Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold

by Joyce Magnin

  “Oh, just busy work, keeping busy until it’s time.”

  Henry sat down at the deck table. “I can’t work. I’m way too nervous. Are you sure my mother isn’t in any danger?”

  “As sure as I can be. The FBI will take all the necessary precautions. All your mother has to do is get Lily to mention where Crickets might be and then she’s done.”

  “I hope it goes off that easy.”

  Henry got up and wandered down the deck steps and toward the builders. “Okay, Pru. I guess it will be soon.”

  He tapped off the phone and dropped it into his pant pocket.

  “Hey, Manuel,” he called. “How’s it going?”

  “Good, very good.” The building foreman looked up. “How you doing? Nice day.” He looked up into the sky.

  Henry stepped over some spare rebar. “It looks good.”

  “Thank you, man. Thank you. Today my men and me will start assembling the walls.”

  “Sure. Okay.” He stepped over some boards and a roll of some kind of paper. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was. It all looked alike to him. “I’m going into town in a little while. So I won’t be around. How’s everything going?”

  “Terrific,” Manuel said. “Right on schedule.”

  “Good. Good.” Henry’s heart was not really in the building progress. Like Harriet and Martha and Pru, he was only passing time until the big event.

  “Hey, the boss lady tells me you are getting twins.” Manuel held up two fingers.

  Henry smiled. “Yeah.”

  “Ah, man, that’s cool. I have six children.” He held up six fingers.

  “Really?” Henry was astounded, kind of. “Six?”

  “Si, six. My wife, she just tell me we’re expecting again.”

  “Congratulations,” Henry said. “That’s wild.”

  One of the other workers tossed a wadded up piece of paper at Manuel. “There’s ways to stop that from happening.”

  Manuel turned around. “I know that, man, but what can I say … I love to have babies.”

  Henry smiled. That was the nicest thing he had heard all day. He made a mental note that someone in one of his novels would say those exact words.

  “Okay, it’s all set,” Harriet said as she tapped off her phone. “It’s ten o’clock now and she’ll be at the café in an hour and a half. And I called that Agent Willers with the number she gave Henry and told her.”

  “Did Lily say anything about her father?” Martha asked.

  “No, she said he was out on business again. But, Martha, I feel just terrible.” Harriet sat on the edge of Martha’s bed. “I hate lying to her.”

  “Well, so what? You told her you wanted to take her shopping again. It is a great excuse for getting her to show without her father. And besides, they’ve been lying to you.”

  “I know. But is it ever okay to lie?”

  “I think when a young woman’s whole life is at stake, yes. It’s okay to say something that might not be true.”

  Harriet pondered as she dressed for the day. “What does a person wear to an FBI sting operation?”

  Martha laughed. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to one before.”

  “Well, I don’t own a flak jacket. Remind me to get one next time.”

  “Yeah, right,” Martha said. “Me too. I should have a bulletproof vest too since I’m kind of your sidekick.”

  “Kind of? You are my sidekick. Robin to my Batman.”

  Martha looked out the bedroom window. “Holy Gold Nuggets,” she said. “The bat signal.”

  “We better get to Gotham,” Harriet said. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a black light sweater. She tied her red Chucks on and slipped into a black cardigan.

  “You look so … so crime fighterly,” Martha, who was wearing black pants and an orange sweater, said.

  “And you look like a pumpkin, but that’s okay.”

  Harriet wrestled the car keys out of her tote bag. She had never put them back in their special key spot the day before.

  “Okay,” Harriet said. “Let’s go now even though it’s a little early. Maybe I can buy her something, a gift, and then I won’t feel so awful.”

  “Oh, that’s a sweet idea. Do you have something in mind?” Martha slipped into a pair of boots.

  “Maybe. But I might change my mind. I’ll see.”

  “Not a salt and pepper shaker set, I hope.”

  “No, of course not. Now, I’ll tell the kids we’re going. I’m glad they’ll follow in their own car. I hope they don’t mind going a little early.”

  “Right, less conspicuous that way.”

  “I guess. I just don’t want to drive with them. Henry is such a worrywart. Come on, let’s tell them.”

  Harriet knocked on Prudence’s office door.

  “Come in,” Prudence called.

  Harriet pushed open the door. “Okay, so Lily is meeting me at eleven-thirty. But we want to go a little early to do some shopping.”

  “Okay, good. Henry and I are ready. We’ll wait in the car in the parking lot until we see the FBI make their move.”

  “Okeydokey,” Harriet said, nodding her head.

  “Okeydokey what?” Henry said.

  Harriet turned around and saw him standing at the doorway.

  “Oh, Henry,” she said. “I was just telling Prudence that we’re leaving now to meet Lily in about an hour.”

  Henry walked into the small office. He put his arms around Harriet. “I’m proud of you, Mom. I know this is hard.”

  “Thank you, son. I know it’s the right thing. I just don’t want to see Lily get hurt.”

  “They’ll take good care of her,” Prudence said. “She’s still a minor.”

  “That’s right,” Martha said. “We’re going a little early to do some shopping first, so we’re glad you’re ready.”

  “We’ll see you there,” Prudence said.

  Henry kissed his mother’s cheek. “Good luck, Mom.”

  Harriet did not have much to say on the way into town. Her anxiety level was pretty high, and it was all she could do to get steady and to keep her imagination from running wild and possibly turn back and not go through with the whole thing.

  “And what if I did?” she said out loud.

  “What if you did what?” Martha asked.

  “What if I just went home and forgot about the whole thing. I could just tell Win that I ran out of money.”

  “Well,” Martha said after what seemed like a long few seconds. “I suppose you could do that. You could just run away from the ordeal and hide but then … what about Lily? And I don’t know about you, but I think I’d be watching my back for the rest of my life. I mean how do you know what Win will do? What if he gets mad? Does he know where you live?”

  “Well, I am sure he could find out,” Harriet said. “But wouldn’t they just arrest him if he came after me?”

  “Probably … I guess. I don’t know,” Martha said. “But what about Lily?” she said again.

  Harriet drove the remaining few miles in silence. Thinking. Considering all the angles. She parked the BMW in her usual parking lot across from the bank, and then watched as Pru and Henry parked the SUV where they could see the café. “For Lily,” she said when she pushed the gearshift into park with a thud. “I’m doing this to save that child from a life of crime and running and bad hair dye jobs.”

  “For Lily,” Martha said. “Harriet Beamer, I do believe this is your greatest adventure.”

  “Let’s go,” Harriet said.

  “Do you know what you’re going to get her?” Martha asked as they walked across the street.

  “Not sure.” Harriet’s eyes were darting all around. She had a bad case of monkey nerves, thinking everyone she saw was an undercover FBI agent. “Look at him. I bet he’s an agent,” she said, pointing to a man standing near a trash can.

  “Harriet, relax. Not everyone knows about this. Not everyone is a cop or an agent.”

  “I can’t be sure about anythin
g anymore,” Harriet said.

  They walked slowly down Main Street until Harriet saw a small toy and gift shop called Trinkets. “Let’s go in there. I don’t think I’ve ever been in that store.”

  “She’s a little old for toys,” Martha said.

  “Maybe. But she’s still a little girl in some ways. I have an idea.”

  It was a nice store, full of glass shelves displaying glass statues and wooden shelves with soaps and tea towels. And in the back was a smaller room with high quality toys from Switzerland and small stuffed animals.

  Harriet’s eye fell immediately on a small white lamb with fuzzy, curly fur and a black nose and black eyes. She picked it up. It was so soft and smelled like potpourri and comfort. “Maybe this little lamb.”

  “It is cute,” Martha said. “I think that girl may never have had anything to cuddle.”

  “I know,” Harriet said. “Doesn’t it just break your heart?”

  “It does,” Martha said. “I think it’s a great idea.”

  Harriet paid for the little lamb. “I’ll just keep it in my tote until the time is right.”

  As they were getting ready to leave the house, Henry couldn’t help himself. He knew before even opening his mouth that he was going to get into trouble for saying what he was about to say to Prudence. But what kind of husband, what kind of father would he be if he didn’t say it?

  “Pru?” he said.

  She was taking a quick look out the window. “I think the addition is going to be so nice. I wish we could move in. Just kidding.”

  “Honey?” Henry said. “Sweetheart?”

  “What is it, Henry? Are you okay?”

  “Sure, sure, I’m fine, but … but I’ve been thinking. I … I …

  now, don’t blow a gasket … but I was wondering if maybe it might be better if you sat this one out.”

  “What?” Prudence said. “Are you nuts? No way am I staying home while you and your mother and Martha see all the action.”

  “But … but, darling … the babies?”

  “They’ll have a blast.”

  “That’s what worries me. Maybe you could stay in the car then, the whole time. Or wear something to protect yourself.”

  Prudence’s eyebrows arched. “Like what? Bulletproof maternity pants? Um, sorry, mine are at the cleaners.”

  “Well, don’t we have anything that’s bulletproof around here?”

  “Now you’re talking crazy. Let’s just go. I think the waiting is melting your brain.”

  “But you have cop friends. Maybe you could borrow a flak jacket.”

  Prudence took Henry’s hand. “Come on, let’s go. Before all the good shooting is over.”

  Henry swallowed. “Don’t even kid like that.”

  Harriet and Martha stopped in front of Rachel’s. Harriet took two deep breaths. She looked around. She saw cars she didn’t recognize and people who looked like agents all around. “What about him?” she whispered to Martha.

  “Who?”

  “The guy standing over there. He looks like a cop, doesn’t he?”

  “Come on,” Martha said. “Let’s just go inside.”

  “Okay, okay,” Harriet said as they made their way into the café. “I think I should do most of the talking.”

  “Right, just kick me under the table if you want me to talk or do something.”

  Cindy seated them at their usual place. “Nice to see you ladies again,” she said. “Just two today?”

  “We’re expecting Lily,” Harriet said.

  “Good,” Cindy said. She snagged an extra menu, which Harriet thought for sure was a signal, and took them to the usual table.

  Harriet couldn’t help but make eye contact with Agent Willers, who was at her place at the counter.

  “Okay,” Cindy said. “What can I get you? The usual?”

  “Cokes and French fries,” Harriet said. “And some for Lily when she gets here.”

  “Okeydokey.” The waitress smiled. “I already had the order written down.”

  “Well, aren’t you just so smart?” Harriet said. “Thank you.” Then she turned her attention to Martha. “I always wanted to be a regular somewhere, you know?”

  Martha chuckled and adjusted her napkin. “Harriet, my sweet friend, you will never be a regular anywhere. You are destined to go through life as an irregular.”

  “Now, if that weren’t so true I’d take offense.”

  Martha smiled. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if after this whole thing is over that Rachel’s names a sandwich after you.”

  “Oh, now, there is a legacy.” She smiled.

  “Have you thought about what you’re going to say to Lily? Do you want to rehearse?”

  “I’m going to just ask her, I thought—just plain out ask her if she’s ever met Old Man Crickets.”

  “That’s good.”

  “And then I’ll ask her where he lives, and that’s when the FBI will swarm us like locusts and ruin that girl’s life forever.” Harriet looked at the table. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  Martha fiddled with the ketchup. She unscrewed the lid. “I don’t see any bugs in here.”

  Cindy brought their Cokes. “Fries will be up in a minute.”

  “That’s fine, dear,” Harriet said. “We’re not in a hurry.”

  Harriet sipped her drink. “Isn’t that sweet, she always puts a cherry in it.”

  Martha looked into her drink. “Hey look, she gave me one too.”

  “Another signal, I bet,” Harriet said.

  “A signal for what? Nothing has happened.”

  Harriet took a breath and glanced around the small café. “Boy, am I nervous. I need to relax.” She closed her eyes a second. “I can do all things through Christ.”

  “Yeah, can’t let Lily see how nervous you are. She might catch wind before she tells you the whereabouts of Crickets and then cop a heel.”

  “Cop a heel? Did you just say that?”

  “Hey, I watched The Untouchables.”

  Harriet shook her head. “Oh boy, here come our French fries.”

  “You and French fries. It’s a wonder your arteries—”

  “Shh, there she is.” Harriet waved.

  Martha adjusted her seat a little to make more room at the small table.

  “Hey, Harriet,” Lily said. “What’s up? I can’t believe you want to take me shopping again.” She sat down at the table.

  Harriet took a deep breath. This was going to be so hard. Lily looked very cute in another one of the outfits Harriet had bought for her. That day she wore the jeans with the ripped knees and a longish but frilly orange blouse. Her hair was still tar black, but Harriet was beginning to not mind it so much.

  “Hi,” Lily said to Martha. A shock of the black hair fell over her eyes. She pushed it behind her ear.

  “Hi, honey,” Martha said. “I’m glad you could meet us.”

  “Are you hungry, dear?” Harriet asked. By now her foot was tapping so hard from nerves she thought she might strike gold right there in the café.

  “Sure.”

  “Good, because I already told Cindy to bring you an order of fries. You can have anything else you want.”

  “I thought we were going shopping. I told Pop we were going shopping.”

  “We are,” Harriet said. “I just thought we’d get something to eat first.”

  Lily fidgeted. “Okay, I guess. But are you sure you want to buy me more clothes?”

  Harriet reached across the table and took Lily’s hand. “I care about you, Lily. I really do.”

  “Me too,” Martha said. “We both do.”

  “Thanks,” Lily said.

  “So how is every little thing?” Harriet asked. “Getting along okay? It can be tough being a teenager.”

  Lily’s eyebrows crinkled. “I’m cool. Everything is good. Terrific.”

  “I’m terrific too,” Harriet said. “In fact, I’m super terrific.”

  Harriet felt Martha kick her under the t
able.

  Cindy brought Lily’s fries and Coke.

  “Thanks,” Lily said. She grabbed the ketchup and made a large puddle in the basket.

  “Soooo,” Harriet said, “you know who I was thinking about earlier?”

  “Who?” Lily said, munching.

  “Old Man Crickets.”

  Lily swallowed. Hard. “Crickets? How come him?”

  Harriet attempted to look in the direction of Agent Willers.

  “Well, it sounded like he was eager to lease the mine, and I was just wondering how he was doing. And if I’d ever get a chance to actually meet him.”

  Lily didn’t look up from her plate. “He’s good, I guess. Yeah, he’s all right. But he doesn’t come out much. Pop says he’s a hermit type.”

  “Do you ever see him?” Martha asked.

  This time Harriet kicked Martha.

  “Not much, once or twice. Pop visits him mostly.”

  Harriet swallowed a fry. “Oh, so he lives around here?”

  Lily munched. And then she sipped. “How come you’re so interested in Crickets?”

  “I told you,” Harriet said. “I was just wanting to know if he’s okay.”

  “Yeah,” Lily said looking at her plate. “He’s okay. Crickets is always okay.” She squirmed a little. “I need to use the bathroom. Excuse me?”

  “Oh, sure,” Harriet said. “And when you get back, we’ll finish our snack and head out to the stores.”

  “Okay,” Lily said.

  “She knows something,” Martha said. “I can feel it in my knees.”

  “Your knees?”

  “And my elbows. My arthritis acts up when I get vibes. You know that.”

  “Oh, like the time your knees and elbows told you that that nice Mr. Eckles from down the street was a jewel thief.” Harriet munched a fry. “Just relax. I know what I’m doing.”

  “I hope so, Harriet. I wish this was over.”

  “Shh, here she comes,” Harriet said.

  Lily slid into her seat and grabbed a fry.

  “So you said Crickets lives around here?” Harriet said.

  “Over in Rough and Ready.”

  “Rough and Ready?” Martha said. “That’s the name of the town?”

  “Yeah. It’s a cool little place. Crickets lives in a weird little house over there. I think it was on Quail Alley. He never comes out. People bring him all his food and stuff.”