Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy

by Hope Callaghan

  Ryan pulled back. He looked up at his beloved Grams. “Really??”

  He turned to his mother. “Can we, Mom? Gram’s asking…”

  Jill shook her head. “You sure you’re ready for that?”

  The last time the boys had spent the weekend, they’d had loads of excitement. Between discovering someone hiding out in Gloria’s barn, to the boys catching a snake, to finding a dead body in Andrea’s shed. Yes, it had been an eventful weekend.

  But what were the chances of having all that excitement happen again? She glanced at Ruth. The only problem was, she wasn’t certain how much longer Ruth would be staying. And Gloria didn’t want her to feel like she was pushing her out….

  Jill must’ve read Gloria’s mind. She ruffled Ryan’s hair. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  The group had the trunk of Jill’s car unloaded in record time. Most of what she had brought over was clothes. There was only a small box of toys. Gloria pointed at the small box. “Those are the only toys you have?”

  Tyler eyed the box with suspicion. “Mom was trying to get rid of all our good toys!” he told his grandmother.

  Gloria smiled at Tyler. “Why don’t you boys run on ahead into the house and wash your hands?”

  The boys raced off to the house and the girls trailed behind. “I figured I’d wait ‘til the boys are playing over at their friend’s house tomorrow and then I can clean out their rooms,” Jill said.

  “Good idea.” Gloria nodded. “Ruth and I decided to have the sale Saturday and Monday. We figured it didn’t make much sense to do all this work for just one day.”

  “I can come help both days,” she offered. She grabbed the bags of burgers and fries from the front seat. “I’ll have to bring the boys,” she warned.

  “Of course. We can put them in charge of crowd control,” Gloria joked.

  Tyler and Ryan were inside, chasing Mally in circles around the dining room table. The boys would suddenly stop and start running in the opposite direction and Mally would start chasing them.

  Puddles, Gloria’s cat, was nowhere in sight.

  “Let’s eat!” Jill hollered into the dining room. She turned to Gloria. “I hope burgers are okay.”

  Gloria nodded. “Sounds perfect. Thanks for bringing it.”

  Ruth reached for her purse. “Dinner’s on me. How much do I owe you?” she asked.

  Jill handed her a wrapped burger and packet of fries. “No, you don’t have to do that Ruth.”

  Ruth took the food from Jill and set it down on the table. “I insist. It’s the least I can do.”

  Jill told her the amount and Ruth handed her that, plus a little extra.

  The group prayed over the food before digging in.

  “Do you need me to come back tomorrow to help organize?” Jill dipped a fry in ketchup and took a bite.

  “I think Ruth and I can handle it,” Gloria said. “Just plan on coming early Saturday.”

  Tyler kicked his feet under his chair. “We can help, too, Grams.”

  Gloria smiled at her grandson. “Why, thank you Tyler. I’m sure you’ll be a big help.”

  They finished the food, then Gloria collected the wrappers and dropped them inside the bags. She shoved the bags in the trash can and closed the lid.

  Ruth picked up her phone. “I’ll text the other girls and let them know we’re starting the sale on Saturday.”

  Jill looked at her watch. “We better go. It’s getting late. Greg will be home by now.”

  Gloria walked Jill and the boys to the car. Jill glanced back at the house. “How much longer will Ruth be staying?” she whispered.

  Gloria followed her gaze. She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Not too much longer, I hope.”

  Jill drove off, but not before she promised her mother she’d be back at 8:00 Saturday morning for the yard sale.

  The girls were up bright and early the next morning, prepared to tackle the yard sale project. Lucy was the first to show up. She brought another small load of stuff with her. Margaret was next. She had a trunk full and promised that was the end.

  Gloria eyed all the goodies Margaret pulled from her trunk. She made a mental note to take a good look at everything before the sale started. Just in case there was something she couldn’t live without!

  Dot was the last to arrive. She had the largest load. Gloria pulled a box from the back of the van. “I had no idea you even owned this much stuff,” Gloria grumbled.

  Dot reached in and grabbed a floor fan. “Yeah, me either.”

  Lucy wandered over to help. She pulled out a wooden end table then grabbed a used coffee maker. She sniffed the air. “Do I smell donuts?”

  Dot reached into the passenger seat and pulled out a bakery box. “Leave it to Lucy to sniff out the sweets,” she teased.

  She handed the box to Ruth then grabbed a carafe of coffee and a pack of Styrofoam cups.

  “Dot to the rescue,” Margaret declared.

  The girls circled several lawn chairs and sat down to take a break. Ruth pulled a glazed donut from the box before passing the box on to Lucy. Lucy picked a pink frosted donut with sprinkles and started to hand the box to Margaret. “I might as well take two now,” she decided. She grabbed a raspberry twist before surrendering the box.

  Gloria pulled a card table from the wall and set it up in the middle of the circle. She poured cups of coffee before the donut box reached her. At least they left her favorite. A chocolate éclair.

  Lucy licked pink frosting from her upper lip. “I left that for you,” she told Gloria.

  Gloria set the frosted confection on a napkin and reached for her coffee. “Thanks, Lucy.” They each had a different favorite and after all these years, Dot knew who liked what and made sure to bring at least one of each.

  Margaret broke off a piece of her apple turnover. “How’s the investigation at the post office going?”

  They all turned to Ruth. Her face fell. She set her donut on the napkin. “I wish I knew.”

  Dot poured a liquid creamer in her coffee and stirred. “I’d march right over there and demand an update,” she said. “You have a right to know.”

  The group agreed that Ruth should stop by there to check in.

  Gloria sipped her coffee. “That might not be a bad idea, Ruth. After all, I think it would look suspicious if you didn’t…”

  Ruth turned to Gloria. “You really think so?”

  A murmured agreement by all was enough to convince Ruth to stop by there later. She popped last piece of donut in her mouth, a look of determination on her face. “You’re right. You’re all right!”

  The group finished the breakfast and dumped the trash in a bin Gloria had dragged out for the sale.

  Earlier, Gloria had assembled a makeshift rack to hang the clothes on. It ran the entire length of the barn wall.

  The toys were put in one group, while dishes and other miscellaneous household items were put in another. Gloria began to pull the items from the boxes and set them on the long rows of card tables. There were lamps, clocks, place mats. And then Gloria ran across an odd looking item. It was round and it looked like a black ball. A small instruction sheet was taped to the bottom. She held it up. “What’s this?”

  Ruth was stacking books on a table nearby. “Is this yours?” Gloria asked.

  Ruth looked at the round object. “Yeah.” She glanced around to see if anyone was listening in.

  Gloria leaned closer. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Ruth nodded. “Yep. It’s a mini camera. I had this one over at the post office ‘til I upgraded to the one I have there now.” She gave Gloria a hard look.

  Gloria turned it over in her hand. “Does it work?”

  “Like a charm,” Ruth said. “Only problem was, it was a little small and had limited scope. You know, I couldn’t see as much as I can with the upgraded model. Super easy to use, too. You can use it with your phone to spy on people!”

  Gloria nodded. She pretended to set it back down. Wh
en Ruth turned away, she stuck it in the pocket of her sweater. Somehow, she had a feeling it might come in handy.

  The five of them worked right along and a couple hours later everything was organized and ready to go.

  Dot was the first to leave. “I’d offer to help tomorrow…”

  Gloria nodded. “I appreciate that Dot, but I know you have the restaurant to run.” She went on. “Ruth will be here and so will Jill.”

  Lucy and Margaret had more flexibility and told Gloria they’d be there around 9:00. Then Gloria remembered Andrea.

  Andrea had asked if she could take a look at everything before it went up for sale. Gloria pulled the phone from her pocket and texted her.

  Lucy was the last to leave. She put a hand on Ruth’s shoulder. “I can go to the post office with you,” she said, “for moral support.”

  Ruth took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Thanks, Lucy, but I need to take care of this on my own.”

  Lucy drove off while Andrea pulled in. “This place is like a revolving door,” Ruth observed.

  Andrea parked in front of the barn doors. She slid out of her sports car and held the door open. Brutus bounded out and over to Gloria.

  Mally had been wandering around inside the barn sniffing everything. When she saw Brutus, she did an about-face and came close to check out the visitor.

  Andrea grabbed hold of Brutus’s collar. “Sit,” she commanded. Brutus obeyed Andrea and sat.

  Gloria reached for Mally’s collar. “Mally sit, too.” Mally sat. Her eyes never left Brutus. Then Mally thumped her tail. Just a bit.

  Brutus thumped his tail in response.

  “I think that’s a good sign.” Gloria bent down. “Mally, this is Brutus. Brutus, Mally.”

  The two dogs sniffed the air. Then Mally crouched down and pulled herself forward with her front paws. She looked at Brutus, then looked away. Brutus thumped his tail again.

  Mally pulled herself closer. At the same time, both dogs leaned forward to sniff each other, then barked “hello” at the same time.

  “Well, I’ll be.” Andrea shook her head. “They like each other.”

  Gloria released her hold on Mally’s collar first. Andrea let go of Brutus’s collar. Brutus sniffed while Mally pranced. When Mally tried to lead Brutus out of the barn, Gloria stopped her. “Whoa! I don’t think you two should wander off.”

  She looked up at Andrea. “I’ll be right back.” She led Mally back to the house and put her indoors. She was glad the two got along but wasn’t sure if Mally wouldn’t be so excited to show Brutus around that they might run off down the road. To the neighbor’s chicken coop or somewhere else they shouldn’t be.

  By the time she headed back to the barn, Andrea had grabbed a set of delicate china and placed it on the front seat of her car. “I think those are Dot’s,” Ruth observed.

  Gloria pulled the colored tag from the top plate. “Yep.”

  Andrea picked out a few more things before announcing she was done. She handed Gloria a hundred dollar bill. Gloria looked at the money. “I’m sure the stuff wasn’t that much.”

  Andrea grinned. “This will help jump start your sales.” She hugged Gloria good-bye and climbed into her car.

  Gloria closed the barn door and put the padlock in place. “I think I’ll head to the post office before I chicken out,” Ruth decided. She grabbed her purse and car keys then headed to the van. Gloria waited until her van was out of sight before she headed to the spare bedroom. The bedroom Ruth was staying in.

  She pushed the door open and peeked her head around the corner. The room was tidy. The bed was made and the curtains open wide to let sunshine in.

  Gloria stepped all the way inside and over to the dresser. She sucked in a breath when she saw a white box on the floor next to the dresser. It looked like the box that Kenny had handed her at his house the other morning.

  Gloria lifted the box and set it on top of the dresser. She folded the cardboard top back and looked inside. It contained a single item - a plastic box. It looked like a fishing tackle box. She lifted it out and held it up to the light from the window.

  Inside the box she could see small divided compartments or bins but she couldn’t make out what was in them. The frosted cover blocked the view. She turned it around and her heart plummeted. There was a small combination lock on the front!

  She pulled the box close to her face and sniffed the lid. There was no odor. She shook it gently. There was no noise. Frustrated, she dropped the box inside the cardboard container, closed the lid and set it back on the floor.

  Whatever was in the box was something Ruth didn’t want others seeing. Why else would it be locked?

  Gloria remembered the mini spy camera. She pulled it out of her pocket and peeled the instruction sheet off the back. She went into the kitchen and grabbed her glasses from the table. The instructions looked fairly simple. She switched the button to “on” then headed back to Ruth’s room.

  She needed to put it in a spot where it wasn’t sticking out like a sore thumb. The perfect spot was a small shelf loaded with collectibles Gloria had accumulated over the years. She tucked the black ball between two of the darker objects and stood back. She could barely see it. Unless Ruth was looking for it, she’d never even notice!

  She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her apps screen. What was the name of that thing? She remembered seeing it stamped on the side. Was the name of it - My Spy? She scrolled some more. There it was! Eye Spy! She clicked on the name and waited while it loaded. The screen changed and suddenly she was staring inside the bedroom and right at the dresser where Ruth normally kept her purse. She could even see the floor where the box sat.

  She switched the phone off and took it to her bedroom where she set it on the dresser. Gloria closed her bedroom door and wandered back into the kitchen just in time to see Ruth come up the steps. She opened the door and waited for her to step in. “How’d it go?”

  She could tell by the look on Ruth’s face it wasn’t good. “They said they were hours away from wrapping up the investigation and making an arrest.”

  “Well, that’s good! Then you can get back to work,” Gloria said.

  Ruth shook her head and frowned. “I don’t think so. By the tone of Sharon’s voice, I think they plan to arrest me!”

  Gloria’s mouth fell open as Ruth pulled out a chair and slumped down. “Something about how they have more than enough evidence now.”

  “But why you?”

  Ruth dropped her chin in her fist. “Maybe because they really don’t have a suspect and I’m as good a scapegoat as any?” She shrugged her shoulders and tears filled her eyes. “I’ve never been to jail before.”

  Gloria remembered the mountain trip when she, Liz and Margaret had ended up in jail overnight. She shuddered at the thought.

  She patted Ruth’s arm. “The Lord won’t let that happen.”

  She grabbed her Bible off the side shelf and flipped it open to one of her favorite verses.

  Psalm 143:1 (NIV)

  Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.

  The women bowed their heads and prayed that Ruth would not be wrongly accused and that the true criminal would be brought to justice and their actions brought to light.

  Ruth wiped the tears and gave Gloria a watery smile. “Thanks for being such a great friend.”

  “We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Gloria vowed. “Soon.”

  Ruth didn’t pull her laptop back out. She didn’t seem interested anymore in the goings on at the post office. Instead, she plopped down on the living room sofa and stared at the TV the rest of the afternoon. Gloria knew she wasn’t watching it. She didn’t bother to pick up the remote, which was right next to her. She never turned the channel. Not once.

  When dinnertime came, Gloria asked if she wanted grilled cheese and soup. She stared blankly at Gloria, then shook her head “no.”

  But Gloria
made her one despite her objections. She wandered into the living room with both their plates and set Ruth’s on her lap. “You have to eat something.”

  Instead of argue, Ruth lifted the sandwich and took a small bite. When the sandwich was gone, Gloria took her plate and returned with a piping hot mug of tomato soup and pile of crackers. “Here, eat this.”

  Ruth crumbled a few crackers into the soup and spooned the mixture into her mouth. The glazed expression never left her face.

  When they finished, Gloria washed up the few dishes and returned to the living room to find Ruth in the same position she’d left her in. For once, Gloria didn’t know how to help. She didn’t know how to fix this for Ruth.

  Gloria was sinking as far down-in-the-dumps as Ruth herself was.

  She let Mally out one last time and decided to head to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day for the girls. Hopefully, it was one that wouldn’t include Ruth’s arrest!

  Chapter 7

  Cars were lined up in the driveway and on the road in front of the house by 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. News of the yard sale traveled far and wide. The fact that several families would be involved and the sale would have lots of antiques and children’s clothes brought them in droves. It didn’t hurt that Dot told every person that came into the restaurant that they were having a sale at Gloria’s.

  By the time Margaret and Lucy showed up at 8:15, the place was jam-packed. Gloria put Tyler and Ryan in charge of keeping an eye on the kids in the crowd, who tended to wander off when their parents weren’t looking, and the first place they headed was in the direction of the busy road!

  As soon as Lucy arrived, Gloria pulled her aside. “I need your help inside.”

  Lucy raised her eyebrows but obediently followed Gloria across the drive and into the house.

  Gloria pulled her phone from her pocket and turned it on. They were the only two in the house. “I set up a small surveillance camera in Ruth’s bedroom. I need you to stay inside and keep an eye on it. I have a hunch something’s going to happen today.”