by Marja McGraw
“No. It’s just sore. I fell pretty hard though.”
The sound of pruning shears caught my ear. I walked over to Greg. “Did you see anyone hanging around the house?”
“No, ma’am. Didn’t see a thing, and I’ve been out here for about half an hour. Well, except Bob. He rode out with me and he’s working on a project out back.”
“Would you please let us know if you see anything or anyone that looks out of place?”
“Sure.” He returned to his pruning, shaking his head again.
Bea and her nieces were making a fuss over Stanley. Poor Bea was probably thinking about a potential lawsuit, but Stanley isn’t the litigious type. He wouldn’t even think of filing a suit.
“Let’s get you in the house,” she said. “I’ll make you some hot tea and toast.”
I almost laughed. That sounded like something my mother would say. Hot tea and toast were a cure-all to some people.
I could see from Stanley’s expression that he was having thoughts about not wanting to go back inside, but he overcame them and let the women baby him.
“Pete, what do you think really happened?” I asked.
“Honestly? I have no idea. We heard noises and I went to investigate. The backdoor was open and with the breeze it was kind of banging against the doorframe. I heard Stan yell and ran to the stairs. He was in a daze and kept saying, ‘The ghost did it, the ghost did it.’ It took a few minutes to calm him down. Actually, I had to help him out to the porch before he calmed down.”
“And you didn’t hear anything other than the door?”
“I have to admit it sounded like someone was walking around upstairs. I tried to leave Stan to check it out, but he wouldn’t let go of my arm.”
“This is just too weird. We have two murders to solve and not much information to go on, and now we have a ghost? I don’t think so.”
“I don’t either, but something’s going on.” Pete took my hand in his and led me inside.
Bea was sitting next to Stanley on the couch. “Did you ever figure out where the crying was coming from?”
“No. Pete still thinks it’s the house settling or the wind blowing through the cracks and crevices. It is an old house, after all.”
I glanced at Felicity. “Maybe it’s time for you and Stan to go home to L.A.”
Stanley stood, groaning in the process. “Not on your life. Someone declared war on me today and I’m going to stick it out until we have these mysteries solved. Don’t forget, I’m a private investigator, too. I’ll not shirk my duty.”
Felicity looked at him adoringly and nodded her agreement.
I held my hands up, admitting defeat. If my friends wanted to stay, I wouldn’t argue. However, we had to bring everything to a conclusion. Time was running out. We couldn’t stay at the B&B forever, and I didn’t want to leave Bea alone until we’d resolved things.
Sasha and Kimberly had quietly taken in everything that was happening, trying to stay in the background. Something in them seemed to change after Stanley’s statement.
“I’m in,” Kimberly said. “May I speak to Stan about our research? Or I can wait, if you’d rather.”
Stanley took her hand and led her to the dining room where they sat down at the table.
“I’m in, too.” Sasha had a determined look on her face. “I don’t like what’s going on and I don’t want my aunt to be in danger. I’ll do whatever you want me to, including standing guard at night.”
Pete smiled at her. “You won’t need to stand guard, but since there are a couple of vacant rooms right now, you and your sister might want to stay here tonight. Maybe Sam can stay here, too. You and Kimberly can share a room.”
“The more the merrier?” I asked.
“Something like that. Maybe with a full house our intruder will stay away while we figure things out.”
After everyone migrated to the dining room to watch Stanley and Kimberly, and after some kind of group discussion which I wasn’t a part of, the whole group climbed the stairs and disappeared.
“I had a thought.” The treasure had been rattling around in the back regions of my mind. “Since word spreads so fast in this town, maybe we need to let people know that the treasure isn’t here anymore – the police department has it. What do you think?”
Pete scratched his chin. “I have mixed feelings. Obviously someone thinks the treasure is in the house. We need to squelch that idea. On the other hand, if we’re vigilant and the intruder comes back, maybe we can catch him.”
I opened my mouth and spoke without thinking about it first. “Like you did today?”
“Okay, it’s broad daylight and Stan and I were both here. We weren’t expecting company. It happened. Let it go.”
It seemed like a good time to change the subject. “Kimberly is going to do some research for us. I want to know if there was a Charlie Rogers in Bob’s lineage. Bob could be our connection. Don’t you find it a little odd that he’s been working here, his last name is Rogers, and the gold from the bank was found? What I mean is, he’d know about the treasure being found. And if you think about it, maybe the bank robbery was a family legend that he grew up hearing. Bea says they were a closed-mouth group. If he had a bank robbery in his family, it probably wouldn’t be something he’d brag about. And don’t forget, I grew up hearing stories about my great-great-great-grandfather and his sordid life. Look where it led me.”
Pete tipped his head and thought about what I’d said. “I’ve been thinking the same kind of thoughts. If the legend included murder, he’d have even less reason to talk about that particular family legend.”
“We’ll keep our eyes on him,” I said. “Is he still out back?”
“Let’s find out.”
Pete headed toward the kitchen and I followed him. We stopped and watched out the window. Bob was busily painting some wooden furniture that Bea had put outside.
I laid my hand on Pete’s arm. “Maybe we should tactfully speak to Greg. He and Bob seem to be friends. Maybe he knows something.”
“Good idea. Why don’t you go check on Stan while I go talk to Greg? I think he’ll open up to a man before he’ll talk to a woman.” Pete had good instincts about most people, probably because of his time spent as a cop.
“Now that you mention it, he does seem fairly quiet when I’m around. I mean, he’ll speak to me, but he doesn’t go out of his way to keep the conversation going.”
My husband turned away from the window to go in search of Greg. I smiled. Big search. Walk outside to the front yard and there he’d be.
“Oh,” I said, “why don’t you mention that the police took ‘things’ from the house to use as evidence? Maybe he’ll get the grapevine message out. I’m sure everyone knows we found gold by now.”
“I wouldn’t count on him starting a rumor. He strikes me as a private person.”
“Hmm. Just like Bob.”
Pete stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at me.
“Yeah. Just like Bob.”
Chapter Thirty-seven
Pete left the room and I considered Greg and Bob. I didn’t really know if they were friends or not. Greg had given Bob a ride out to the B&B, but that didn’t mean anything. As far as wanting their privacy, maybe it was a guy thing, although Pete seemed to share everything with me, as far as I could tell.
I smiled to myself. Sometimes men could be bigger gossips than women. They just thought of it as imparting information instead of gossiping.
I stood at the window and watched Bob for a few minutes. He struck me as a hard worker, not dragging his feet so he could charge Bea for more work time. That could mean he was one of the good guys, or it could mean he figured he’d eventually have riches that weren’t really his – like gold and silver. I could see that he’d sanded the furniture before painting it.
Once it was dry, I hoped we could sit outside in the back instead of on the front porch. It looked so calm and peaceful, not that the front was any different. It was simpl
y a different setting.
Straightening my back, I turned from the window. I needed to put things in perspective. I should be thinking about solving two murders, not relaxing in the backyard. Of course, in this case, the backyard was more like a field leading to a forest.
I sighed. Some belated honeymoon this was turning out to be. Of course, Pete and I were doing what we loved to do best.
I heard voices in the living room and migrated toward them.
“Where have you all been?” I asked.
Felicity was fluttering around Stanley like a little butterfly, making sure he was comfortable. “We were upstairs, looking for clues. You never know, but someone could have dropped their wallet with a driver’s license or something like that. I know that’s unlikely, but you know what I mean.”
“I do. Find anything?”
“Nothing. Stan knows he was pushed, but nothing was out of place.”
Bea was listening to us. “You know, I should check my bedroom. That seems to be where the intruder thinks the treasure is hidden.” She stood and left us to our own devices while she walked through the kitchen to her bedroom.
There was a knock at the front door. Sasha went to see who was calling, and returned with Joe and Pete.
“Is Bea here?” the police officer asked.
“I’ll go get her.” Sasha left the room and returned shortly with her aunt.
“Bea, it’s been determined that the money is really yours. I’ve got it out in the trunk. We’re talking about a small fortune, so I wondered if you might want me to escort you to the bank. You know, you could put it in a safety deposit box to keep it safe.”
“Oh, Joe, can’t you keep it at the police station?” Bea looked nervous, and I couldn’t blame her after the break-in.
“No, we can’t leave it there. The bank would be the safest place for it.”
Pete stepped to Joe’s side. “Can we talk privately for a minute?”
Joe looked surprised, but followed Pete to the dining room. I know how my husband thinks, and I knew he was going to fill the cop in on what had been happening.
I could see them from where I sat, and the cop’s face darkened while Pete filled him in. It appeared that he asked a few questions and wasn’t happy with the answers.
He returned to the living room and glanced from face to face. He stopped when he got to Stanley. “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should see a doctor.”
“I’m fine, honestly. However, I will state, for the record, that this wasn’t an accident. It might have been an intruder, or it might have been the gh—”
I knew where he was headed and interrupted. “I’m sure Pete told you this isn’t the first time there’s been an intruder. Someone shoved me down outside, and someone broke into the house. In other words, someone is after the gold.”
“I know all of that. Do you have proof of what they were after?”
“No, but – “
“I have no doubt that you’re right. Unfortunately there’s not a lot I can do since no one saw fit to fill me in sooner. Of course, I know about the break-in when Bea was shoved, but most of the rest of this comes as a surprise. If there was any evidence, it’s most certainly gone by now.”
He was chastising us, and I couldn’t blame him. We weren’t playing by the rules, but then, when did we ever do that?
He swept his gaze around the group again. “Please keep me informed. Yes, I believe you’re right about the treasure, but I have a feeling that somehow this also involves the two old murders.”
I sighed with relief. “I think part of the problem was that we didn’t think you’d believe us. I mean, one murder happened in 1898 and the other in 1936. It’s hard to imagine anyone other than us would care after all this time. Besides, who else would figure the murders were somehow related?”
Kimberly stepped forward. “Joe is one of the good guys. He cares what happens to people, even the ones from the old days.” Her cheeks turned bright pink and she stepped back.
Sasha glanced at her sister with a look of surprise.
Kimberly definitely had a crush on Joe. She was investing herself and her Internet talents in our investigation, and I noticed that since this all began she’d become much quieter than she was when we first met her. I hoped she’d peek out from her shell and be herself with Joe.
I stood and walked toward her, finally standing at her side. “Kimberly has been invaluable to us, Joe. She’s done so much research, and we’ve finally come to the conclusion that all of this has to do with the unsolved bank robbery in 1898. We’ve got a few leads we’re working on, but they’re conjecture right now and not something the police need to get involved in. If we come up with something tangible, with Kimberly’s help, we’ll let you know.” I put my arm around her shoulder.
Joe looked at the floor, obviously thinking.
Kimberly mouthed the words thank you, and I nodded. She knew I wanted to talk her up in front of this man.
The cop seemed to come to a decision. “Okay for now. But I’d like you all to keep me in the loop.”
“You’ll know everything we know as soon as we have something new.”
Joe nodded. “In the meantime, may I speak to you, Kimberly? Outside?”
Her face flushed pink again. She nodded and followed him outside.
Nosey me, I watched them while they stood on the porch and talked.
Joe stood with one hand on his holstered gun and the other dangling at his side. His eyebrows were raised after he spoke, making me feel like he was waiting for something. An answer to a question?
Kimberly smiled and nodded, saying something, but of course I couldn’t hear the conversation. I was able to make a good guess though.
The young woman stood on the porch and watched Joe climb into his car and drive away before coming back inside. Her smile was firmly in place and it seemed she couldn’t sober up and stop grinning.
Sasha turned to her sister. “Well?”
Kimberly let out a small squeak, sounding like an excited teenager. “He asked me to go to dinner with him to discuss my research.”
Sasha started to laugh, but quickly cleared her throat to stop herself. “You’ve waited for this for a long time. What are you going to wear? You can tell me while we fold sheets in the laundry room.”
The sisters forgot about the rest of us being in the room and left to take care of business.
I heard Sasha say, “It was kind of last minute, wasn’t it? I mean, look at the clock. It’s already three o’clock.” Her voice faded out after her comment.
“I knew it,” I said. “I knew Kimberly wanted to go out with Joe.”
“Well, duh.” Felicity looked me in the eye. “We all knew that. It was pretty obvious. Stan and I just wondered if Joe knew how she felt.”
Stanley smiled at his wife. “I have a feeling she’s not going to be of much help today. I’ll see what I can find about Bob’s family ties this afternoon. I don’t really need help anyway.”
“You’re right, Stan. We’ve got to get back to business. And thank you,” I said.
Glancing out the window, I saw Joe pulling back into the driveway with Sam following him.
The cop climbed out of his car, walked across the gravel, up the steps and into the house, all the while looking embarrassed. “Sorry, but I forgot something.”
“The gold,” Pete said.
“Yes, the gold.”
Stanley smiled at Joe.
Our new friend looked at Bea. “Would you like me to drive you to the bank?”
Bea glanced from him toward the laundry room. “I think Sam and Sasha can drive me. But thank you for the offer.” She knew he had some business to take care of when he got off duty.
Joe handed her a sheet of paper. “This is the inventory of what we thought might be evidence.”
“My, but this is a long list,” Bea said, glancing at the paper.
Sam helped Joe move everything from the police unit to his own trunk. They were parked next to eac
h other and thankfully no one could see what they were doing.
Kimberly had heard the voices and oh-so-casually wandered to the window and watched the men with a grin on her beautiful face.
Interesting how joy can make every face beautiful.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Bea, Sam and Sasha left shortly thereafter, while the rest of us finally sat down and took a deep breath.
“Pete,” I asked, “what did Greg have to say? Anything helpful?”
“Not really. According to him, he doesn’t know Bob all that well. Greg said he’s only lived here for a couple of years.”
Stanley excused himself and headed for the laptop computer to work on his research. Felicity joined him at the table, wanting to be helpful.
About the time Pete and I decided we could finally relax, Phil and Gloria pulled up in front.
“I think Stan needs more help.” Pete hurriedly stood and strode into the dining room, taking long steps and making his getaway.
“Chicken,” I mumbled under my breath.
Gloria didn’t look content when she entered the house. Phil’s face was long and it he looked depressed.
“How’d the house hunting go?” I asked, almost dreading the answer.
Gloria shook her finger at me. “It seems you and your husband got the only house I might have wanted, and we looked at many homes today.”
“None of them were up to her standards.” Phil walked past her and climbed the stairs. Maybe he needed a little alone time.
Other than Gloria grousing about my home purchase from time to time, the rest of the evening was quiet. I think we were all worn out.
Bea returned and took a deep breath, ready to tell us about her adventure at the bank, but when she saw Gloria she changed her mind.
Kimberly left without coming inside. She had a date to prepare for, and she seemed to feel rushed, according to Sasha.
“Joe gets off duty at six o’clock. My sister wants plenty of time to primp for the occasion, and its…” She paused and looked at her watch. “…almost five o’clock. She forgets that he’s got to go home and get cleaned up, too.”