The man whirled around and stalked off, the coat flapping around his broomstick legs. Penelope took her cell phone from her pocket and punched in her son’s private number.
“Did he do anything besides tell you he was going to shut down the program?”
“If you mean did he threaten me, no, he didn’t. But he was trespassing on private property.”
“The community center isn’t really private property, Mother, and there aren’t any signs posted warning people away.”
“Well, he made me mad.”
Bradley chuckled. “You’ll live.”
Penelope ended the call and made a second one to Harry Hargrove’s office. “Harrison Snively was just here at the community center.”
“Oh, Jerusalem, I thought we were shut of him.”
“Apparently not.”
“I did some checking around, and nobody seems to think he has any grounds for a lawsuit.”
“There’s the money the Town Council gave Mary Lynn.”
Harry sighed. “It wasn’t city money.”
“No?”
“Private donor.”
“Harry, you fraud! You gave her that money and let her think it came from the city.”
“If you tell her that, I’ll...you talk too much anyway. Always did.”
“That’s mean, Harry.”
“Aw, Penelope, you know I love you, but I have my reasons for not wanting Mary Lynn to know I furnished the money.”
“You’ve got it to spare.”
“She wanted to do it on her own, and she did get the whole town behind her, you know.”
“I know. Okay, my lips are sealed.”
“Thanks.”
“But that guy gave me the creeps, coming in here this afternoon while I was busy on the stage.”
“Then keep the doors locked. I’ve told Mary Lynn to do that when she’s there.”
“She’s gone uptown to get a few things we need.”
“Okay, well, when she comes back, remind her about the doors. I’m busy, so goodbye.”
Chuckling, Penelope snapped the phone shut and dropped it back in her pocket. Harrison Snively. I’ll have to remember that. It’s funnier than people named Dancer buying the Sit-n-Swill. She shook out a terrycloth bathrobe that had seen better days. Well, shepherds were hard on their clothes, I guess. Reaching for the scissors, she began to snip off some stray threads.
****
Although a few of the Possum Hollow children had shown interest in the Christmas program, Archie Hadden’s rampage had effectively quelled their willingness to venture outside their own community. Mary Lynn observed it was just as well as she sat in the kitchen of the B&B a week before Thanksgiving.
“Why would you say that?” Penelope asked.
“Maybe next year, Pen, when things have settled down. We’ll have a whole year to talk it up.”
“Maybe.”
“I got a call from Tonya Cisneros last night.”
“Oh? Did she mention the girls?”
Mary Lynn smiled. “Yes, she did. They’re both fine. Ellie asked her to tell me they both missed us. Tonya says they’re in a home with another couple about our age and no other children. Ellie’s in school and doing well, and Evie goes to pre-school three days a week.”
“Any chance they’ll come back? I mean, Jeremiah and Archie Hadden have been indicted and can’t make bail, so they’re not going to get out before their trials.”
“Tonya recertified Harry and me as foster parents. I think she pulled some strings somewhere, but it’s a start.”
“Mary Lynn, you’re the same age I am. Are you up to taking in a ten-year-old and a four-year-old on a permanent basis?”
“Harry and I think it would work.”
“At least you’re in this together.”
“Yes, we are. We realize if there’s any family who’d take them, they’d get first consideration, but they’ll be better off out of the Hollow.”
“Bradley can’t say anything about whether Ellie will have to testify at her father’s trial.”
Mary Lynn shouldered her new leopard-print handbag. “I’m making plans for Christmas.”
“Maybe that’s hoping for too much too soon.”
Mary Lynn’s eyes misted. “But Christmas is the season of miracles, Pen.”
“It’s that, all right.”
“Then I’m going to pray for one for Harry and me. We’re due.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sam didn’t make it back for Thanksgiving. He didn’t even call. Penelope tried not to feel hurt and busied herself making a traditional feast. The guest list had grown so that Jake had to put both extra leaves into the dining room table and bring chairs from everywhere in the house to seat Brad and Rosabel, the Hargroves, Mike and Millie Dancer, Shana, and Peter and Tabby Taliaferro. Penelope reflected Sam would’ve made an even dozen around the table.
During dinner, Brad confirmed Darby Dolan would go to trial in January. “So will Jeremiah Hadden.”
“What’s he going to be tried for?” Jake asked. “Besides murdering his wife.”
“Unfortunately, that’s circumstantial, but Archie will go down for attempted murder, kidnapping, terroristic threat, and anything else the DA can dream up between now and then.”
“Jeremiah’s one big bad boy,” Mike Dancer said. “And he put a big bad hole in my ceiling.”
“Archie Hadden put a big hole in George Harris and then got himself brought down by the tickling finger of a seventy-seven-year-old retired teacher,” Penelope said. “I’ll never get over that as long as I live.”
“That’s why you’re still alive, Mother,” Bradley reminded her.
“Who tickled somebody?” Tabby piped up.
“Little pitchers,” Shana murmured. “Tabby, how would you like to help me put whipped cream on the pumpkin pie before we serve it?”
****
By four o’clock, the men had retired to Jake’s room to watch football, and Tabby had curled up in front of the television in the parlor with “The Mouse on the Mayflower”. Penelope, Mary Lynn, Shana, Rosabel and Millie cleaned up the remains of the meal already beginning to sit heavily in their stomachs.
Penelope had just switched on the dishwasher when Parnell Garrett knocked at the back door. “Hey, Parnell, there’s a piece of pumpkin pie with your name on it.”
He shook his head. “Thanks, Mrs. Pembroke, but I need to see Brad.”
“He’s out in Daddy’s room watching football. You know the way.”
Parnell took off his cap, wiped his feet, and stepped inside. A few minutes later, Brad followed the other officer into the kitchen. “I’ve got to go, Mother.”
Rosabel put her hand on his arm. “Do you need me?”
“Not right now. I’ll ride with Parnell and leave you the car.” He kissed her cheek. “Sorry.”
“Anything we need to know?” Penelope asked.
Bradley and Parnell exchanged glances. “Somebody broke into the old school, hauled out all the costumes for the Christmas program, and set fire to them on the playground.”
“Snively! That weasel!” Penelope exploded.
“We don’t know that, Mother.”
“Who else would’ve done it?”
“Look, I’ve got to go. You’ve got a month to get some new costumes together.”
“Two weeks,” Mary Lynn said.
“Two weeks then. I’ll be back when I can.”
The women took coffee into the dining room and sat looking at each other across the table. “I guess it could’ve been somebody from the Hollow,” Mary Lynn said after a few minutes.
“You don’t believe that,” Shana said. “It was that Snively person.”
“Now, wait a minute,” Rosabel interrupted. “He said he was going to keep the program from happening, so he’s got to know he’d be the first one we’d look at.”
“He doesn’t even live in Amaryllis,” Penelope reminded her.
“No, but he wouldn’t be hard to trac
k down. If he filed a suit, his information will be in the court papers, so the police won’t have any trouble picking him up for questioning.”
“Spoken like a true policewoman. Well, if not him, then who?” Shana asked.
“A Hadden?” Mary Lynn suggested.
Penelope set down her cup and twirled it in the saucer. “Not Jeremiah or Archie, so which one? And why?”
“I don’t know, Pen. Just an idea.”
“And why now?”
“Snively,” Shana repeated, nodding her head as if the matter were settled. “He did it.”
“It doesn’t really matter who did it,” Mary Lynn said. “We’ll have to start over with the costumes, and two weeks isn’t much time. I’ll start calling parents tomorrow.”
“I can help,” Millie said. “Things are slow at the Sit-n-Swill this week because of the holidays.”
Shana got up. “I’m going to check on Tabby.”
“What’s the situation with Shana and Peter?” Millie asked when Shana had gone.
“About the same,” Penelope said. “Unofficially they’re engaged, but she’s not in a rush.”
Peter came in and looked around for Shana. “It’s getting late. I ought to take Tabby home,” Peter said. When Shana came back he said, “Do you want to stay, or shall I drop you at your place?”
“No, I’ll go with you now.”
“I think it’s time for all of us to head out,” Mike said. “Penelope, it was quite a feast. Did I hear you invite us for Christmas?”
Jake cackled. “We like a full house around here, so sure, you all come ahead.”
Repeated goodbyes and promises to get started on new costumes the next day filled another quarter hour. Finally, silence descended on the empty house.
“It was a real nice day, Nellie,” Jake said. “I’m going back to the game.”
“Then I’m going up, too.”
“Heard from Sam today?”
“No.”
“You will, I bet.”
Penelope shook her head. “I won’t take the bet. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to gamble on Sam any longer.”
Jake patted her arm. “You know you don’t mean that.”
“I wish I did, Daddy. I might be a whole lot happier.”
“One of these days, Sam’ll be back to stay.”
“You think so?”
“I’d bet my life on it.”
Penelope lay awake listening for the phone, but it never rang. Finally she drifted off to sleep and dreamed that she and Harrison Snively were dancing the Hokey-Pokey on the old school’s stage, while Miss Maude Pendleton stood in the orchestra pit and directed the music with her grandmother’s pearl-handled umbrella.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Harrison Snively was in Conway,” Bradley told his mother over a second cup of coffee the next morning. “ I’ve got three witnesses, so we know he didn’t do it.”
“Well, who did?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Somebody got in through the back—it was unlocked.”
“We always lock up when we leave.”
“The door was standing wide open, and it hadn’t been forced.”
“That beats blessed all…I guess Jeremiah Hadden’s still locked up. And Archie.”
“Tight.” Bradley pushed his empty cup aside. “I talked to Elbert though.”
“Oh, Bradley, he wouldn’t burn the costumes. His kids are in the program.”
“He finally admitted he’d heard some talk out in the Hollow.”
“What was he doing out there?”
“He’s got family out there, Mother.”
“So why didn’t he warn us or you or somebody?”
“You know those folks don’t rat on each other.”
“That sounds like something out of a bad gangster movie, Bradley.”
“The point is, Mother, there are people out there who still have Jeremiah’s and even Archie’s backs, so you need to watch yours. You and Aunt Mary Lynn both.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. I told Elbert to put out the word that there’d be eyes watching at the school, in town, and everywhere.”
“Whose eyes?”
“We don’t have the manpower for twenty-four-hour security, but I’m negotiating with the state police.”
“Do you really think it’s necessary?”
Bradley stood up. “Yes, I do. Pass all this along to Aunt Mary Lynn.” He paused with his hand on the door. “And be careful.”
****
Penelope’s fingers drummed the steering wheel non-stop as they drove to school the next morning. She parked beside a car she recognized as belonging to George Harris and dashed into the building. “What are you blessed doing here?” she confronted him as she charged into his office.
“Getting back to work.”
“You’re pale as a ghost.”
“At least I’m not one. A ghost, that is. The doctor cleared me to come back since I have sit-down job.”
“Sit-down my foot!”
“Well, sort of. I hear things have been moving right along out here.”
Everybody pulled together. We didn’t want you to fire us when you came back.”
“I knew everything would be fine. That’s not why I’m back. By the way, Penelope, thanks for the first aid.”
“If you mean ramming my fist into the hole in your belly, no charge.”
He laughed. “My next ten paychecks will go to the hospital and the doctor.”
“The school employee insurance should cover most of it, and you should even qualify for workman’s comp if you need it.”
“I’m not sure getting myself shot qualifies as a work-related injury.”
“You were in the school, weren’t you? Listen, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings on your first day back, but…”
“Bradley called me last night, so I know about the costumes for the Christmas pageant and that it might be related to what’s going on out here. Nobody said this job would be a piece of cake.”
“More like a pot of sauerkraut.”
“We’re going to get on with it, Penelope, and I have permission to keep the doors locked. They open from the inside anyway in case of fire.”
“That didn’t stop Archie Hadden.”
“I don’t think anybody else is going to come barreling in here with a shotgun, even if they are his kin. Mischief like burning those costumes is more their style.”
Miss Maude tapped on the glass window, stepping inside only when George beckoned. “Are you quite sure you’re up to being here, Mr. Harris?”
“Yes, ma’am. I hear you showed up as soon as the school opened again.”
“Everyone was needed.”
“I’m sure glad you’re okay. What made you come out of the classroom anyway?”
“I heard the gunshots and thought I might be needed.” The tiniest hint of a smile turned up her thin lips. “And at my age, I had less to lose than the others.”
Penelope stared at her. “Miss Maude!”
The woman returned her stare. “Shall we get on with the day, Mrs. Pembroke?”
****
“The costumes are a total loss,” Mary Lynn mourned as she and Penelope ate lunch in the small library office. “I went by the community center on the way out here.”
“You should’ve taken the day off to see about things.”
“Millie said she’d start calling people this morning. Prissy thinks we can get it together.” She dropped her eyes. “But with this new turn, Bradley says he doesn’t want the girls anywhere near Amaryllis.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. I had big plans for Christmas.”
“There’s always next year.”
“Next year they could be a thousand miles away.”
“What’s happened to our nice quiet town, Mary Lynn?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Me, too.”
“So what do you hear from the Gray Ghost?”
“Not a word. Sometimes I wish he’d just go away and never come back.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I’d be better off.”
“Someday he’ll come back to stay. I believe that.”
“I’d like to.” Penelope popped the lid from a container of coconut pudding. “But like you said, Christmas is a time for miracles, and we’re all due.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Christmas decorations went up all over town on the first of December. Penelope hung a wreath on the front door of the B&B and debated whether she really wanted to put up a Christmas tree. “Maybe we should have another party,” Jake suggested, noticing her lack of holiday spirit as she sifted through boxes of decorations from years past.
“Not this year, Daddy.”
“How’re the replacement costumes coming along?”
“Two of the mothers who sew have set up shop in the community center. They say everybody will be decently and authentically covered by the nineteenth.”
“That Snively fellow been around making any more trouble lately?”
“No. If he actually filed suit, Harry says he hasn’t heard about it.”
“Don’t know what the world’s coming to when people want to take God out of our lives.”
“Separation of church and state, Daddy.”
“That wasn’t in the Constitution last time I checked.”
“It’s an interpretation.”
“A bad one.”
“I don’t know. So far nobody’s said anything about the Nativity scene on the lawn at City Hall, but I’m sure it will happen.”
“Outsiders. Town’s satisfied.”
“It’s not always the outsiders who make trouble. Brice Dolan was born and raised here.”
“He married outside.” Jake ran a hand through his hair. “So did I, but your mother loved this town from the day she set foot in it, and everybody in it loved her.”
“I know, Daddy. She was special.”
“So are you, honeychild. Always were, always will be. Now, I’m going uptown for a while.”
“Tell the Toneys hello for me.”
Jake waved over his shoulder as he went out the back door.
The Possum Hollow Hullabaloo (The Penelope Pembroke Cozy Mystery Series) Page 10
