Strangers in Their Midst

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “I’d be happy to help.”

  Kate sighed. Whoever Aleeda ended up working for would be a very lucky person.

  “I’m planning to run out to the campground today and take along some meals for people with immediate needs.” She told Aleeda about Loretta’s plan at the diner. “I’ll let people out there know about that too.”

  Kate glanced at the clock. “I’m sure word has been spreading around town about what we’re doing to help the homeless, so I hope we’ll have a lot of calls and deliveries of food at the Faith Freezer Program.”

  “Would you like me to work over there?” Aleeda asked. “I could make calls from there and put the food that comes in where it belongs.”

  Kate gave Aleeda a hug. “Perfect.”

  BY THE TIME ALEEDA LEFT to take the boys to school, Kate felt they had made some major strides. With Aleeda on the phone and Faith Freezer detail, Kate could run her errands and visit the campground and still get to Pine Ridge in time to meet Rosie for lunch. She might even get into the studio for a couple of hours later that afternoon.

  Kate showered, then dressed in jeans and a sleeveless print top and slipped on a matching cardigan.

  Another idea concerning the homeless had come to Kate while she was in the shower: community gardens. She couldn’t wait to share her thoughts with Livvy.

  “I LOVE THE IDEA,” Livvy said as they sat in the break room at the library.

  “It’s not a new concept or anything. Community gardens have been around for ages. I saw a number of them in San Antonio.”

  “A lot of people grow their own gardens here in Copper Mill, but I don’t recall hearing about a community garden.” Livvy frowned. “Actually, that’s not true. Several years ago, we had this Master Gardener who was a professor at Pine Ridge College. He set up gardens in Pine Ridge and one here in Copper Mill; it was in a vacant lot just outside town, off Quarry Road.”

  “What happened to it?”

  “The program went well for the first year, and then the man died. No one continued the work. But things are different now. More people are looking for local food sources.”

  “And organically grown foods.” Kate sipped at her tea. “I know one thing. It’s a good idea, but we’d need someone strong behind it. First, we need a gardener who would head the project and be able to manage a lot of workers.”

  “Maybe some of the homeless would be willing to help; after all, the food would be for them.” Livvy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Great idea. There are a lot of folks who have been hit hard who’d be willing to do their part.”

  “So true.”

  “If we can make it work, I have the perfect place—the property between our backyard, the Faith Freezer house, and the church. People could take what they needed, and any food left over could go to the Faith Freezer Program.”

  “I have a couple of ideas for who might be interested, Kate. Let me do some research and make some calls.”

  They went on talking about the garden idea for a few more minutes before Livvy went back to work.

  Kate climbed the stairs to the second floor, found an empty computer, and checked her e-mail. A message from Jennifer told her the article would be in Thursday’s paper, but she’d already heard people talking about the changes at the Country Diner and Kate’s talk at the town hall meeting. Kate had a number of e-mails from people asking how they could help. Kate cut and pasted the names and pertinent information into a document file, then printed it out.

  She recognized some of the names and began to feel much better about the community being part of the food program.

  Before heading to Ash Grove Campground, Kate stopped by the Faith Freezer house to give Aleeda the names of new volunteers she’d gotten on e-mail and pick up meals for the homeless. Kate selected several extra casserole dishes and salads for whoever might need them. Then, setting them into a large empty cooler with wheels, she said good-bye to Aleeda and left.

  At the campground, she stopped at the office to talk with Lars, who was about to get into his Jeep. “Lars, I know I asked before, but is there anyone out here by the name of Mayer or Eaton?”

  “Sorry, Kate. I can’t help you.” Lars seemed in a rush.

  “I understand. They may be going under another name entirely, or they may not be here at all.”

  “There are a lot of campgrounds, and even more places to camp in these parts.”

  “I know.” Kate smiled up at him. “It would take weeks or even months to do that kind of search.”

  Kate gestured toward the trunk. “I have food to deliver for anyone who needs it. Shall I leave it here?”

  “Would you mind taking it over to Marie’s site? She knows more about what’s going on with that than I do.” He opened the Jeep door. “I need to make a run into town, so if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Sure. Sorry to keep you.”

  Kate watched him leave and then parked her Honda. Was Lars hiding something? Why had he been in such a rush to leave? He seemed to want to discourage her. Was he protecting Marie, or did he truly not know?

  Kate took the large wheeled cooler out of the trunk and set it on the ground.

  Closing the trunk, Kate headed toward Marie’s trailer, wheeling the cooler behind her. She found Marie sitting at a picnic table with Sophie. A cut-up peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and grapes occupied about a quarter of a paper plate. “Come on, Sophie, just three more bites.”

  Sophie shook her head and reached for her cup, blond curls bouncing around her head. “Juice.”

  Kate couldn’t help but chuckle and wondered if kids ever really changed. “Having trouble?”

  Marie looked up. “Oh, hi, Kate. Have a seat. Would you like a sandwich? Sophie wanted a snack, but seems to have changed her mind.”

  Kate smiled. “No, thanks.”

  “I don’t blame you. Doesn’t look too appetizing, does it?” Marie attempted to use a wipe on Sophie’s face, but the child turned away.

  “Actually, I brought you some food.” Kate nodded toward the cooler. “I have some casseroles and salads.”

  “Wonderful.” Marie managed to clean Sophie’s face and hands, then picked up the leftover food. Before throwing the plate in the trash, she rescued the grapes and tossed a couple into her mouth.

  “Kills me to waste food,” Marie said, “especially now.”

  Kate nodded. “Do you need me to leave the cooler?”

  “Could you? I have some room, but my fridge is pretty small.”

  “No problem. We have an extra one at the Faith Freezer house.” Kate watched Sophie crawl down from the picnic table. “I’ll need it back before Thursday, though. That’s when we’re planning our first dinner out here.”

  “I’ll let the others know.”

  “Marie, can I ask you a personal question?”

  The young woman stiffened. Her jaw clenched. “Depends.”

  “The other day when I was out here, you mentioned something about bringing your husband back. I was just curious.”

  Marie sucked in her lower lip.

  Seeing the wall that went up, Kate regretted asking. “You don’t have to tell me. I probably shouldn’t have asked.”

  “You’re concerned about Lars and want to know if I’m stringing him along?” Marie watched Sophie for a moment and then said, “Well, I’m not. My husband has been out of our lives since Sophie was born. I don’t know where he is.”

  Kate sighed. She couldn’t imagine how painful that would be. “I’m sorry.”

  Marie shrugged. “So am I, but what can you do? He couldn’t cope with her illness.”

  “What’s wrong with her?” Kate hadn’t noticed anything amiss with the little girl.

  “She has brain damage. Sophie will never be a normal child.”

  Kate nodded. At least now she knew Marie wasn’t Charlie’s wife. “What’s your husband’s name?”

  Marie smiled. “Don’t tell me you’re going to try to find him. Lars told me about your pr
opensity for solving mysteries.”

  “You never know. No promises, though. Right now I have more mysteries than I can handle. I’m trying to find a homeless family who may be in danger. I don’t suppose you’ve come across anyone named Eaton or Mayer.”

  Marie shook her head and scooped Sophie into her arms. Brushing a piece of bark out of Sophie’s hands, she said, “No, sweetie. That’s icky.”

  “I’d better be going,” Kate said.

  “And I need to put Sophie down for a nap.” Marie stepped toward the trailer. “Thanks for the food. I’ll make sure it gets distributed.”

  “Thanks.”

  “His name is Tom.” Marie pushed her bangs back and gave Kate an impish smile. “Tom Jones.” She ducked into the trailer.

  Kate stood there a moment staring at the closed door. “Very funny.” Had Marie made all of that up? Certainly not the part about Sophie. That was real enough.

  She’d been convinced that Marie wasn’t married to Charlie, but now with Marie’s attempt at humor, she wasn’t so sure.

  “That’s what you get for being nosy,” she muttered as she walked back to the Honda.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Kate set aside her concerns and focused on driving the winding road into Pine Ridge. Besides meeting with Rosie, she needed to make a grocery run there, since she planned on picking a large quantity of bulk staples for herself and the Faith Freezer Program.

  As she passed the road leading to the Brainerds’ place, Kate shuddered. Once things settled down, she’d ask Livvy to connect with Cat and ask her to meet with them in town. She hoped she’d never run into Joe again.

  “But, Lord, if I do meet up with him, help me see him as your child and not the rude, cruel miscreant he seems to be.”

  Kate didn’t want to think about Joe Brainerd or his family and tried to put them out of her mind, but she met with no success. People acted the way they did for a reason. What had happened in Joe’s life to make him so unpleasant? He probably hadn’t always been that way, and there had to be some redeeming quality about him.

  “Lord, I’m sorry for sounding so flippant. Please help me to see him as you do. Protect his wife and children.”

  Kate pulled into the Valley Trust and Mortgage parking lot. Rosie met her just inside.

  “Hi, Rosie. Thanks for meeting me.”

  “Hi.” Rosie smiled but seemed nervous. She looked even younger than thirteen. Thin and twiggy in a pencil dress, with long loops of matching beads and stiletto heels, she looked like a little girl playing dress-up.

  “Where would you like to eat?” Kate asked, wishing she’d gone back home to change.

  “Um...we can eat here.” She waved her hand to the back of the atrium. “The Thai Orchid has good food, and it’s pretty nice.”

  Rosie led the way past a central water feature into a garden atrium that housed the Asian restaurant. Kate was impressed with the decor and atmosphere.

  “This is lovely. I didn’t even know it existed.”

  “The entire complex is only a year old.”

  Once they were seated and had ordered, Rosie leaned forward. “Mrs. Hanlon, I don’t know what I can tell you about Charlie. We’re not supposed to talk to anyone about any of the stuff happening around here.”

  Kate took a sip of strawberry lemonade. “You don’t need to say anything about the theft itself. What I really want to know is how Charlie got along with everyone. Charlie gave me some names of people I should talk to. Like the CFO.”

  Rosie rolled her eyes. “Mr. Bennett did not like Charlie at all. I think he was jealous.”

  “Really?” Kate leaned back as the waitress came with their drinks.

  Rosie looked around and lowered her voice. “I think he’s the one that took the money.” She bit her lip. “Of course, it could have been Sheila. She thinks she’s Miss Congeniality, but I know better. Before she found out that my dad was on the board, she totally blew me off. Now she’s like all nice and sweet.”

  Kate puzzled over Rosie’s comment and tucked it away. “And Mr. Woods?”

  Rosie frowned. “He’s okay. He feels terrible about Charlie and even offered to let him stay if Charlie gave the money back. But how could he when he didn’t take it in the first place?”

  Kate took a sip of her strawberry lemonade. “I have photos of all the employees who work here, but none of the board members. Do you know why?”

  A shade came over Rosie’s eyes, and Kate suspected she’d gone too far.

  “Privacy issues.”

  Their meals came, and Kate backed off, falling into chitchat. “I’m curious...You look very young.”

  Rosie smiled. “Everyone says that because I’m so little. My mom is too. I’m a sophomore in college.”

  “What are you studying?”

  “Business and art. Dad says I should study art but have a backup in case the art thing doesn’t work out.”

  “He sounds like a wise man. Is he an artist?”

  “Sort of.”

  Rosie clearly didn’t want to discuss her father or any of the other board members, so Kate stayed with safer topics.

  By the time they finished lunch, she had a working knowledge of what went on at Valley Trust. Kate decided she’d hold off on interviewing Gerald Woods and William Bennett, the CFO, for now. She had no real excuse for talking with either of them. Sheila, however, was a different matter. Would Sheila be more willing to share inside information?

  Castile presented another problem. Maybe if she could find him, she could solve the case. Had he gone away on his own, or had he met with foul play?

  She accompanied Rosie up to the third floor, hoping to catch Sheila, but her friend was with a customer. She left a message with Rosie to have Sheila call her.

  At one thirty, Kate drove into the SuperMart parking lot. She pulled out her notebook and perused her list, then, grabbing her purse, hurried inside.

  An hour later, Kate wheeled her overloaded cart to the car and stashed the groceries in the trunk. She’d gotten some great buys and had bought a number of staples in bulk.

  Kate headed for Copper Mill and, on the way, thought about some of the local gardeners. When Floyd Jenkins came to mind, she made a detour and headed back toward Pine Ridge. Floyd was the owner of Jenkins Nursery and if anyone knew about gardening, he did. She put in a quick call to Livvy.

  “Floyd would be perfect,” Livvy said. “He’s on my list of people to call.”

  “Great. I’ll talk to him about it and let you know.” Kate flipped her phone shut and slid it into her handbag.

  It was only three when she turned into the parking lot of the beautifully landscaped nursery. Already Floyd had put out large hanging planters filled with impatiens and geraniums along with ferns and other spring foliage. Floyd’s twenty-one-year-old daughter Bethany had a ready smile for Kate as she stepped into the large air-conditioned building. “Hi, Mrs. Hanlon. How can I help you today?” Bethany had inherited her father’s wiry frame. She wore what Kate learned was the nursery uniform, Bermuda khaki shorts and a forest green shirt with the nursery logo on the pocket. Her face and long tanned arms and legs were a testimony to long hours in the sun. “Hi Bethany. I’m looking for your dad.”

  “Sure. You’ll find him out in the greenhouse. He’s planting begonias.”

  Kate stepped out into the huge greenhouse and spotted Floyd just past trays and trays of seedlings.

  “Hey, Floyd,” Kate announced as she drew nearer.

  “Kate Hanlon. Looking for some more plants for your garden?” His pleasant smile emphasized the permanent squint lines radiating from the corners of his brown eyes.

  “Actually, I do need to replace a few plants. I’d like to try some begonias. Those are gorgeous.”

  “Just came in. I’ll give you a 30 percent discount.”

  “An offer I can’t refuse.” Kate picked out a dozen that were already sporting colorful blooms. “How are you?”

  “Doin’ well, thank you. I heard about you
r work with the homeless. Sounds like you have some good plans underway. If you need help let me know.”

  Kate smiled. She couldn’t have asked for a better opening. “That’s great, because I have something I’d like to talk with you about.”

  She filled Floyd in on her thoughts about community gardens. Floyd was as excited about the idea as Kate thought he’d be. “Would you be interested in heading up a program like this?”

  He grinned. “I’m honored. Give me a few days to come up with a plan. It’s not as easy as planting a garden. We have to figure out which plants we want and where they’ll grow best. We’ll also need to check out the soil. We might need to bring in some topsoil. Seeds and seedlings don’t come cheap.” He placed the plants Kate selected on a cart. “Any idea where the seed money’s going to come from?”

  Kate offered a sheepish smile. “Not yet, but I’m sure it’ll be there when we need it.”

  “I agree and that’s all good and well,” Floyd said, “but the Good Book also tells us to think ahead. It’s a foolish man—or woman—who doesn’t count the cost before starting a project.”

  Kate nodded. “Then the Lord will provide the funds before we start. So far things are going well.” Her smile faded. “Of course, not everyone wants to help, but we’ll have enough. I really believe that.”

  “Then I’ll work out a plan and give you an idea of what we’ll need to get started.”

  “Wonderful. Call me when you have something for me to look at.”

  Kate paid for her begonias and headed for the car, eager to get home before supper. The day had flown by, and her watch reminded her that it was already four thirty. She smiled and sang along with the radio as she drove. This is what Copper Mill is all about, she thought. People like Floyd, Livvy and Danny, Sam and Eli, and LuAnne and Loretta, who were willing to help others at a moment’s notice.

  True, there were plenty of naysayers, but she wouldn’t let them thwart their plans. Not for a minute.