The Sounds of Home

by Greenwood Muir, Diane

  Inez looked around at everyone, her eyes darting back and forth. "Well, uhh, no. I just unlocked the door."

  "The door was locked when you arrived."

  "I assume so. I had to turn the key." She wrinkled her nose. "That's funny. Maybe it was unlocked. It didn't work correctly the first time, so I had to try it again. Maybe it was already unlocked."

  "And did you see anyone back here?"

  "Of course not."

  "No one from any of the other businesses came outside for fresh air?"

  "Well, yes. The man two doors down came outside to have a cigarette. We didn't speak, though."

  "Anyone else?"

  "No, I already told you that."

  "If we have any more questions, I'm certain we have your contact information at the office," Tab said. "You're free to leave."

  Inez, still clutching at Sam's arm, looked up at him with pitiful eyes. "Do you believe that I am well enough to drive myself back to Boone?"

  He smiled patronizingly at her and patted the woman's hand. "Mrs. Martin, you’ve made an incredible recovery since we first arrived. You should be fine. Allow me to escort you to your car. I'll make sure you are safely buckled into your seat."

  "Thank you so much." Inez continued to gush at him as they walked over to her red Mustang.

  "She must make good money if that's what she's driving," Polly said. "I don't know that I could work with her, but this is Jeff's deal, not mine. If I never have to deal with her again it will be too soon."

  "With your real estate purchases, I'm surprised you two have never met. She seems to be everywhere."

  Polly chuckled. "Henry’s the one who knows everybody."

  "I haven't seen you much," Tab said.

  "It's been quiet. No bodies lately."

  "When are you going to be back at Pizzazz on Sunday nights? We miss you."

  "I need to make an effort," Polly said. "I was so naive, telling everyone that they needed to put their kids to bed and come out for fun before the week started. Henry is good about it, but those kids turn into bearcats on Sunday evenings. Nobody wants to go back to school and we're just starting the school year."

  "You need to make their weekends more difficult. Make them want to go back to school so they get away from their horrible mother."

  "I'll try that."

  "Do you have a ride home?" Tab said.

  Polly took her phone out and looked at the time. "The kids aren't done with school yet. That means I can go to Sweet Beans and then head back to Sycamore House."

  "That's right. I forgot. How do you like being in an office again?"

  "I love it," Polly said. "I’m busy all the time. But this is my groove and I'm so stinking happy."

  "That means that when I drive by, I can stop in and say hello."

  "You could have stopped at the house."

  Tab laughed. "I never drove by your house. I do drive down the highway. It will give me an excuse to take a quick break. Unless, of course, you find a body. Then I have to work."

  "Let me know what you find out." Polly gestured with her head toward the blue door.

  "I'll try."

  Polly walked down the alley and up to the side door of Sweet Beans. She loved the noise level that was in this place when it was busy.

  "What are you doing here this afternoon, Polly?" Josie Riddle stepped around a table that she'd just wiped clean.

  "Just down the street and I'm walking back to Sycamore House. Funny how my feet led me right here."

  Josie laughed. "No such thing as a coffee addiction."

  "That's my story. But I didn't bring my mug."

  "I'll bet we could find another one for you. Maybe you should place them strategically around town so you are never without."

  "You're always thinking."

  "Iced cold brew or something different."

  "That would be perfect. You're busy."

  "Thursday afternoons, you know. I think everyone comes into town early so they can shop and socialize before church night."

  "That's right. I forget."

  Sylvie Donovan came out from the back without her apron on. "Polly, what are you doing here?"

  "Coffee," Polly said. "Are you leaving?"

  "I'm done for the day. Josie, I just wanted to let you know that I was out of here."

  "No problem," Josie said. She handed a mug over to Polly. "See you in the morning."

  "Where are you headed, Polly?" Sylvie asked.

  "Back to Sycamore House."

  "Really. Why are you here?"

  "See you later, Josie." Polly followed Sylvie over to the hall. "I'll tell you later. You'll hear about it before then, but we'll talk later."

  "Are you walking?"

  "Yeah."

  "I have to go to Sycamore House anyway. Let me take you. What am I going to hear about?" she asked as they walked down the hallway.

  "Jeff and Adam are looking at the old newspaper office building."

  "I heard the people who bought it are trying to get out from under it. Aren't they the same people building that big house by you?"

  Polly nodded.

  "So why were you up here?" She pushed the door open and stopped to grab a bag of garbage, then walked it over to the dumpster. Sylvie turned back to Polly. "Don't tell me."

  "Okay, I won't."

  "Poor Jeff. He gets so worked up. Bet he's not buying the building now."

  "That's what he said, but I think he'll work through it."

  "Who did you find?"

  Polly shrugged.

  "Can't tell anyone until they contact the family, right?" Sylvie walked down the steps and Polly followed her to the car.

  As she backed out, Polly pointed down the alley toward Greene Space. "What do you know about Mary Francis?"

  "Not much other than the gossip in town. Why?"

  "You don't know her?"

  "Not well. I talked to her at a few events at the high school. Her daughter was friends with Rebecca, so that meant Andrew was friends with Libby, too. She's a nice enough lady. Kind of timid and shy. I was surprised that Reuben and Judy wanted her to be a salesperson. I didn't see that one."

  "Do you think she'd be good in the bakery?"

  Sylvie pulled out onto the street. "Why do you ask?"

  "Because I feel responsible for the woman and Judy tells me that Reuben is about to go nuts. You're right. She can't do sales and she can’t figure out how to work with the computer and he's frustrated. But I'll bet she could follow a recipe and you're a good person to work for."

  "Not all the time."

  "How are you guys doing back there since Shelly started going to school?" Shelly Nelson, the girl Polly and Henry rescued from sex trafficking had finished her high school equivalency and was going to nursing school.

  "She'd hoped that she might have time for us, but right now, her classes are going to keep her busy. It's a good thing her father is helping financially. I can't imagine how she'd do this without him."

  "But the bakery?"

  "It would be nice to have another part-time person. I don't know that I want to hire her full-time, though."

  "What about Rachel?"

  "You'd have to ask her. She has a huge team that she picks from. They're mostly part-time workers." Sylvie smiled as she drove around to the back of Sycamore house. "You should be proud of that girl. She has become a great manager."

  "You and Jeff taught her a lot. She's always telling me what you did for her."

  "Ask. If we combine jobs, we could come up with enough full-time work for Mary. She’d need to be in the background, though, from everything I've seen," Sylvie said. "Maybe she'd be okay with serving. Who knows?"

  "Thanks. I'll keep working on it."

  Sylvie drove into the driveway and parked beside the Sycamore House Catering van. "You miss it, don't you."

  "Living here?" Polly nodded. "I really do. I love my life, but I miss this, too."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It had been a busy week and last ni
ght everyone in the family had been grumpy. Rebecca worked most of the evening at Greene Space and then was off to church for choir. She'd joined the new handbell choir this year and loved it. The boys were involved in the kid's choir; Elijah had been asked to accompany two songs this fall and he had those pieces down. By the time she, Cat, Hayden, and Henry got the youngest five in bed ... wait, five? Every time she thought about that number, Polly shook her head. She had a lot of help and for the most part, the kids knew the rules of the household, but then came evenings like last night.

  She kept telling herself that they were out of control because they were exhausted. It wasn't fair of her to take any of it personally, but when Caleb threw the hand soap dispenser at the bathroom door, shattering it and spreading slimy soap everywhere, it had taken every ounce of her patience to not swat his naked little butt and send him to bed in tears. That had come on top of Noah sulking because he'd had to go to church rather than spend time at the barn.

  Elijah had pranced around like a little demigod, unable to manage the high of being asked to play the piano for the recital to celebrate their new grand piano. He'd danced around the kitchen, pushing things to the floor. When he waltzed into the library to play the digital piano during JaRon's practice time, pushing JaRon off the bench, he'd been sent to the kitchen to clean up and then up to his room.

  Poor JaRon had been so frustrated with everything that he just sat on the floor and cried. Polly wanted to sit down beside him.

  They'd finally gotten everyone in bed and only fifteen minutes late. Poor Cat was grumpy because she didn't feel a hundred percent. Early months of pregnancy along with her first full week of teaching, and she was nearly catatonic.

  Agnes had come over after school to spend time with Cassidy since everyone else was going to be at church. That meant that Cassidy was about the only normal child in the household. But with all the stress her brothers were putting off, she'd not been able to manage her emotions either and flat out refused to go to bed at her normal time. That wouldn't have been so bad, but she followed Polly everywhere, sticking as close as possible, no matter what was going on.

  Bedtime hadn't come early enough last night, but at least everyone stayed where they'd been put.

  While Henry, Polly, and Heath moved furniture around in the living room this morning, Hayden and Cat served up breakfast. Friday mornings were always pancake and bacon mornings during the school year. Since it was one of the kids' favorite meals, most everyone got themselves up and moving without too much trouble.

  Rebecca was a different story. The girl wasn't made for mornings. Rebecca was the driver for her friends, so she tried, but Cilla and Kayla knew their friend. She had to be downstairs and checking her phone for texts early enough to keep up with them or she was in trouble. There had been one morning when Cilla actually came over, marched upstairs and dragged Rebecca out of bed. Polly was thrilled she didn't have to be the tyrant this year. Tonight, Rebecca would dash home for a quick supper, then they'd be back on the road in time to dress in uniforms and get on the field for the pre-game show. Welcome to football season.

  This family was going to be ready for a weekend.

  Len had called to let Polly know they would be there at ten o'clock with the piano; Henry promised to be home as well. There was no real reason for her to go to work and try to rush home, so she’d taken a large cup of coffee and the last two slices of bacon outside to the patio. Watching her dogs play in the back yard was relaxing in ways Polly could barely understand. They didn't think about anything other than the joy of the moment at hand. She would never be able to manage that.

  Last night after they were finally in bed, she'd taken the time to tell Henry the whole story of finding Brad Anderson's body at the newspaper office. She'd given him an abbreviated version of her experience earlier, but hadn't told him who she'd found since kids were listening.

  Henry was still up in the air about publishing a newspaper. Polly didn't try to talk him into it. She didn't want to publish a newspaper either. Unless they found someone who had a passion for communicating with the town, she just plain didn't care enough to push.

  Han barked and ran past her with Obiwan close behind. Polly looked at the time. It was only nine o'clock. Len wouldn't have come early without calling first. She heaved a sigh, pulled herself up out of the chaise lounge and walked around to see who was here. A few minutes of peace and quiet on a Friday morning. Gone in an instant.

  Then she saw Henry's truck, realized the dogs were missing and looked at the side door. He was already inside. Polly went up the steps and yelled, "Henry, where are you?"

  He poked his head around the corner. "Right here. You left me some coffee. Thank you."

  "I left me some coffee, but I'm feeling generous. Why are you home so early?"

  "Uncle Dick called. Someone broke into their shed last night and stole tools. Would you mind calling Elva and Judy Greene? Tell them to check their outbuildings? Betty already has Chief Wallers on his way out to see them."

  "What in the world?" Polly was already flipping through her contact list. She got to Judy's name first.

  "Good morning, Polly," Judy said. "How are you?"

  "I'm good. Say, Henry's Uncle Dick had a break-in last night. Have you and Reuben been in either of your buildings yet?"

  Judy took in a quick breath. "No. Reuben left early to go to the gallery. I'm still in the apartment."

  "Would you mind checking just to make sure? Chief Wallers is on his way out to see the Mercers. I'm also calling Elva."

  "Yeah. It was last night, so I'm safe now, right?"

  "Do you want me to send Henry out? He'd come."

  "No, that's okay. I'll take my bat."

  "You have a bat?" Polly asked with a laugh.

  "Have had since I was in college. It's innocuous enough when it sits in the umbrella basket, but I always take a little comfort in having it by the door."

  "Are you sure?"

  "I can still swing that sucker."

  "Let me know, then."

  "I'll call in a few minutes."

  Polly shook her head as she set the phone on the counter. "Henry, Bellingwood is supposed to be safe. Judy Greene shouldn't worry about walking around the B&B property."

  "Why is she worried?"

  "Because there are people out there breaking into sheds and stealing equipment."

  "They do it at night. No one's been hurt."

  "Yet," she said. "I'm afraid we've asked these wonderful people to take too much on by running that bed and breakfast. Yesterday, she told me how concerned she is with keeping up with the cooking and cleaning. I get it. That house is immense. That's asking a lot of her."

  He pointed at the phone. "Call Elva and then we can discuss the other."

  "Sorry. I got distracted." Polly called the number for the stables first. It rang in the house and out in the barns. When she didn't get a response, she called Elva's cell phone, hoping that nothing was wrong. "Stop it, Giller," she muttered.

  "What?" Henry asked.

  "I'm making up concerns."

  "Polly?" Elva's voice came across. "Is everything okay?"

  "Yeah. I'm just checking on you. Dick Mercer's place was broken into last night."

  "I know. He called me earlier. So far, so good here. I've been in and out of every building on the property this morning. Jason just left to go over to Sycamore House. He helped me check. We're fine. Guess I'd better make sure the buildings are locked up tight from now on, right?"

  "Right. Okay. I'm sorry to bother you."

  "It's no bother. Say, since I have you on the phone, would you like to bring your boys out tomorrow? Maybe late afternoon? The kids have been begging for them to come out again. We could do hot dogs over the fire pit. Eliseo would be glad to help me get them up on some of the horses and maybe do a quick ride over to visit Dick and Betty."

  "You are my very favorite person right now," Polly said. "Yes. That sounds wonderful. I'll pack up food and snacks. Thank you." />
  "No, thank you. I should have done this a couple of weeks ago, but I keep forgetting to ask and suddenly it's the last minute and I hate doing that. If you hadn’t called, I would have put it off again."

  "You can always do it to me. Thank you again."

  Polly smiled as she put the phone back down. "The boys are spending tomorrow evening with Elva and Eliseo. What do you think about that?"

  His eyes lit up and he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I think that if you can talk Agnes into watching Cassidy, you and I should go on a real, live date."

  "Let's just not try to eat at Hickory Park in Ames, okay? Bad things always happen."

  "It's been a long time. Are you sure?"

  She looked up to see if he was joking. He laughed. "I'll take my T-bird and everything."

  Polly nodded and snuggled in close to him. "You're awfully good to me."

  "Remember that the next time I leave the toilet seat up. Are you excited about the piano?"

  "I really am. It's so gorgeous, Henry. Len is happy with it."

  "He's thrilled," Henry said. "This gave him a lot of momentum."

  "What is he going to do if you move the rest of the shop out of town?"

  "Now they're talking about putting a retail space in there. Music, instruments, other things. It's far off in the future, but it's something for Len to think about."

  "Andy didn't say a word."

  Henry laughed. "Do you blame her? Beryl would be all over that."

  "Beryl and Lydia would be very supportive."

  "So supportive they'd redesign it from what Len wants it to be."

  "What if they were right about how it should be set up?"

  "Not the point, is it?"

  "Whatever."

  "I've told you before. Those women are formidable. But the one smart thing they've done is stay out of each other's business. It's probably what helps them maintain their friendship."

  She scowled at him. "You think you're so smart." Polly's phone buzzed with a text and she picked it up. "Len's pulling in. He's early."

  "I figured he would be. They had the truck there early this morning." Henry walked through the doors into the foyer and Polly followed. She ran up the steps to the second floor and pulled the doors shut, then scanned the foyer for any stray cats. They'd lost Arrow out the front door one night when the door was opened.