Julie Seedorf - Fuchsia Minnesota 02 - Granny Skewers a Scoundrel

by Julie Seedorf

  It was at that time that Granny noticed the same type of cistern and pump that Sally had. Using her cane to hoist herself off of the ground, Granny stood up and walked to the cistern. Leaning down, she tried to move the lid but it was tight and no match for her weight.

  Little Poodle and Tank started barking. Granny looked up to see the Big Guy walking around the side of the house toward her.

  “What are doing here Granny? I thought Mavis was giving you a ride home.”

  “I was on my way to AbStract when I heard a noise as I was coming out of Rack’s after lunch. It sounded like the shysters were around and I thought I better check. Low and behold, I found them here.” Granny explained with her most innocent face. “Can you give us a ride home? I think they’ve been in enough trouble for the day and Baskerville is missing. And what are you doing here?”

  “Just checking to make sure Neil isn’t around here yet. We’re keeping an eye on this place although we don’t think he’ll come back here. I fear he’s gone for good.” The Big Guy turned and looked at the house. “I thought maybe I’d make an offer on it. It’s close to town and I can keep an eye on business this way.” He walked over to Granny and took her arm that was holding her cane to escort her to the front of the house and his squad car.

  Granny tried to pull away and walk by herself but he had her arm in a death grip and was hustling her to the squad car so fast her feet almost didn’t touch the ground. The Big Guy didn’t say a word all the way to Granny’s house. At least, Granny thought he wasn’t in so much of a hurry to get rid of her that he put the flashing lights and siren on to get her home, although that might have been exciting.

  After the Big Guy dropped Granny off with the orders to stay put in her house until Franklin picked her up for their dinner date, Granny decided it was too early to get ready and she might have a little time to sort this mystery out.

  Reaching into her refrigerator, Granny pulled out food for the shysters since their dishes were empty. As she did that, she noticed that she had left one little leaf from Sally’s pocket on the floor of the kitchen by the trash can. Since the Big Guy probably had tossed the leaves that she had given him away she picked up the last leaf for safe keeping in case she needed it for evidence. Granny wondered how the Big Guy hadn’t known what the leaf was. She realized in all the excitement with the shysters in Esmeralda’s yard that she had forgotten to tell him what the weed was.

  Granny picked up her cell phone to call him when a distant thought seemed to be running through her head. She couldn’t seem to catch it though. She put down the cell phone and looked out the window to see if Baskerville was anywhere to be seen. Mr. Bleaty didn’t seem to be in sight either.

  Walking away from the window, Granny spied a collar lying on the floor. She picked it up and examined it. It hadn’t been there in the morning. She recognized it as Mr. Bleaty’s collar. It had chew marks on it. It looked like Baskerville had chewed the collar off of Mr. Bleaty. Fingering the collar, Granny sat down in her chair and thought back to her previous visits to Sally’s back yard. It was strange that she hadn’t noticed that the Periwinkle house and Sally’s house were the same. Granny got up out of her chair with a look of determination in her eye.

  Picking up her phone, she first dialed Mavis. “Mavis, do you know where Thor is?”

  “Yes, he left a little while ago with Elena. Why do you want to know?” Sally asked suspiciously.

  “Mr. Bleaty left something here and I need to return it. I didn’t want any trouble from that hussy so I will deposit it by her garage in the back.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  ‘No, Mavis, I have a hunch so I’m calling the Big Guy and then I’ll return the collar. See you later.” Granny hung up the phone before Mavis could answer her.

  Granny texted the Big Guy and told him the name of the plant; it was easier than calling him and having to submit to his nosiness. He might ask what she was going to do and where she was going. She’d be back before Franklin picked her up. No one would be the wiser.

  Making sure her cell phone was in her pocket, Granny picked up her cane and her pocketbook, but then put her pocketbook back down. Carrying too many things might slow her down. She had to be quick so the hussy didn’t see her. Granny grabbed the collar and hooked it over her arm. That would provide a good excuse in case she was found on the property. Stepping outside onto her porch, she looked around the neighborhood to make sure the coast was clear. Once this mess was all cleaned up, she thought, she would make sure that Thor found a nice sweet, quiet girl to date.

  Once on the hussy’s property, Granny decided she should check out the basement window to see if there was any progress in the basement. Granny peered into the window. There was just enough light in the basement to see that a door had been positioned in the wall where the cut in the wall had been.

  Granny stood back up and walked to the back of the house. It seemed strange to have a door in the wall that went to nowhere except ground unless the hussy was planning to add on to her house at a later date.

  Once in back, Granny examined the ground and the weeds next to the house. There was a patch that looked like it had been scraped or dug away. The shysters must have been here too. Granny knelt down to scrape more away. Sure enough, there was another wooden door. She tried to scratch more of the dirt and weeds away but she didn’t have the right tools such as the shysters’ paws and claws.

  Granny sat down on the ground to think about this strange turn of events. These houses were older and many houses in the early days of Fuchsia had a tornado cellar, even though Granny had not lived here when the cellars were used. She had still been on the farm and they too had had a tornado cellar. But if these houses had basements, why did they need a tornado cellar? It was time for a trip to the courthouse to see if she could find anything in the archives about these two houses.

  A car drove into the driveway and stopped. She could hear voices as someone got out of the car. It was Thor and the hussy. Granny turned and ran across the side lawn away from the driveway and into the forest. She would wind her way back to her house. This time she did not take time to stop and enjoy the forest. She could tell her toes were starting to turn blue. Fall certainly was winding down into winter.

  Once Granny made it through the forest and over to her side of the street, she took a peek to make sure Thor and the hussy were not watching. Thor’s car was gone and Granny watched as the hussy drove her car out of the driveway and down the street. She then hurried into her house to get ready for her dinner date with Franklin.

  As Granny was debating whether to wear red or fuchsia for her meeting with Franklin, her cell phone started chiming Dragnet. Grabbing the phone, it took her a minute to answer the new-fangled device. She slid the lock free and bellowed into the phone, “I’m not ready yet.”

  “That’s good, Hermiony,” Franklin answered back, “I have to cancel, and something has come up with the case that I have to check out. Granny, I’ll be out of town for a few hours.”

  Granny thought for a moment. “Franklin, remember the plans of Fuchsia that you examined before I hooked those crooks? Were there any tunnels across the street from me?

  “No, those houses across the street had tornado shelters that were abandoned and the doors sealed and grass planted on top. They weren’t connected to the underground streets. The houses had been raised up and basements built underneath them so the tornado shelters were no longer needed.” Franklin paused. “Ah, Hermiony, why are you asking?”

  “No reason; you know me––an inquiring mind, so I inquired.”

  Franklin belted back through the phone, “We almost have this case taken care of. Stay put. Lock the doors. Don’t go anywhere until I get back. Do you understand?”

  “Why I am so disappointed by our dinner cancellation that I will just lie in bed and eat bon bons.” Granny lifted her eyes to the heavens and shook her head. “By the way, have you seen Baskerville today? I saw the shysters earlier but the
y haven’t arrived here yet.”

  “Got to go, Hermiony. I’m sure they are fine. Stay out of trouble!” The line went dead.

  Granny was about to put her cell phone down when it came alive with another ring. Granny picked it up and answered it to see Thor’s face on her phone. She never would get used to people being able to see her when they talked to her on the phone. He looked a little stressed.

  “Trouble with your love life, Thor?” Granny asked with a smile and a smirky tone.

  “My love life is fine, that’s why I’m calling. Elena and I will be out of town for the evening. The only reason I am telling you this is because you need to stay home and stay put. Remember, we don’t know where Neil Nail is and your life may still be in danger. Talked to Franklin and he said he has to go out of town on a case. Checked with the Big Guy and he just got a report of a missing child and his entire department might get called out on it. For once in your life, listen to us. We do have Mavis watching your house but she seems a little flaky tonight, something about light shining from a hole in the ground and she is sure it was an alien attack.” Before Thor gave her a chance to respond he hung up.

  Everyone seemed to be leaving town. Granny walked over to her footstool to unearth her bottle of wine and pour herself a glass. It was too early to go to bed. The shysters and Baskerville hadn’t made it back to keep her company. There seemed to be plenty of excitement elsewhere but not here. Granny wondered if there was something she could do to find the missing child. The child had probably wandered over to the Starcade. That was usually where they found missing kids. The Starcade had bouncy houses and old-fashioned pinball games. Kids seemed to be fascinated by the old machines banging and clanging.

  Lifting her binoculars and peering out the window, Granny could see that the hussy was not home. Darkness had fallen and the hussy’s house was totally dark. In fact, Granny’s house seemed to be the only house in the neighborhood with lights on. Even Mavis and George had their lights out. Perhaps they had traveled downtown for dinner.

  As Granny trained the binoculars into Sally’s backyard, there appeared to be little slivers of light shining into the sky from the backyard. Granny could not tell what it was. She hadn’t seen it before. Maybe she should check it out, after all everyone was gone or busy and she could snoop unencumbered.

  The words, “Stay put” echoed in Granny’s mind. Of course, she reasoned, Franklin meant, stay in the neighborhood. Of course, that’s what he meant. He didn’t say, “Don’t go over to Sally’s house.” He didn’t say, “Don’t go look for Baskerville.” Maybe Baskerville was with Mr. Bleaty in the garage. Franklin did say, “Don’t go anywhere.” She wasn’t going anywhere, she was going somewhere––to Sally’s house.

  Yup, Granny made up her mind. She could go to Sally’s house. Then she remembered, both Franklin and Thor had done all the talking. She hadn’t agreed to anything. With a smile and a little lilt to her step, Granny grabbed her cell phone. since she thought she might need the nifty flashlight feature, and picked up her pink knitting needle cane. Opening the door, she remembered it was cold outside, so she grabbed Sally’s green coat that she had thrown on a chair when she gotten back home. As Granny closed the door behind her, she took a breath of the cool crisp air. Minnesota was a great place to be with the changing seasons; besides, it was easier tracking a crook when it was winter because they left footprints. However, the fall was also a good time to lose those who were tailing you because the leaves blew in your path covering your steps. Yup, Granny was happy on this night to be a Minnesotan.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  As Granny walked down the driveway by Sally’s house to get to the back yard and the strange light that seemed to be shining out of the ground, she glanced to her right. She thought she saw a little movement through the window of Mavis’ house. Granny stopped for a second to peer at the window. It must have been a figment of her imagination because all seemed quiet now. It was too early for George and Mavis to be sleeping so Granny figured they were out on the town.

  As Granny turned on the flashlight on her cell phone, she pondered Mavis and George’ relationship. She didn’t know much about either of them before they had moved to Fuchsia. They always seemed reluctant to talk about their past. As nosy as Granny was, she had left it like that. She wasn’t too eager to talk about her past on the farm either.

  The rustling of the leaves and snarky strange sounds seemed to be coming from some creatures ahead of her. It was so dark that she couldn’t make out the shape of whatever was making the noise. She took a chance and aimed her flashlight at the noise. Baskerville and Mr. Bleaty had been found. They seemed to be up to some mischief here in the yard. Granny walked closer.

  It appeared that the cover on the cistern was raised about about two inches on one end and Mr. Bleaty and Baskerville were trying to get it open. That was where the sliver of light had been coming from in Sally’s back yard.

  “Quiet down, you two! Let me look, maybe I can help.” Granny knelt down by the cistern and peered through the opening. Whew, it certainly had a strange smell. She didn’t hear any sounds, but there was bright light down in the hole. Granny could see through the crack that there was a ladder attached to the side so that someone could get down into the cistern. She didn’t remember ever seeing light in Sally’s yard before at night.

  Granny stood up and shone her flashlight around the edge of the cistern. There didn’t seem to be any handle to hold on to so she could pry it open. Lifting her knitting needle cane, Granny tried to wedge it to lift the cover. It seemed to be stuck where it was at.

  Granny walked over to the side of the garage and tried the door. It was locked. That left out tools. Granny looked toward her house and thought perhaps she should go home and get her own tools. Maybe Mavis and George had tools in their garage. While she was deciding what to do about tools, she checked out the dark neighborhood. It still appeared as if she were the only one around.

  Baskerville started nudging the top of the cistern again. Mr. Bleaty started butting the side of the cistern. Granny thought the smell of whatever was emanating from the cistern was urging them on. She chased them both away with her cane and walked around the cistern to the closed side. Putting her cell phone in her pocket and setting her cane on the ground, she moved to the cistern. With both arms she grabbed the side of the cistern cover and tried to pull it towards her. At the same time, Baskerville started jumping excitedly and howling. As he howled and jumped, he landed on the pump handle of the pump that sat by the side of the cistern. All of sudden, the cistern cover popped open against Granny, tumbling her to the ground.

  Quickly, Granny looked around to make sure no one had heard the mournful howl. Everything was still dark. Granny retrieved her cell phone that had been jolted out of her pocket and grabbed her cane to help her get up off of the ground. She wondered if she should call someone like the Big Guy or Franklin. Then she remembered Franklin was out of town and the Big Guy was looking for a lost child. She would take a peek and then she would decide who to call.

  Granny leaned over the Cistern wall. Now that the cover was up, she could see that the wall had been widened at some point in time. There didn’t seem to be any water at the bottom and she could determine that because there was so much light at the bottom of the cistern. Turning around, she tentatively put one foot in the cistern to test to see if the ladder was safe. It seemed to be sturdy so she grabbed the side of the ladder and hoisted her other leg down, holding her cane tight against the ladder so it wouldn’t drop.

  She slowly made her way down the ladder. Looking up, she could see Baskerville and Mr. Bleaty looking down at her. There was no noise coming from the hole except for the sound of some kind of fan or something running. What on earth could be going on?

  Granny felt her feet touch hard floor. She let loose of the ladder but not before glancing up to see Baskerville and Mr. Bleaty. Somehow seeing those two silly faces gave her courage to continue. She made sure her cane was ready before
turning around to see how much space she had.

  When she turned around, her eyes opened wide in surprise. She had to lean back against the ladder for balance. The strong smell made her a little woozy. She was looking into a large room that must have covered the entire space of the yard above. It was carved out with stone walls and shafts of steel holding up the ceiling. At the end, toward the house was a wall with a door. The room was filled with plants, plants with the same leaves as the leaves Sally had in her coat. Shaking herself out of her surprise, Granny took a quick glance around to make sure there was no one else there. It appeared only she and the plants occupied the space for the moment.

  Granny slowly made her way to the door closest to the house. She put her ear to the door but heard no sound. Quietly she opened the door. The room was dark. Granny pulled out her cell phone and shone its flashlight around the room. This was the old tornado cellar. On the far wall next to the house was something built out from the house. It looked like a tiny room such as a closet. Granny continued into the room and walked over to a strange little built-in thingy. The wall appeared to be solid but as she felt around the edges she could feel tiny hinges. The door must pop open from the inside.

  The hussy must be involved in this. Granny knew it. It was time to call someone. Granny lifted her cell phone to call but nothing happened. She looked at the bars on the cell phone. No service. She would have to go back up the ladder and call.

  As Granny walked over to the ladder, she marveled at the setup. Where did they get the electricity for the lights, Granny wondered. Maybe they stole Sally’s electricity and she had noticed and it had gotten her killed. This was why Sally thought the grass was talking to he––it really was. Granny chuckled when she thought about what type of grass Sally was talking about and she didn’t even know it. The more she thought about it, the more she laughed. There had been more weeds in Sally’s yard than she had known.