Bones in the Begonias

by Dale Mayer

Doreen asked with alacrity in her voice, “And did you have lots of relationships over the last thirty years?”

  Nan chuckled. “Oh, no you don’t. My personal life has been an open book. You’ve seen a couple of the men who came and went, or at least I told you about them. But I never found anybody who I wanted to spend every day of the year with.”

  “Does that bother you? That you never found true love?”

  Nan’s laughter pealed across the patio again. “Of course not. I found true love over and over and over again,” she said with a wide grin. “What I didn’t find was anybody who I wanted to get up with every morning and who would cook for me every day of the week and do the laundry every day of the week and make the bed—because he didn’t exist. Or at least I haven’t found him yet.”

  At that, Doreen had to laugh. “How very Modern Woman of you.”

  Nan nodded. “I was always ahead of my time.” She leaned forward and linked her fingers together. “So, tell me what else you found.”

  “I told you. I found this ivory box with the name written on the bottom side.”

  “And yet, you and Mack were seen in the creek.”

  Doreen frowned at her. “How do you know that?”

  “Because somebody here saw you, or somebody’s family member saw you.”

  “We didn’t see anybody at the house or at the creek,” Doreen said.

  “You have always got to expect you’re being watched by somebody in this town.”

  Doreen tucked away that titbit of information. “Good to know.”

  “You’re evading the question,” Nan said gently.

  “Not so much evading as I know Mack didn’t want me to say anything. But, close to the same spot, we found a piece of jewelry. Again, we don’t know whose it is. It could have been from something completely unrelated.”

  “Interesting,” Nan said. “Because one of Betty’s best friends, Hannah, was rumored to have given her a ring before she went missing. And even more interesting is that you seem to always be at the right spot at the right time.”

  Chapter 11

  Doreen shook her head. “That’s not true at all,” she protested. She stood and placed the small chair out of the way, where Nan normally kept it. “But, on that note, it’s time for us to head home.”

  Nan smiled. She shifted her hand in her pocket and pulled out something, reaching to give it to Doreen.

  Doreen frowned as her grandmother palmed something small in Doreen’s hand.

  Nan waved her off. “Don’t look at it now. You can look at it later.”

  Shrugging, Doreen put it in her pocket, picked up Thaddeus, propped him on her shoulder, and put a leash on Mugs’s collar. “Goliath, come on. It’s time to go home.”

  He opened one eye and looked at her, let the eyelid drop and stretched out farther.

  She groaned. “How come Goliath isn’t trained like the other two?”

  “Oh, he is trained, and he’s trained you,” Nan said on a laugh.

  Doreen looked both ways before she walked across the grass to the edge of the road, with Thaddeus and Mugs. Goliath, once he realized he was being left behind, bolted up and passed them.

  Nan stood and waited until they crossed the street, then called out, “It was lovely to see you today.”

  Doreen turned and smiled. “It’s always lovely to see you.” And with a wave she moved her odd family up the street toward the creek.

  On any given day, she’d much rather walk the path behind all the houses that led to the creek than to travel the streets. It was also much safer, considering Goliath wasn’t leashed. Just the thought of trying to put that behemoth on a leash and get him to walk obediently beside her made her grin. “I should put you on a leash, shouldn’t I, Goliath?”

  He ignored her, like he always did. It took them several minutes to get to the end of the block and then around the corner to head toward the path that would eventually take her to the creek. But it was still a beautiful day. Yet it was late, as she’d stayed longer at Nan’s than she had planned to. But that was okay. She had nothing taking up her time anymore.

  Doreen grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Mack’s number. “Hey, Mack. When do you want me to move your mother’s begonia patch?”

  “Uhm, how about this weekend?”

  His voice sounded distracted, as if she’d caught him at a bad moment. “This is Thursday already, isn’t it?” She smiled.

  “Yes. So, the day after tomorrow I can meet you there. Is nine in the morning a good time?”

  “Sure, but I can do it without you. That is, if you trust me to handle your mom’s garden. And can we actually work in the garden? Or is it off limits after what we found yesterday?”

  “I don’t think that was a human bone, so yes, and I trust you to handle Mom’s garden, no problem.” His tone was more active, as if he’d switched his attention from whatever was on his desk to his phone call. “It’s you I can’t trust.”

  “Hey!” she gasped in outrage.

  He chuckled. “Meaning, I can’t trust you not to get into trouble. And, if you’ll be at my mom’s house, I’d prefer you didn’t get into trouble there. I’m trying to keep her world nice and peaceful.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t do anything on purpose.” Still frowning, she checked the traffic as she crossed the last street. “Although I’m convinced that was a human bone we found there. And probably one of Betty’s.”

  “Don’t go jumping to conclusions. We should have the lab results back in another day or two.”

  Once on the other side, Mugs wanted to race around free. She bent down and unclipped the leash from his collar. “Can I bring the animals?”

  “I don’t see any reason why not. It’s probably better if you do. Otherwise they’ll just follow you on their own.”

  “True enough,” she said. “We’re walking back from Nan’s now. Your mom’s house is not very far.”

  “Nothing is very far away in that corner of town,” he said drily. “Make sure you get home without finding anything unusual, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said amiably. “And, if I do find something odd, I just won’t tell you about it. That will make you feel better.” She hit the End Call button on her phone and dropped it into her pocket, grinning like a fool.

  At least her life held more laughter now. And more love, come to think of it. Especially with Nan around the corner and her three pets at home. It was lovely to spend so much time with her grandmother. Doreen didn’t realize how much she’d missed having family in her life all these years. Only as her marriage broke apart did she understand just how isolated she’d become. That had been the way her former husband had wanted it. And she apparently had been a willing victim to all his ploys. Or a blind dupe …

  As she looked back on it, it made her angry to see how much she’d lost over the years. Would it have hurt him to let her see Nan more often? Of course it wouldn’t have. But he didn’t like sharing. And would it have hurt her to stand up to him more often? Maybe, but it would have been better for her and Nan in general.

  Doreen turned the corner onto the path behind all the properties that led to the creek. The path was barely walkable since it was so overgrown with greenery. She idly contemplated what it would take to cut it back but then realized more people would use it, and she didn’t really want that. She liked having the place to herself.

  She could cross the creek at a couple places with the low water levels, and, given a choice, she always wanted to be on the far side, away from the properties. It was nice to know that this chunk of nature was just a few steps away from civilization.

  She whistled as she walked. She might not have any money, and she might not have a job, yet she smiled a whole lot more than she’d ever smiled before. She shoved her hands into her pockets, her fingers wrapping around the small roll Nan had given her. She pulled it out and frowned. “Nan …”

  Nan had slipped her a one-hundred-dollar bill rolled up tight. Doreen carefully unrolled it, discon
certed, and yet smiling. “Thanks, Nan. I could use the money. I really wish you didn’t feel like you had to do this though.” It was such a kindhearted gesture on Nan’s part that it almost brought tears to Doreen’s eyes.

  She didn’t remember Nan being so generous in the previous years, but then Doreen hadn’t needed the money while married. Now, of course, one hundred dollars was huge. It could pay bills and buy food.

  Just the thought of food made her want to head back into town to pick up something more substantial for her meals. Cheese and crackers wouldn’t hold her for long. What she really needed was to deal with the devil stove.

  She picked up her cell phone and quickly dialed Nan. When there was no answer, she left a message saying, “Thank you so much for the gift, Nan. I really appreciate it. I wish you didn’t need to help me, but, considering the facts of my new reality, I do need it right now. So, it’s much appreciated.”

  Doreen walked the rest of the path, delighted with the extra bright ray of sunshine in her world.

  As she got back to her property, she crossed the small bridge and ambled through her backyard. The sight of the downed fence made her wince. “I should have done more work cutting this apart today.”

  But she hadn’t. She’d allowed herself to get distracted. She was too tired now to deal with it, plus the sun would be setting soon. As she walked up to her house, she realized somebody was inside. Her heart froze. She quickly ducked around to the side of the property. Mugs, sensing something going on, took one glance at the back door and growled. She knew how he felt.

  “What kind of watchdog are you, Mugs? You were supposed to tell me before I found out.”

  But, of course, he ignored her. This time he raced furiously to the kitchen door. Well, if she’d wanted to stay quiet and not let anybody know she’d arrived, that just went out the window.

  Thaddeus ruffled his feathers against her shoulder. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he wasn’t happy either. Of Goliath, there was no sign. Figures. When trouble was brewing, he’s not anywhere to be found.

  She sneaked around to the front of the house and stopped when she saw an appliance repair van. Was this guy looking at her stove? And who had let him in?

  Frowning, she stepped up to the front door and walked inside with Thaddeus, shutting the door and leaving Mugs outside, barking at the back door still. She carried on right through to the kitchen to find her stove pulled out all the way. A small wiry man lay on the floor beside and behind her oven. Thankfully she could hear noises from the back of the stove and knew he wasn’t dead.

  She stopped and said, “Hello?”

  A head popped up. A monkey of a man smiled a great big grin that split his face in two.

  She responded in kind. “Did you just walk in?” she asked him.

  He nodded. “Of course. I had Mack’s permission,” he said. “You weren’t home, and I figured you really needed this fixed, so I didn’t want to wait.” He frowned. “I didn’t take nothing.”

  She stared at him. “I’m just surprised and still adjusting to small-town ways.”

  Mugs continued his guard-dog barking at the rear kitchen door. Then Thaddeus strutted in, peering at the stranger.

  The repairman must not have thought either was unusual as he nodded to her and continued with their conversation. “Most everyone lets me come into their houses, even if they’re not home. Mrs. Bee from two blocks over, she has me in regular. I’m pretty darn sure she expects me to clean the stove every time I’m there. So she calls me in to give it a quick tune-up, so she doesn’t have to clean it. And Mr. Argon, over on the far side of town, he has me come in for his fridge on a regular basis. They leave messages, asking me to come by whenever. I pop around when I have a few moments. Most of the time they’re not home.”

  He spoke in such a confident tone that she had no doubt he told the truth. She shook her head. “I spent a lot of years in Vancouver.”

  His face twisted up in a grimace. “That’s a deadly place, that is. You need not only locks but you need dead bolts. Couldn’t imagine being a repairman in a place like that.”

  Thaddeus walked right up to the repairman. Absentmindedly he stroked Thaddeus softly. This acknowledgment must have placated the bird for he flew off to check for any birdseed or table scraps on the kitchen table.

  “You need security clearance to get into houses there.” The repairman shook his head and plunged back down behind the stove, his voice wafting out from the space. “So, your stove is almost dead,” he said.

  She walked closer, staring at the thing in front of her. “Almost dead?” She hated to ask, but she hadn’t been aware it was alive in the first place. She knew Mack would be having a heyday with her right now.

  “Yeah. You need to get a new one. I might be able to keep this thing going a little longer, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “And just when I was figuring out how to use it,” she said humorously. “I haven’t the money to replace it.”

  “Of course,” he said in a surprise comment. “Most of us don’t. Repairs never happen at convenient times.”

  She tried to figure out what he meant or if he was just trying to make her feel better.

  He stood. “I’ve got one in the store you can have for a hundred bucks.”

  She thought for a long moment. “Did you give Nan a similar quote sometime in the last year?”

  He nodded. “A couple times. I told her that she was getting to the point where it couldn’t be used anymore. But she always shook her head and said, It’ll be fine.”

  “It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine,” Thaddeus repeated, strutting atop the table.

  Doreen shook her head at the bird, but at least Mugs had stopped his barking at the back door. “And I gather we’ve run out of the It’ll be fine comments?”

  He laughed. “We ran out a while ago. In actual fact, you shouldn’t be using this at all. But, if you really don’t have the money, maybe you could do without a stove for a while longer.” He glanced around the kitchen. “But … this room’s pretty clean, so I can see you’re not really into kitchen gadgets.”

  She wasn’t at all sure what clean meant in this context or what it had to do with kitchen gadgets. When she raised an eyebrow in question, he motioned at the long bare countertops.

  “You don’t have all your counters cluttered full of mixers and bread makers and rice cookers,” he said by way of explanation. “So you probably need the stove to cook with.”

  She knew about a few of those things, and some of them appeared to be self-explanatory, but honestly they were almost appealing because, if something could cook rice, and she didn’t have to get involved in it, she was all for it. She loved rice. “How much would some of that stuff cost?”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Well, secondhand, quite cheap. You’d probably get a rice cooker for five bucks.”

  She stared at him. “Someplace local?”

  He nodded enthusiastically. “A couple good thrift stores are in town. But you should come to my shop and take a look at what’s available there first, so you know it works when you buy stuff used. My wife sells most of that refurbished stuff, so the stock changes all the time. I have a couple guys who work in the shop, repairing small appliances. I’m the only one who goes around to fix big appliances in people’s houses though.”

  “I’d just as soon have the one you mentioned. What would it cost to have you deliver and install one of those”—she waved her hand at the demon appliance—“things?”

  The laughter in his eyes deepened. But now a curious light was in there too. As if she was adding to his list of curiosities in turn.

  “I’ll include installation in the cost of the stove for you.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. But I need to pay you for your time today as well, correct?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, I needed to come and see how bad this was. I’ve been telling Nan for years this one was dangerous. But she didn’t want an electric one. Said she didn’t tr
ust those new gadgets.”

  Doreen had no idea why an electric stove would be considered a new gadget. Electricity had been around for a long time. And it had to be way safer than an actual fire underneath a pot on a stove. That was too unbelievable. Yet that pretty well described Nan.

  Doreen really had to do something about this horrible thing. “How long would it take to replace this one?”

  The repairman frowned for a few moments, as if contemplating his schedule. “If you don’t need it today, I can probably bring it on Saturday. I need to make sure it’s still available and that my wife didn’t sell it.”

  “Maybe, when you get back to the shop, you can take a look and let me know.”

  He nodded. He was fiddling with something in the back, and then all of a sudden he nearly whispered, “Oops. Yeah, this isn’t going to work anymore.” He held up some rigid cable-looking thing. “The attachment on this end is bad news.”

  “Bad news. Bad news,” Thaddeus added.

  The repairman frowned at the cable, then the oven. “I really don’t want you using it again.”

  She wasn’t going to say she hadn’t used it yet. “What about the gas?”

  “No problem,” he said. “I’m a licensed gas fitter. I’ll shut this down here. I think you’re probably better off with an electric stove, unless you really want another gas stove, but they are more money. Of course we need the 220 power for an electric stove,” he muttered half under his breath. He hopped over the corner of the counter, now standing on the same side of the stove where she was, and carefully maneuvered it back into position.

  “Isn’t that kind of useless? You just pushed it back, and you’ll have to pull it out when you bring another one.”

  He looked at her in surprise and shrugged. “I move these suckers all day long. Doesn’t make any difference. I thought it would be easier on you if you didn’t have to walk around it while you haven’t yet made your dinner tonight.”

  She nodded as if she understood what he was saying. And she did, if she followed his logic. He couldn’t possibly know she really didn’t do anything in the kitchen.