The Sounds of Home

by Greenwood Muir, Diane

  That they filled an entire pew still floored Polly. These days, Heath usually went to the Lutheran Church with Ella and her family and Rebecca sat with Andrew, Sylvie and Eliseo in the pew right in front of Polly. Cat and Hayden sat at the far end of the pew so the kids could be between the adults. What a wild family she had.

  Rebecca begged to go over to Sylvie's house for lunch, but the girl hadn't been home much at all this weekend and Polly knew better than to think she had finished her homework. There wasn’t much of an argument, especially when Rebecca looked at Henry's face. He wasn't angry, but he certainly was preoccupied, and it was in these moments that you learned not to push his buttons. If he had to put his foot down about something, things got serious real quick.

  Fortunately, the kids chattered amongst themselves on the drive home, so Henry was able to ignore them. He pulled into the driveway, heaved a deep sigh and turned to the noisy bunch in the back. "I want everyone to change their clothes and play outside while Polly and I make lunch. No arguments. Just do it."

  Silence fell over the group.

  Rebecca opened her mouth. Polly knew it would be a protest and she shook her head. Now was not the time. Henry intended that direction for the boys, knowing that their energy level needed to be remediated by time spent chasing the dogs. Sunday afternoons were particularly hard for them, after having spent two and a half hours inside the church. After lunch, they'd catch up on homework that was due and get things ready for the next week.

  Cat grinned at Polly when she climbed out of the Suburban. "Me too?" she whispered.

  Polly nodded. "You're the worst." She watched Henry, who chuckled at the exchange. Good. At least he wasn't completely taken over by his concerns.

  Hayden unbuckled Cassidy and put her on the ground. She ran off to join her brothers. That was new. If she chose to obey Henry and spend time outside with them, that would be wonderful.

  Rebecca stopped beside Polly's car door. "What's up?"

  "He's thinking about things," Polly said. "You know you don't have to chase dogs, right?"

  "I hoped not. Do you want help with lunch?"

  "Tell me about your homework."

  Rebecca threw her head back and rolled her eyes. "I don't wanna."

  "That bad?"

  "No. I just don't wanna."

  "Then you get started on it. I can handle making lunch."

  "What are we having?"

  "You're going to have to wait and see."

  "Oh, come on. Is it good?"

  "If I do it right."

  "You are such a weirdo." Rebecca pushed her shoulder into Polly's as they walked to the steps leading up to the mud room.

  Polly grabbed her daughter and pulled her close, then licked her face and squeezed her tight.

  "What did you do?" Rebecca asked, wiping at her cheek.

  "I'm weirdo-kissing you."

  "Why would you do that?"

  "Because I can."

  "It's so gross."

  "Do you want more?"

  "No!" Rebecca ran up the steps, flung the door open and rushed inside. By the time Polly got to the kitchen, her daughter was already racing up the back steps.

  "What was that about?" Henry asked.

  "I licked her."

  He laughed out loud. "You what?"

  "I licked her face. She called me a weirdo, so instead of kissing her, I licked her."

  "You are a weirdo," he said, still laughing. "What can I do to help you get ready for this today?"

  "We should change first."

  "Last one's a rotten egg," he called out as he ran for the foyer.

  Polly had no idea what had happened to him since they got in the car at church. This behavior was way over the top. She ran up the back steps and down the hall to their bedroom. The boys were all in their rooms, changing into shorts and t-shirts. Even Cassidy's door was closed.

  She pulled up short in front of their closed bedroom door and turned the handle. When she walked in, Henry was in his chair, panting, his head in his hands.

  "What's going on?" she asked, gently pushing the door closed behind her.

  "What if this has all been about me?"

  "You are all over the place, Henry Sturtz. I'm feeling a bit like a bow string."

  "I'm sorry. I heard myself in the Suburban and tried to get past it." He huffed a strained laugh. "Did I overdo it?"

  "A little."

  "You're so easy with the kids when I'm stressed out and I want to be more like that."

  "Oh honey, don't you know that when I'm stressed, I think that you are great with them? It's what we do. Don't worry about them. There's never a day that they don't know how much we love them. A little stress when we're overwhelmed won't kill anyone. I can't believe that these thefts have anything to do with you."

  "I would have agreed until the last three," Henry said. "But Gavin, Uncle Dick, and now Leroy? Maybe the thief will try to break in here. Or maybe Dad's shop. Or maybe they'll come after you and break into Sycamore House."

  "We have cameras over there. That would be stupid," Polly said. "Same with Sycamore Inn."

  "Then the bakery or even the B&B. I know they haven't hit those yet, and Reuben and Judy are out there all alone."

  "So are Dick and Betty," Polly said. "The thief is taking things, not hurting people."

  "What if they escalate? What if this is something that I've caused to happen?"

  She took a deep breath. "How about you wait until tomorrow and call Chief Wallers. Tell him what you're thinking."

  "But what if someone I care about gets hit tonight?"

  "Call him this afternoon."

  "I don't want to interrupt his Sunday."

  Polly looked at him and walked over to her dresser. "Maybe you should get in your truck about midnight and drive around to the homes of everyone you've ever hired or worked for."

  "Joss and Nate," he said quietly. "I did all that work for them and he's got that big shop. It's filled with expensive tools and it's far enough away from the house that someone could break in without him knowing."

  "They have a security system for the shop and they have several cameras on the property."

  "I should tell him to be extra careful."

  "You should also put your truck behind locked doors until this is settled," Polly said. "I'm not kidding about that."

  "But where? The thief has been creative in how they break into buildings."

  "Maybe ask Aaron if you can park it in his garage."

  Henry looked at her and grinned. "No one would try to break in there."

  "Or put it in Beryl's garage. Nobody would expect you to do that."

  "I wouldn't set her up like that."

  "She'd love it. The only problem I see is that you might find it painted all kinds of colors in the morning." Polly slid a t-shirt over her head. "Come on. Change your clothes and help me make lunch. Then we can decide what to do next. I'm almost on board with this being someone who wants to get your attention, but I can't figure out who it might be."

  He nodded. "Thanks. I needed you to see what I was seeing."

  "I'm always on your side. You know that." Polly shoved a t-shirt in his arms. "Now, change. We have work to do."

  "I can't believe you're trying this today."

  "If it's as easy as Lydia says it is, I'll make fried chicken more often for Sunday dinners. The butcher cut the chickens into pieces for me, so all I have to do is coat it and fry it. Oh, and make mashed potatoes." She giggled. "And cook the sweet corn and slice tomatoes."

  "I'll slice the tomatoes."

  "You'll do more than that, buddy. We're in this together. If I'm backing you up with your crazy ideas, you're helping me with mine."

  "Yours will taste better."

  "We'll hope so. I've been studying that recipe," Polly said. "There's no reason it shouldn't work."

  Henry changed his clothes and they left the room. Rebecca's door was still closed, but the boys' rooms were empty. Even Cassidy's room was empty. When they
got downstairs, Polly looked out into the back yard and Cassidy was plopped down in the middle of the yard with Obiwan by her side while her four brothers kicked a soccer ball back and forth.

  "At least you got them outside," she said.

  "And Elijah wasn't up playing the piano in the middle of the night."

  "He was so tired after spending the day at Elva's house. All of them were." Polly took packages of chicken out of the refrigerator. "Would you get the potatoes out of the pantry? We need to start those first."

  Henry waited until she put the chicken onto the counter, then pulled her into his arms. "Can I have a real kiss, please?"

  "You mean, as opposed to a weirdo kiss?"

  "I don't even want to know what that looks like."

  She slurped up the side of his cheek. "It looks like that."

  He licked her cheek, then released her and jogged to the pantry. "Turnabout's fair play, wife of mine."

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  "Oh, sweet girl that I love. Knock, knock."

  Polly looked up and smiled at her husband who stood in the door to her office. "What are you doing here?"

  He glanced at the paintings sitting on the floor behind her. "Are those from Beryl?"

  She spun in her seat, though she knew what he was looking at. "Aren’t they amazing? She brought them by last week. I need to hang them on the wall."

  "You need to?"

  "Stop it," she said with a laugh. "I need to ask Scott or Eliseo to hang them."

  "I could do it for you." He strode over, tipped one forward, and looked at the back. "I have the right tools in the truck."

  "It's okay. Why are you here?"

  "Just met with Ken." Henry sat on the corner of her desk. "Polly, do you know how much I don’t like explaining to the police that I don't hire criminals? I trust my guys. Nobody I've hired or fired would deliberately harm me. He asked me to go through the last five years of my employee records."

  "Have you asked Jessie to do that?"

  Jessie Locke worked for Henry and his father out of an office at the shop beside Bill and Marie's house. Her daughter, Molly, was four and a half years old. Only one more year until that child would be in school. Henry's mother, Marie, had loved every minute of caring for the little girl, knowing that Polly and Henry wouldn't have babies. Lonnie, Henry's sister, was dating a man who had a sweet daughter. They lived in Ann Arbor, so when they got married and if they had children, Marie would have to travel in order to be a grandma. Molly was a gift.

  "I should," he said. "She'd pull the report faster than I could. It's just more than I want to think about." Henry stood up. "I'm going to hang these for you. I'll be right back."

  She knew better than to argue. Polly hated it when Henry was faced with difficult things that were out of his control. She was used to it happening to her. Dead bodies, kids out of their minds, on and on. But Henry still felt that he should be able to fix it and make it right. He took things like this personally and it wounded him to his core.

  The intercom on her desk phone beeped and Kristen said, "Polly, there's someone here to see you. Can I send him back?"

  "Him?" Polly asked.

  "Me," came a familiar voice. "Come on, Pol, you know you want to see me."

  She laughed. "Send him back here."

  Doors opened and closed, and Polly was standing by the sofa when Jon Renaldi walked into her office.

  "Oh, Polly Giller, you are a sight for sore eyes. I've missed you," he said as he hugged her tight.

  "I've missed you, too. I thought you and Ray were going to be in the neighborhood more often. It's been months."

  "I know. Lawyers and more lawyers and if it seems like three should be enough to represent one man, then three more are invited to join the team. Until people lined up their little lawyer-duckies, we had nothing to do. This investigation is going to be a very long, very drawn-out process. Especially with government num-nuts and pharmaceutical companies playing with the media across the country. It's a juicy story now; forget the poor folks who have lost their lives and their jobs and themselves, for heaven's sake. But I don't want to talk about that. What about this cool office? Do you love being back in the thick of things?"

  "So much," she said, nodding. "It all feels right again."

  "Jon Renaldi," Henry said as he walked in carrying a toolbox. "What are you doing in town?"

  "Just visiting. I flew into Des Moines this morning, had a quick meeting with some lawyers, then drove up here. I have more meetings tomorrow and have to be in Kansas City on Wednesday, but I couldn't be this close and not say hello."

  Henry set the toolbox down on Polly's desk and put his hand out. When Jon grasped it, Henry put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "It's good to see you. Can you stay for dinner tonight or do you need to get back and prepare for tomorrow?"

  Jon looked at Polly. "I'd love to stay for dinner. Your family is a joy. Besides, Mama sent presents."

  "She doesn't have to do that," Polly said. "How's Chloe?"

  Jon smiled. "Good. You know, she loved meeting you. I didn't realize how nervous you made her. She said we all talked about you and had you on some grand and glorious pedestal. It was good for her to discover you were normal and happily married. I know she wants to come back again when things aren't crazy."

  "We'd love that," Polly said. "Have a seat."

  Jon looked at his watch. "Actually, I was hoping you were available for lunch. I feel bad about showing up and taking you away from your work. After lunch, if you have a free spot with a desk, I have work. I won't bother you." He chuckled. "Chloe will kill me for not emailing you before I flew in. She told me all weekend to let you know I was coming. I forgot about it until I was on the plane. Then I thought surprising you would be fun."

  "It's always good to see you," Henry said. "I was going to hang these paintings for Polly, but I can do that after lunch."

  She frowned at him in confusion. It was a Monday morning. Why wasn't he at work? "You have time? That's wonderful."

  "Let me help you," Jon said. "It won't take long, will it?"

  Henry shook his head. "No time at all."

  The two men held paintings up, made marks on the wall and measured from the floor, making more marks.

  "Drea said you found another body," Jon said, looking over his shoulder at Polly. "Some guy in the old newspaper office? And you're thinking of running a newspaper? What the heck?"

  "I'm not going to run it," Polly said. "But if I can find someone who will, I'd invest in the equipment and the lease on the building."

  "Not buying the building?"

  She shrugged. "I think Jeff is."

  He put the painting back on the floor and followed Henry to the next spot.

  "Your Jeff?"

  "Yeah. Do you want to see the building, Henry? Jeff texted me earlier that he and Adam were going to look at it again. Like around one o'clock." She grinned. "You too, Jon. See, I'll be bothering you instead of you bothering me."

  "Yeah?" Henry asked. "I could do that."

  "Really," she said. "What’s up with you? Don't you have a million things to do today? I mean, I love having you around, but why aren't you at work?"

  "Gavin's on it," he said. "When I talked to him last night, I didn't know what today was going to bring or how long I'd spend with Ken. I'm taking Dad out to Dick's place later. We're going to walk off the lot and see what we have to work with."

  "Ken Wallers?" Jon asked. "The police chief. Don't tell me Polly has you caught up in the latest murder."

  "No," Henry replied. He handed Jon the next painting. "There have been some thefts in the area and it feels like I'm the point of contact with each one of them."

  "What does that mean?"

  "My clients, my employees, my family."

  "Every single one?" Jon asked. "Really? There isn't an outlier in the list?"

  "Every single one. I don't want it to be a former employee. Or for that matter, a present employee. But someone knows too much about me."<
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  "Did they hack your computer system?"

  Henry stopped and looked at Jon. "Say what?"

  "It doesn't have to be a former employee. Is there a client that got angry with you? Maybe the guy thought you were flirting with his wife."

  Polly chuckled.

  "Not funny," Henry said. "And you think they'd hack my computer?"

  "I don't know," Jon said with a shrug. "How secure is it?"

  Henry looked helplessly at Polly.

  "We haven't gotten his dad's company computer on the system yet," she said.

  "But Jessie shuts it down every night when she goes home," Henry protested. "They can't log in if it's turned off, right?"

  "Well, yeah," Jon said. "But there are a million ways to gain access. Are you sure, though, that it's about you?"

  "No." Henry shook his head. "But it feels like it is."

  "Here's what I'll tell you. Don't focus so hard on what feels like might be happening that you miss out on what's really happening. It might have nothing to do with you. What if it's someone that knows your parents and wants to punish them. Going after your clients and employees would do that. Or what if it's someone who knows that girl, Jessie? What if someone wants to damage her relationship with you and your parents? Or maybe there's a connection with one of the employees. Is there one person who has been involved in each of those projects?"

  Henry huffed a frustrated laugh. "Each of those scenarios is a possibility. Why did I get stuck on this being about me?"

  "Because you're one of those highly responsible people," Jon said. "Don't take responsibility for this, though, until you know for sure what's going on. Do you have a timeline of the thefts? Is there a commonality? Do they wait a week, or four days, or a month between each theft?"

  "Ken was going to put a calendar together for me. Maybe I'll notice a pattern," Henry said. "I don't know the dates when the earlier thefts happened." He shook his head. "I know I sound like a whiner, but between this and then Polly finding the body of another of my clients, I need a drink."