Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy

by Hope Callaghan

  A movement in the right hand corner of the screen caught her eye. Someone was inside the post office. She squinted and leaned in for a closer look. The person’s back was to the screen. Gloria couldn’t make out who it was. Her eyes never left the monitor as she groped the kitchen table in search of her glasses. Her fingertips touched the frames and she slipped them on.

  Whoever it was, was wearing dark clothes. The figure disappeared from view. She sat quiet as a mouse and watched. The figure reappeared from behind the mail slots then walked over to the monitor and stared directly into the camera.

  Gloria gasped. Her hand shot up and she covered her mouth. It was Kenny! He looked right into the camera. Then he lifted his thumb and gave the camera the thumbs up!

  Ruth knew Kenny was in the post office. Kenny knew about the camera!

  The bathroom door handle rattled. Gloria jumped from the chair and ran out onto the porch. She didn’t dare let on to Ruth that she had seen Kenny in front of the camera.

  Gloria’s heart began to pound. What did this mean? That Kenny and Ruth were working together? Were they the middle men in the drug ring? What other explanation could there be?

  She paced the porch floor and watched as Mally raced across the gravel drive in hot pursuit of a squirrel. This was unbelievable! They say you never really know someone. But Ruth??

  “Oh, there you are.” Ruth poked her head out the porch door.

  Gloria spun around to face her, a smile pasted on her face. “Just letting Mally run for a bit before Paul gets here,” she said.

  “Can I borrow some of your perfume?” Ruth asked.

  Gloria nodded. “It’s in on my bedroom dresser,” she told her.

  Ruth disappeared inside and Gloria turned back around. Just in time to see Paul pull in.

  Gloria could barely wait for him to get out of the car. She met him at the car door and held out her arms. He slid out of the driver’s seat, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “You are a sight for sore eyes,” he murmured into her hair.

  Gloria blinked back tears. The week had been a rough one. And it was getting rougher by the minute. She breathed in. The scent of his cologne lingered on his shirt. It was one of her favorites. You smell nice and you feel even better,” she told him.

  He pulled back, just far enough to gaze into her eyes. “I was about to say the exact same thing.” Paul looked up at the house. “Ruth here?”

  She nodded. “Steve Colby asked her out to dinner. She’s inside getting ready,” she explained.

  They wandered back to the porch and reached the top step at the same time Steve Colby’s car pulled in the drive. He parked on the other side, opposite Paul’s vehicle.

  They watched as he climbed from the car and headed over to where they were waiting. Steve had a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

  Paul glanced down at Gloria and frowned. “I forgot to bring you flowers.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Really, you don’t need to bring them every time.”

  Steve was all spiffed up in dark brown dress slacks and button-down shirt. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing cowboy boots.

  Gloria smiled brightly. “How are you this evening, Steve?”

  Steve grinned. “Doing great. And yourself?” He nodded at Paul.

  “Just fine.” She nodded towards the house. “I think Ruth’s almost ready. Let me go check on her.” She excused herself and walked back inside.

  The first thing Gloria noticed when she stepped inside was that the laptop was gone. Ruth had put it away! Which was a bit odd. The thing had sat in the exact same spot since the moment Ruth brought it into the house!

  She was convinced it was because she didn’t want Gloria to see Kenny inside the post office! Gloria pushed the thought aside as Ruth stepped into the kitchen. She’d just have to deal with this later.

  “You look nice,” Gloria complimented her. And she did look nice. She had on a lovely pair of gray slacks and beaded black blouse. Her dangling earrings matched her shirt. She smelled nice, too.

  “Thanks for letting me use your perfume,” Ruth said. Her eyes darted to the porch door. “Is he here yet?”

  Gloria nodded. “He’s out on the porch talking to Paul.”

  Ruth bit her lower lip and tugged on the edge of her blouse.

  Gloria could see she was nervous as a tic. “Here, we’ll go out together,” she told her. She grabbed Ruth’s hand and pulled her across the kitchen and out to the porch. Poor Ruth’s hand was cold and clammy.

  Gloria whispered words of encouragement. “You’ll have fun. Don’t worry!”

  Ruth nodded nervously and sucked in a breath before following Gloria outside.

  Steve looked almost as nervous as Ruth! When he saw his date, he reached up and smoothed both sides of his hair back, then cleared his throat. He thrust the flowers in Ruth’s direction. “These are for you.”

  At first, Ruth just stared at them. Then she stared at Steve. Then she stared back at the flowers. “For me?”

  Gloria was uncomfortable for them both. “Let me go get a vase.”

  “They’re beautiful!” Ruth took the flowers and pulled the bouquet to her face. “They smell wonderful.” There was of mix of yellow roses, pink carnations and sprigs of lavender.

  Paul and Gloria waited for Steve and Ruth to head out before Gloria locked the door and followed Paul to his car. “Ruth has a key?” Gloria nodded. She’d given her one the first night she got there. She trusted her friend implicitly. Or she had. Until just a few minutes ago…

  “How are your houseguests?” Gloria remembered Paul’s son, Jeff, and his wife, Tina.

  Paul rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with those two. They don’t seem to be in any hurry to move out.”

  “Maybe you’re making them too comfortable?” she guessed.

  He nodded. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He glanced at Gloria in the passenger seat. “I’m trying to encourage them to start saving some money and look for a place of their own.” He sighed heavily. “It’s like talking to a brick wall.”

  Paul’s plan was to one day leave the farm and everything he had to his son and daughter. But not yet. Not when he was still alive and living there! Plus, if Jeff and Tina stayed on, what would his daughter, Allie, think? The farm was part of her inheritance, too. What was that saying? Possession is 9/10ths of the law.

  “How’s it going with Ruth and the investigation?” He knew Gloria well enough to know she was doing her own detective work. He couldn’t blame her on this one. He was sure Gloria didn’t mind having her friend stay with her, but if she was anything like him, she was ready for her life to return to normal.

  “Okay. So far, so good,” she said. “Of course, it’s only been a few days.”

  She stared out the window and watched the farm fields go by. “I heard that they’re close to making an arrest.”

  Paul nodded. He wasn’t involved in this investigation. The FBI was thorough, though. If they were close to an arrest, their homework was almost done. Which meant soon Gloria’s house guest would be gone.

  Paul turned onto the road that led into Green Springs. “Where are you taking me?” she wondered.

  He smiled. “A surprise. It’s a new restaurant I discovered the other day when I was answering a call.”

  That was one perk to Paul’s job. He found some nifty, out-of-the way places on his patrols. Places others didn’t even know existed.

  He drove through town and turned onto a small, two-lane road on the outskirts. The road twisted and turned for a few miles before a clearing came into view. Straight ahead of them was a small lake. Off to the left, a small chalet-style restaurant.

  He pulled the car into the paved parking lot. She grabbed the door handle to climb out.

  He reached out and touched her arm. “Uh-uh! Let me be a gentlemen.”

  Gloria took her hand off the handle and waited while he came around to open her door. She put her hand in his and he helped h
er out. On impulse, he bent down and kissed her. “I’ve been waiting to do that for days now!”

  Instead of walking in the front door, he led her down a path that ran along the side of the building and to the back. A long, wooden walkway opened out onto a larger, more expansive deck that overlooked the lake.

  A tropical tiki bar filled up one side of the balcony area. Beside the bar area, a lone musician strummed his guitar.

  The patio wasn’t even half-full yet. They settled into a table for two near the railing, which had a spectacular view of the lake. The lake was like a sheet of glass.

  The waitress took their drink order and left them to stare out at the calm waters. It was nice to be together. It was nice to be alone. The irony that both of them were there not only to be together but to get a break from their houseguests didn’t escape either of them.

  Paul dragged his eyes from the serene view and gazed across the table at Gloria. “What’s your take on the investigation down at the post office?”

  Gloria had to wait to answer. The waitress had returned with their drinks and a bowl of chips and salsa.

  “Not only has Ruth been put on leave, Kenny, the route carrier, was put on leave, too.”

  Paul plucked a chip from the bowl and dipped it in the salsa. “Didn’t you say they thought it was an inside job?”

  Gloria nodded. “Yeah. The only one still working is the part-timer, Seth.”

  Paul raised his eyebrows. “Oh? What does he do?”

  Gloria explained how his job was to load the boxes on the trucks that were headed for the airport. “He’s in college and works three or four afternoons during the week,” she explained.

  She didn’t mention the fact that Ruth had installed surveillance equipment and how Gloria had seen Kenny on the monitor, signaling to Ruth just a few hours earlier. Gloria wanted time to mull that piece of information over first.

  Kenny – and Ruth – could get into a whole heap of trouble if they were caught inside the post office after being banned. And what was Kenny doing? Obviously, Ruth knew Kenny was in there. The fact that he stood right in front of the camera and signaled her was a dead giveaway. Should she confront Ruth? Or maybe Kenny?

  “Earth to Gloria…” Paul snapped his fingers in front of her face.

  She jerked her head and grimaced. “Not much of a date tonight, huh,” she said.

  Paul sighed heavily. “Me neither.” He shook his head. “What do you think I should do about the kids? Give them a deadline? Tell them they need to move out and risk alienating them?”

  Paul had a bigger dilemma than Gloria. After all, Ruth would move out. Eventually. Hopefully soon…

  Paul was in a tough spot. What would Gloria do if one of her kids moved in? It would depend on the circumstances. The plan. But it sounded like the only plan these two had was to stay right where they were…

  “Maybe sit down and explain to them that it’s not fair to Allie to let them stay forever. After all, someday half that house will be hers.” Gloria paused. “What does Allie think of all this?”

  The food arrived just then. They waited for the waitress to leave before Paul answered. “So far she’s okay with it. But Allie has a strong personality and she’ll only put up with it for so long.” He smiled. “If she thinks they’re taking advantage of me, she’ll get onto them.”

  Gloria stabbed a fork full of chicken and lettuce. “Maybe you should let it ride and let Allie handle it when the time comes.” She chewed thoughtfully for several seconds. “Or better yet, call a family meeting. You know, Allie, Jeff and Tina. Put it out there as a meeting to help figure out how they can get back on track and on their feet again.”

  She pointed the tines of her fork at Paul. “Yes, I think that would be the best idea. Head this off before it becomes a much bigger problem.”

  Paul nodded. “That’s what I love about you! You’re my little problem-solver!”

  He cut off a slice of pork chop and held it out to Gloria. “You have to try this. It is so good!”

  She opened her mouth and let him feed her from his fork. It was delicious. She made a mental note to experiment now that she knew how much he loved pork chops. “Delicious,” she mumbled.

  Paul lifted his water glass and took a sip before peering at her over the edge. “How about if you come for the family meeting, too? You know, a sort of referee!”

  Gloria was already shaking her head. She was anxious to meet Paul’s children but that wasn’t the way to do it. “Nice try, but I think I’ll wait until this blows over before I meet your kids.”

  The sun had dipped down over the lake. The yellow glow on the water was soft and soothing. Gloria glanced down at her plate. She was full and had only eaten about half the food. She loaded her leftovers in a to-go container and they wandered back out to the parking lot.

  The evening had flown by. She frowned when she realized she couldn’t even invite him in for coffee or dessert! Unless, of course, Ruth wasn’t back yet.

  But Ruth was back. The kitchen lights were on. The blinds were open and she could see Ruth sitting at the kitchen table staring at the computer screen!

  Paul’s face fell. “I guess you won’t be inviting me in for dessert,” he said.

  “Sure! C’mon in! It’ll just be the three of us!” She snapped her fingers. “Hey! I have an idea! Why don’t we move Ruth in with your kids and then we’ll have a place to ourselves.”

  Paul glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then leaned across the driver’s seat. “You mean shack up?”

  Gloria slapped his arm. “No!” Her face turned red. “You know that’s not what I meant,” she sputtered.

  She giggled as she envisioned telling her family and friends that she and Paul were moving in together. Not that they ever would unless they were married. Still, visualizing the expressions on their faces made her grin.

  “Aha! You are thinking about it,” he teased.

  Gloria narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her. “Paul Kennedy, you know that’s not true!”

  Paul unbuckled his seatbelt. He leaned over to the passenger side and slid his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “Yeah, but what if we eloped?”

  She giggled. Now that would make the tongues in Belhaven wag! She reached over and put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him close. “Convince me that we should,” she flirted.

  He tipped his head and touched his lips to hers. It was a sweet, warm kiss. It almost reminded her of when she would go on a date as a teenager and her parents were awake and waiting for her inside at the end of a date.

  Paul read her mind. “This date night and kissing in the car makes me feel like a teenager again,” he said.

  Gloria peeked around Paul’s head. She could see Ruth’s face turned toward the driveway. She let out a deep sigh. “I better go before she comes out here and starts tapping on the window, wondering if we’re okay.”

  Gloria grabbed the door handle and started to pull. “Let me know how the family meeting turns out,” she said.

  The light mood was over at the thought of confronting his grown children. It was something he wasn’t looking forward to, but knew it was something that had to be done. Before they got too comfy.

  He watched as Gloria made her way up the steps and opened the porch door. She turned around and blew him a kiss before disappearing inside the house.

  Chapter 5

  Gloria woke unusually early the next morning. She lay there in bed wondering what on earth had woken her. She glanced at the clock. It was 6:30 a.m. and still dark outside.

  A light tap tap interrupted her thoughts. The tapping noise was the rattling of pipes. Water pipes. Which mean only one thing. Ruth was already up.

  Gloria was up most mornings before Ruth, but not today. That meant only one thing. Gloria had a hunch Ruth was up to something. She flung her feet over the edge of the bed and slipped her feet into her slippers. She pulled her bathrobe on and wandered into th
e other room. A bright light shone under the bathroom door. She could hear water running in the bathroom sink.

  She shuffled past the door and into the kitchen, which was still dark. Gloria flipped on the light switch. Mally opened one eye and stared up at Gloria as if to say, what on earth are you doing? Even she knew it was too early. She closed her eyes and sighed before rolling over and burying her head between the wall and her doggie bed.

  Coffee. Gloria needed coffee. She started the pot and pulled out a kitchen chair. She could see the newspaper lying on the porch. She wandered out and grabbed the paper.

  When she stepped back in the kitchen, she ran right into Ruth, who was fully dressed. She looked as if she was leaving. Or, better yet, sneaking out.

  She stopped abruptly when she spied Gloria. “Oh! Uh. I was just going to leave you a note. I couldn’t sleep and for some reason was worried about the house. You know, like I needed to check on it,” she explained.

  Gloria didn’t buy it. Not for a minute. She wondered if this had something to do with Kenny sneaking into the post office the night before. Her eyes narrowed. Was she going to meet Kenny?

  She had a strong hunch that was exactly what she planned to do. “Oh. Okay.” Gloria poured a cup of coffee, then wandered over to the kitchen table to have a seat. Like she didn’t care at all that Ruth was leaving the house before daylight to check on a house she hadn’t been the least bit worried about. Until now.

  “How was the date with Steve?”

  Ruth stopped at the door. She glanced at the flowers centered on the table and turned a pale shade of pink. “It was very nice,” she said. “We might go out again.”

  Gloria nodded. “You want a cup of coffee before you go?” she asked.

  Ruth looked at the coffee pot and shook her head. “No. I think I’ll stop by Dot’s after I check on the place,” she said.

  Gloria nodded, then grabbed the paper and began to read the front page, all the while watching Ruth out of the corner of her eye.

  Ruth paused for a moment, as if she might change her mind. That didn’t last long. She grabbed the door handle and opened it. “I’ll see you later,” she said.