What Are the Odds

by Marja McGraw

  “Now, pumpkin, we’ll have a honeymoon.” Stanley looked at her with adoration in his eyes.

  She laughed. “I’m serious, Stan. I think this is great. I can’t wait to get started fixing this house up. We’ve got our own little apartment and we’re with the people we care about the most. How much better can it get?”

  Stanley slowly shook his head. “What did I do to deserve such a wife? I never thought I could be this happy.” He meant it, too. I’d never seen him so happy.

  All of a sudden Bubba stood and growled, looking toward the sliding glass door. It had grown dark and all we could see was the reflection of the oil lamp in the window.

  Pete walked to the door and tried to slide it open, but it was stuck. He pulled with a vengeance, just about pulling his shoulder out of place.

  It turned out it was locked, and the lock still worked. Quite well, apparently.

  Bubba stood behind him and continued to growl.

  “Uh, Sandi, would you mind if Bubba sleeps down here with us?” Stanley’s eyes were glued to the glass doors. “I think it might be prudent to let him guard the doorway.”

  By that time Pete had unlocked the door and he slid it open, stepping outside. “I don’t see anything out here. Back in a minute.” He disappeared from view.

  “I’d better go with him,” Stanley said, hesitantly, “just in case he needs help.”

  Neither Felicity nor I tried to stop him. Sometimes you just had to let a man be a man, even if he’d rather not take that road. He disappeared out the door and turned to the right, following Pete.

  “I wonder what was out there,” Felicity said.

  “Honestly? If it was something to worry about, I think Bubba would have done more than growl. Look at that dopey dog. Now that he’s sent out an alarm, he’s perfectly happy to stay here with us.”

  He was lying on the dirty floor near the kitchen, grinning at us.

  I sighed and the dog’s tail began banging on the floor.

  We heard Pete and Stanley talking, outside. “It was nothing,” Pete said. “Probably just a little critter passing by the door.”

  “You’re sure?” Stanley didn’t sound at all convinced.

  “If the boogey man gets you tonight, we’ll know for sure.”

  “Oh, you!”

  “If not the boogey man, then maybe a big black widow.”

  “You’re still joking, right?”

  Pete laughed and thumped Stanley on the back.

  I’ve thought it before, and I thought it again. I’d never understand how these two totally different men had become such close friends. Their personalities couldn’t possibly be any different. Stanley didn’t seem to have many friends before coming into our lives, so I was glad things had worked out the way they did.

  After making sure the door was relocked, Pete and I decided to go back upstairs and get some sleep. Or, with any luck, maybe we’d have a post wedding night celebration. I smiled to myself.

  “Bubba, you stay here with the Hawks.”

  The name was a new word to him and he watched me, trying to figure out what I meant.

  “You stay here with Felicity.”

  He knew that name and turned his big head to grin at her.

  “Will he stay out here?” Stanley asked.

  Pete nodded. “Sure. Just close the bedroom door and he won’t bother you.”

  “Although he does like to sleep at the foot of my bed,” I added, grinning. “Be sure to put out some water for him.”

  Sometime during the night I heard Bubba padding through the house, exploring and watching over us, too.

  Thank heaven for small favors, he never sent out another alarm.

  Chapter Eight

  We were up early the next morning. The sleeping accommodations didn’t exactly promote sleeping in. I picked up my watch and saw it was six o’clock. Way too early after the long day we’d had driving from California to Arizona.

  I really wanted to take a shower so when we met my parents outside I was thrilled to see a truck with the plumber’s name on it. Instead of taking time to meet him, I rushed into the motorhome to take care of more important matters, like finding a working toilet. After all, there are priorities, and the house was short on the amenities.

  Bubba was following my mother around like a lovesick puppy. I noticed she’d already fed him for me, and she was obviously carrying treats in her pockets because the dog would take tentative sniffs when she wasn’t looking. She liked giving him little rewards, or treats, no matter what he did. She spoiled him rotten, although she frequently referred to him as my mangy mutt, a description I’d started using, too.

  The electrician showed up while we were eating. Thank goodness we had a stove in the motorhome, so meals weren’t an issue.

  He spoke to Frank, who explained about the wiring being ripped out. Shaking his head, not a good sign, the electrician entered the house to begin his inspection and work.

  In the meantime the plumber returned to talk to Frank. “Those thieves took the pump from your well, along with a lot of copper tubing. I’ll have to replace the pump before I do anything else.”

  Surprisingly, Frank took the news in stride without getting upset. “We knew what we were getting into, more or less. I’ll work on installing the sinks and faucets that were stolen while you take care of the rest of it. In fact, we need to install a new toilet, too. Guess I’d better run into town.”

  “I’ll bring one back from the shop.” The two men talked about color and type before the plumber left to round up a well pump.

  Frank motioned Pete and Stanley over. “Why don’t you two take care of the sinks and faucets first? I’ll work on repairing the damage to the walls and that hole in the ceiling. Livvie can tell the girls what she wants them to do.”

  They walked off toward the garage where Frank had stored the parts and tools they’d need.

  “Mother? What do you want us to do?”

  “I hate to do this to you, but there’s an awful lot of cleaning to be done in the house before we can paint and start repairs. Are you up to it?”

  Felicity threw her paper plate in the trash and stood with her hands on her hips. “Of course. We girls are the strong ones in this group. I could even help put in the sinks if I needed to. Men underrate us, don’t they?”

  As tiny and cute as she was, my friend could pretty much do anything she set her mind to. So could I, for that matter.

  Mother led us to the garage where we found brooms, rags and all kinds of cleaning supplies. She took two buckets back to the motorhome and filled them with water. We lugged everything inside and began our assigned tasks.

  Since the house was empty, it was full of echoes. I could hear the men talking in the bathroom. Their voices carried and I listened to Pete patiently explain the process for putting in the faucets. Stanley didn’t say anything and I had a feeling he was probably nodding. After that, things were quiet while they worked, other than the sound of a few clinks and clunks.

  Felicity and I began our work in the living room, sweeping away cobwebs and dead bugs. Apparently those bug bombs really work, judging by the number of tiny bodies we found. My mother headed upstairs with a bucket, a mop and more rags.

  We started by breaking off the baseboards along the edges of the room. They’d have to be replaced anyway, and we wanted to sweep all the way to the walls. A screwdriver and a hammer helped us pry them off before we began sweeping.

  Frank was in and out of the rooms, using spackle to repair nail holes in the walls.

  As Felicity swept, all kinds of things went flying into the corner. She took a dust pan and began sweeping the mess into it. I worked toward the other corner, humming to myself. I looked up when I realized my friend had stopped working and had squatted down by the pile of trash.

  “What’d you find?” I asked.

  “Come here, Sandi. Come see this.”

  Frank, paying no attention to us, headed outside.

  I leaned the broom against the
wall and walked across the room, wondering what she’d found. Bending over, I studied the dirt. Something glimmered, slightly.

  Felicity picked it up and held it out to me. “This must have ended up under the loose baseboards or something.”

  “That’s an engagement ring,” I said, taking it from her, holding it gently in my hand. “I can’t imagine where this came from. Oh. It must have – ”

  “It must have belonged to the lady that was murdered here.” She sounded in awe of our discovery. “Can you think of any other explanation?”

  “No. It’s been here a long time, too. Look how the dirt has crusted on it.” I scratched some of it off with my fingernail.

  “She must not have been a big woman. That’s a tiny ring. Why, I’ll bet it would fit me.” Felicity had very small hands.

  It actually looked too big for her, but too small for me.

  I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off the ring. “It’s too small for me, that’s for sure.”

  The floorboards creaked in the next room and we looked at each other. Mother was upstairs, Pete and Stanley were in one of the bathrooms, and Frank was out in the yard talking to the plumber, who’d apparently returned. I could see them through the window.

  The boards creaked again as though someone was walking through the family room, and I heard a soft whooshing sound.

  “I wonder if we set something off by finding the ring.” Felicity grabbed it out of my hand and hid it in her pocket.

  I gave her my best get real look. “Bubba?” It had to be the dog.

  The footsteps stopped.

  “Bubba,” I called again, a little louder.

  He scratched at the screen door, standing outside on the porch.

  Felicity and I walked to the door.

  “I think I’ll just let him in.” Felicity giggled nervously and reached out, turning the door handle. “Come on, boy. You can keep us company.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud. I’m a private investigator. I’m not going to let some creaking noise scare me.”

  I turned around and headed for the family room, where the sound had come from. Maybe it was Pete or Stanley. They’d been working in one of the bathrooms, but they could have changed locations. Maybe Tyler was back.

  I stepped around the doorway, and…

  “BOO!”

  Grabbing my chest, I fell to the floor.

  “Sandi? Sandi? Oh, my dear Lord. I’ve killed my little girl.”

  Bubba came running and began licking my face.

  Pushing him away, I sat up. “Mother, I thought you were upstairs. What are you doing sneaking around down here?”

  “I wasn’t sneaking, Sandra.” She looked relieved and amused, although she’d used my given name once again. “Since everyone seems to think this house is haunted, I thought I’d play a trick on you and Felicity. That’s all.”

  “Oh, brother. Well, as you’ve seen, two can play at this game.”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “Just before I came around the corner I saw the toe of your shoe.”

  “Oh. Guess I’ll have to be more careful next time.”

  We looked up at the sound of laughter. The electrician’s face hovered over the hole in the ceiling. “You two are a crack up. I can’t wait to get home and tell my wife about this.” His face disappeared. I could still hear him chuckling as his footsteps grew faint.

  “At least we’re entertaining someone,” my mother said.

  “Come on out to the living room and see what we found.”

  “You gave me quite a start, you know. Don’t do that again.” She patted her chest.

  “Then don’t try to scare me again.”

  Yes, this was going to be quite a little adventure, if my mother had her way.

  Chapter Nine

  Felicity grinned at my mother while she dug in her pocket for the ring. “Why, Livvie, I’ve never seen this side of you before. You tried to scare us.”

  “It worked, too,” I said. “You were ready to cut and run.”

  Mother returned Felicity’s grin. “I have my moments. Now let’s see what you two found.”

  My friend held the ring out for my mother to examine. Mom took it out of her hand and walked to the window where she studied it in the light. I saw her scratch at it with her fingernail, just as I’d done. “Where did you find this?”

  Felicity followed her to the window and stood next to her. “It was in the dirt I swept up. We tore down the baseboards, so I think it must have slid underneath or the police would have found the ring.”

  “I wonder if it means anything. Sandi?” Mother held the ring out to me.

  “I have no idea. If I were to venture a guess, maybe the day the woman… Wasn’t her name Barbara? Maybe the day she was killed the neighbor asked her to marry him. Who knows? That could be what set the ranch hand off. I can picture him watching through the window when the neighbor showed it to her.”

  My mother patted my hand. “You have such a vivid imagination, sweetie.”

  “I said it was just a supposition. Don’t you think it makes sense?”

  “Yes, dear, it does. But after all is said and done, it’s still just a guess.”

  Sighing, I turned back toward the trash I’d swept into the corner. Before I made a move to finish sweeping, I suddenly turned and yelled, “BOO!”

  Mother dropped the ring and Felicity jumped.

  Feeling satisfied, I went back to work and finished sweeping the corner.

  I could hear them discussing the ring, and it was gratifying to hear them coming around to my way of thinking. Really, why else would there be an undiscovered ring in the room?

  I stopped sweeping and leaned the broom against the wall. “Unless,” I said, “the ranch hand had the ring with him and he was going to propose. Picture him walking around to the front of the house, filled with anticipation about proposing to Barbara, and looking through the window to see her kissing the neighbor.” I spoke slowly, putting my thoughts in order. “Maybe he saw them together and stormed back to his apartment. He grabbed his gun and returned to the house, killing everyone in a fit of rage. Somehow that makes more sense.”

  I began sweeping in front of the windows.

  “That makes the most sense. Good job, honey. I knew a private eye could figure this out.” My mother watched me with pride in her eyes.

  “I think your mother’s right, Sandi. And after he murdered everyone, he was so upset he killed himself.”

  “End of story,” I said. “Who needs police detectives when we’re on the job?”

  “You do.” Pete stood in the doorway, listening to us. “Everything you’ve said is just a guess. I’m sure the police department did a thorough investigation out here. I don’t think it would have made a bit of difference if they’d found that ring. Everyone involved was dead. They knew who the killer was and they knew the circumstances. They were here right after the murders, for crying out loud. This is supposed to have happened something like twenty years ago? You were a mere child at the time, and you certainly weren’t here to know what was happening. You’re putting the whole crime together and coming up with suppositions. Believe me when I say they did their job.”

  This wasn’t like Pete and I stopped sweeping to listen to him. He sounded like he was upset with me. “Pete? What’s this all about?”

  Stanley stepped around from behind Pete. “We’ve been discussing the case while we worked. Pete came at it from a policeman’s perspective. He was a police officer, you know.”

  Mother chuckled. “I get it. We’re having a boys versus girls challenge to figure out if all the facts came out at the time of the murders. We can get a copy of the police report, I’m sure. It should tell us exactly what happened.”

  “Is this a challenge?” I asked.

  “It wasn’t, but I guess it could be. Let’s see who can come up with the real story behind the crimes. Let’s see who’s the better investigator.”

  Now that I thought about it, Pete d
idn’t sound angry or upset. He sounded tired. It had been a few very busy days, and here we were, working in a haunted house when we should be relaxed somewhere on our honeymoon. He was tired enough that his limp was more noticeable. Breaking his leg had really done a number on him.

  Uh oh. Had I just referred to this as a haunted house? It couldn’t be.

  “You’re on,” I said. “Three women and three men, and then we’ll get a copy of the police report and see who’s got it figured out. Next time Frank goes to town he can ask for it.”

  “At least this time we’re not working on an unsolved murder,” Stanley said, “and what perfect timing. It’s October and Halloween is coming up soon. It’s the right time for our little challenge.”

  The front door opened and Frank came in followed by Tyler and Racheal, and another couple.

  Tyler! Just the man I wanted to talk to.

  Racheal carried a cake plate and paper plates. “Tyler said you were recently married so I brought a cake to celebrate.” She smiled widely, showing perfect white teeth.

  “What a sweet thing to do,” I said. “Thank you so much.”

  Tyler stepped forward, pointing to the other couple. “This is my brother, Micah, and his wife, Zoë. We thought maybe we could help out. Frank says he could use a hand putting up corrals for the horses. The girls thought they might be able to help inside.”

  Micah was a taller and more muscular man than his brother but he had the same deep brown hair. Zoë was tall and slender with dark auburn hair, the kind that some women would pay big bucks for at a beauty shop.

  Micah and Zoë held out their hands.

  “Congratulations! I hope your marriages are as happy as ours,” Zoë said. “Just remember to keep your sense of humor, even when you think it’s impossible, and you’ll always be able to work out your problems.”

  “Problems?” Stanley looked taken aback.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put a damper on things. All marriages have problems from time to time,” she said. “It’s a given. But most issues aren’t insurmountable.” She was a wise woman, and reminded me a little of myself. The twinkle in her eye somehow seemed to tell me she’d already recognized Stanley as a slow-moving target, and I had a feeling she might be a tease. There was something in her tone of voice. I liked her.