca tilted her head down. "Everything. I sat down on the floor out there and listened."

  "Not much privacy around here," Henry said with a laugh. "Polly and I need to talk about this privately, Rebecca. You understand that, right?"

  She nodded. "Of course I do. I'm just the catalyst. You guys have to do all the hard work. And if you decide that it's not the right thing to do, I'll understand. I didn't want a chance to do the right thing get away from us, though. He's going to need a place to stay tonight. I'll make the bed in the front room." Rebecca ran out of the media room before they could stop her.

  "Did we just get played?" Henry asked.

  Polly laughed. "I think so. But dang, Henry, she vocalized everything I've been processing on. I wish you could have heard his aunt and uncle. They're harsh. That woman said terrible things about his mother and that her genetics were the reason he was this way. If his dad was anything like this Mr. Harvey, the only hope Heath had was with his mother."

  "His parents weren't anything like them," Henry said. "I only knew them superficially, but they were good people. No one's sure why Heath's aunt and uncle are so bitter and mean, but they are. The court assigned them to be his guardians since his parents hadn't made any plans for him if they died. It was either that or foster care and Heath's older brother begged them to take him in."

  "Do you have any idea what he was like before his parents died?"

  Henry looked off into space and finally shook his head. "No. He was just a kid. Maybe you should ask some of the teachers at the elementary school. They'd remember him."

  "What do you think we should do?"

  "What I think is that you and little girl back there have already made up your minds. I can either get on board or beg for a life preserver."

  "That's not true," Polly said. "If you think this is a bad idea, I don't want to disrupt the life we've started here. We have to think of Rebecca now. Will he make things rough on her?"

  "Our Rebecca?" he asked. "That child will make things more difficult on him than he can ever imagine. The first time he gets out of line, he won't have to worry about answering to anyone but her." He reached over and took Polly's hand. "Did you hear what she said?"

  "The whole 'us' thing?" she asked, a grin creasing her face. "Wasn't that great? And a family meeting. I was almost giddy when she said that." Polly glanced over her shoulder to make sure Rebecca wasn't in the room with them. They were going to have to watch themselves. That girl was much too quiet when she wanted to hear what was going on.

  "I don't want to make this kind of a decision tonight," Henry said.

  "Neither do I. And maybe Heath wouldn't even be interested," Polly observed. "But what about him staying here for a while until things settle out."

  He nodded. "I can agree to that. He needs a safe place while all of this comes together." Henry released her hand. "If he chooses to stay here and Aaron approves, don't worry. I'll go get his things from his aunt and uncle. Neither you nor he should have to put up with abuse from them. It won't bother me. I'll take Dad. He can talk to anybody."
r />   "I love you, Henry Sturtz," Polly said, brushing her fingers across his face.

  "I'm not going to be a teacher," he said, nodding toward the book.

  "You already are. You might not teach history, languages, math and science, but you teach simply by being a good example."

  Polly took out her phone and texted Aaron. "Heath is staying with us tonight unless you have other plans. Have you met his aunt and uncle? They're horrible."

  "In that case, we'll bring him upstairs," Aaron texted back. "We'll discuss the Harveys another time. Thank you for doing this."

  "Are we taking care of his legal issues, too?" Henry asked.

  Polly smiled up at him. "If he stays here for a while, yes. Otherwise, that's someone else's trouble."

  "After I talk to Aaron, I'll get hold of Al tomorrow. I had no idea we'd be keeping him this busy."

  Al Dempsey was an old friend of Henry's and a lawyer. He'd advised the two of them after Polly's kidnapping several months ago and when it came time later this fall for her to be in court, he agreed to prepare her for whatever might come.

  Henry was in the living room by the time Aaron knocked on their front door. He escorted a quiet young man in and Polly invited them to sit down.

  "We've talked to Heath and I called Ken. They should be pulling Ladd Berant out of the old shoe store any minute now," Aaron said. "Stu has gone to Andy Otis's house to make sure he's safe. I guess that just leaves Heath's immediate future up in the air. He's made it quite clear that going back to the Harvey's house is a bad idea and I tend to agree."

  He looked at Polly, who, in turn, nodded at Henry.

  "Heath," Henry said. "We'd like to invite you stay with us."

  The boy's eyes shot up. "Here?"

  "We have plenty of space. Rebecca is making the bed up in the front room. For tonight at the very least, we hope you'll stay."

  "Why would you do that?"

  "Son, this is a good offer," Aaron said. "I'd rather not have to take you to Boone and meet up with someone from child services. Especially if you refuse to go home."

  "It's not home," Heath said. "It's never been home."

  "That's an issue for another day," Polly said, moving closer to Heath on the couch. "Will you stay where you're safe tonight? I don't want to worry about you."