Through the Storm (Bellingwood Book 8)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  Jean looked at her husband, "Driving you crazy is what takes you into old age together. Don't ever stop doing that. When you stop it, you get old and boring and then it's just no fun anymore."

  "We certainly have fun, don't we?" Sam said. He handed his plate to her.

  "Let me help you clear the table," Henry said.

  Polly stood up. "I can, too."

  Sam took her arm. "Let them. If he wants to help her clean up, that's fine. You tell me more about the gardens over at Sycamore House."

  She watched helplessly as Henry began gathering dishes and followed Jean into the kitchen. "I don't know very much at all, I'm afraid. Without Eliseo, there would be no gardens."

  "What's his background?"

  They continued to talk about Eliseo and the ideas Sam had for the grounds. Polly knew that she had just set her friend up for more help than he needed, but maybe since he had so easily befriended Ralph Bedford, he wouldn't protest too much when she gave him another helpful old man to play with.

  "Polly, are you sure you won't have some dessert?" Henry asked, poking his head out of the kitchen door.

  "A very little bit," she said, "of each. And I mean it. A very little bit. With a very little bit of ice cream."

  "Sam?"

  "Cobbler. She makes apple pie for me a lot, but I never get rhubarb cobbler. This is a treat," he responded.

  Henry delivered dessert and sat back down beside Polly. When Jean didn't join them, he got up and went back into the kitchen and then immediately returned.

  "She said she'll be here in just a minute. She kicked me out."

  "Eat up," Jean called. "I'll be right there."

  "A couple of years ago, your uncle told us that your sister was going to grad school in Michigan," Sam said to Henry. "How is she doing?"

  "He told you that, did he? We didn't think he knew anything that was happening in the family. He certainly didn't want us around," Henry said. "Oh, and she's doing fine. She took his dog back to Michigan with her. I think they're both very happy with that arrangement."

  "He loved that dog. If it was a nice evening, he would bring her with him and she'd sleep in the back of his truck while he played cards. He didn't go out too often without her."

  Henry shook his head. "I wish we had known that side of him."

  Jean came back into the dining room with two large shopping bags and set them beside Henry. "I packed the leftovers for you."

  "You didn't have to do that," Polly protested. "What will Sam eat?"

  The old man grinned and patted his own belly. "Don't you worry about me. She feeds me so well that I have to chase the dog around the block to work it all off."

  "I saved some of the cobbler for you, you old liar," Jean said and handed a laminated piece of paper to Polly. "When you finish the pie, do me a favor and make another someday in the pie plate and give it to a friend with this."

  Polly read the note, which said:

  "This pie is a treat, the plate is a gift.

  Its beautiful design, a sight to uplift.

  Food and love are only a part

  Of friendship, a gift that comes from the heart.

  The gift of this plate is but a point in a line

  That stretches beyond us, oh friend of mine."

  "This is lovely," Polly said. "And what a beautiful sentiment. I've never heard of doing anything like this."

  "I had the idea years ago and had a dozen of these pie plates designed. Every once in a while I start another one and hope that it makes people smile along the way."

  "I'll be sure to pass it along. Thank you."

  They heard a low bark.

  "Oh!" Jean said, "I forgot about Sebastian. Poor boy. I'm going to have to give him a couple of cookies." She winked at them. "And maybe a little piece of ham."

  "We really should be getting home," Polly said. "I'm sorry we can't stay to play cards."

  "Of course," Sam said, standing with them. "We'll do this another time."

  "And next time you will let us bring food," she said.

  Jean waved them off as she ran through the kitchen for the back door. "If I can't cook for friends, what fun is it?" She came back, following Sebastian who was very happy to see everyone. He sniffed at the bags of food on the floor and Henry bent over to pick them up and place them on the table.

  "Thank you for your hospitality and thank you for telling me a little more about my Uncle Loren. I'm glad that he had some people that knew him, even when his family didn't."

  "We'll see if we can't come up with some more stories," Jean said. "Maybe when you come over again sometime, we'll be able to tell you something else that you don't know about him."

  They said their good nights and Henry carried the bags as he walked home with Polly.

  "Do you think I should call Aaron?" she asked.

  "About Loren and Jim Todd knowing each other? Yes," he said. "What a strange little bit of information to pick up on a night like this. I wonder if something happened at the card games that night."

  They waited for a car to pass on the highway before walking across into the Sycamore House driveway. "It's strange to realize that if I had never talked to them while I was out walking Obiwan, we never would have found out about this. The universe hands us information in the weirdest ways."

  "Polly, there is enough food in here to feed us for the next two weeks. I can't believe she made all of that and then sent it home with us."

  "At least I'll be able to enjoy it again. I was so overwhelmed by it that all I could think about was not filling up. And then I did."

  She held the door open to their apartment and he went in and headed for the kitchen. "Do you want to walk the dog or put the food away?" she asked.

  He looked at the happy dog, wagging his tail between them. "You walk. I'll put things away."

  "Cool. I need to get rid of some of that food." Polly reached up and kissed him. "Thanks for going with me tonight. That was fun. We'll invite them over here sometime."

  "Of course we will," he said with a smile. "Now go. Last one in bed has to ..." He gave her a wicked grin.

  "Come on, Obiwan! We must hurry!" She ran to the back of the apartment and down the stairs with her dog.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  "I can't take it any longer," Sylvie said. She looked at the chair in front of Polly's desk. "I seem to drop in here a lot. Maybe we should put my name on this one." Sylvie flopped down in it, her face grim.

  "What's up?"

  "I am about ready to crawl out of my skin. That man is destroying my sanity."

  "What man? What are you talking about?" Polly pushed back the stack of papers that were scattered in front of her and leaned on the desk.

  "Anthony. He scared me to death Sunday night, he shows up here and kidnaps my son on Monday and now, here it is Friday morning and nothing. I haven't seen him or heard from him. What the hell is he trying to prove? I'm so tired of hiding out at Eliseo's house. I want my own bed and my own stuff. But that man won't let us leave. What am I supposed to do?"

  Polly grinned. "He won't let you leave? Girlfriend, you're a big girl. I thought you weren't going to let men push you around any longer."

  "You know what I mean. Eliseo's been so nice about this and he knows how scared I was and that I want to keep the boys safe." Sylvie unclenched her hands and thrust them into her lap. "I'm going crazy. I just want this whole thing to be over so I can get back to normal and do you and Henry want to come out for dinner tonight?"

  "Okay." Polly drew the word out as she tilted her head. "Are you sure? You don't have an event happening here at Sycamore House?"

  "You will never check your calendar, will you?" Sylvie said, with a slight chuckle. "Jeff teases you about it, but I thought he was kidding."

  "No. If I have to be here for something, one of you will tell me."

  "What do you think about tonight?"

  "I can't believe you have a Friday night open and you want to cook for us."

  "It's no big deal. On
top of it all, I have to go down to school to talk to Jason's counselor and the vice-principal this morning. I feel sick to my stomach. I have to sit in front of two strangers and tell them about all of the horrible things those kids said to Jason about me."

  "Do you want me to go with you?"

  Sylvie sat back. "You'd do that?"

  "Sure," Polly said, shrugging. "No one has told me that I have to be here this morning, so I must be free. Just a sec." She got up and went over to poke her head in Jeff's office.

  "Hey there," he said.

  "Is there any reason I need to be around this morning?"

  "No? Why?"

  "Just checking. Back to work with you, now."

  "I'm always working, you slacker."

  "Uh huh, whatever. Sylvie tells me you have the night off. What are you going to do with that?"

  Jeff gave her an evil smile and said, "I'm going out on a date."

  "Someone you know or a first date?"

  "I'm not telling."

  "Well, I hope you have fun. I won't ask any more questions."

  "That doesn't sound like you, but thanks. Are you leaving me this morning?"

  "Yeah. I'm going to Boone with Sylvie. She has to talk to Jason's counselor and is pretty wigged out about all of the chaos in her life right now."

  He ducked his head forward and whispered, "Nothing from her ex yet?"

  "No, can you believe it? She's a mess."

  "I would be too. Okay. Have fun. I'm leaving early so I won't see you until tomorrow."

  "Gotta get yourself all dolled up, eh?"

  "Shut up and get out." Jeff scrunched a piece of paper and threw it at her. It lost its arc before clearing his desk.

  "That was pathetic."

  "Go."

  "I'm free," Polly said when she got back into her own office. "Should we make a day of it and have lunch somewhere?"

  "You're asking me a question and expecting me to give you a cogent answer," Sylvie said with a sigh.

  "You just came up with the word cogent. You're doing fine."

  "I'm glad you're coming out tonight. Eliseo wants to show Henry something he found in a hidden cubby hole in the house."

  "What did he find?"

  "It's nothing important. But it was fun, so we thought maybe Henry might want to have it."

  "You aren't going to tell me what it is, are you?"

  Sylvie grinned across the desk. "Nope. You have to come out and eat with us to find out."

  "You're a horrible friend." Polly took out her phone. "Let me ask Henry. Can we make it a little late though, so I can take Rebecca down to see her mom?"

  "Just tell me what time." Sylvie lifted herself off the chair and then dropped back down. "When is Sarah coming home?"

  "I don't know," Polly said. "I'm really worried this time. I don't have anything in place to take care of her if she gets sicker. I can't do it. Rachel did fine when Sarah was able to do most of her own care, but Rachel isn't a nurse or even a registered caregiver. If we have to do more serious care, I need someone here."

  "For once I can help you." Sylvie flipped her own phone open and then said, "Here, take this number. Evelyn Morrow lives next door to us in the apartment building. She's a retired nurse and a wonderful person. She's done hospice care before and I know she'll help you. She was telling me a few weeks ago that she was either going to have to take a cruise or find another client."

  "Why wouldn't she just take a cruise?" Polly giggled.

  "She was kidding. After her husband died, she went on several cruises and traveled around the world. She says she got it all out of her system and is tired of being alone. So she helps people who need her."

  "And today when I need the information, here you sit, ready to tell me about her."

  "Well, kind of," Sylvie said. "I've been thinking about this for a while, but Sarah was doing well enough she didn't need any extra help. Now you tell me she does and I know someone."

  "I'll talk to Sarah this afternoon and then call your friend so they can meet each other."

  "If Sarah isn't coming back for a while, Evelyn can go down to the hospital. She does that sometimes to meet her clients. That gives her a chance to talk to doctors and nurses and find out what they need before going home."

  "Wow. She's quite the deal."

  Sylvie smiled. "I'm going to the kitchen. My appointment is at eleven. We'll leave at ten thirty, okay?"

  "Gotcha. No running away before ten thirty."

  "And lunch is on me."

  "McDonalds it is."

  "You pay me better than that. I can afford KFC." Sylvie made it all the way out of her seat this time and left the office.

  Polly looked at the phone on her desk and couldn't for the life of her remember why she'd pulled it out. She was supposed to call someone ... oh, right. Henry.

  "Hey there, sweet stuff," he said, answering after the first ring.

  "Hey yourself. Sylvie was just in my office. I'm going to Boone with her so she can meet with Jason's counselor."

  "Awww, I was going to come home and beg you for some nookie at noon."

  "I can tell her she has to go alone. That's no problem."

  "Hoisted by my own petard. I was kidding. What's up?"

  "People are using all sorts of great words around me this morning. I think that means it will be a great day." Polly waited for his chuckle and went on. "Anyway, she's invited us out to Eliseo's house tonight for dinner. He found something in a cubby hole and thinks you should have it."

  "What is it?"

  "She wouldn't tell me. So do you want to go?"

  "Two meals out in one week? We're becoming quite popular."

  "I know. That's a yes?"

  "At least this time I don't have to get all dressed up."

  "You have to get kind of dressed up."

  "I'm kidding. That sounds great. I'm curious as to what Eliseo found."

  "Me too." She looked up and saw Aaron Merritt come in the front door. "I have to go, the Sheriff is here."

  "Uh oh. Better hide your stash."

  "No kidding. See you later."

  "Love you, sweetie pie."

  "Nope, not it."

  "Darn."

  Aaron walked in and grinned down at her before sitting across from her.

  "Henry said I was supposed to hide my stash. It's all put away now," Polly said. "What can I do for you?"

  "I wondered if you and Henry would want to do some undercover work for me."

  Polly couldn't help herself and laughed out loud. "I thought there was an agreement in place and I was always the one who reneged on it. You won't let me do any investigating."

  "Well, this time it's easy. You and Henry play cards, don't you?"

  "Uh, yes, but oh, no you don't."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "You want me to call Sam and Jean Gardner and ask if they'll take us to their card club. That's tonight, isn't it?"

  "Well. Yes. You know them and they like you. That means you'd fit in really well."

  "Sorry, Charlie. We already have plans."

  He dropped his head. "I was afraid of that. Nobody wants this gig. I tried to talk a couple of my boys into it and they laughed at me. I didn't feel like officially assigning it to someone. I try not to be that mean."

  "What do you think you're going to find out while you're playing cards?"

  "It's too much of a coincidence that both men attended that night and then died two nights later. I was kind of hoping that you could nonchalantly ... you know, like you do ... get to know some folks and ask crazy questions until you stirred the murderer up and they attacked you."

  She cackled into a snort. "You're horrible! Henry would kill you if he knew that you were trying to set me up with that."

  "Puhleeze, Polly. You and I both know that these are old people. No one would really attack you. They'd probably tip over on their walkers trying to get to you. Then you'd have to call the ambulance and it would be such a mess."

  "I'm not goi
ng to even dignify that with a response. I don't think these people are who you think they are."

  "I know. I know. They aren't that old and decrepit. But you were my last hope. Now I have to take Lydia and make it semi-official. They'll all know why I'm there."

  "Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the murderer will have a heart attack and while you're reviving him or her, they'll confess with their last words because they're afraid of going to hell once they die."

  "Now who's being horrible? If we have to go play cards, I had better make sure Lydia knows about this. She's a lot nicer to me than you are."

  "That's her job. Mine is to find dead bodies and make you crazy with worry."

  "You're a success at that, for sure." He heaved a huge sigh and stood up. "It was worth a shot. Do you know if we're supposed to take snacks or anything?"

  Polly glared. "You're kidding me, right? I had dinner one time with the Gardners. I did not plan to ever attend one of these card nights. I didn't ask questions. I didn't make any plans. I don't know anything."

  "But you could ask?"

  She put one hand out, palm up.

  "What's that?" he asked.

  "I've been told by my local sheriff that I can't investigate or get involved in any of these murders. Now you're asking for my help. Either give me a badge or start paying me."

  Aaron took out his wallet and drew a dollar bill from it, then placed it in her palm. "Would you please call Jean Gardner and ask her if we would be welcome this evening and what we should bring?"

  "Of course I will." Polly slipped the bill into her top desk drawer. "Oh. Do you want me to do that right now?"

  He shook his head. "No, you're being impossible this morning. I have things to do and people to see. Would you call my wife when you get the information?"

  "So does this mean that now you're amenable to me setting up an investigative agency and employing her as well? Because that could be a lot of fun. Andy would organize all of us and we'd send Beryl out to ask questions of the perps. She'd have them turning themselves in just to escape her insanity."

  Aaron left, continuing to shake his head.

  Polly dialed the Gardner home and within moments was greeted by Sam's cheery voice.

  "Hello there, Polly," he said. "What can the Gardners do for you?"