Leslie Sutworth sat down in a wing chair and dropped her head into her hands, snuffling and snorting. Polly walked over to the desk, picked up the box of tissues and put them in the woman's lap.
"You've been here for the last half hour?" she asked Aaron.
He took her arm and led her outside the room and pulled the door closed. Once they were alone, he drew her into a bear hug and chuckled when he released her.
"What was that for?" she asked.
"I wanted to put cuffs on that woman and duct tape her mouth shut. But since that's totally inappropriate, I just let her wail. I assumed she probably had a good reason for it, since so much has happened to her this last week."
"It happened to her son. She's just living vicariously through his pain," Polly retorted. Then she felt guilty. "No, that's not nice either. This is going to be a long recovery for all of us if she decides that she needs to spend all of her waking moments here. I wonder how long Evelyn will put up with it."
Aaron leaned on the door frame. "Probably longer than you. I should think about hiring you, though. You don't put up with much crap from people like her."
"I can't bear whining.'
He looked at her and smiled.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I whined when Joey and his serial killer friend were in town. I tried to contain it to just Henry, but sometimes it crept out in front of other people."
"The man's a saint," Aaron said quietly, a wicked grin on his lips.
"Henry?" she asked. And then she laughed with him. "He really is. I don't know anyone else who would put up with my particular brand of insanity."
"I guess we each have our own crosses to bear."
"Lydia is a cross you have to bear?" Polly asked.
"Good lord, no," Aaron said, putting his hands up defensively. "I'm her cross."
"What are you thinking about this connection between Denis and Julie?"
He shook his head. "Whenever I discover coincidences like this, I find that it's important to ask more questions. Having two strange occurrences happen in the same week and then finding that the two subjects not only knew each other, but were intimately involved..." His voice trailed off.
"I get it," Polly said. "I was beginning to wonder if anything was happening. I hadn't heard from you and things have been quiet around town. Do you have any idea who might have broken into the coffee shop? Any idea of the timeline from that evening at all? And what about Grey's walking stick. Were there any fingerprints on it other than his?"
"You watch too much television," Aaron said. "I wish we were given fingerprints and other evidence on a silver platter. The only fingerprints on the stick belonged to Alistair Greyson."
"Do you suspect he was involved?"
"No." Aaron shook his head again. "But the absence of anyone else's prints tells me that someone took care to cover their tracks."
"And inside the building?" Polly pressed.
"Nothing to tell us who it was. Unless it was one of the other employees. But we've talked to all of them and they either have very solid alibis or, in the case of Sylvie, I'm pretty sure she didn't beat a young girl to death."
Polly chuckled. "I don't know. You might want to stay out of the kitchen if you don't want to have to revise that consideration."
"Things were a little chaotic when I arrived today," Aaron said.
The door opened and Leslie stood there. "Why won't they let me see my boy?" she whined. Her voice was much quieter, but it still made Polly want to grit her teeth.
"You must be patient," Polly said. "They will come get you when he is completely settled. You don't want to make this any more difficult on him than it already is, do you?"
"No." Now she sounded like a beaten puppy.
Polly put her hand on the woman's arm. "Go on back in and relax. Evelyn will be out soon."
The door closed again and Polly took a deep breath, doing her best not to roll her eyes. "Have you talked to Ken Wallers?" she asked.
Aaron looked at her quizzically. "About what? I usually see him a couple of times during the week."
"About this case."
"Does he know something?"
"Well, he knows about Denis. That accident is his case."
"Of course," Aaron said. "I haven't yet. We just got the information about an hour ago. Stu was in Boone and stopped at the hospital to see if he could talk to the kid and discovered he'd been released to come up here."
Polly lowered her voice. "I can't believe they let him out of the hospital so early."
"Insurance," Aaron said with disgust. "Rehab is less expensive than hospitalization. They patched him up as well as they could and there's no reason to keep him any longer. Insurance forces everyone to make interesting decisions."
"Then I guess I'm glad she got in touch with Evelyn."
"I didn't know you were opening a nursing home," he said with a smile.
"Neither did I," Polly responded. "But it fits right in with what I'd originally hoped for Sycamore House."
The door to the other room opened and two EMTs came out.
"Is everything okay?" Aaron asked.
"He'll be fine," the young woman said. "They sedated him for the ride up here. He's starting to come around again. Mrs. Morrow has it well in hand."
Aaron shook her hand and clapped the young man who was with her on the back. "Thanks for your work. It's good to see you both."
"Nice to see you, too, Sheriff," the young man said on his way out the door.
"I haven't seen much of the girl, Sarah," Polly said to Aaron. "What happened to her?"
"She's moved on. She went to the University of Iowa for a nursing degree. She wants to go to med school, too."
"So young," Polly said. "Big dreams and the energy to make them happen."
Evelyn Morrow came out of the room and smiled at Polly. She didn't carry the smile on to Aaron. "He's exhausted, Sheriff. Surely this could wait until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's Sunday, Mrs. Morrow," Aaron said. "If I can avoid working, it keeps Lydia happy."
Polly grinned. "And if Lydia is happy, everyone is happy."
"Please keep your visit short, then," Evelyn said. "He's going to have enough to deal with..." She stopped herself. "That was out of line. But don't spend too much time with him. I'll keep his mother busy with paperwork until you're finished."
She slipped into the next room and more wailing erupted from Leslie Sutworth. Evelyn gently closed the door behind her and the sound was muffled.
"Do you think you're coming in here with me?" Aaron asked with a smile.
Polly looked up at him, giving him as innocent a face as possible. "Do you mind? I really want to know what I've got going on here. I haven't even met this kid and now you're here to talk to him."
"One of these days..." Aaron shook his head. "No. I'm being foolish. I didn't say anything."
"What? What one of these days? What were you going to say?"
"I was going to tell you that you should apply for a private investigator's license, but then I realized what was about to come out of my mouth and stopped myself."
"But you failed," Polly said. "Don't worry. That's a terrible idea. Then I'd have to be involved in things I don't want to know about. Can you just see me sitting outside a hotel with my camera waiting for illicit lovers to leave? Talk about a bad idea."
Aaron chuckled. "It is a bad idea." He put his hand on the door handle. "You can come in with me, but stay quiet. I'm not accusing this kid of anything. I just need to find out if there is a connection between his accident and Julie's death."
"Okay," she said. "I'll do my very best to be good." Polly waved him in. "I promise."
Aaron strode into the room and stepped in front of the bed. It had been angled so Denis could look out toward the horse pasture. Polly had been worried that seeing him here in a hospital bed would bring back memories of Sarah Heater, Rebecca's mother, but the room was nothing like it had been when Sarah and Rebecca were living here. Their lives had filled every a
vailable space and this was sterile. Maybe over the next few months it would become more his room, but for now, it was simply an accommodation for a young man who needed help.
"Denis Sutworth, I'm Sheriff Aaron Merritt." Aaron put his hand out, reaching across the bed so Denis could shake it. "And this is Polly Giller. She owns Sycamore House."
Polly nodded and smiled. "I hope you are comfortable here. Evelyn knows that we will do everything we can to make your stay a good one."
"Thank you," Denis said weakly. "Am I in trouble for the accident with you, too?" He turned to Aaron. "I've already talked to the police and they said the man I hit wasn't pressing charges."
Aaron shook his head. "That's not why I'm here. You'll work that all out with Chief Wallers. No, I'm here about Julie Smith."
"Julie?" the boy asked. "What about her? Did she do something wrong? She's a nice person." He craned his neck toward the door. "Is she here to see me?"
Polly and Aaron glanced at each other. A look of surprise crossed his face and Polly felt helpless. There was nothing she could say.
Aaron sat down in the chair beside Denis's bed. "Son, I'm sorry to tell you that she is dead."
"Dead? What do you mean, dead?" Denis gave his head a quick shake. "I know what you mean, dead. But how could this happen. Was she sick? I just talked to her the other day."
"You did?" Aaron asked. "She came to see you in the hospital?"
Denis slumped back in the bed. "No. I've lost track of time. It was before the accident. But a couple of days after we broke up. I saw her down in Boone. She worked at Kentucky Fried. I went in to get lunch."
"Why did you break up?" Polly asked, then pursed her lips when Aaron scowled at her.
He dropped his head down and shut his eyes. "No reason. It was just time. We were moving on."
Aaron leaned forward. "Denis, can you think of any reason why someone would kill Julie?"
"She was killed?" Denis's head shot up and he winced. "How? When? Where?"
"I need you to focus on my questions," Aaron replied. "Do you know of any reason why someone might kill her?"
"She was a sweet girl. No one would want to kill her. The only bad thing that she ever did was decide to be with me," Denis said. He grew quiet. "When was she killed? Won't you at least tell me that?"
"It was Wednesday," Polly said. "At the new coffee shop. Did you know that she was going to be working there?"
Denis nodded while Aaron scowled at her again. "She was excited about the job. She always wanted to be a barista." He rolled the 'r' in the word. "That's how she always said it. She's taking language studies at Iowa State. She wants to be an engineer and work around the world." He heaved a sigh, then winced again. "She wanted to. I'm sorry."
"Denis," Aaron said, demanding the young man's attention. "I need to ask if there might be any connection between your accident and Julie's death. Can you think of any reason that they are associated?"
"No," Denis said immediately. "There's nothing."
"Are you certain?" Aaron asked.
Denis looked out the window. "There is nothing. I'm sure. I was out of control and that had nothing to do with Julie."
Aaron moved his body to get Denis's attention again. "And you don't know of anyone who would want to hurt Julie?"
"I don't," Denis said, shaking his head. "I'm very tired and my pain is increasing. Could you please ask Mrs. Morrow to come in?"
Aaron stood up, drew a business card from his breast pocket and set it on the table beside Denis's bed. "If you can think of anything that will help us find out who killed Julie, please contact me. We would appreciate your help."
He waited for a response, but there was none. Polly took his arm and they left the room. She knocked on Evelyn's door and waited for the woman to respond.
"Are you finished?" Evelyn asked upon opening the door.
"We are," Polly said. "He's asking for you. Says that his pain is increasing."
"He said those words?" Evelyn asked. At Polly's nod, she smiled. "He's lying. That’s the exact phrase the doctor used with him. He was just trying to get you to leave."
Evelyn turned back to Leslie Sutworth. "If you will give me just a minute, I'll make sure Denis is comfortable."
"He's my son," Leslie cried. "I want to see him now. I can comfort him." She rushed toward the door.
Evelyn calmly stepped between her and the hallway and said, "We've discussed this, Leslie. I am in charge of your son's care. If you want me to continue, you have to listen to me. I can't argue with you about how I do my job and take care of him at the same time. Do you understand?"
"Why won't anyone let me see Denis?" she wailed and turned back into the room. "Why am I being denied my boy?"
Evelyn pulled the door shut.
"This is going to be a trial," Polly said patting Evelyn's arm.
"No it's not," Evelyn replied. "She and I have come to an agreement and it's in her best interest to follow my instructions. And besides, she goes back to work on Monday. That woman needs interaction with other people. She is much too focused on her oldest son."
"Let me know if you need backup," Polly said.
Evelyn chuckled. "I might take you up on that." She looked at Aaron. "Did you get everything you needed from him?"
"I got all I was going to get today. No one had told him yet that his ex-girlfriend had been killed."
"Oh my," Evelyn said. "I didn't realize."
"He's still processing that information."
"I'd best get in there and check on him, then," she responded. "Thanks for making it quick."
Evelyn slipped quietly into the next room while Aaron and Polly walked out of the addition and into the main part of Sycamore House.
"Do you think there's a connection between the accident and her death?" Polly asked.
"I don't know for sure," Aaron said. "He hasn't had time to sort all of the information out yet."
Polly followed him to the front door. "If I call you to come rescue Leslie Sutworth from my insanity, will you come running?"
"She's a pip," he said with a laugh. "I'm pretty certain she would drive Lydia to drink. Doesn't she have two more kids at home that she should be taking care of?"
"Yes," Polly said flatly. "If it weren't for Evelyn Morrow, I would never have done this for that family. But she believes that this is the right thing to do."
"She's a good woman." Aaron gave Polly a quick hug. "You both are."
Henry's truck pulled up in front of them and Andrew clambered out of the back seat. "Polly. I have your lunch. And Henry stopped at the convenient store and bought ice cream sandwiches." He rushed over to them and handed her two bags.
She waved at Henry and Nate and watched as they took off.
"Are you going upstairs?" she asked Andrew.
"The dogs need to go outside," he responded.
"Could you put the ice cream in the freezer and the food in the fridge? If you don't, the animals will get it."
"Sure!" he exclaimed, grabbed the bags, and went inside.
"You haven't eaten yet?" Aaron asked.
"Andrew and I were out for the day and stopped at Hickory Park in Ames. Nate and Henry were already there, so we joined them. That's when Jeff called me in a panic. Everything was falling apart here and he needed one more person to manage the crazy people."
"That's a great place."
"It might be," Polly rolled her eyes. "But I'm giving up on eating there. Every time I go, a crisis occurs that drags me home. I don't know which one affects the other, but in order to avoid any more terrible events here, I'm just going to stay away. We can do take out, but I can't eat in there."
"Okay," he said tentatively. "That sounds right for you."
She swatted his arm. "Don't you give me any trouble. I am who I am and there's nothing I can do about it."
"And we like you that way."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As Polly walked back into Sycamore House, her phone buzzed.
Henry texted her
. "What was the big crisis and why was the Sheriff there? I didn't want to make a big deal out of it in front of Andrew and Nate. Is everything okay?"
She smiled. "Everything is fine. Aaron wanted to talk to Denis Sutworth. He dated Julie Smith. The crisis was everything fell apart all at once and Jeff had more than he could handle. S'all okay. I love you."
"So you really don't care how long I'm out today?"
"Stay out as long as you want. When Rebecca gets here, she'll want to show me her purchases. We'll have fun."
"You're amazing and I love you."
"I know." Before Polly pressed send, she smiled and thought about adding another 'I love you,' but then laughed and sent it anyway.
She walked back to the kitchen to see if Rachel and Sylvie were finding their way out of their crises, but when she heard Sylvie speaking in short, terse sentences, she turned back and headed for the office. Maybe Jeff had had better luck with the mother and daughter.
The conference room door was still closed and she hesitated in front of it, wondering if Jeff needed help, but jumped backwards when she saw the door handle turn. Polly scooted over to Stephanie's desk and tried to look nonchalant as the two women walked out, followed by a red-faced Jeff Lyndsay.
He waved her into her office and shut the door when they were both there.
"How'd that go?" Polly asked.
Jeff leaned over and banged his forehead three times on her desk. When he sat back up, he whimpered and then put his hand on his forehead, rubbing it where he'd smacked it.
"You can't speak yet?" she asked.
"Dumb. Dense. Thick. Feeble. Dim." He brought his hands to his neck and made a show of choking himself. "I've never dealt with anyone so simple-minded. No, that's too generous for them. It was a flat-out refusal to listen to a single word I said. They had it in their heads that the wedding would be here and they could have a fairy-tale reception. No matter that they had given no thought to what it should look like, who would do the food or the decorations, or even who was performing the ceremony!"
Polly didn't know whether to laugh or be shocked. "What?"
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