"It will be fine, but I get it. Hot boy trumps girlfriend every time."
"Oh, now you're trying to make me feel guilty."
"Maybe a little bit," Polly giggled. "No, it's fine."
"Thanks. He's going to take me out to lunch and then to the airport, so we'll leave about eleven."
"You'd better get to bed so you can get your beauty sleep. I need to get a couple of hours before the morning gets here, too."
Polly followed Sal to the entryway. "I'm glad you had so much fun tonight. I was worried that I'd screwed the evening up," she said, "but it seems like I sent it in another direction."
"And what a nice direction it was. Goodnight, Polly. Thanks for a wonderful week. I'll see you in the morning before I leave, okay?"
"Love you, too, sweetie," Polly said and hugged her friend. She stood in her doorway and watched Sal practically skip across the hall to her room, unlock the door and slip inside. The cats were already asleep on her bed, so she patted it for Obiwan to jump up, tossed her robe on the floor, crawled in between the sheets and was asleep within moments.
Her alarm went off at 6:30 and Polly rolled out of bed and hit the floor. "Crap," she said. "I didn't even have anything to drink last night. Oh, this is going to be a long day." She moaned and groaned as she pulled her jeans and a sweatshirt on. Fumbling with her phone, she checked the temperature outside and when she read that it was only 39 degrees, she moaned some more. She pulled the sweatshirt back off, yanked a flannel shirt out of her drawer and then after making sure the buttons were all in the right place, tucked it in and drew the sweatshirt back on. She patted the hair on top of her head and figured it would have to do until after she'd had a shower. Her boots and jacket were beside the front door and she pulled a pair of work gloves out of another drawer.
Eliseo took one look at her and laughed out loud, then grabbed his side. She didn't see him laugh like that very often, so she smiled and said, "I look that bad, do I?"
"No, of course not," he said. "Did you get any sleep? I heard your friend come in and wondered if you two had stayed up after that."
"Oh, I'm sorry you heard that. I didn't think about you putting up with the noises from upstairs."
"I was up for a few minutes. I wouldn't have heard anything if I'd been asleep."
"Yes. We stayed up far too long talking. I need more than three hours of sleep a night to be able to function like a normal human. Either that, or I need a quart of coffee." She looked at him. "I’m bringing a coffee machine out here."
He chuckled and grimaced as he held his side.
"Should you be out here working?" she asked. "I can do this."
"This morning, it will probably take both of us to finish the job. Neither of us is in any shape to be doing it by ourselves."
"Why don't we do what's necessary and finish up tonight,” she offered. “I swear I'm taking a nap this afternoon."
"It's a bit chilly right now, but today is going to be a beautiful day. I think we can feed them and get them outside. It won't be too hard to clean up after them once they're gone. If we do it together, it will be finished and you can enjoy your evening. Besides, there's a pretty big wedding happening today."
"Oh, you're right. I wasn't thinking," she said.
Polly walked back to the feed room and saw that they were getting low on hay. There was enough for the day, but more needed to be dropped down out of the loft. She turned around and walked back into the alley as Eliseo was leaving Nan's stall.
She put her hands on her hips and said, "You listen to me. You are not going up in that loft today. I will be out here this afternoon and will climb up there to bring down more hay. If I see that you have done it, there will be a lot of trouble and you won't like it."
"If my ribs didn't hurt, I'd argue with you, but when I came down from there the other day, I knew I wasn't going back up for a while. I'm sorry to make you do this," he apologized.
"Don't you apologize to me, mister," she laughed. "These are my horses and my responsibility. That you are helping me out is one of the nicest things you can do for me, but it doesn't change the fact that I should be doing more than I am. I can't believe how much I've come to rely on you in such a short amount of time. If you're not careful, I'm going to be a lazy slug. It's good for me." She went back into the room and hauled out a bale. "See, I've still got it. Now, make sure I don't lose it."
He laughed and before long, they had the horses fed and outside. When they were finished mucking out the stalls, Polly sat down on one of the benches and Eliseo sat across the alley from her.
"This is no good," she laughed. "I could go back to sleep right here."
"It might get a little chilly."
"Well, you seemed to make it work," she said and then stopped herself. "I'm sorry."
"No, that's alright. I did make it work."
"Eliseo, is that why you didn't want to give us your information? Because you were sleeping in my barn and didn't have another address?"
"That's most of it. I figured by the time I had worked here for a month, I would have enough money to get a room for rent."
"What's the rest of it? I know a month hasn't passed, but a lot has happened in this last week. Can't you tell me yet what is going on?"
"I don't want to drag you into my troubles. They are either going to work themselves out or not. If they work out, then no one will have any trouble. If they don't, well, then, only the good Lord up above knows what is going to happen."
"I can't believe that after the time you have spent here, you don't get it that it's always better to have people on your side."
"Miss Giller … Polly … I've always taken care of myself. People don't spend a lot of time on my side. Now, you might think you're different and maybe you are, but it's not easy for a man like me to trust people. You've done some mighty nice things for me and I appreciate it. I appreciate it more than you know, but in my experience when the bad stuff shows up, most everybody finds somewhere else to be. They don't stand by your side."
"I wish I could convince you that things are different now, Eliseo, but I understand your hesitation. Just do me a favor. Before you get to that bad stuff, would you consider talking to me or Jeff? If we can't help, we might know someone who will."
He shook his head, "I can't make any promises. Sometimes things happen when they happen. You all have been nicer to me than anyone has in a lot of years. I'll try to remember that."
Polly stood up and reached her hand out to him. He shook it as she said, "That's all I can ask. Let's head back and get cleaned up for the day. You know you can use the showers upstairs, don't you? Since you clean them, you can definitely use them."
"Thanks, Polly. I'll be up in a while. I want to spend some time with the horses."
She walked out and turned around to watch. He walked over to Nan and touched her shoulder. She nudged him and Polly watched as he spoke to and touched each of the horses. She hoped he would figure it out soon.
After a quick shower and two cups of coffee, Polly felt a little better about being awake. She was sitting at her table with her hand wrapped around a third cup of coffee when there was a knock at her door and Sal poked her head in the entry way.
"You're alive!" Sal said. "I was so afraid you wouldn't get up on time this morning."
"I'm barely alive. You look a whole lot better than I do."
"That's what healthy living gets ya!" Sal laughed. "Now, do you have some coffee for me?"
"Sure, I can make breakfast. I haven't had anything yet this morning, just started sucking down caffeine."
"Toast would be great. Don't you have some of your famous homemade bread around here?"
Polly laughed. Even when she was living in Boston, people knew that she preferred baking her own bread. She kept thinking that one day she would experiment with artisan breads, but every time she opened her bread machine, the same favorite ingredients fell in and the same favorite bread ended up in the oven.
"I do. Sit down and I'll
hook you up."
"This has been a great break for me, Polly. I love your home and all the people you've added to your life."
"It's a good place to be," Polly responded. "When I sit back and think about it, I can't believe that I waltzed into town and expected my life to come together, but it did!"
"You would have made anything work out. I remember the day I met you. Before I'd even unpacked my first box, you were settled in and ready to go. Before I knew what had happened, you had me traveling all over the city. Do you remember the first time my mother had you over for brunch?"
Polly laughed. "Uh. Yeah. Did I do something strange?"
"No! My mother loved you! She couldn't believe you had grown up on a farm in Iowa. She thought you were the most well-mannered, proper young girl she'd ever met. You figured out how to adapt and fit into that environment so rapidly, I was stunned."
"It was just brunch," Polly protested.
"You're right. It was. But you fit in with all of those ladies, telling the right stories so they would laugh with you, but never make fun of your background. You knew instinctively what they wanted to hear."
"Oh. Well, I pay attention, I guess."
"You guess. Girl, you are so comfortable in your own skin that you make everyone around you comfortable."
Polly blushed as she set plates with toasted bread on the table. She returned to the refrigerator for a couple of jars of jelly and poured more coffee for both her and Sal.
"I've enjoyed having you here, Sal. It's been a lot of fun to show off my world."
"It's a really good world. I might come back again this fall if you have time for me."
“I'd love that!" Polly gave her friend an evil grin, "But, will you stay with me or will you be offered lodging elsewhere?"
"We'll see!" Sal laughed.
Another knock on Polly's door and Henry stuck his head in. "I hear there's coffee."
"Where did you hear that?" Polly demanded.
"Eliseo said you were in rough shape, so we both assumed you had made a pot. Are you sharing?" He looked at Sal, "Good morning, bright-eyes. Did you have a good evening after you left us?"
"I did," Sal said demurely.
Polly got up to get another cup and drained her coffee pot into it. Filling it with water, she replenished the filter and coffee and re-started it.
"She didn't get back until nearly three. They went dancing in Des Moines."
Henry sat back in his chair, surprised. "Des Moines! That boy is looking to impress!"
"I think he did exactly that," Polly laughed. She winked at Sal and went back into the kitchen. "Would you like some toast, Henry? I'm cooking!"
"Thanks. That would be great," he said. "What time does your flight leave today, Sal?"
"Not until three thirty. I scheduled it so I wouldn't have to get up early this morning."
"What are you doing here this morning, Henry?" Polly asked.
"I told Jeff I wouldn't get in the way, but the weather is going to get bad this next week so I wanted to start working on the walls of the garage today. I want that to be finished before winter sets in again, you know."
Polly chuckled. The toast popped up and she slathered some butter on, put it on a plate and brought it over to the table. "Anything else?"
They both shook their heads and she sat down again.
"Polly, what does your bedroom look like?" Henry asked.
Sal laughed. "Her bedroom? That's the worst come on line I've heard in my life."
Polly smacked her friend's arm and said, "Why?"
"I might be doing some demolition in there this next week."
"I like my bedroom! I know that I don't keep it very clean, but it doesn't need to be demolished!"
"It's gotten bad again, hasn't it," he said.
"Maybe,” she said, hanging her head. “I was going to do laundry today. That will help. So why do you want to wreck my perfectly good bedroom?"
"You aren't going to believe it, but I think there is a flight of stairs back by your closet."
"I assumed that was blocked up ductwork or something."
"So did I, but I've been thinking about this being a school and there couldn't have been only one set of stairs in and out of here. I asked Sylvie about it the other day and she didn’t know, so I called Andy. She said there were stairs in that classroom when she was in high school here in the seventies. She doesn't remember when they were boarded up, but I thought maybe you might like a private exit down to your garage."
"Henry! That would be so cool! When do you think you're going to want to tear this place up?"
"I can wait until Monday if you want to clean things up first. I'll start down in the supply room. If it's not what I think it is, we can replace the wall. But that will give us something to do when it's raining outside."
Polly shook Sal's arm. "I'm going to have my own entrance! I can sneak in and out of here and no one will know!
Sal chuckled. "You're fifteen again! You'd better keep him around so he can keep finding new ways to make you happy." She winked at Polly and then said, "I should probably finish packing. Mark will be here in a little bit."
She stood up and Polly followed her to the door. Polly hugged her and said, "Don't leave without saying goodbye, alright?"
"I wouldn't dream of it."
When Polly turned around, Henry said, "Mark? You're not taking her to Des Moines?"
Polly ran back to the table and sat down beside him. "Can you believe it? They were making out in the back parking lot last night before she came upstairs. It was only supposed to be a fun time with my friends and they're making something of it."
Henry heaved a sigh, "Well, at least I don't have to worry about him stealing my girl, now."
"You never had to worry about that," Polly said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Her friend waved good-bye as Mark's truck pulled away from Sycamore House. Polly leaned against the door frame and watched them leave. Sal had been a part of her life for many years while she lived in Boston. From college roommate to best friends, they had lived through each other's ups and downs. There might have been a little guilt at uprooting her life so quickly and leaving her friends behind, but this week with Sal had been a good reminder that friends didn't necessarily rely on geographic area. All that it took was common memories and a lot of love. Polly smiled. Her life was all filled up with love some days. It was almost more than she could fathom.
She was still standing there when Ken Wallers pulled up in his squad car.
"Good morning!" she called when he got out of the car.
"Good morning, Polly. How are things today?"
"Oh, they're fine. I've decided I have too many other important things to think about than losing some stuff out of the barn. What do you know today?"
"I turned everything over to the Sheriff, since he's running this case. I wanted to talk to you about Harry Bern, though."
"Do you want to come inside? Sylvie came in this morning and started the coffee maker. I'm sure she has made something sweet back there as well."
"No, this won't take a minute, but thank you."
"What do you need?"
He had come up to the stoop and was standing there with her and said, "I need to hire someone to clean his stuff out of the house. I hate to leave it to poor Dave Steery to clean that place up, but hopefully his insurance will cover the damage that has been done to the house."
"You haven't found any of Harry’s family?"
"No, there's no one that we can find. The military doesn't have anything more on him and I hate to say it, but we're going to have to stop looking."
"You aren't going to stop looking for whoever killed him, are you?"
"Oh no. That's still an open case."
"Well, then let me clean his things out of there. I can put personal things in storage in the basement here, we can give the rest to Goodwill or the Salvation Army and if you give me Dave Steery's phone number, I can talk to him about what he owns and what
needs to go."
"I know he didn't work for you very long, Polly. That's a lot of effort you're putting into this."
"It's the right thing to do, Ken. I'd hate to think that anyone's life meant nothing to the world. Even though the man drove me out of my mind, Jeff and I were the last people he worked for and I think we can extend a little effort. I'll make some calls today and try to get over there tomorrow afternoon."
"Let me know if you need anything and thank you."
Polly watched him drive away and shook her head at herself as she walked back inside. Sure it was the right thing to do and there wasn't anyone else who would do it, but what was she thinking? It was time to see if she could round up some help to dig through his stuff tomorrow. She pulled out her phone and dialed Doug Randall.
"Hey Polly! What's up?" he asked when he answered the phone.
"I need a favor," she said. "I told Ken Wallers I would clean out Harry Bern’s home and I need some help. Is it too late for me to call on some of your gaming friends to meet me there about one o'clock tomorrow? I'd even feed you all pizza when we're done."
"Just a sec," he responded and she heard him say in the background, "Hey, Billy. Polly wants to know if we're free tomorrow at one to help her clean out some dude's house. Yeah?"
He came back, "Sure, we'll make some calls. They will always show up for pizza."
"Thanks, Doug. I knew I could count on you."
"Hey, we all owe you. But, maybe you could let us use the computer room next Friday night?"
"You know you can, Doug. I'll put it on the calendar. Thank you!"
She hung up and dialed Andy Saner.
"Hello?"
"Hi Andy, it's Polly."
"What's up? Aren't you driving your friend down to the airport?"
"Would you believe that Mark Ogden is doing that? I might have created a little somethin'-somethin' there."
"I don't believe it. That's terrific. So, what can I do for you today?"
"Ken Wallers asked me to clean out Harry Bern's house and I have a bunch of kids helping me tomorrow at one, but I think I'd like another normal person there to help me keep things organized. Are you available?"
Treasure Uncovered (Bellingwood #3) Page 25