"You've had more than your share of blood today," he said. "And I've seen its effects on you. How ya doin'?"
"Okay, I guess. There wasn't anyone else around to take care of things, so I just kept moving without thinking." Polly glanced at the back of her truck. "I have the bloody towels in there. I should start soaking those pretty soon."
He patted her shoulder. "If Lydia is at your place with the kids, ask for her help. She's gotten pretty good at cleaning up bloody messes."
"You? Were you hurt often?" Polly frowned at him.
"No, not me," he said with a laugh. "But five kids create plenty of blood. And poor Jill had bloody noses all through her adolescence. Plenty of blood in Lydia's lifetime. Ask her. Please. I don't want to have to send a unit to rush you to the hospital because you passed out and hit your head on the washing machine."
"Do you think Abby's death is connected to Julie Smith's?" Polly asked. Before Aaron could answer, she continued. "And do you know yet to who trashed the coffee shop and killed Julie?"
He shook his head. "We've talked to most everyone who knows her. I can't make a connection between her death and Denis Sutworth. There's nothing there. We talked to a few friends that she planned to meet that evening at the General Store. They assumed she was worn out from starting work and stayed home."
"I'm surprised she didn't text them," Polly said. "Kids know everything about each other's movements these days. Not much is left to the imagination." She sighed. "I know Rebecca is going to need a cell phone pretty soon, but I'm not ready to lose sight of her face and only see the top of her head."
He nodded. "Our kids were pretty much done growing up by the time everybody had cell phones. I can't imagine what Lydia would have done if she'd caught them with their faces buried in electronic devices. Video games and computers were bad enough. They thought she was a mean, mean mama."
"They all turned out pretty well," Polly said, smiling up at him. "I think both of you did just fine."
A deputy called Aaron's name and he turned and acknowledged it with a wave. "I'm needed. You've had enough of a day that maybe you should go home and put your feet up."
Polly checked the time on her phone and saw she had missed a text from Henry. "Maybe I'll avoid everything and take the kids and Lydia out to lunch at the diner. I could use comfort food."
He gave her a quick hug and went inside the house. Polly backed out of the driveway, carefully avoiding the emergency vehicles. She breathed a sigh of relief once she crossed the highway and pulled into her own drive. After turning the truck off, she shut her eyes and thought back over the absolute insanity of the morning. Was there anyone else in the world who had things like this occur as part of their daily lives? How in the world did an unpublished number get into Gina Landry's phone? She hadn't thought to ask anyone yet what Abby's actual number was.
Then she remembered Henry's text and swiped the phone to look at it.
"I'm going to be late tonight. There's a problem at the Harris house in Ogden. How's your day?"
Polly texted back, "That's cool. Do you have a minute to talk?"
Her phone rang and she swiped the call open. "Hi there, hot stuff. No time for me or for Nate tonight, huh?"
"It was you ... all you," he said. "My time is always for you. So what's up?"
"I did it again."
"Oh no." His voice fell. "I can get someone else to handle the Ogden job. Maybe Dad would go down."
"No, no, no," Polly said. "That's not why I told you. I just didn't want you to hear it from someone else." She chuckled. "Well, okay. Rebecca reminded me to call and tell you so that didn't happen."
He laughed. "I think we should keep her."
"That's what I told her this morning. She was terrific. Henry, I love her so much. How did we get so lucky?"
"Sarah did a wonderful job raising her," he replied. "If we don't screw it up these next few years, she can do anything with her life that she wants to do. Now tell me what happened?"
Polly described her morning to him and he made enough noise as she retold the tale to assure her that he was listening.
"Do you think the two murders are connected?" he asked.
"I asked Aaron that same question and didn't get a good answer. He wasn't avoiding me, there was just too much other stuff going on. But think about it, Henry. When have I ever found two dead people and not had the deaths be connected?"
He sighed loudly. "Why am I not more upset at the fact that you just said that last sentence out loud?"
"Because you're getting used to me?" she said with a weak laugh.
"I guess that's it. Are you sure you're okay?"
Polly nodded. "I'm fine. Just sitting in the truck in the garage. Lydia has the kids upstairs. I need to get the towels inside and have her help me de-blood them and then I am taking everyone out to lunch."
"I love you, sweetcakes. Take care of yourself until I get home tonight, will you?"
"Thanks, Henry. I love you too. And to tell you the truth, I feel better now than I did before you called. You always do that to me."
"That's me," he said. "Your human Valium."
"You're just as addicting."
"Go do your thing. I'll be home as soon as I can."
Polly sat back in the truck seat when the call was ended. She didn't want to go upstairs and deal with people. If she just sat here and took a quick nap, she wondered if anyone would notice. But there were too many things to deal with. She got out of the truck and walked to the bed where the basket of bloody towels had been hidden. Taking a deep breath, she took the basket out and went inside. She was at the top step when Obiwan skidded to a stop in front of her. Laughter and noise filled her apartment. There were more people here than just Lydia and the three girls.
"Too many people here to let you keep an ear out for me?" she asked the dog.
She put the basket up on Henry's desk so the dogs couldn't get into it. The last thing she needed was bloody towels strewn around the house. Rebecca had put a dirty towel atop the others so she didn't have to look at the blood, but Polly needed to get away from the coppery scent.
A large party greeted her in the dining room. Beryl was at one end of the table with Rebecca and Kayla, while Gina was in the kitchen with Lydia and Jean Gardner. Jeff and Andrew were setting the table while Eliseo, Sam Gardner, Jason and Ralph Bedford were peering at a computer tablet in front of Jason.
Jeff looked up and saw her and crossed the room. "There you are," he said. "We decided you needed a party. Lydia and Jean have been cooking up a storm. All we needed was you."
"I..." Polly looked around. "It hasn't been that long," she said. "How have you been cooking up a storm?"
"Lydia called me," Jean said. "We haven't cooked much, just bacon for BLTs. The tomatoes and lettuce are from the garden out back and the bread is Sylvie's. I whipped up cole slaw and beans and Lydia just took cupcakes out of the oven. We'll frost those after everyone has eaten."
"You whipped up cole slaw and beans," Polly said, shaking her head. "How does that even happen? I was going to take us out for lunch. I didn't expect this."
Beryl looked up. "Sometimes we just need to be reminded that life is easy. You can't accuse me of making cooking easy, but I can certainly enjoy the easy life."
"Why are you here?" Polly whispered to Beryl when she got close enough.
"Lydia called and told me what you'd been through this morning. It was either have lunch with you or sit in front of a blank canvas, frustrated because it hasn't yet told me what I'm supposed to paint." She winked at Rebecca as if the two of them had a private joke. "I'm hoping that all of you will inspire me so that the afternoon is better than the morning."
Polly glanced at Eliseo. "I can't believe you're up here, too. That's awesome."
He shrugged. "We had to eat and when Lydia called and asked if we had any tomatoes and lettuce in the garden, she invited us to come up and have lunch."
"What about Sylvie and Rachel?" Polly asked. "And Evelyn?"
<
br /> Lydia smiled. "Don't worry. I checked on them all. Well, I had my helpers check on them. Sylvie is up at the bakery and Rachel is catering a luncheon at Memorial Hall. Kayla and Rebecca delivered lunch to Evelyn and Denis and I think that pretty much takes care of it, don't you?"
"Seriously," Polly said. "When everything falls apart, you're the only person in the world I want to organize my life. Thank you."
"I spent years taking care of and organizing the lives of five kids. I miss it. This is my favorite thing to do in the world. All it takes is a few phone calls and a little time." Lydia put a bowl of baked beans at either end of the table and then came around to give Polly a hug. "You needed some love today."
"Thank you," Polly said. "I have one more favor I need to ask of you, though. How do you take blood out of things? I have a basket of towels from the Landers house. They're covered in the red stuff and I can't think about them any longer."
Lydia grabbed Polly's hand and then released it. "Where's the basket? We can't let that set."
"It's on Henry's desk in there," Polly said, nodding to the office.
"Jean," Lydia called. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Are you good?"
"You go on," Jean Gardner said, waving Lydia away. "I have plenty of good help." She took two bowls of slaw from the counter and handed them to Andrew, talking quietly to him and pushing him toward the dining room.
Lydia left the room and then put her head back in. "Don't use your bathroom in here for a while, Polly. I'm going to soak them in the tub. Is the salt still in the same place downstairs?"
Polly's brows furrowed as she looked at Lydia. "Yes? Why?"
"Don't think about it. I've got this." Lydia smiled and soon Polly heard the water turn on in the small bathroom.
Where in the world would she be without this woman? And why didn't Lydia's daughters rely on her more? Polly often felt like she absorbed an awful lot of Lydia's time, but the woman never complained and was always available when needed.
Beckoning Jeff over, she said quietly, "Gina and her brother made a horrible bloody mess in their bathroom. I can't clean it up. Do you think that if I paid Barb and Cindy an ungodly amount of money, they'd meet me there and scrub it down?" Barb and Cindy Evering were the mother and daughter team who cleaned rooms at Sycamore Inn.
He shrugged. "I can't imagine why not. But why don't you wait until after lunch and check with Gina's mother. She might not want people in her house, especially if she comes home this afternoon."
"You're right," Polly said. "I was just trying to help."
"We'll eat. You'll call her and find out what's happening and then, if you still want to, I'll call Barb. I'm sure they'd be glad to help. Especially for an ungodly amount of money," he said with a grin.
"I'd pay anything to not deal with that," Polly said. "Anything."
~~~
Polly was surprised that she hadn't heard from Darla Landry. The house had finally quieted down enough to think about something other than interacting with people. Eliseo and his crew had gone back outside, Jean Gardner was helping Kayla and Gina cook in the kitchen, Beryl and Rebecca were still at the table working in a sketchbook, and Andrew had taken the dogs out. Lydia was nowhere to be found. Polly couldn't imagine where she might have gone, but wasn't too worried.
She looked at her phone and back at Gina. The girl would probably want to talk with her mother, but first Polly wanted to find out what was happening with Bean. She went into her bedroom and closed the door, then called the number in her phone.
"Darla Landry," the woman said.
"Hi, Darla, this is Polly Giller. I'm calling to check up on your son."
"He'll live, that little brat," Mrs. Landry said. "They're going to keep him overnight for observation. He's pretty banged up and there's evidence of a concussion. At least he didn't break anything this time."
"This time?" Polly asked.
Darla sighed. "He is always into something. I keep thinking that someday I will be able to afford a large enough place that he can play outside without jumping off roofs or doing crazy things, but if I stop and think about it, that would just give him more room to find potential danger spots. He's broken his arm twice and a leg once. The number of split lips and gashes on his knees and elbows has gone beyond what I can count. Other than putting him in a padded room, I don't know what else to do."
"He's a boy, I guess," Polly said. "Have you thought about what you're doing tonight?"
"I suspect I will come home. The Sheriff has already been here to tell me about Abby. The hospital will watch Bean and Gina has no place else to go."
Polly looked toward her kitchen. "If you want to stay with your son, Gina could spend tonight here at Sycamore House with Rebecca. Maybe I'll invite Kayla to stay and they can have one last sleepover before school starts."
"I wouldn't want to do that to you. You've done enough already. No, if Bean is going to hurt himself, maybe it's time that he learn that I can't be there for him."
"Are you sure? He's just a kid," Polly protested. "If you want to come home tonight, I understand that, but if you're doing it because you don't want to put me out, you won't. I have plenty of room. I have a built in babysitter with Rebecca, and Gina is having fun with the dogs and cats. There is plenty to do and she'll be perfectly safe."
"I'm not worried about her with you. Everybody in town knows who you are," the woman said with a chuckle. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely. I'd love to have her."
"I probably need to speak with her about Abby. It will crush her."
"Mrs. Landers," Polly said. "I hate to tell you this, but Gina was in the truck when I found Abby. She knows all about it."
"She didn't see anything, did she?"
"Oh, no, no, no. Not at all. She stayed in the truck with Rebecca and Kayla. Mrs. Merritt came to get them before the Sheriff and his team arrived. But she knew what happened. She cried a lot with Rebecca. I think the girls were probably good for her. Right now she's in the kitchen making up some concoction with another friend, Jean Gardner from down the street."
"I know Jean. She's a good woman. What's she doing there?"
"You would be surprised at the number of people who are in and out of my house on a daily basis," Polly said. Then she remembered, "Speaking of being in and out of the house, there was a lot of blood in your bathroom. We've brought the towels here and they're soaking in salt water, but it looks like there was a murder in that room."
"Ugh," Darla said. "If he wasn't going to be such a mess for a few days, I'd make the brat clean it himself, but I guess I'll have to deal with that."
"Well, no," Polly interrupted. "Not if you'll allow me to take my cleaning team over from Sycamore Inn. Please don't say no. They will have it cleaned up in a jiffy and then when you get home you can focus on your kids and going back to work."
"Work. I hadn't even gotten there yet. What am I going to do with those kids until school starts?" She coughed and said, "No, that's not your problem. I'll find someone. When I think of what happened to poor Abby, this is minor."
Polly spoke quietly. "I can help you, you know. There are only a few more days. Gina is having a good time here and she can come play with Kayla and Rebecca. If Bean needs to be quiet, we have video games and movies. Andrew Donovan is here every day and he can help entertain your son."
"You do have quite a large group of people around, don't you?"
"Yes I do," Polly said. "And it is very simple to add two more into the mix. Please think about it before you say no."
"I don't know how I could possibly say no to that. I don't have any other options right now. I'm taking tomorrow off and maybe Wednesday, but then I need to get back to work."
"Let me help, then."
"I don't know how to thank you," Darla Landry said. "I haven't even met you yet and I'm in your debt."
"No you aren't. It's why I'm here."
"I've heard that about you, too," Darla said. "The reason you're here is because you find dead bodies.
I can't believe you found someone who was close to me, but I guess I'm glad it was you."
"Did Aaron ask you about Abby's father?"
"Yes, I have his information and gave it to the Sheriff. He was going to contact him this afternoon. The whole thing is so sad."
"It really is. She was too young."
"Thinking about it makes me want to hug my kids. Even if I want to beat the tar out of my stupid son."
Polly smiled. "Would you like to talk to Gina?"
"Yes, thank you. And thank you for taking care of her."
"I'll let you tell her that she's staying here. We'll go over and pick up clothes for tonight and tomorrow and make sure everything is turned off and locked up."
"Thank you so much."
Polly went out and beckoned to Gina, then parked her on the sofa with the telephone. Darla had not said no to the bathroom cleanup and had obviously forgotten about it. That just made it easier to make sure it was taken care of. Jeff had reached out to their cleaning team and they would meet Polly at the trailer whenever she could get there. This was why she loved knowing so many people. There was always someone to help.
CHAPTER TWENTY
After everyone but the kids had left that afternoon, Polly was ready to drop. She took Gina home to pick up whatever she needed in order to spend the night and to meet Barb and Cindy Evering. After introducing them to Gina, they brought in their buckets, brushes and cleaning materials and went to work.
"You're going into third grade this year?" she asked Gina.
The little girl rushed to her dresser and took out a pair of lime shorts and a brightly colored shirt. "These are my first day of school clothes. Mom bought them last week. Aren't they cool?"
Polly smiled. "They're great. That color looks terrific on you."
"That's what Mom said." Gina pulled open her drawers and pointed. "Mom organizes all of my clothes into sets for me. She says I have to learn how to match things up but she..." Gina stood up taller and spoke in a higher pitched voice, mimicking her mother. "Despairs of ever having a daughter with a sense of style."
Look Always Forward (Bellingwood Book 11) Page 19