by Marja McGraw
“What stalker? And why would you think he was old?”
I pointed at the papers resting on the bed. “I’m not sure what made me think of age. Bonnie wrote a letter to Martin Cook that she never mailed. She was pregnant, she had someone hiding in the trees and watching her, and someone was trying to buy her property from her.”
“Huh. I wonder why she never mailed the letter.”
“She was really working things out in her mind. She didn’t want Martin to know she was preggers. She was simply venting.”
“Okay, let me think about this. The robbery was around the turn of the century, and if the thief had been around twenty or twenty-five at the time, he wouldn’t have been an old man when he started watching Bonnie.”
“What makes you think it was the bank robber who was watching Bonnie?” I asked.
“Deductive reasoning.”
Pete usually tried to look at all sides of a situation. Was this time different?
He seemed to be stuck on the idea of bank robbers.
Chapter Twenty-three
“Did Kimberly say when the bank was robbed?” I asked.
“Eighteen ninety-eight. Bonnie was murdered in 1936. If the robber was in his twenties when they robbed the bank, then he would have been around forty, give or take.”
I thought about the whole idea. “Could the two crimes really be related to each other? Honestly, it doesn’t seem likely.”
“Yeah, we’re jumping to conclusions, and that’s not was I was trained to do.” Pete had just put on his cop persona again, even though he wasn’t a cop anymore.
“One thing we need to remember is that Bonnie was a famous actress. She could have had a crazy Number One Fan who followed her to Washington. I wonder if there’s any possibility that the movie studio has old fan letters in their archives. I doubt it, but it’s worth looking into.” There wasn’t really any doubt in my mind that letters like I was thinking of were long gone. I was grasping at straws again.
I heard footsteps on the stairs and put my index finger to my lips, motioning Pete to be quiet. As I grabbed his arm to pull him into our room, I saw Gloria at the top of the steps.
She smiled at me. “Your husband was sure in a hurry when he ran inside. Something up?”
I laughed convincingly, becoming an actress in my own right. “We’re newlyweds, remember? On our second honeymoon. He was just anxious to see me.”
I closed the door and locked it. Before talking to Pete, I put my ear to the door. At first I didn’t hear anything and I figured Gloria was trying to hear our conversation. I was right. After a moment I heard her retreating footsteps. She must have given up and gone back downstairs.
“Did you tell Stan to take his bundle to the back door?”
Pete grimaced. “No. I didn’t think about it. I’ll take care of that right now.”
He unlocked the door and hurried downstairs.
I followed, after carefully placing the papers back in the broken box and locking the door. I didn’t want anyone snooping and finding Bonnie’s papers.
By the time I got downstairs, Pete had finagled things so that Gloria’s back was to the front door. He was showing her something with one hand while signaling Stanley to change his course away from the porch with the other hand.
Felicity saw what Pete was doing and pulled her husband toward the back door.
I sighed in relief. It was bad enough that Gloria knew about Bonnie, but if she knew there was a treasure, too, she’d be all over the rest of us, trying to horn in.
Pete held his hand out and Gloria studied whatever he held.
“You and your husband ought to check out the lake,” he was saying. “I found this buried on the shore.”
Huh?
Gloria hurried off to find her husband, and Pete had a silly grin on his face.
“What’d you show her?” I asked.
“You know I kept one of the coins you found a few years ago. Didn’t you know I carry it around with me as a reminder?”
“I’d forgotten about that. Do you keep it as a good luck charm?”
“No, just a reminder. It came in handy. I’ll bet the Stewarts dig up half the shore looking for more dated coins, and they’ll be out of our hair.”
“Quick thinking. Do you think you and Sam will find more gold?”
“Not really. From what Kimberly could find on the bank robbery, I think we’ve probably found it all.”
“What are you going to do now?” I asked.
“I’m going to follow your advice. I want to follow that path and see where it leads. Like you said, now we know which direction the killer took, or at least we think we do. Maybe we’ll never know if that knife is really the murder weapon.”
“Psst.”
I looked toward the sound and saw Felicity in the kitchen doorway, looking around.
“Is she gone?” she whispered.
Pete glanced out the front door. “She and her husband are pulling out, heading in the direction of the lake.”
He grinned and reached over his shoulder, patting himself on the back.
“Okay, you pulled this one out of the fire. Don’t pat yourself too hard.” I couldn’t help but grin at my husband.
“At least they’ll have a nice day at the lake,” he said. “I have a feeling that if they’d stayed here, her husband would be banging his head against the wall in about an hour.”
Stanley looked at me over Felicity’s shoulder. “You must come see what we’ve found. You’ll be astounded. Uh, it’ll knock your socks off, or put a hem in your skirt, or some such thing.” He tried so hard to be a regular guy sometimes.
I walked out to the kitchen, and yes, I was astounded. There was more gold than I’d ever seen in one place before.
“Where’s Sam?” I asked.
“He’s making sure we didn’t miss anything. I must say, I had no idea that gold is so heavy.” He glanced at Felicity. “My little dumpling came along and helped me carry the load.”
I started to say something about the gold, but changed my mind. “You know, we’ll only be here for a few more days. I’m excited about the gold, for Bea’s sake, but I need to… We need to get back to work on solving a murder.”
Bea came in from outside with Bob the Handyman following her. She saw what was on the table and blocked his entrance.
“Give me a minute to talk to these folks, Bob. I’ll meet you outside.” She physically turned him around and pushed him out the door.
I had a feeling he’d seen more than she wanted him to before she pushed him out.
“He found a few other things outside that needed repair yesterday, so I asked him to come back this morning. Pete, could I impose on you and Stanley to carry the, uh, bundle to my room?”
“Please, Bea, call me Stan. I had to break Sandi of the habit of calling me Stanley, too.”
Felicity smiled. “Oh, honey bunny, it doesn’t matter what anyone calls you except for me.”
He looked at his wife with eyes full of adoration.
Bea pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Pete. “This is the key to my room. Please leave everything on my bed and close the curtains, and lock up on your way out.”
He nodded while he and Stanley divided the load.
While they were gone, I explained what I’d found to Bea.
“So Bonnie really was pregnant,” she said. “That’s what everyone always thought, but until now no one could prove it.”
“I think Jack Fisher did. He’s done a lot of research and believes Bonnie was his grandmother.”
“Well, he does look just like Martin Cook. Oh! I almost forgot about Bob. I’ll be back in a minute.” She hurried out the back door.
I turned my head and looked at Felicity. “I want to go back and talk to Brad again. Want to go with me?”
“Sure. I like that old guy. He’s a character, and he sure is sharp for a man of his age.”
“I’ll call to be sure he can see us.” I had his phone number in m
y purse, which was in our room. “Be back in a minute.”
When I returned, Bea and Felicity were laughing about something.
Bea looked up and waved me to her side. “We’ve been talking about the Stewarts. I hope the new couple is different.”
“Where are the new people right now?” I asked.
“The Zunigas unpacked their bags and said they wanted to go explore the town. They seemed like awfully nice people. They’re young.” Bea lowered her voice. “I don’t think they’re married though, but that’s none of my business.”
I held my cell phone in my hand. “I’m going to call Brad to see if he’s available to talk to us again.”
“Oh, he’ll be ready for you.” Bea had a knowing look on her face. “Word’s already spread that he had fun with you two.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “He told his neighbor all about the two beautiful young women who came to see him, and she told someone else, who told someone else, who… Well you probably know what small towns are like.”
“Not really,” I said. “Word never travels this fast in Los Angeles.”
“Welcome to my world.” Bea turned away and started washing dishes.
I called Brad and he said to come on over. He’d be waiting for us. He said he’d be sure to keep his right ear toward us this time, that he had better hearing that way.
I thanked him and hung up.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Go where?” Pete and Stanley were standing behind us, having just returned from hiding Bea’s gold. “By the way, we shoved the bundle under your bed, Bea.”
“Be still my heart,” she said. “I have a fortune under my bed.”
I snapped my fingers. “I meant to tell you, Bea, to call your attorney before you call the authorities. He’ll know your rights with regard to all the moola.”
“Good idea.” She wiped her hands on a towel and headed for a wall phone.
“So where are you two going?” Stanley still wanted an answer.
Felicity ran over to him and threw her arms around him. “Have I told you lately just how much I love you?”
“That was out of the blue.” He hugged her back and blushed.
“Sometimes I just need to tell you how I feel.”
“Me, too,” I said, and threw my arms around Pete, who didn’t blush.
“What are you two up to?” he asked.
“We’re going back to see Bradley Singleton again.”
“Why?”
“I have a few more questions. I think he could turn out to be our best lead.”
Chapter Twenty-four
“Before I forget, did you ever find out if any of the crew told someone about the treasure?” I’d been meaning to ask Pete but there was so much going on that it kept slipping my mind.
“Yeah. We were both wrong. Sasha is the blabbermouth, not Kimberly. She told a couple of friends about finding the first package, and I’m sure they spread the word.”
“Did you tell them to keep quiet about it from here on out?”
“I didn’t need to. Sam had already talked to them. Sasha was embarrassed that she’d let the cat out of the bag.”
“At least she only told them about the first bundle, and it was mostly paper money.” It certainly wouldn’t be worth as much as the gold and silver coins, right?
“When are you girls going to see Brad?” Pete asked.
“Why? Do you want to go with us?” I had a feeling Pete would rather work on other aspects of the two cases.
“No, but I was thinking the four of us could go to that coffee house for lunch today.”
“Good idea. We’re leaving for Brad’s right now.” I glanced at my watch. “It’s eleven-thirty, so why don’t we meet you there at about one or one-thirty?”
Felicity interrupted. “I sure like it when he calls us ‘girls’. It makes me feel just a few years younger.”
“And every year counts, right Fel?” Pete was such a tease. “Okay, but let’s make it twelve–thirty. I don’t want to be too full and miss one of Bea’s dinners.”
“Heaven forbid. Okay, we’ll see you at twelve-thirty. You’d better get there a little early and save a table though.”
Pete nodded.
Stanley gave his wife one more hug and we walked outside together.
Greg was pulling in with a new load of plants. He was turning the front yard into a showplace. He set some of the plants along the front of the house and left them while he spread more gravel.
“Mornin’, ladies,” he said. “Off to do some sightseeing?”
“Sort of,” Felicity replied, smiling. “We’re going over to talk to Brad Singleton. He’s quite an interesting man.”
“That he is. He’s got almost a hundred years’ worth of stories to tell, or so I hear.” He waved as we started to pull out of the driveway.
“Hey, wait!” Pete yelled. “You’re taking the Jeep. How are Stan and I supposed to get to the coffee house?”
“Oh. Yeah. We’ll come pick you up.”
Greg couldn’t help but overhear us. “If you don’t mind my truck, I can drop you off on my way back to town. Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t butt in.”
“No,” Pete said. “We’ll take you up on that.”
With that I pulled out. “Greg seems to be a pretty amiable guy.”
“He is friendly, although he seemed awfully quiet when we first met him.”
“Maybe he’s one of those people who needs to warm up to people. The handyman, Bob, seems pretty quiet, too. Maybe they don’t want to step on people’s toes. To more exact, maybe they’re afraid of stepping on Bea’s toes.”
The drive to Brad’s house was short, of course. He was waiting for us, holding open the screen door.
I waved as we approached him.
The house had a musty smell to it. I didn’t notice it on our first visit, but maybe he’d had it closed up since our last visit.
“Hi, Brad. How are you today?” I asked.
“I woke up this morning. That’s a good sign at my age.” He laughed at his own little joke. “I’m glad you young ladies came back. I sure enjoyed your company the other day.”
“We enjoyed meeting you, too.” Felicity gave him a gentle hug.
“I don’t have nothin’ I can offer you except water. Would you like some?”
I glanced at Felicity. “Oh, I think we’re okay.”
“Well, wait here while I get me somethin’ to drink. I get awfully dry sometimes.”
He walked away, shuffling his way through the living room. I heard him yell something from the kitchen, but his voice wasn’t all that strong, so I couldn’t make out his words.
“He asked if we were sure we didn’t want any water,” Felicity whispered.
“No, thanks,” I called out.
He returned carrying a tray with three glasses half full of water on it. He didn’t look too steady, but I didn’t jump up to help him, not wanting to make him feel like he needed help.
He handed me a glass.
“Thank you.”
He smiled and offered Felicity a glass, too. She accepted it and set it on a coaster on the coffee table.
He set the tray on an end table with his glass still sitting on it and turned back to the kitchen.
Felicity watched him walk away and shrugged.
We had no idea what else he wanted to do until he returned with a bowl filled with crackers. He was being a good host.
“My wife, God rest her soul, would have insisted I serve you a snack.”
I smiled my gratitude and reached for a cracker. It was stale. I coughed and I took a drink of water.
“Brad, would you mind if I ask you a few more questions? Some things have come up that I’m curious about.”
“Ask away, but I don’t know if I’ll have any answers.”
“Do you recall if Bonnie ever mentioned who was trying to buy her property?”
“Let me think on that a minute.” He pi
cked up his water and took a drink. His brown eyes were red-rimmed and looked a little cloudy. I had a feeling he might have cataracts, or it could just be an age thing.
We waited patiently.
“Nooo, I don’t recall any names. It coulda been Harvey Driscoll. He tried to take over Battle Ground. He said someday this little town would grow into a metrop… I can’t think of the word he used.”
“Metropolis?” Felicity asked.
“Yep, that was the word. I remembered it years later because of Superman.” He squinted and leaned forward to get a good look at Felicity. “You’re a smart young lady. I can tell. You’re good lookin’, too.” He turned to me. “You’re both handsome women.”
Felicity didn’t blush easily, but she did now. “Thank you.”
I wrote Harvey Driscoll’s name on a pad of paper I’d brought with me and sighed – more research ahead.
“What else did you want to ask?”
“Did Bonnie ever mention that she was being stalked?”
“Talked to who?” Brad asked.
“No, stalked.” I spoke a bit louder. “Did she mention someone stalking her?”
“Now, I’m not sure what you mean by that.” In his day they weren’t called stalkers.
“Uh, did she ever mention that someone was hiding in the trees and watching her?” I watched him closely to see if there was a flicker of memory in his eyes or on his face.
He spoke slowly. “I don’t think… Now, wait a minute. Somethin’s comin’ to me.” He looked out the window, concentrating on his memories, or so I assumed.
“I’m closin’ in on a hundred and I don’t see so well or hear too well, but I have a memory like an elephant. Sometimes it just takes someone like you to jar the memories loose. Yes, I do recall something.”
I waited while he put his thoughts together.
“Melvin – that’s Sara’s brother – and I had been playing catch with an apple. It started to get dark so we sat up on the porch, talkin’ about baseball and wishin’ we had a real baseball. Bonnie came out on her porch and waved me over.”
He chuckled and made himself cough, and then cleared his throat. He took a drink of water.
“Melvin said something about me havin’ a hankerin’ for Bonnie. I spit in the dirt and walked over to her house.”