by Marja McGraw
Pete groaned. “It’s getting late and we’ll have to hurry. Bea’s serving dinner at six. Why don’t you three visit the shops and I’ll catch up with you. I saw a man cave store down the street.”
Stanley looked torn, but not for long. “I’ll go with you. My honey bun knows what I like. She can shop for both of us.”
“What’s a man cave store?” Felicity asked.
Pete smiled at her indulgently. “It’s a shop where they have things that interest men. Not frilly stuff.”
“I saw some antique tools and a leather tool pouch in the antique store,” I said.
Without a word Pete headed back inside. He’d seen them before and apparently he’d forgotten about them.
I grinned. “I almost bought him some of those things, but I figured he’d know what he wanted better than me.”
We shopped our little hearts out, and when Pete and Stanley joined us, Pete was carrying the leather pouch filled with tools. Well, it was more like a toolbox than a pouch, but it was leather.
“Okay,” he said, “let’s head back to the B&B. I’m hungry, and dinner should be ready soon.”
“Yes, I’ve worked up quite an appetite myself.” Stanley rubbed his belly.
Pete laughed. “Yeah, all that walking up and down the aisles can really make a man hungry.”
“Oh, you.” Stanley felt, well, accepted when Pete teased him.
Pete glanced at his watch. “Hurry up. We’ve only got fifteen minutes until chow time.”
I sighed. “It only takes five minutes to get there.”
We had a great dinner, a pork roast with a sauce I’ve never had before, that was so good I asked Bea for the recipe. She was flattered and gave it to me.
We got to know the Ruggles a bit – they were newlyweds – and Gloria took it upon herself to tell all about the skeleton we’d found. She tried to mention the crying, but Phil cut her off. Good ol’ Phil.
The other new couple, the Zunigas, enjoyed the banter around the table and thought it was exciting that a body had been found, although according to Mrs. Zuniga, she was particularly elated that it was an old body, not someone currently deceased.
Pete tried to downplay everything, but they wouldn’t have it. They wanted to know about Bonnie Singleton and Sally Harper, and they wouldn’t be denied. So Stanley, bless his heart, gave them only the barest details possible.
We told them about the antique shops and the coffee house, and Felicity brought out a few things to show everyone. The Zunigas were all about modern technology, but the Ruggles vowed to visit the shops the next day.
After dinner everyone went their separate ways.
Pete yawned dramatically and said he was ready to hit the sheets. I had a feeling he was looking forward to one of the romantic evenings I’d reminded him about.
Sasha and Kimberly helped Bea clean up the dinner mess before heading home for the night. They’d been very quiet since we’d returned from town, which was unlike them. I realized it was probably because of the other guests.
Sam had left shortly after Joe but said he’d be back in the morning, according to Sasha.
It had been a very long day and so much had happened. Like Pete, I was ready to go to bed.
~ * ~
Although I was tired after a long day and a romantic evening, I had trouble sleeping. I felt like we were missing something. I needed to start one of my many lists and see if I could pull things together. I felt like there should be some connection between Sally and Bonnie. They lived in different eras, so what could it be? It seemed there was only one answer – the bank loot.
I glanced at the clock. It was after midnight.
I fluffed my pillow, took a last look at Pete’s profile, listened to some light snoring, and finally started to drift off.
It didn’t last long.
I heard a scream from downstairs.
Ever alert, Pete said, “Huh? What’s going on? Did you hear something?” Yeah, ever alert doesn’t begin to describe my husband.
I was putting on my bathrobe. “Bea screamed. Something’s wrong.”
Pete was up and pulling on his jeans before I could finish tying the belt on my robe.
Chapter Twenty-nine
We headed for the stairs while other doors started opening. Questions rang out, but I didn’t take the time to reply to anyone.
Downstairs, Pete flipped on the light switch. We found Bea sitting on the kitchen floor. She must have fallen in the dark, although there was a night light burning.
“Are you okay?” I asked, while Pete helped her up.
She was shaking. “Someone was here.”
I glanced around and saw that the back door stood open. I walked over and closed it, but when I went to lock it I discovered that someone had broken in and ruined the lock in the process.
Pete helped Bea to a chair at the dining table in the kitchen.
“What happened?” He sat down next to her.
“I heard something crash in the kitchen and thought one of the guests needed something, so I got up to see what was going on. Even with the night light on, it was dark. I saw someone standing in front of a cupboard. I still thought it was one of the guests and I said, ‘Can I help you?’ The man turned around and he had on a mask. That’s when I screamed. He shoved me down and took off out the back door.”
I took a good look around and saw a glass mixing bowl had been broken. That must have been the crash she heard. Some of the cupboard doors stood open. He must have been moving things around, looking for something. I had a pretty good idea about what he might have been after. We were the only ones who knew Joe took the treasure back to the station with him.
Why on earth would the intruder think the gold was hidden in the kitchen?
“What did he look like?” Pete asked.
“Like I said, he was wearing a mask.”
“Okay, but was he tall? Short? What was he wearing? Did anything look familiar about him?”
Bea thought about Pete’s questions. “Oh. He seemed to be about medium height, but… Let’s see. Medium build, too. He was dressed all in black, or at least that’s what it looked like by the night light. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t tell you what it was. It all happened so fast.”
I heard voices in the dining room and decided it would be best if the guests left Pete and Bea alone for the moment.
“Why don’t you all go back to bed,” I said. “Bea had a little accident, but she’s okay.”
Gloria took a step forward.
“She’s kind of shaken, so please don’t disturb her. Pete’s taking care of things.”
The woman put her head back and looked down her nose at me before following her husband up the stairs, with everyone else following – except Stanley and Felicity. They hung back while everyone else went back to bed.
“What’s going on?” Stanley asked.
“Someone broke in and, unfortunately, Bea heard him and went to the kitchen to investigate. She thought one of her guests needed something. He shoved her down and ran away.”
“Someone broke in with all of these people in the house? That took some nerve.” Felicity looked disgusted. “I’m sure we all know what he was after, though.”
We found Pete and Bea still sitting at the table.
Pete glanced up at me. “Would you mind heating some water for Bea? She’d like a cup of tea to steady her nerves.”
She laughed. “I’d rather have a stiff glass of bourbon, but I don’t drink.”
“Tea it is,” I said.
She had a tea kettle sitting on the stove. I emptied it out and filled it with fresh water before turning on the burner.
Bea patted Pete’s hand. “Thank you for being here for me. By the way, I grabbed my meat tenderizer mallet off the sink before he shoved me down. I gave him a pretty hard hit on the arm. I think that’s what made him shove me, and that’s when I screamed. I didn’t know if he would have done something to me or not.”
“Go
od. Whoever it was will probably have a bruise on his arm. Which arm did you hit?”
“Let’s see.” She thought about it a second. “I’m right-handed, so it would have been his left arm.”
Pete nodded. “I’ll take care of the back door for now and you can have your handyman fix it tomorrow.”
Bea told Pete to check the shed she had out back for a hammer and any tools he might need. “Actually, you can just nail it up with a board for tonight.”
Pete nodded again. “Flashlight?”
She stood and opened a drawer, pulling out a flashlight and handing it to him.
While Pete was gone, Stanley and Felicity made over her, making sure she hadn’t injured herself in the fall.
“I’m fine, really. My pride is about the only thing that’s injured.” She smiled at my friends.
I handed her a cup of tea while Pete boarded up the back door.
“You realize what he was after, don’t you?” Felicity asked.
“Yes. I feel like taping a sign to the back door that says, ‘Treasure gone. Go away. Check with police.’”
“Funny lady,” Stanley said, smiling.
“I’m fine now,” Bea said. “Why don’t you kids go back to bed? I don’t expect that nasty man will be back tonight. By now he knows you’ll all be on the lookout for him. He has to be smart enough to have figured that out.”
We left her to her own devices and headed upstairs where we stood in the hallway and talked quietly.
Pete shook his head. “I’m going to sleep on the couch downstairs just in case this weasel comes back.”
Stanley thought for a brief moment. “I’m going to stay downstairs, too. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”
“Thanks, pal.”
I noticed the door to Phil and Gloria’s room was ajar and pointed toward it. It closed with a loud click.
Felicity and I returned to our rooms.
~ * ~
I don’t think any of us slept well, especially our husbands, and when we got up it was raining again. We decided to spend the day at the B&B.
Phil spoke to Bea after breakfast. “Gloria wants to stay for a couple of extra days. Are the rooms already taken or would that be possible?”
Bea smiled. “The Mossy Glen Inn isn’t well-known yet, so weekdays are fairly open. Yes, you can stay.”
Gloria had a smug grin on her face when she glanced at me. “This is such an interesting place. Why would we want to leave?”
“Sure. Why would you want to leave all this rain and mud behind?” I sounded snide, but I couldn’t help it. She was getting on my very last nerve.
The couple left, saying they needed to run into town to buy umbrellas.
The other two couples left, too. The Ruggles were on their way to visit a daughter and wanted to take the last leg of their trip. The Zunigas had decided they didn’t like all the rain, although they hadn’t seen that much of it.
The rest of us could stay busy.
I could work on my lists, trying to make two and two add up to four. Bea wouldn’t be alone, and we all needed a break anyway.
Sasha and Kimberly were upset about what their aunt had gone through, and they both wanted to stay with her for the next few nights.
Sam wasn’t too happy, either. “I feel like this is our fault. If we hadn’t found the gold, none of this would have happened.”
“Don’t be too sure about that,” Pete said. “I don’t know if you saw it, but when we were searching for the weapon I noticed a few spots where someone might have been digging. They covered it up like you’ve been doing, but they weren’t as careful. I didn’t want to say anything because it didn’t look like something recent, but now we need to keep an eye on things. I think someone was looking for the loot before we found it.”
“You know what’s really been bothering me?”
Everyone turned in my direction.
“Charlie. The guy who rode his horse out here and watched Bonnie’s house. He wasn’t the one who was trying to buy the house, and my gut feeling is that he didn’t have a crush on Bonnie. So why would he just sit and watch the house? I want to find out who he was, and the first step is to find out what his last name was so I can research him.”
Kimberly waved her hand in the air. “Leave that to me. After my sister and I clean the rooms I won’t have much to do. I’ll start doing some research on old obituaries.”
“Perfect,” I said, “and thank you.” Studying old obituaries wasn’t at the top of my list of things I wanted to do.
Pete had something on his mind. I could see it in his expression. “I’m going to call Joe and tell him what happened to Bea. We should have called the cops last night anyway. Maybe if I fill him in he’ll be able to get the Major Crimes Unit to put a rush on the skeleton we found yesterday. The years 1898, 1936 and this year are all tied together somehow.”
“I think you’re absolutely right,” I said, “and they’re linked together because of the bank robbery. I’m sure of it.”
Felicity spoke up. “Stan and I have been discussing this and we think it has to do with the bank robbery, too.” She turned to Kimberly. “Stan is a whiz with the computer. Would you let him help you?”
Kimberly nodded. “Maybe your husband can teach me a thing or two.”
Chapter Thirty
Stanley seemed quite pleased with his wife’s comment. “Yes, I’ve taught myself about using the computer, and I’ve taken classes. I’m somewhat of a whiz, as my wife said. I’d be happy to help.”
Pete called the cop, Joe, who arrived in record time to check out the back door. He was not happy with what he saw. “Obviously, the person who broke in has no idea that the gold isn’t in the house anymore. What concerns me is that after looking through the kitchen cupboards, which was a wasted effort, he might have rousted Bea so he could search her room. I think a disaster was avoided here last night.”
Bea, Pete and I sat at the breakfast table while Joe checked things out, and Bea inhaled deeply. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
Joe smiled. “You made a good showing for yourself, I’ll give you that. Hitting him with the mallet was the right thing to do. Of course, I’m not supposed to say that, but I believe it.”
“Thank you, Joe. I just grabbed the closest thing I could find. Do you really think he might have come into my bedroom?”
“Yes, I do.” Joe worked while he talked. “The doorknob is covered with prints, so I don’t think that’s going to help. I’ll check it out though. And, Bea, you’ve got to have this fixed right away.”
“I called Bob, but he’s involved in a project at his own house. Since it’s raining, he didn’t think I’d need him here.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Pete always seemed to be there when someone needed him.
“Oh, no. You’re a guest. I wouldn’t think of having you work around here.”
He laughed. “We’re already working, even if it is investigative work.”
Bea looked embarrassed.
“Let him take care of it,” I said. “Don’t forget, the safety of all of us is at stake.”
“I guess that’s settled.” Joe stood, ready to take his leave. “I’ll get back to you on this.”
Pete walked out with the officer, following him to his patrol car.
“I sure wish Bubba was here.” I sighed, one of my better sighs.
“Who’s Bubba?”
I looked at Bea and had a feeling she was picturing some big bruiser. In a way, she’d be right.
“Bubba is a huge dog, half wolf and half Golden Retriever, and he makes a great watchdog.”
“Hmm. I wish he was here, too.”
“Well, Bea, why don’t you rest for a while? You’ve been through enough. Felicity and I can take care of lunch today.”
“Oh, no. I have to put my foot down about that. Either I’ll take care of lunch or my nieces will.”
I put up my hands in submission. “Then I’ll go back to work on the two cases, or maybe I shoul
d say three since it seems to involve the bank robbery, too.”
Pete left to pick up the hardware to repair the back door. The old lock was flimsy and had apparently been on the door for years. It hadn’t been difficult for the intruder to break it and enter the house.
I went to work on my list, but I had to turn it over when Gloria joined me.
“I just want to apologize,” she said. “I know I’ve been pushy. Phil made a point of reminding me of just how pushy I can be. I can’t get that crying sound out of my mind though, and I want to do something to help if you’ll allow me.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “There’s no need to apologize. I’m not sure what you might do to help, but I’ll try to think of something.”
“Besides,” she said, sounding petulant, “Phil and I are stuck inside today, too, thanks to the rain.”
Ah, there was the Gloria I was becoming accustomed to.
She made an odd snorting noise. “It’s beautiful here, but I couldn’t live someplace where it rains this much on a permanent basis.” She made the noise again. “Plus, I seem to be allergic to something. Maybe the rain or the wind stirred something up, but I’ve started to sneeze.” And she did – sneeze, that is.
“Bless you,” I said.
“Thank you.”
“Maybe it would be a good idea for you to stay inside today. There are lots of old movies to watch.”
“Phil can watch movies, but I need something to do. Please? Will you let me help?”
“Why don’t you sit out on the porch and watch the rain for a bit. It can actually be relaxing. Give me a few minutes to think things over.”
She nodded and headed for the porch. I guess she must have decided if she really wanted to help, she needed to cooperate. Would wonders never cease?
That’s when I heard the crying again. It reverberated throughout the house, and yet it seemed far away this time. I glanced toward the porch, but Gloria didn’t react, so I didn’t think she could hear it outside.
Bea walked out of the kitchen with wide eyes. “Is there no end to the weird things that are happening around here?”