“A flashlight, a dark blue backpack.”
Andrea and Gloria stared at each other. A dark blue backpack.
Andrea needed to get a good look at that backpack. “Now that the body’s gone, can we take a look in the shed?”
“As long as you don’t touch anything,” Joe warned.
Before he could change his mind, Andrea quickly jumped to her feet. “We won’t. We promise.”
They retraced their steps back to the shed. Gloria gently pushed the door open. The girls peered inside. Sure enough, there was a navy blue backpack in the corner.
Was this the same backpack that Andrea saw in Gloria’s barn a couple weeks ago? She didn’t dare ask the question in front of Joe but the look Andrea gave her was answer enough. It was more than likely the same one.
“Unless you need us for something else, we’re going to lock up the house and head out.” Gloria nodded over at the boys who were darting around the firemen. “The natives are getting restless.”
“I’ll have to stay here and wait for the crime scene crew.” Joe grabbed the door handle and firmly pulled the door shut. “We may have more questions for you later,” he warned them both.
The ambulance was already gone, taking with it the unidentified body. The fire truck was still parked out front and somehow, her grandsons had managed to wheedle their way inside. Ryan was wearing one of the fireman’s black helmets. He waved to Gloria from the driver’s seat.
She hurried over to get the boys out of there before they wore out their welcome. Gloria thanked the nice men for showing the truck to the boys before corralling them into the car.
On the way back to the house, the boys were talking up a storm. They both decided they were going to be firefighters when they grew up.
Andrea was strangely silent.
The boys ran inside the house as Gloria walked Andrea over to her car. “So you think that was the same backpack that was in the barn loft?”
Andrea nodded. “I’m almost 100% positive.”
“What about the house? Do you still want it even after finding a dead body?”
Her head bobbed up and down. “Yes, I just love that house.”
“Promise me you’ll have some contractors take a look at it before you sign any contract. I’d hate to see you get saddled with a money pit.”
Andrea nodded absentmindedly as she got into her car. Gloria had a feeling no matter how much the repairs were going to cost – Andrea had every intention of buying the place.
Back in the kitchen, the boys were rummaging around the cupboards. “We’re hungry,” Ryan whined.
It had been a long day and Gloria was in no mood to cook. “How ‘bout I take you down to Dot’s for dinner?” Dot’s Kitchen was the only restaurant in their small town of Belhaven and it was owned by one of Gloria’s closest friends, Dorothy Jenkins.
The boys ran over to the door. Tyler yanked the door wide open. “Can we go now?”
Gloria grabbed her purse and the threesome headed back out. Gloria eased Annabelle into an open spot, making sure she left enough room on the passenger side so the boys wouldn’t smack the door into the car beside them.
The place was busy but the three managed to find an open booth near the front.
Dot spied them right away. She made her way over to where they had just settled in. “Everyone’s talking about the body you found this afternoon at the old Johnson mansion.” Gloria scooched over so Dot could slide in beside her.
Gloria shook her head. It never ceased to amaze her how quickly news spread in this little town.
Dot was curious. “Which one of you found the body?”
Tyler piped up. “Andrea did. Out in the shed,” he added.
Gloria was just about to say they didn’t really get a look at the body when Ruth caught sight of them. She shooed the boys over before squeezing in beside them. “You found a body over at the old place on the hill?”
Gloria nodded. “We didn’t really see anything. The body was covered with a tarp. The only thing sticking out was a hand. As soon as we saw that, we shut the door and called the police,” she explained. “By the time they loaded it in the ambulance, it was completely covered.”
Ruth shook her head. “I knew I should’ve gone with you two.”
“Well, I’m glad I wasn’t there,” Dot declared. She glanced over at the boys. “Did they see it too?”
“No, Grams covered my eyes and she wouldn’t let Ryan even close to the shed.” Tyler ripped open a packet of sugar, tipped his head back and emptied the contents into his mouth. “We’re hungry.”
Dot stood up. She’d completely forgotten about taking their order. “I’m sorry, Tyler. With all the excitement, I forgot all about food.”
Dot jotted down their orders and walked away but Ruth didn’t budge. “So what does the inside of the old place look like?”
Ryan reached for a packet of sugar. “It’s really cool. It has secret rooms and everything.”
Gloria nodded. “The inside of the house is in much better condition than the outside. Andrea just loved it. Wouldn’t be surprised if she bought it.”
Ruth eventually ran out of questions and finally left them alone. That didn’t last long. It seemed like everyone in the small town had already heard about the body and more than half a dozen town folk came over to ask Gloria and the boys about it.
Dot finally made her way back to their booth, balancing a tray loaded with dinner plates. She dropped three large, greasy burgers and a pile of crispy French fries on the table. Tyler took a huge bite of the burger. “We’re famouth Grams,” he declared.
Lucy wandered in a few minutes later. She spotted them as soon as she stepped in the door. Gloria made room next to her as Lucy plopped down. “What is it with you and dead bodies?”
“More like Andrea and me and dead bodies.” Gloria observed.
“Well, I won’t bother asking you a million questions. I’ve already heard Andrea found the body, the boys didn’t see anything and there was a navy blue backpack next to the body.”
Lucy lowered her voice and glanced around. “Do you think it’s the same one that was in your barn?”
Gloria took a sip of Diet Coke and nodded. “Yeah, Andrea’s almost positive it’s the same one…”
“So the dead man was in your barn?” Lucy shook her head. The mystery was getting more frightening by the minute.
Gloria was at a loss. “I don’t know what to think. Hopefully, we can find out who the poor man was and maybe shed some light on it all.”
Lucy made a keen observation. “Looks like you got another mystery on your hands…”
And she certainly did. The wheels were already spinning in Gloria’s head but there wasn’t much to go on until they found out who the person was.
By the time Jill and Greg made it to the farm later that evening, it was already dark. The boys were sad to be leaving. “Can we come back next weekend?” Ryan pleaded.
“No, I’m sure Grams is going to need a good month to recuperate from this visit,” Jill said firmly.
Gloria wrapped the boys in one final hug before watching them leave. She slowly closed the door behind them. The house was eerily quiet. She glanced up at the kitchen clock. Jill would probably be calling in oh, about half an hour. After the boys filled her in on dead bodies, Tyler swinging from the loft, people sneaking into her barn in the middle of the night…
Her prediction wasn’t far off. It took approximately 22 minutes for her phone to ring. “Hi Jill.” No need in pretending she didn’t know who was calling.
Her daughter was nearly hysterical. “What is going on over there? Did you really find a dead body? Was there someone in your barn? Did you ever find the snake?”
“Jill, everything is fine. I’m safe.” The next part might not help but it was worth a try. “We think the person that was in my barn is the same one we found dead out at the Johnson place.”
“Oh my gosh! I don’t even know what to say!” Jill wasn’t done. “We
’re on our way back over there to pick you up. You aren’t staying in that house for one more hour!”
This was exactly what Gloria was afraid would happen. “Jill. I’m not going anywhere. This is my home,” she calmly but firmly replied.
“Fine, then I’m buying you a German Shepard. And a gun,” she added.
“Puddles oughta love that!” The thought actually made her smile. Puddles would freak out if Gloria got a dog.
Gloria glanced down. Puddles was rolling around on the kitchen floor, reclaiming his territory. She rubbed his belly with her foot, a sure sign of attack as he playfully began biting her foot and lightly clawing her heel.
It took another ten minutes before Jill calmed down enough to promise not to drive back over to her mother’s house that very instant. Gloria glanced at the phone in her hand before setting it back in the cradle. She shook her head, certain that she hadn’t heard the last of it.
After checking to make sure the doors were locked, she wearily tromped off to the bathroom. Yes, those grandsons of hers really had worn her out.
Chapter 3
Gloria woke the next morning to the sound of a light tap-tap on her window. She pried open an eye and glanced at the clock. It was 7:30 in the morning. So much for sleeping in.
She crawled from her warm bed and made her way over to the bedroom window. She lifted the shade just a tad. Just enough to see Jill’s eyeball peering in at her from the other side of the sill. Gloria motioned her around to the front.
By the time she got to the kitchen, Jill was already standing at the door and she wasn’t alone. Beside her was a peppy looking pup. Well, maybe not a quite a pup.
Gloria looked down at the panting dog. “Who’s this?”
“This is Mallory. Mally for short. She’s a Springer Spaniel.” Jill stuck the leash in Gloria’s hand. “Congratulations! She’s all yours.”
Gloria looked down at the leash still attached to the dog. “But I don’t want a dog.” Her voice sounded whiny, even to herself. Or maybe it was borderline panic. “Puddles will be terrified,” she argued.
She could’ve sworn the poor dog’s face fell when she heard that. Gloria bent down and patted her head. “I’m sorry girl. You’re such a beautiful dog.” And she was beautiful. Covered in soft, snow white fur with large patches of shiny brown that looked like warm chocolate. Soulful brown eyes gazed pleadingly up at her.
“If you don’t keep her, I’ll have to take her back to the shelter,” Jill threatened.
Gloria couldn’t let that happen. She quickly caved. After all, she didn’t want to break the poor dog’s heart. “Well, maybe we can keep her for a trial run.”
That was all Jill needed to hear. There was no way she was going to give her mother a chance to change her mind. “Look, I gotta run.” She pointed to the side of the house. “There’s a big bag of dog food over here. She eats twice a day.”
Jill paused at the bottom step. “Oh, and she absolutely loves corn on the cob.” She started laughing as Mally looked at her with pleading eyes as if to say, “Don’t tell all my secrets.”
“She chews the corn off and then gnaws on the cob like it’s a bone.”
Gloria slowly shut the door as she looked down at her new companion. “Let me go find Puddles. You two need to sort this out real quick.”
It was too late. Puddles was already in the kitchen, creeping across the floor as he inched his way towards the interloper. Mally dropped on all fours and scooted forward, her nails scraping the vinyl floor as she pulled herself along. Gloria held her breath as the two slowly sniffed each other.
Without warning, Puddles butted his head across the side of Mally’s face and began purring. Gloria stuck a hand on her hip as she shook her head. Miracles never ceased. The two actually liked each other. “Well, it would appear to me that I now have two critters to keep me company.”
They both looked up at her in adoration as if they understood what she was saying. Maybe this dog thing wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Gloria poured a pot of cold water into the coffee machine before rambling off to the bathroom to get ready for her day. If she wasn’t busy before, a dog and new murder investigation would most definitely fill up her days.
A brilliant thought occurred to her as warm water cascaded over her weary body. Weren’t Springer Spaniels good hunting dogs? Surely they have some sort of extraordinary sniffers that would be useful when searching for clues.
Gloria smiled to herself. Mally would be earning her keep and she was going to start by putting her to work right there on the farm – and she could start in the barn!
A loud bark interrupted her thoughts. She quickly grabbed a towel and made a dash for the kitchen. Visions of Puddles, or what was left of Puddles, swam before her eyes – nothing but a loose pile of furball floating around on the kitchen floor after Mally chewed him up and spit him out.
Alas, that was not the sight that greeted her. The two were wrestling around on the floor nipping at each other and having a grand old time.
Gloria clutched the towel around her. “Ahem.” The action stopped. The two of them stared up at her, guilt written all over their furry faces. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think the two of you were somehow related.”
Gloria quickly finished dressing before pouring a cup of coffee and plopping down at the table. A sad, pitiful face was staring right at her. Not blinking. She sighed deeply. Until she could get this dog-thing figured out, she’d just have to guess as to what the look was for. “Do you need to go outside?”
Mally sprang to her feet and made a beeline for the kitchen door, skidding to a sudden halt as she crashed into the glass pane. She obviously knew what that meant and she most definitely wanted to go outside. She whine pathetically as she pawed at the door.
Gloria grabbed the leash, firmly attached it to Mally’s red collar and headed outside. The morning was cool and damp. Heavy clouds threatened to let loose some serious rain. She shivered. It was too late to go back in and grab a jacket. The energetic mutt was ready to explore.
Mally sniffed her way over to the garden, pausing long enough to examine a nearby tree and deeming it the perfect spot to mark her territory.
They took a quick tromp through the garden. Thank goodness there was nothing left to trample except for a few mushy pumpkins and rotting tomatoes that never made it out alive. Next, they moved on to the barn. With a burst of energy Gloria hadn’t experienced since the grandkids left less than 24 hours ago, Mally started trotting along. This was apparently some sort of test to see if Gloria could keep up because the trot soon became a full out run. By the time they reached the barn, Gloria’s yard shoes were long gone, abandoned halfway between the gravel drive and the barn door.
Gloria plucked the hidden key from above the door frame and unlocked the shiny new padlock. The door was open mere inches before Mally managed to wiggle her way inside. She stood motionless for a second, as if overwhelmed by all the new smells and sights around her.
It didn’t take long for curiosity to get the best of her as she yanked Gloria across the barn floor towards the milking parlor. With the thoroughness of a Bloodhound, the dog investigated every single stall, sniffing posts, piles of straw and anything else Gloria would let her get close enough to. After that, they worked their way back out to the main barn area.
A perimeter sniff was now in order. Much to Gloria’s relief, the dog gave an all-clear when she decided there wasn’t anything left in the barn to hold her interest.
Gloria locked the barn and headed in the direction of her missing shoes. Mally suddenly let out a low growl followed by a loud bark. It wasn’t a “Hey, I’m glad you have your shoes back bark.” More like a warning bark. Gloria slipped her shoes back on and looked up just in time to see a four door sedan with tinted windows roll into the drive.
Mally yanked Gloria forward in the direction of the unfamiliar vehicle. “You have GOT to stop doing that before you jerk my arm right out of its socket!” she scolded. The
dog almost had the sense to look guilty but she was way more curious about who was in the drive.
The car was one Gloria didn’t recognize but the person that emerged definitely was. Officer Kennedy made his way over to where the two were waiting. He bent down to let Mally sniff his hand. “Who do we have here?”
“My lovely daughter heard someone was wandering around outside the other night and decided I needed a guard dog.”
Kennedy got the seal of approval as Mally slurped at his hand and wagged her tail vigorously. “She’s a beauty.”
Gloria could’ve sworn the crazy dog smiled at his compliment as she circled him, wrapping herself and her rope around his legs.
Gloria quickly grabbed the leash and freed the man. “Sorry about that!”
“She’s fine. I have a Golden Retriever myself. Looks like they’re about the same age. Lots of energy!”
She shook her head. “You can say that again.”
He quickly changed the subject. “What is it with you and dead bodies?” He was leaning against his car now, arms crossed as he studied the woman in front of him.
“We didn’t plan on finding a dead body. It just happened,” she confessed.
“Ever heard of Walking Stan?”
Gloria nodded. “Everyone in Belhaven knows Walking Stan.”
Walking Stan was a bit of an odd duck. He’d lived in Belhaven for as long as Gloria could remember, right out on the edge of town in a purple house. Actually, just around the corner from Gloria’s farm. He was pretty much a loner. Rumor had it he was filthy rich but you’d never know it by looking at him – or his house. He was a scrawny little man with long, shaggy hair. He drove a beat up old van that seemed to break down every other day. Odd thing about Walking Stan was, you would see his van on the side of the road, hood up as if the engine just conked out. A short distance away, he’d be thumbing a ride to wherever. Hours later, the van would be gone from the side of the road and more often than not, could be found sitting in his driveway, right next to the purple house. Folks said he was so cheap, he’d pretend to have engine trouble just so he could catch a free ride and save on gas.
Grandkids Gone Wild (The Garden Girls Book 2) Page 4
