by Marja McGraw
Bea had made a sudden decision and Sam came in from the car carrying bags of sub sandwiches along with all kinds of chips.
“We’ll keep tonight simple,” Bea said.
“You must have had a busy day.” Gloria’s voice sounded snide.
Phil nudged her with his elbow and she shoved him away.
She was really getting on everyone’s nerves. What an annoying woman!
Maybe not finding the haunted house of her dreams would motivate her to go home. Thankfully, she excused herself after eating and headed upstairs with a headache.
Phil remained at the table. “I love my wife, but sometimes I need a break. Now is one of those times.”
I could see that Pete was about to say something, and I kicked him under the table. I’d never done that before and he looked surprised, but kept his mouth closed.
Phil looked around the room. “Where’s Bea?”
“She’s in the kitchen, eating,” I said.
“I need to talk to her for a minute.”
He stood and walked into the kitchen.
We could hear him talking, although he spoke softly. I guess we were all a bit nosey because no one said a word.
“Bea,” he said, “I’d appreciate if you don’t mention selling this house in front of my wife again.”
“Not a problem,” she replied. “I don’t know if I’ll sell it. I’m just not sure if I’m cut out to run a bed and breakfast. I guess only time will tell.”
Phil returned to his seat looking about as happy as any man could. We discovered that he could be a funny man with his wife out of the room, and he had us in stitches over some of her escapades.
After about half an hour he excused himself and went to his room.
Stanley was sore and tired, so he and Felicity went to bed fairly early.
Pete and I watched an old movie, The Mad Miss Manton, before going upstairs. I wasn’t sure about him, but I needed the distraction.
Bea joined us while Sam and Sasha chit chatted in the kitchen. Sam left around nine o’clock, deciding not to stay over, and Sasha retired for the night.
We all wondered how Kimberly and Joe were getting along. I hoped she was her normal, outgoing self.
~ * ~
Pete shook my shoulder and woke me up in the early morning. “Sandi, we need to finish up here and get back to Los Angeles. I don’t like leaving the business for this long, and I know you don’t either.”
I rolled over and gave him The Look. “You had to wake me up to tell me that? I know we need to go home, but I’m worried about stirring things up and then leaving Bea by herself.”
Before the conversation could go any further, there was a light knock on our door. Pete stood and pulled on his jeans before answering.
Stanley stood in the doorway with a fist full of papers. “I’m sorry to awaken you so early, but I couldn’t sleep last night so I took the laptop to our room and did some more research. I’ve come up with some answers.”
Pete shooed him out of the room and joined him in the hallway. I could hear mumbling and didn’t want to miss anything, so I grabbed my robe and slipped it on before joining the men.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Stanley was fully dressed and ready to face the day. He’d obviously been up for a while.
“Why don’t you two meet me downstairs?” He sounded excited, ready to share some big news.
“Give us time to get cleaned up. We’ll be down soon,” Pete said.
I glanced at my husband in his jeans, with no shirt, and a shock of bed hair. On him, bed hair looked sexy. So did his muscles.
Sighing, I returned to our room and found some clean clothes. Bea had let me use her washer and dryer the previous night while we watched the movie. We hadn’t brought enough clothes with us for the trip, thinking it would be a lot shorter stay.
After my shower, Pete and I passed each other in the hallway just like, as they say, ships passing in the night. I told him I’d meet him downstairs.
Bea had been up early, too, and the breakfast buffet was ready and waiting. She sat with Stanley while he ate, picking at her own food.
He’d filled his plate. For such a slender guy, he ate a lot. He attributed it to a fast metabolism and an overabundance of nervous energy. I wished I had his metabolism.
“I’m glad you’re here, Sandi. Stan won’t tell me a thing until you and Pete join him.” She smiled in his general direction, and yet you could see the anticipation on her face.
“Pete will be down soon,” I said. “Where’s Felicity?”
“She’ll be down soon, too. You know that she won’t present herself until she has on her make-up and her hair is coiffed. She’s so meticulous about her appearance. I think it comes from being a model.”
“You could be right.” I picked up a plate and, noticing that Bea had made crepes, I put three plain ones on my plate to eat like pancakes. I’d never thought about eating them plain with syrup, but Felicity had picked up the habit when she and Stanley took their honeymoon to Australia. Consequently, I’d started eating them that way, too.
“Does Felicity know what you’ve found?” I asked.
“She does, and she’s excited, too.” Stanley took a bite of scrambled eggs and followed up with sausage.
Sasha walked out from the kitchen. “I just heard from Kimberly. She’ll be here soon. She had a ‘date to beat all dates’, according to her. I’m happy for my sister. She’s waited a long time to find someone she really cares about, and I hope Joe feels the same way.”
“I’m sure he does if she had such a good time.” I took a bite of my crepes dipped in syrup.
Bea watched me. “I never thought about eating them like that. I’ll have to try it.” She stood and walked to the buffet, picked up a smaller plate, and served herself a couple of crepes. She poured syrup on the side.
“If the Stewarts come down, I’ll be hiding in the kitchen,” Sasha said, “with a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door.” She disappeared when we heard footsteps on the stairs.
I recognized the sound of Pete’s approach and laughed at Sasha.
“Okay, pal, what did you find out?” Pete asked, checking out the buffet.
“Let’s eat first.” Stanley took another bite of his food.
“Really? Are you really going to make us wait?” I asked.
“Only until my little peanut joins us. She wants to share in the surprise you’ll feel when you hear our information.”
“Little peanut?” Pete looked over his shoulder.
“Well…”
Felicity came down the stairs within just a few minutes. “Did I miss anything? Have you told them yet?”
“I was just waiting for you, punkin’ pie.”
The pet names were becoming a bit much, but I fought down the desire to make a gagging noise. I loved this couple, and they thought they were being funny. So be it.
Felicity quickly filled her plate with enough to feed a hummingbird and sat down next to her husband.
“Let’s get on with it,” Pete said.
Bea nodded. “Don’t keep us in suspense any longer. Was Charlie a relative of Bob’s?”
“There were two Charlies, and yes, they’re related.”
Stanley looked quite proud of himself.
Chapter Thirty-nine
“Both his grandfather and his great-grandfather were named Charles. His father was named James. The original Charles married Janet Moore and they had two children, a son and a daughter. The son was Charles, Jr. and the daughter was Naomi.
“Charles, Jr. married Mary Thomas and they had one son whom they named James. Mary died of pneumonia when James was quite young. “
Stanley checked his notes.
“James married Susan Baker. They had two children, named Robert and Candice.”
“And there’s Bob,” Pete said.
Stanley checked his papers again. “I’ve written down copious notes, but what I’ve told you is the basic family information.�
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“Now we know,” I said. “I think it’s time to talk to Bob and see what he can tell us. I have to think he’s behind everything that’s been happening. I hope he doesn’t try to worm his way out of it.”
Bea frowned, worry lines showing on her forehead. “He’s not due to come out today. He wanted the furniture to dry for a couple of days. I’ll try calling him at home and see if I can think of some other reason for him to come out here. I sure can’t picture him causing the trouble we’ve been having though. He’s such a nice man.”
“I’ve met some so-called nice men over the years and the description wasn’t fitting,” I said. “Let’s talk to him and then make up our minds about him.”
Sometimes thoughts come to us when we least expect it. I suddenly remembered a small piece of paper that Bonnie had hidden in the secret compartment of the wooden box. I’d been interrupted and never looked at it. Right now I had a feeling that everything mattered.
“Excuse me,” I said.
Climbing the stairs I ran into Phil and Gloria.
Not now, I thought. I want to see what’s on that piece of paper.
Gloria looked downright cheerful, which worried me. “Good morning,” she said. “What a glorious day. I just looked out my window and knew I had to take today to spend with Mother Nature.”
“Good idea. Have fun.” I passed the couple and entered our room.
“You could come with us,” she called after me.
“Thank you, but no. I’ve got things to do.”
I didn’t really mean to be rude, but she was the most aggravating woman I’d met in a long time. She outdid my mother, and that’s saying a lot. Maybe she was more like my Aunt Martha.
I pulled the wooden box off the dresser and rummaged around for the small scrap of paper. If Bonnie had hidden it, then it might be important. I pulled out the birth certificate and set it aside, remembering that I wanted to take it to Jack Fisher. He’d be thrilled to have it, I was sure.
The paper I was looking for was gone. I immediately started searching the floor, thinking I might have dropped it. I looked under the bed and under the dresser. Nothing.
It struck me. Bea’s nieces had been in here to vacuum. I’d check with them. I couldn’t think of any other explanation. Everything else from the birth certificate to Bonnie’s letter was still in place.
Back downstairs, I found Sasha hiding out in the kitchen, just as she’d said she would.
“Sasha, when you and Kimberly vacuumed our room, did you happen to find a piece of paper on the floor? It was just a scrap and looked kind of old.”
She looked surprised. “Now that you mention it, I think Kimberly picked something up. I don’t know what she did with it, but I doubt that she threw it away. She should be here in about half an hour. Ask her when she gets here.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.” Okay, so maybe she’d found the paper.
I returned to the formal dining table where the group had become very quiet, except for Gloria.
“So, why don’t you all come with me on my nature walk?” she asked.
I heard Greg’s truck pull up in front. “Excuse me, but I must speak to Greg to ask about a particular plant he’s used in the yard.”
Pete stood. “I’ll come with you. If I’m going to take care of the yard at home, I have a few questions for him, too.”
Stanley stumbled over his words. “Uh, I think I have some investigating to take care of today, and, um, I might…” His words trailed off.
“I have to help him.” Felicity stood and left the table.
Kimberly pulled in just before Pete and I approached Greg, so I did a little change-of-direction dance and met her at her car.
“How did it go last night?” I watched her expression change from tiredness to one of joy. “Oh. I guess I don’t really need to ask.”
“It was amazing,” she said. “We just clicked. It was like we’d been dating forever.”
“I’m so happy for you. Listen. I need to ask you a question.”
“Okay.”
“When you vacuumed our room, did you find a scrap of paper on the floor? Sasha thought you might have picked something up.”
She looked embarrassed. “I did, but I threw it away.”
My shoulders slumped. It could have been important.
“I remember what it said though.”
And my spirits rose. “What did it say?”
“There were two names written on it. One was Harvey Driscoll and the other was… Wait a minute. Let me think. It was… Oh,yeah. Clyde Farmer.”
“Clyde Farmer?” That wasn’t a name that had come up in our investigation. Another new lead?
“Are you sure about the two names?”
“I am, but let me check the trash barrel. Maybe it’s still there. I don’t think they pick up the trash until tomorrow.” Kimberly left me standing there and headed around to the back of the house.
I followed her.
Apparently Bea saw us out the window, and she met us outside the back door. “I called Bob, and he can’t come today. He accepted another job since he didn’t think he’d be coming back here until tomorrow.”
Kimberly lifted the lid off a Recycle can.
Bea looked over her shoulder while her niece began to rummage through paper, tin cans and miscellaneous recyclables. “What’re you looking for?”
“A piece of paper.”
Piece by piece, Kimberly lifted things out and set them on the ground.
“I’m looking for a note I accidently threw away. Sandi needs it.”
“Let me help,” I said.
Bea didn’t comment, but returned to the house.
Kimberly smiled. “I guess my aunt figured I’d have to do my own dirty work.”
While we searched, I asked, “Have you ever heard of either of the names you mentioned?”
“Everybody knows about Harvey Driscoll. I think he cheated half the people in Battle Ground at one time or another. He thought he could buy up all the property and own a boom town.” She chuckled. “I think some of the money that disappeared in that bank robbery was his. He owned a business around here, but I don’t know what it was.
“As far as Clyde Farmer, the name seems vaguely familiar, but you have to remember that I’m not big on local history. He would have been from a long time ago if his name was on the paper with Harvey’s.”
We kept digging through the trash.
“Ah! Here it is.” Kimberly handed me the paper. “Sorry about throwing it away. Since it was on the floor, I figured it was trash.”
“Well, you found it, and that’s all that matters.”
I unfolded the scrap and something immediately leaped out at me. Harvey Driscoll’s name was written with a pen. However, Clyde Farmer’s name was written in pencil. They weren’t jotted down at the same time, but they were obviously names that Bonnie wanted to remember.
“Did Stan come up with anything about Bob’s family? I kept thinking about that last night. I even asked Joe if he knew anything about Bob’s family, but we got sidetracked and never got back to it.”
I explained the information to Kimberly as best I could. I couldn’t remember all the details, but I definitely remembered the two Charlies and James. “I’m sure if you go look for Stan he’d fill you in.”
She left to track him down and I took another look at the scrap of paper. I noticed some scratching along the bottom. It looked as though Bonnie had tried to write something else, but her pencil had broken. I could barely make it out, but there was definitely another name, and it looked like it began as “Cha”. Charley? I slipped the paper into my pocket and walked out front to see what Pete was up to.
I found him talking to Greg.
“So you think you’re going to be moving on?” Pete asked.
Greg nodded. “I moved here on a whim and I’m leaving on a whim. I don’t like to stay in one place for too long anyway. I think Bob is going to take over the business. I don’t have that many custome
rs, so it’s no big loss. He can do handyman work and yardwork, too.”
“Well, I appreciate the advice you’ve given me.” Pete held out his hand to shake with Greg.
Greg lifted his arm as though in pain. “I’m getting’ too old to do this kind of work. My arms ache most of the time.”
“Sorry,” Pete said. “We’ll be moving in, at least part-time, down the street. I want to put in some plants that can kind of take care of themselves, and you’ve given me some ideas.”
I tapped Pete on the shoulder. “Pete? Can I see you for a minute?”
Apparently Greg hadn’t seen me walk up and he jumped when I spoke, dropping a spade.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Chapter Forty
We left Greg to his work and walked back to the porch.
“What’s up?” Pete asked.
“Take a look at this.” I pulled out the paper and handed it to Pete. “It looks like two names, but if you look closely, there are actually three. The third one might be Charley.”
Pete studied the paper. “I think I need reading glasses, but I can see something.” He held the paper closer to his face. “You might be right.”
“We need to talk to Bob. The name Charley keeps popping up. I’ll bet he knows something. He’s not due back here until tomorrow, but maybe we can talk to him at his house this evening.”
Pete nodded. “Sure thing. He’s got plenty to answer for with the break in and shoving matches, and the two Charlies.”
“I need to tie up a few loose ends, too. I’m going to drive over to Jack Fisher’s office and give him the birth certificate. He’s done so much work to find out about his parentage, and I’m sure he’ll want it.”
Pete stood and looked down at me. “Why don’t you go do that now? I’ll talk to Bea and see if she can set something up with Bob. Maybe we can go out to lunch one more time, too. I saw a Mexican place in town that looked pretty good. Lots of cars in the parking lot, so that tells me something.”
“Works for me,” I replied. “By the time I come back from Fisher’s office it should be just about lunch time.” I glanced at my watch. “His office should be open by now.”