Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  “I’ll still kiss your nose. Thank you again. See you later.”

  She fed the animals, pulled her hair back into a pony tail and looked down at herself. It was a good thing Henry loved her. Between dog hair and horse hair, she was a mess and it would be worse by the time he saw her for lunch.

  Polly opened the garage door, got into her truck and backed out onto the driveway. She waited for the door to come back down and then jammed her foot on the brake. In bright red spray paint were the words, Pretty girl deserves this.

  “Deserves what, dammit!” Polly slammed her fists on the steering wheel. She took her phone back out and called Henry back. “I found the vandalism.” Her voice was flat. Anything else would bring more tears.

  “What happened?”

  “Here, I’m sending you a picture. Call me back.” She snapped a picture of the door and sent it to him and then waited. Her phone rang. It was Henry.

  “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe this is happening. Call Aaron.”

  “I’ll call Ken. He took reports on the last vandalism.”

  “Damn it, Polly. Call them both. How did no one see this? The place was lit up when I left last night.”

  Polly got out of the truck and went over to the light by the garage door. She reached up, gave it a quick turn and it came back on. “It was unscrewed out of the socket, Henry.”

  “But the lights were on in the lane and you have lights all along the back there.”

  Polly walked over to the light on the other side of the garage door. It had been unscrewed as well. That one she left alone, hoping that the vandal had been foolish enough to leave fingerprints. At this point, it was all they had.

  “I don’t know when I’m going to get to your house. I need to deal with this,” she said.

  “Don’t worry about me. Make your calls.”

  “Thanks, Henry.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m pretty much at ‘whatever.’ I don’t have a lot of emotion left for this.”

  “Do you still love me?”

  “I really do, but could you do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t call me pretty girl for a while.”

  “I promise. I love you, Polly.”

  “I’ll call later. Love you too.”

  She hung up and called the police station, while walking through the kitchen into the offices.

  “Bellingwood Police Department, may I help you?” asked the bright voice on the other end of the phone.

  “Hi. It’s Polly Giller at Sycamore House. I’ve had more vandalism.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Polly. What happened?”

  “It’s just spray paint on my garage door in the back. Do you need to send someone?”

  “I’ll have Ken come over. He’s out in his car right now. Will you be in the office?”

  “Probably.”

  “I’m sorry, Polly. I hope we find whoever is doing it soon.”

  “Me too. Thanks.” She hung up and went into Jeff’s office.

  He looked up from his computer. “Hey! What are you doing here today? I thought your email said you were going to be gone this morning.”

  “The vandal spray-painted my garage door. Ken Wallers is coming over.” Polly dropped into a chair.

  “You’re kidding! Wow, I’m sorry, Polly.”

  “Me too. I’m just tired of it. So far it hasn’t been anything dangerous, but this wears me out.”

  “I know. What can I do?”

  “Let me sit here and whine for a minute. Actually, I’m going to call Aaron first. I’ll be back to whine in a bit.”

  He smiled at her. “Let me know if I can do anything else.”

  Polly went into her own office and called Aaron.

  “Hello?” he asked tentatively.

  “I have no more bodies,” she chuckled. “But the vandal hit my garage door last night. Ken is coming over.”

  “What happened?”

  “He spray painted the words Pretty girl deserves this and unscrewed the light bulbs on either side of the door. I had hoped that having lights on everywhere would help, but they managed to get in and do it anyway.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Well, I’m feeling just rotten enough that I’m going to make you tell me what you know about Bruce Victor.”

  “We don’t have much yet. I was going to go see the coroner this morning to see if she’s had a chance to get started.”

  “Does he have family here in town?”

  “Yes. He had a wife and a little boy.”

  “Oh, Aaron. That’s horrible!”

  “It really is.”

  “Can I do anything?”

  “Lydia is taking a meal over and she might like some company.”

  “Did you talk to the boys and do you know when he was killed?”

  “I’m still waiting on the details.”

  “So it wasn’t like a gun shot?”

  “Polly,” Aaron warned. “I don’t know anything yet.”

  “Aaron Merritt, you’ve been doing this for a long time. You know if a man’s been shot.”

  “He wasn’t shot.”

  “Was he stabbed?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “Was that what killed him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” Polly was exasperated.

  “Because that wasn’t all that happened. There are some strange bruises on him, too.”

  “Like he was beaten?”

  “I don’t want you to say anything to anyone about this, do you hear me?” Aaron demanded.

  “Aaron, do you know what you’re telling me?”

  “Apparently too much. You are going to be the death of me.”

  “Aaron, those were the two methods of murder from Lydia’s murder mystery Sunday night.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment and Polly waited while he processed that information.

  “I must be getting old,” he said. “You’re absolutely right. But that doesn’t make any sense. I talked to the boys and they were in Omaha with Henry.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “They had receipts for dinner downtown and the hotel room. I can call the restaurant and send someone over with their pictures, I guess. But they all seemed shook up and surprised. I don’t think it’s them.”

  “Well it wasn’t me and I’m pretty sure that the people who were sitting at your table are innocent.”

  “Okay, okay. Now, back to the vandalism. You got an email yesterday, right?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Do you still want Anita to come up and check your system?”

  “She’s going to tell me the same thing as she did last fall, isn’t she? The person is using my own wireless.”

  “You never know. She can always check for you.”

  “Let me call her. I’m going to try to do a little matchmaking.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t want to know. She’s like a daughter to me. Call Lydia when you get a chance, okay?”

  “I will and thanks for talking to me.”

  Before anything else could distract her, she called Lydia.

  “Good morning, Polly. What are you up to?”

  “I just talked to your husband and he said you were going to take something over to Bruce Victor’s wife. It seems so sad that she is all alone in Bellingwood now. Can I go with you?”

  “Do you really want to?”

  “No, but it seems like someone should and if no one else knows her or knows what is going on, then it’s just you and me.”

  “Dearheart, that’s wonderful. I’m stirring and mixing and cooking and baking this morning and told her I would come by about three o’clock. Does that work for you?”

  “I’ll be ready. What can I make?”

  “You don’t have to make anything. I will have enough for her to eat for weeks.”

  “How about a loaf of bread? I can do that while I wait for Ken.”

&nb
sp; “Why are you waiting for Ken?”

  “Oh, Lydia. The vandal is back and spray painted my garage door.”

  “Polly, I’m sorry. Did you get another email this time?”

  “Yes. I’m just so mad.”

  “I’ll bet you are. A loaf of bread would be terrific. I have another call coming in. I’ll pick you up at three?”

  “I’ll be ready. Come on around back and you can see my latest art acquisition.”

  “Bye bye!”

  Polly put the phone down on her desk and leaned back in her chair. She ran a hand over her head and tugged on the pony tail. It didn’t look like she would have much time to spend at Henry’s today. She sat back up and leaned on her desk, resting her head in both hands. What were the most important things to do at Henry’s? She needed to pull down the drapes and get them to the cleaners and strip the beds. Tonight she and Henry could empty and clean the kitchen cupboards, then tomorrow she could work on the bathrooms. Yeah. This would work.

  “Polly?”

  Startled, she looked up and felt her face flush. “Hi Ken.”

  “I just came in from the back. Did you touch the light bulbs?”

  “I did touch the one closest to Sycamore House, but left the other one alone, just in case.”

  He grinned at her. “You’re a smart girl, Polly. Can Eliseo deal with cleaning up the paint?”

  “I’m sure we can take care of it. Do you need anything else from me?”

  “No, I don’t think so. We’ll find who is doing this, Polly.”

  “I know. I thought it was over when they were gone for so long.”

  “Would you consider putting cameras up?”

  “I’m just not ready to do that, Ken. You have no idea how much I don’t want to start down that path.”

  “Okay. Well, if you get another email, let me know.” He stood back up and reached across the desk to pat her hand. “It will work out. I don’t have very many unsolved cases on my desk.”

  She grinned at him. “It’s a good thing you live in a small town.”

  “It’s also a good thing you call Aaron with the murders.”

  “Should I be calling your office?” Polly was afraid that maybe she’d offended him.

  “Polly, you don’t need to worry. Aaron and I have a very good working relationship. And personally, with as many as you’ve discovered, it’s probably better to spread the joy.”

  “You’re sick.”

  “But I made you smile and that’s better than you worrying. Okay?”

  “Thanks, Ken.” Polly stood up and walked with him to the door. “It was wonderful meeting your wife the other night. I had no idea she was a teacher.”

  “She loves it. Every year she threatens to quit when the kids get harder and harder to manage, but then she falls in love with them. They’ll probably have to wheel her out into a nursing home when she’s ninety-six.”

  “That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it? To do a job you love for the rest of your life?”

  “It really would. Now, don’t worry today. It won’t fix anything.”

  “Thanks, Ken.” Polly turned back to Jeff’s office. “You’re safe from my whining. I’m going over to Henry’s and I won’t be here this afternoon when the boys get here. If you see them, could you let them know I’m gone?”

  “Sure. There’s a rehearsal dinner here tonight, so Sylvie will be here late. The boys might be, too.”

  Polly nodded. “That’s right. She told me. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll be back before that.”

  “Ken was right, you know.”

  “About what?”

  “Worrying isn’t going to make today any better.”

  She waved him off and grinned. “I know, I know. I’ll be good.”

  Rachel was walking past the office and Polly joined her as they went to the kitchen. “Do you know where Doug and Billy are working today?” Polly asked.

  “I think they’re on a job over in Lehigh,” Rachel said. “Why?”

  “Because I need to have Anita Banks come up and look at something on my computer and I want Doug to take her to dinner.”

  Rachel giggled, “He likes her. I’ve never seen him so shy. He isn’t like that with regular girls. You know, girls he doesn’t have a chance with.”

  “Why wouldn’t he have a chance with them?”

  “Oh, I said that wrong. They’re mostly girls he’s not interested in that way. But he likes Anita, even if she’s a little older. He thinks he isn’t smart enough or cool enough for her.”

  Polly shook her head. “Boys have as much drama in their heads as girls do, don’t they!”

  “No kidding. Billy and I keep telling him to call her, but he’s so afraid she’ll say no that he won’t do it.”

  “Haven’t they gone out a couple of times?”

  “Billy asked her to come up for a couple of gaming nights and she had a good time, but Doug is like, totally intimidated.”

  Polly grimaced at Rachel, “Did you just like, valley girl me?”

  Rachel burst out in laughter. “I did, didn’t I? Sorry!” She swatted at Polly’s arm. “You’re hilarious. So are you going to set Doug up again?”

  “I’m going to give it my best shot. Will I get in trouble if I call him at work?”

  “They eat lunch from noon until one. That’s the best time. Billy told me I can call him then.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Polly reached the back kitchen door. “Have fun today.”

  “I will. You too.”

  Polly got back in her truck and snarled at the red spray paint on the garage door. She had quit feeling sorry for herself in the last half hour and now she was just mad. This was her house and no one was going to get away with messing with it. Even if she had to camp out in her pickup truck all night she wasn’t going to let this happen again.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Oh Polly, I’m here!” Lydia’s voice rang out when Polly answered the phone.

  “I’m on my way down. I’ll be right there,” Polly said.

  She’d gotten more done at Henry’s than she expected and hoped he’d be happy with her progress. A long, hot shower had washed off the filth of the day and she felt normal again. She grabbed the loaf of bread she’d made, called out a goodbye to the animals, went down the steps and out the door.

  Lydia was tapping her fingers on her steering wheel and when Polly opened the door she laughed at the music coming from the radio. “Earth, Wind and Fire?” Polly asked. “I had no idea.”

  “They make me wanna dance.” Lydia turned the sound down. “I’m a little impressed you know who they are.”

  “Mary played their music when I was young. She said it made working around the house more fun.”

  “Your Mary was a smart woman.” Lydia pointed at the garage door. “What are you going to do about that?”

  Polly sneered. “I’m going to paint the door bright purple. What do you think?”

  “You aren’t serious, are you?” Lydia gulped loudly.

  “Not really.” Polly gave a small chuckle. “Graffiti remover and a fresh coat of paint will clean it up. I really want to find who did this and chain them to the door until they fix it. Then, they can go to jail. At least this time, though, it’s on the back of the house and not as many people will see it.”

  “You do tend to draw a crowd.”

  Polly rolled her eyes. “I hate that. So, what is this woman’s name?”

  “Lori Victor. Her little boy is Seth. She knows we’re coming, so you don’t have to worry about her being surprised to meet you.”

  “Oh, thank goodness. It’s bad enough that I found her poor husband. I’d hate for her to think I was some kind of ghoul who got off on other people’s grief.”

  Lydia laughed. “Honey, you are far from being ghoulish. I explained who you were and that you were also a friend of mine.”

  “Thank you. Aaron said they didn’t have many friends.”

  “It’s hard to make friends in a small town if you don’t get
involved in church or have kids in school. She didn’t work outside the home either, so there weren’t many options open to her.”

  “Then I’m glad you let me come along. Does she have family?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ask many questions on the phone.”

  Lydia parked in front of a brick house. All Polly could think about was the sadness filling that home. A young mother shouldn’t have to raise her child alone. She hesitated before opening the car door.

  “I appreciate you coming today, Polly,” Lydia said.

  “This is harder than I realized. I just need to take a breath.”

  Lydia got out and waited while Polly negotiated the melting snow on the curb. They walked up the sidewalk to the front door and Lydia stepped forward to ring the bell.

  A woman about Polly’s age answered the door. “You must be Lydia Merritt,” she said. “I’m Lori Victor. Please. Come on in.”

  Lydia handed her a large picnic basket she’d carried from the Jeep. “There is plenty of food for both you and your son and Polly made one of her amazing loaves of bread.”

  Lori Victor stepped inside, allowing both of them to enter, then shut the front door behind them. “Please have a seat. I’ll put this on the table.” Polly handed her the bread and after wiping the bottoms of her shoes on the rug, followed Lydia in and sat on the sofa. There were toys on the floor, but no little boy.

  “Would you like some tea or coffee?” Lori asked.

  Lydia smiled, stood up and removed her coat. “I would love some tea. Polly?”

  “Tea would be great,” Polly said and when Lori went out, took off her own coat and sat back down. In a few moments, the young woman came back carrying two glasses. Lydia moved a couple of coasters into place and Lori set the glasses down.

  “Where’s Seth?” Lydia asked.

  “He’s sleeping.” She checked her watch. “He should be up soon.”

  “I would love to meet him. There are never enough little ones in my life.”

  Lori checked her watch again. “He has another fifteen minutes. I’d like to keep him on schedule, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course I don’t mind.” Lydia picked up her tea and took a drink, set it down and then reached over to place her hand on the young woman’s knee. “I’m really here to find out how I can help you through this. Do you have any family or friends around?”