Take the Trophy and Run

by Gail Sattler

  “That sure looks funny at this speed. If this had audio, I would have sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks, wouldn’t I?”

  Stan nodded. “Yes. But the point here is to watch, not listen. The system with audio capabilities cost more, and I decided we didn’t need to hear the person. It’s even unlikely he or she would speak. We only need to see who it is. It should be soon.”

  They continued watching, and suddenly the screen went black.

  “What?” Stan gasped, and blinked. “I’ve had this laptop barely a year. How could the monitor go like that?” He made a little grumble that Amber couldn’t understand, which was probably not a bad thing. She did catch the gist that his laptop was no longer under warranty, and a few snide comments about tech support.

  Stan ran his fingers through his hair. “This is frustrating, but we can still watch it at home. I installed the program on both my laptop and my PC. We can—”

  The picture appeared again, as bright as day . . . without Gnorman.

  All three of them sat there, staring at Kathy’s pretty pink garden.

  Stan’s eyebrows lowered and he crossed his arms over his chest, turning to glare at his mother. “Who did you tell about the hidden camera, Mother? Wasn’t there a garden club committee meeting a few days ago?”

  Amber cringed. Stan calling Kathy “Mother” instead of “Mom” wasn’t a good sign. Kathy was in deep, deep trouble.

  Kathy raised both palms in front of her. “I think I might have told Libby. But you know Libby. She likes to play detective. I thought she might have some ideas about Gnorman’s next location.”

  Stan gritted his teeth. “And?”

  Kathy lowered her head marginally. “I might have mentioned it to Pamela. She’s the president, you know.”

  Stan continued to glare at her. “And?”

  Kathy looked away. “Possibly Sylvia. But it was Sylvia who told Victoria.”

  “And so on, and so on, and so on. Is there anyone on the board you didn’t tell?”

  “I just told you. I didn’t tell Victoria. Sylvia did.”

  Amber turned to Stan. “If that was three days ago . . .”

  He nodded. “. . . Then the entire garden club has to know by now.”

  Stan stood, folded his laptop without shutting it off properly, tucked it under one arm, and strode out the door.

  “He’s mad, isn’t he? I’m so sorry. I only told the board members. I thought they’d want to know.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” Amber scooped up her purse.

  She didn’t know how, but they would have to. She’d circled the day that her garden club membership came up for renewal, and when she’d flipped the calendar, it had jumped out at her like it was on fire.

  “I have to talk to Stan. I’ll see you on Sunday at church.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Amber dusted off the displays, taking special care to replace everything just so.

  All morning she’d felt distracted.

  It disturbed her to see Stan so angry. Another incident to do with trying to find her gnome had flared his usually even temper.

  He wasn’t angry at her, but she could tell by his clenched jaw that he had barely held back from a long tirade, and she respected his self-control. There were things that talking about wouldn’t help, and this was one of them. She could respect that, too, which was why she had to give him some space. He needed it.

  Tonight she would stay home and make flamingos.

  The day passed uneventfully, with no notes and only the occasional customer asking about Gnorman and his continuing adventure. Just before she started to do up the bank deposit so she could leave, her cell phone buzzed. Surprised that Stan was ready to talk already, she checked the caller ID. It didn’t show Stan calling. It was Hayden.

  Her stomach tightened. The only reason Hayden would call would be if something happened to Stan. She hadn’t seen an ambulance go by, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt. All sorts of things could happen when working with machinery and heavy parts.

  With a trembling finger, she pushed the button to answer the call.

  “Hi, Amber.” Hayden’s voice sounded cheerful over the phone. “How are you?”

  “Fine,” she answered, pausing for the news to drop.

  “I was wondering, if you’re not busy chasing your gnome with Stan, if you’d like to join me for coffee tonight.”

  “Coffee? Tonight?” That was it?

  “Yeah. I feel like going out, and I thought of you.”

  “Me? That was nice.” And unexpected.

  “I thought we could go to the donut place on Main and Fifth. No big deal. Just a couple cups of java, and if we’re lucky, some hot donuts.”

  Over the years she’d spent a fair amount of time with Hayden. Although really she’d initially gone out with Stan, Hayden, being Stan’s best friend, often joined them. They’d gotten to know each other by third party default.

  His invitation sounded like a date, except it didn’t involve a meal or a movie, therefore it couldn’t be a date. But so what if it was? She wasn’t seeing anyone special. Since Gnorman’s disappearance, she’d spent nearly every evening and most of the weekends with Stan. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a date, not counting the evening she and Stan dressed up to check out her new competition, and then he took her out for supper. That wasn’t a real date because it was Stan and they were in disguise, so they weren’t really themselves.

  With the mood Stan had been in last night, and was probably still in, leaving him alone with his thoughts wasn’t a bad idea. She’d already decided that she needed to give him some time without her so he could meet women instead of wasting most of his time with her. Having an evening out with Hayden seemed like a perfect distraction. Besides, she needed a change in her routine, and she’d always enjoyed Hayden’s company. This would be the first time in all the time she’d known Hayden that it would be just the two of them.

  It was time to broaden her horizons.

  “Sure. What time? I haven’t done my bank deposit yet, so I’m still at the store.”

  “I have an idea. How about if I pick you up when you’re done, and we can go out for dinner. Nothing fancy. We both have to go to work tomorrow. I’m calling from my office right now, I had to work a bit late as well. What do you think?”

  Amber pressed one hand into her stomach. Again she’d skipped lunch, although this time she’d had a banana with peanut butter on top for breakfast. Still, she wasn’t going to take the chance that she might get too hungry and have a repeat performance of what was probably the most embarrassing day of her life. Not going home and not needing to change sounded wonderful. “I think that’s a great idea. I can be ready in twenty minutes.”

  “Super. See you then.”

  Stan nearly wilted as he flicked the switch to illuminate the sign to read that he was finally closed. He hadn’t been this exhausted or worked this late since the early days of his business, when he was alone and barely making enough to pay the bills while he built a solid client base. In addition to being dog-tired, he hadn’t ordered the parts he needed for tomorrow, or finished all his paperwork, or compiled his bank deposit.

  On top of that, he’d hardly slept last night, torn between being angry with his mother for blabbing about the hidden camera and angry with himself for letting his temper show in front of Amber. He wasn’t moody, he didn’t brood, and he didn’t have a short fuse.

  Except that he was still angry. He didn’t know why it was so very important that Amber be a member of the garden club. He only knew the fear obsessed her that if she didn’t get the trophy back soon, she would be kicked out. Since it was important to her, it was important to him. They had been close, so close, to catching the Gnapper, then the chance slipped between his fingers like fr
esh synthetic oil.

  Bless her kind and gentle heart, Amber hadn’t been angry with his mother. Amber graciously showed forgiveness and all the things he should have.

  So far they hadn’t received a call from anyone saying they had discovered Gnorman’s newest location, and he still had the last note in his pocket, the envelope unopened.

  He needed to call Amber.

  He’d apologize for his surly behavior, and make it up to her and bring her over to his place and cook supper for her. He would have preferred to take her out, but even with the coveralls, today he was too dirty to go out anywhere except to grab a burger, and he needed a shower. This time he would make something that she wouldn’t take over while he showered. Then, after he took Amber home, he would come back to work and finish up everything he hadn’t yet done. He had until midnight to order the parts, which gave him plenty of time.

  As he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, he hesitated before he hit the speed dial button for Amber’s number. It was later than usual, much later. By now she would be home. Hopefully she hadn’t already started cooking.

  Before she spoke, the murmur of a room filled with people echoed over the line. “Hi, Stan. We were just talking about you.”

  “We?” His stomach knotted, and not because of hunger. She wasn’t alone. “Who are you with? Where are you?”

  “Hayden took me out to the cutest little place. It’s called Burger Heaven, and it really is heavenly. Do you know where it is? Would you like to join us? We’re nearly done, but we could wait for you. Hayden says the dessert menu is really good.” She giggled.

  Giggled. Not like a little kid with a new toy, but like a woman with a man she was becoming enraptured with.

  A man who was his best friend, and single again, and back in the dating arena.

  She was obviously having a good time with Hayden, and there was no reason she wouldn’t. Hayden was a nice guy; they’d been buds since high school.

  “That’s okay, don’t wait. I’m not hungry.” Anymore. “You two have a nice time.” Nice. What a pansy word. With no reference to the garden club’s token spring flower.

  Stan hung up, got a couple of bags of potato chips out of the vending machine, and finished his paperwork. It didn’t take him nearly as long as he’d expected. Absently he ran his hand over the envelope in his back pocket. He still had time to open it with Amber.

  And to find out if she had a good time with his ex-best friend.

  He made it to Amber’s in record time.

  Hayden’s car was not in her driveway. He relaxed, just a little. He really didn’t want to talk to Hayden right now.

  Amber answered the door with a mug of tea in her hand and a book draped over her arm. All she did was stare up at him, like he was the last person on earth she expected at the door at this hour. For a second he let his mind wander to who else might be knocking on her door so late on a weeknight, but he shook the thought from his head.

  “Can I come in?”

  Her cheeks turned the cutest shade of pink, and she backed up a step. “Sorry. Of course. What brings you here at this hour?”

  He pulled the envelope out of his back pocket. “We never did open this, and I figured it was about time. Maybe it will give us a better clue than the others.” Even though their best lead had disappeared like Marvin the Martian’s Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, from an old favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon.

  “Sure. I can’t believe I forgot to—”

  Her words were cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. She handed him the book and mug and ran around the living room until she found her purse. The ringing stopped the same moment she touched it. She dug the phone out of her purse and pressed the button for the caller ID. “It’s Victoria Masters. There’s no reason for her to call me, so I guess we know where Gnorman is. I’d better call her back.”

  During Amber’s short phone conversation, guilt washed over Stan at keeping the envelope so long, not that reading another bad poem would have helped. “Before we go, let’s read this first.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Sure. I just don’t want to take too long. She’s waiting for us.”

  He couldn’t help the sweep of relief at her word “us.” He didn’t want anything to change. He almost didn’t care if they found the evasive trophy.

  Amber ripped the envelope open, pulling out the paper with glued words from the newspaper. Because they were in a hurry, they didn’t sit down to decipher it; Stan shuffled beside her, still holding her tea and her book.

  If you think gnorman will be easy to f ind

  Certainly you are out of your mind.

  You can plot and plan and scheme in advance

  But still all you have is a ghost of a chance.

  Amber visibly shuddered. “It sounds like whoever this is, he or she is rather angry about the hidden surveillance camera.”

  “Yes, but the rhyme is better.”

  She turned and gave him a scathing glare and didn’t reply.

  He’d been starting to feel hungry again, but his stomach suddenly felt like it dropped into his boots like a seized differential joint. He had hoped from the bottom of his heart that his aborted scheme hadn’t put Amber’s goal of rescuing the trophy in jeopardy, but this note told them nothing except that they had angered the Gnapper. Still, realistically, it didn’t make sense that anyone in the garden club would want to damage or destroy the trophy. It was an icon for the garden club, going back to its humble beginnings. The only purpose he could see was that some prankster had a sick idea of fun, torturing poor Amber while she stressed about getting kicked out of the garden club.

  Careful not to lose her place, Stan set the book and mug down on the coffee table. “I would never have guessed Gnorman would show up at Victoria and Barry’s next. If anything, this note would have sent me to that creepy guy who lives at the edge of the cemetery. I wouldn’t want to go there. I’ve only met the man once, and he’s weird. It’s a little chilly out. Grab a sweater, and let’s go.”

  They could have walked to the Masters’ house so they could talk, but because it was getting late he didn’t want to waste any time.

  When they arrived, despite the darkness, Victoria and Barry’s home was daunting. The turn-of-the-century Craftsman style home was in immaculate condition, large and stately. He’d been to a few of their barbecues with the garden club and had been inside the beautiful home. Strangely, the thing that fascinated him the most about the house was the half-story attic, which could have been easily converted to a low-ceilinged den. Instead, they used it for storage.

  He’d already been in their backyard, also impressive. Their garden was loaded with a huge variety of flowers including roses, Oriental lilies, and all sorts of things he couldn’t name. Last year, Victoria had been the winner of The Spring Fling, and they deserved the honor.

  Barry answered the door and led them to the backyard with a minimum of small talk. A perfectly straight and recently stained fence surrounded the huge yard with its splendid garden and large stone patio. In the barbecue pit, next to Barry’s prized industrial-sized grill, lurked a draped white shape with cut-out circles showing big baby blue eyes.

  Stan couldn’t help but smile. “A ghost of a chance? This is hilarious!” All the tension he’d penned up inside broke to the surface, and he laughed from the bottom of his gut. He didn’t even care that he was the only one laughing.

  When he managed to get his laughter under control, Barry cleared his throat. “I don’t know how long he’s been there. The only reason I found him was that I couldn’t find my best tongs, and I thought I left them on the barbecue and went to check.”

  Victoria nudged Barry’s arm, then tucked her hands in the crook of his elbow. “I’m the one who sent y’all to look.” Stan smiled. He loved Victoria’s Southern accent. It wasn’t thick or heavy l
ike some he’d heard, just enough of a drawl to make her sound like a displaced Southern belle. She turned to Amber. “I’m hopin’ I haven’t called y’all too late.”

  “No,” Amber replied. “You called with just the right timing. I hadn’t been home long.”

  Stan’s inner mirth dissolved as he mentally counted on his fingers just how long she’d been with Hayden.

  He stepped forward and removed the new envelope from Gnorman’s raised hand. “I hope you don’t mind him staying here for a few days.”

  Barry shrugged his shoulders. “Not at all. We’ve been following the story in the Gazette. This seems to be the pattern. It’s kind of fun to have him here. I’m having a family barbecue tomorrow, I’m sure he’s going to be quite the conversation starter.”

  Friday night. He would have to think of what to do with Amber tomorrow that would top where Hayden had taken her.

  He held out one hand toward her. “Come on, Amber, I’ll take you home now.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Amber stared out the truck window while Stan drove, fingering the envelope containing the new clue, trying not to feel completely discouraged. If just one thing didn’t go wrong, it would help, but so far, nothing had gone right.

  Today she’d gotten a form letter in the mail warning her that her membership was coming due at the end of the month, and that the weekend before her renewal, someone would come and inspect her garden to make sure it was up to the club’s standards. It was, but barely.

  What wasn’t up to standards was that the trophy was still missing. No one had assured her that it didn’t matter. The opposite, whenever one of the operating board members came into her store, they asked if she and Stan had found it yet.

  She’d also received a letter from the bank, denying her application for a loan to pay off Uncle Henry.

  At least she’d finished more flamingos, and the florist lady paid for them. Finally she was in the black, and she could afford to eat properly again. Until she had to buy the supplies to make the next month’s project, which was hippos. But she’d be a little more ahead progressively each month. For now it wasn’t enough to make a big difference yet.