Jeff relaxed and sat back. "Okay, fine. It really wasn't so bad. They have two new agents in town who are much better at interpersonal relationships. At least I didn't feel as if they were attempting to get me to admit to murdering my own mother. Who is very much alive, by the way. When are you supposed to meet with them?"
"Henry's working on that. Evidently, we're taking a lawyer."
"Why?" Jeff asked, then looked back and forth between Tab and Polly. "Oh, because of your thing. Don't want them digging too deep into that, do you."
"Not if I can help it. Are you and Adam still considering the purchase?"
"I figure this has to be good for another few thousand off the asking price. By now, Mrs. Anderson is going to be desperate to get out from under this. I saw Doug Randall was looking at it, too. I will kill that boy."
"Now, Jeff," Polly said. "He's got every right to look for the best deal he can find."
"Not when it comes to my building. And not when he's got Anita's family money to back him up."
"She's not buying the building," Tab said. "At least not by herself. They're working on it together. Aren't you and Adam purchasing this together?"
Jeff shook his head. "I don't want him tied up in this. If something doesn't work out …"
Polly slapped her hand down on her desk. "Are you kidding me? If something doesn't work out? Jeff Lyndsay, what in the world? Are you really telling us that you are still up in the air about whether or not your relationship will work out? That is hardly fair and you're a fool if you don't see how good the two of you are together."
He flattened his lips. "If you'd let me finish, what I was going to say was that if something didn't work out long term here in Bellingwood, I don't want Adam's money tied up in this."
"Wait, now what do you mean by that? Are you planning to leave me? You can't leave me." Polly's voice went up in pitch and decibel level.
"I am not communicating very well today," Jeff said. "Living in Bellingwood. If I have to sell and move back to Ames or a bigger town, I want to get out of this fast and easy. That's all. Don't worry."
"I would have to kill you dead," Polly said. "And I could do it because I'm the one who finds bodies around here. Don't you even think about trying to leave me. Dead. You hear me? Dead."
Tab chuckled. "Maybe you've had enough coffee."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
"I don't wanna," Rebecca said sleepily after Polly opened the curtains to let the sunshine stream in. A beam caught Rebecca right in the eyes. Since her ankle was still swollen and hurting, she was staying home another day. Now she needed to be awake so Henry could help her get downstairs to the family room.
"Too bad. But Agnes won't be here today. I think Cat will be gone most of the day, too. She feels better."
"I'll be here by myself?" Rebecca whined. "All by myself? That's no fun. My friends will all be in school and there won't be anyone around to talk to."
"You complained when you had to talk to Agnes yesterday."
"You know me. I like to make a big deal out of nothing. Can I come to Sycamore House with you?"
Polly chuckled. "How boring would that be?"
"Not boring at all. At least there are people around." Rebecca opened one eye. "And maybe you could take me out to lunch?"
"Okay then, how about this," Polly said. "Henry leaves you up here this morning. He and I have a meeting with the Secret Service at ten thirty. After that's finished, I'll come home. We'll find someplace fun to have lunch and you can spend the afternoon with me."
Rebecca opened both eyes and sat up. "You mean I get to sleep in and eat out and spend the afternoon with you? How could my day get any more perfect?"
"I'm calling to wake you up at ten. You have to promise that you'll do your homework so you don't get behind."
"I can do that this afternoon in your office."
"Really?" Polly glared at Rebecca. "Really? With the distractions and the people and the distractions? Be ready for my call at ten o'clock. Now, is everything in your backpack? I'll send one of the boys upstairs with it."
"I guess. No, there's a notebook on the table in front of the couch and I think I left my book for English Lit in the living room."
"Faulkner still?"
Rebecca nodded and faked a yawn.
"It's not that bad."
"I know," she said.
"Stay awake for fifteen minutes and I'll send Noah up with your books. Do you need anything else?"
"Might as well bring my flute. I can practice, too."
"No," Polly said, shaking her head. "You can do that tonight like you always do."
"But you said Andrew could come over tonight."
"He won't be here all night."
"Fine. That's all I need."
Polly nodded, rubbed Wonder's head and left the room. As she walked down the hall to the back steps, her phone buzzed with a text from Simon Gardner.
"I am so sorry to bother you with this, but the client who wanted to purchase those chairs will be in Bellingwood this afternoon to pick up some other items. Is there any possibility that you or Henry could bring them to my back dock on your way to work? I do apologize."
His request surprised her. She hadn't thought he was that serious about selling those chairs.
Henry was coming up the steps as she got to them and she waited.
"Is Rebecca ready for me?"
"New plan," Polly said. "She gets to sleep in. I'll come back after our meeting and pick her up. Would you go up to the attic with me and bring down those chairs for Simon? He's asking about them."
He raised his eyebrows. "I didn't think he was serious."
"Me either." Polly showed him the text. "If we put them in the back of the Suburban, I can take them to him before heading to Sycamore House."
"And he's paying us? That’s amazing."
"I know," she said, with a laugh, waiting as he opened the door to the attic. She checked the floor for any stray cats, dogs, or children, then followed him in and shut the door behind them.
Henry veered to the right at the top of the steps and Polly grabbed at his sleeve. "Oh, no you don't. I'm not walking into that room until you clear out every piece of dead animal."
He chuckled maniacally. "It really is creepy. Just thought I'd give it a shot. If Heath doesn't go somewhere with Ella for fall break, maybe we can work on hauling it all out."
"Just think of what might have been living in there over the last hundred years." Polly shuddered. "As much as weird animal heads freak me out, the mess will be even worse."
Henry grimaced. "I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I'll pay a few of my guys to come over with big bags and a dumpster."
"Haz-mat suits, too," Polly said.
"Not a bad idea. There are a couple of guys that don't mind doing clean-up work like that. You should see some of the messes we’ve walked into. I'll pay them well."
She rubbed his shoulder. "I like the way you think."
The three chairs were in the far corner of the room above Rebecca's bedroom. The only thing on them that was in any shape at all was the wood, but Simon knew that and had taken pictures to show his potential buyer. They still wanted to make the deal and Polly was happy to move a few items out of this attic.
She stood in front of the window on the north side of the room and looked out over their yard and into the lot where Henry had been building the house for the Andersons. "Did you talk to that Brent guy about buying the lot?" she asked.
"I'm going to do it," he said, coming over to stand beside her. "There's no reason not to. I'm surprised Mrs. Anderson wants out of it."
"What do you mean? Her husband was killed. Why would she want a house that big?"
"I never understood why they wanted that big house in the first place. No kids; she never talked about wanting to adopt or anything like that. They could have purchased a single lot and put up a nice house for the three of them." Henry shrugged. "But it won't be difficult to sell. I wouldn't be surprised if I have a buyer for
it before I finish building."
"That would be nice. Then they could be involved in finishing the interior." Polly pointed at the lot. "What's going on over there? Do you have people on-site?"
He shook his head. "No. What are you seeing?"
She moved so he could look with her. "There's someone wandering around on the main level. Is that Lillybeth Anderson?"
"I can't tell," he said with a laugh. "But there's no reason for her to be in there."
"Then who is it?"
Henry frowned at her. "I can't tell. I have no idea."
"There are so many strange things going on with this family. Let's get these chairs downstairs."
"And then what?"
"And then I'm hauling my butt over to see who's wandering around that shell of a house at seven-fifteen in the morning."
"I'm going with you."
"Up to you." Polly grabbed up two of the chairs and started toward the main room.
"What are you doing?"
"Carrying these downstairs."
"I can take two."
"I've got it. I'm a strong woman."
"I know that, but you don't have to prove yourself to me."
"Not proving myself. Just carrying chairs. Hurry your buns, honey." Polly let Henry go down the steps first. He opened the door and when she got to the bottom, took one of the chairs from her.
"You watch for animals," he said. "I'll meet you downstairs." With that, he flashed her a grin and took off for the back steps.
There were no animals anywhere, so Polly flipped the light off, closed the door and chased him, as fast as she could while carrying an awkward chair, down the back steps to the kitchen.
Cat sat at the island with the kids while Hayden shuffled around the kitchen, making sure everyone had what they needed. Polly had already started the kids on breakfast. She was glad when Hayden showed up so she could start managing the morning. Everyone's backpacks were in the cubbies ready to go and all they needed to do was get out the door. By now, the routine was starting to set in, and at the very least, the older kids were on board. Cassidy was still iffy, but even she was learning what came next. Polly could hardly wait for her to get a couple of years older and gain more independence.
"We're going to run these out to the Suburban and then check on something. We'll be back before you leave for school," she said.
They barely paid any attention. Noah was reading a book, Cassidy was giving her favorite doll last minute instructions, Caleb and JaRon were arguing the finer points of their cereal and Elijah was peppering Cat with questions about her classroom. Poor Cat was simply trying to keep her head up.
Henry held the door for Polly. Obiwan and Han were outside and excited to see them, so rushed inside. They were confused when Polly shut the door on them.
"That was mean," Henry said.
"My middle name. Let's leave the chairs here. I don't want to miss out on whoever is at that house. Come on, hurry up. We wasted too much time getting out the door."
"It's been three minutes since we saw her."
"A lot can happen in three minutes." Polly started to jog down the sidewalk. "Come on, old man. You can do it."
"Old man, my hiney," he said with a laugh. "How do you plan to explain what we're doing?"
"Out for a jog," she replied.
He laughed. "I'm dressed for work and you're in your nice clothes. No one will buy that we’re out for morning exercise."
"You come up with something, then."
They turned the corner and walked onto the Anderson’s lot, passing a blue BMW parked in the street. Henry took her hand as they walked up to the main entrance. There were no walls, but the frame was fairly complex. Polly didn't immediately see anyone.
"Hello?" she called out.
Henry frowned at her again. "What are you doing?" he whispered.
"Duh. I'm being a nosy neighbor. What else do you expect me to do?"
"Hello?" she called again.
There was no response and Polly stepped up and into the structure with Henry right beside her. "I'm Polly Giller. I live next door," she said loudly. They went into the building and Polly peered around, trying to see if she could find the woman.
At the sound of a car's engine roaring to life, both turned back to the front of the house in time to see the blue BMW drive down the street. Polly ran toward it; she wasn't sure why.
"Did you get the license plate?" Henry asked.
"It's an Iowa plate. Maybe Story County, but I can't be sure. It was too far away for me. What in the world? How did she get around us?"
"I have no idea." Henry pointed off to the side. "Maybe she heard us coming and snuck around by the hedge."
"Well, that's just weird."
"Weirder than snoopy neighbors? We're as bad as …" Henry stopped and waved at Albert Lynch who lived across the street. He and his wife, Pat, were the epitome of snoopy neighbors, though they were nice enough. They spent winters in Florida, having long-since retired. Polly wondered how much longer they'd be able to travel back and forth. But they did and they kept an eye on everything that happened in their neck of the woods.
"Good morning, folks," Albert said. "Were ya chasing down that lady who just drove off?"
Henry nodded. "We wanted to talk to her. Have you seen her around?"
"Couple of times. I think she was looking for something."
Polly turned to Henry. "Your crews have been in here enough that she couldn't have lost something, right?"
"We haven't been here in a long time, what with Mrs. Anderson being on-again, off-again."
"You didn't happen to notice where she's from, did you?" Polly asked.
"Fancy car with Story County plates. I assumed she was from Ames. But it wasn't the lady that was building the house, though I seen them together a week and a half ago. Standing out here in front talking to each other. Might've been yelling, but I can't be sure. Didn't want to come stand on the stoop and make 'em think I was eavesdropping."
"Anyone else check out the site?" Henry asked.
"Just you folks and those two ladies. Oh, there was a coupla fellas that showed up, but that was a few weeks ago. I remember because Pat didn't want me opening the door since it was so hot and humid. Takes a long time to cool the house back down, ya know. Heard the husband was killed uptown. She gonna sell this place now? You gonna keep building?"
"We'll see," Henry replied.
"Good to see you spiffing up the neighborhood. Pat says we should think about painting the old place, make it look nice. We're talking about moving to Florida for good someday. We'll paint before we move out. Would you recommend someone to do the work?"
"I have a few people who would be glad to give you a bid on painting your house," Henry said.
"You're a good man. Sometime, you and the wife should stop by and drink some lemonade. Bring that cute little girl along. Pat's always making things and she doesn't know who to give 'em to. The neighbor kids don't know us real well, I guess."
"We need to get the kids moving," Polly whispered.
"It was good to talk to you," Henry said. "We need to get our kids off to school."
"You do a lot around the house, don't you, Henry," Albert said. "Not like when I was young. It's good to see you young dads involved."
"Thanks. I'll talk to you later." Henry put his hand on Polly's elbow and maneuvered her onto the sidewalk. "Keep walking," he said under his breath. "Just keep walking."
By the time they rounded the corner and were well out of ear shot, Polly laughed. "You should never start with that man. He'll talk your ear off."
"I always forget that. Do you have enough information to get Tab busy looking for the owner of that car?"
"She'll want to know what we saw. What could that woman have been looking for?"
"Beats me. A suitcase full of counterfeit hundred-dollar bills?"
"You don't think …" They turned into the driveway.
"I don't know what to think. You go on in and get the kids mov
ing. I'll put the chairs in the back of your Suburban, then I’m heading out. Meet you in Boone at ten thirty?"
"Yeah. I'm so looking forward to this."
"Al Dempsey will be there and so will Aaron. We're on Aaron's turf. He won't let anything happen to you." Henry stopped Polly by catching her arm, then pulled her back to him. "I won't either. You're safe here. Remember that."
She smiled and kissed him. "I love you. This is why. No matter how terrified I am to do something, you're always here."
"I always will be."
They stood together for a moment before Polly broke and headed for the house. "Thank you for running around with me this morning," she called as she hit the first step. "I'll see you later."
Cat was still slumped over the island when Polly walked into the kitchen. Hayden and the kids were nowhere to be found.
"Are you sure about going to school today?" Polly asked Cat. "This is pretty low energy for first thing in the morning."
Cat looked up. "I feel like hell, but I can't let Mrs. Wallers down. She's expecting me."
"She's expecting the Cat she saw last week. Not this droopy mess."
"Do I look that bad?" She started to pat at her clothing, then gave up and slumped back onto the counter.
"Where's Hayden?"
Cat pointed up. "He's getting my purse and my tote bag."
"Oh," Polly gasped. "I forgot about Rebecca's schoolwork. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."
"Not planning on it."
Polly rushed down to the family room. Rebecca's backpack had spilled out onto the sofa, so she jammed things back in and grabbed at the pens and notebook on the table. She started back to the kitchen when she remembered the Faulkner book in the living room. Elijah had begged the family to listen to him play last night, so they'd had a little concert. The boy loved the new piano and whenever he had a few extra minutes, music came floating down the hall. That behavior would likely correct itself as the newness of the instrument wore off, but he was usually good about not only practicing, but spending extra time playing for himself.
By the time she was back in the kitchen, Hayden was standing over his wife, rubbing her shoulders.
The Sounds of Home Page 22