Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy

by Hope Callaghan

  The excuse did sound a little lame but she had another reason to visit Judith. To see if she’d stumbled upon anything else by chance. They had Tammy, for sure. But what about the fact that everyone seemed to think someone on the inside was involved…

  Back at the farm, Ruth packed up and headed out. She didn’t even hang around to have lunch with Gloria before she left. Gloria rattled around the empty house for a few minutes before she noticed the light on her answering machine was blinking. She pressed the button.

  “Hi Grams.” She recognized Tyler’s voice. “Ryan and I were wondering if we could come and spend the night at your house tonight.” He lowered his voice. “We didn’t ask Mom yet ‘cuz we know she’d tell us no.” He sounded so grown up. “Call me back.” The call ended abruptly.

  Gloria erased the message. The house was lonely. The boys would liven it up, for sure. Plus, they would be here the next morning for the final day of the yard sale, anyways. She picked up the phone and dialed her daughter’s number. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Jill. It’s Mom. Ruth went home and the house seems a bit empty today. Do you mind if the boys come spend the night with me?”

  Jill paused. “Are you sure you’re up for that? I mean, the boys would be thrilled.”

  The more Gloria thought about it, the more she liked the idea. “I could put them to work organizing the rest of the yard sale stuff for me,” she said.

  “Okay. If you’re sure….”

  Gloria could hear whoops of joy in the background as the boys overheard the conversation. They were going to Gram’s farm!

  She remembered her promise to visit Judith. “I have a couple errands to run but the boys can go with me.”

  “If you’re positive they won’t be too much trouble…” Jill’s voice trailed off.

  “Yes, I’m sure. You can bring them by any time,” she said.

  Ryan must’ve taken the phone from his mother. “We’re on our way, Grams!” The line disconnected. Gloria grinned. She looked down at Mally. “The boys are coming for a visit!”

  Gloria pulled a package of hot dogs from the freezer to unthaw for dinner. They could work on the barn, then grill the hotdogs and some corn on the cob for dinner. But first, they needed to get over to Judith’s place.

  Jill’s car made the trip in record time. Gloria was certain the boys had driven her nuts until she relented and headed over. The car wasn’t even shut off before the boys darted out the doors and raced to the porch. Tyler reached her first. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her as if he hadn’t seen her for days. Although both had been there the day before for the sale. She hugged them both, then looked at her daughter. Jill’s face was filled with concern. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

  “Absolutely.” She released her grip on the boys as Jill handed them their backpacks and they headed inside. “Don’t worry, they’ll be helping me, too.”

  Gloria hugged her daughter. “Go. Have a nice dinner with Greg. Enjoy the evening off.”

  Jill smiled. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

  For some reason, the words choked Gloria up and tears filled her eyes. Gloria’s family was precious to her. She never wanted to take them for granted or have them feel they weren’t important to her.

  She watched as Jill backed out of the drive, then she headed inside. The boys had raided the cookie jar and helped themselves to some chocolate chip cookies Gloria had made the other day. Before all heck broke loose with Ruth. She poured each a glass of milk and joined them at the table.

  “We have to stop by my friend Judith’s place for a few minutes before we come back and clean up the barn,” she explained.

  A thought popped into her head. “You two are my big helpers today and I’m going to pay each of you ten dollars after we’re done working.” Gloria wasn’t sure if the boys earned an allowance. If not, it was time for them to learn the value of earning a dollar. She wasn’t even sure if ten dollars was the going rate, but judging by the expression on their face, it was good pay.

  The boys turned to each other. “Ten dollars?” They quickly finished their snack and headed to the car.

  Judith’s small ranch home was on the other side of town. She’d remembered to call ahead and make sure Judith would be home. She had also warned her the boys would be tagging along. Judith’s voice sounded a little strained, as if she was in pain, but she seemed glad for the company. “Just let yourselves in when you get here,” she said. “I’m having a hard time getting off the couch.”

  When Gloria heard that, she decided to throw the extra batch of spaghetti pie she’d made the other night in the bag, along with the vegetables.

  They pulled into Judith’s drive, right behind her car. They let themselves in the side door and into the kitchen. Gloria set the food on the counter.

  “In here,” a weak voice called from the other room. Gloria had never been inside Judith’s house before. It was neat and tidy and smelled like Pine Sol. Judith was sprawled out on the couch, flat on her back. Her face was pale.

  Gloria walked over to the sofa and looked down. “Oh, Judith. You look like you’re in a lot of pain,” she said.

  Ryan tugged on Gloria’s hand. “Can we go outside Grams?”

  Gloria nodded. “Stay in the yard. And stay away from the rose bushes,” she added.

  They darted out the door. Gloria could hear them clamber down the steps. She made her way over to the recliner and eased onto the edge. “I brought a spaghetti pie for dinner and some vegetables from the garden,” Gloria said. “Is there anything else I can do?”

  Judith shook her head. “No. I took a pain pill but that only took the edge off.” She let out a big sigh. “Thanks for the food. Carl will be happy.” Carl was Judith’s husband.

  A movement past the front picture window caught her eye. She caught a glimpse of the boys’ heads as they ran past the window.

  “Did you hear Ruth is going back to work in the morning?”

  Judith’s eyes flew open. She turned her head towards Gloria. “Really? Thank the Lord. The woman that was running the place was incompetent!”

  “You didn’t happen to get a chance to – you know – keep an eye on the post office again…”

  Judith dropped a dramatic hand to her side. “Funny you should mention that. As a matter of fact, I did. Right before I hurt my back. I saw a woman and someone that looked like Kenny out behind the post office the other night.”

  Ruth went on. “Of course, it was dark so I wasn’t 100% certain.” She waved her hand to the coffee table. “I got a picture but it’s dark and grainy. Maybe you can make more out of it than I could.”

  Gloria picked up the phone on the table and switched it to on. She could make out Tammy as the petite figure. The other figure was shorter. Gloria tapped the screen and zoomed in. It looked familiar but Gloria wasn’t 100% convinced it was Kenny. She looked up at Judith. “Can I send this picture to my phone?”

  Judith nodded. “Sure.”

  Gloria forwarded the picture and set the phone back on the coffee table.

  “Grams! Come quick!” It was Ryan. Gloria jumped to her feet and ran to the door. He waved her to the side, then disappeared from sight. She took the steps two at a time in hot pursuit. She rounded the corner of the house and spotted the boys. They were bent over what looked to be some sort of cage. Ryan pointed inside. “Look what we caught!”

  Gloria peeked around the side of him and into the cage that Tyler was standing next to. Inside the cage was a large, red squirrel. He hovered in the corner, his beady eyes stared up at them. “How did you catch him?” Without getting bit – or scratched – she said to herself.

  Tyler shrugged. “It was easy. Ryan ran after him while I held the cage. He ran inside and I shut the door.”

  Gloria raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Really? He just ran into the cage.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that!”

  She didn’t press the boys. The fact that they weren’t harmed was reason enough to be tha
nkful. “C’mon. Let’s go tell Judith you got her pesky squirrel.”

  The boys raced her inside. By the time she got there, the boys had told her the story. She looked up at Gloria. “They really did get the squirrel?”

  Gloria nodded. “Yep. It’s in the cage out back.”

  “Can you grab my purse? It’s over there on the bookcase,” Judith said.

  Gloria picked up her purse and brought it over to the couch. It took her a few minutes of fumbling around, but Judith finally managed to open her wallet and pull out two $5 bills. She handed one to each of the boys. “This is for you. Thank you for catching the squirrel for me.”

  The boys stared at the money in their outstretched hands. “Wow!” They looked at each. “Thank you.” Tyler spoke first. “Yeah, thanks Mrs…..” He looked at Gloria. “Mrs. Arnett,” she told them.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Arnett,” they said in unison.

  The trio made their way back outside and down the steps. The boys crawled into the back seat while Gloria climbed behind the wheel.

  She smiled as she listened to the conversation in the back seat. “What are you going to do with your money?” Tyler asked his younger brother.

  “I’m going to buy me that new race car game for Xbox,” Ryan told him.

  “You need a steering wheel to play it,” Tyler pointed out.

  “When Grams pays us for cleaning the barn, I’ll have money for the steering wheel AND the game,” Ryan answered.

  Tyler shook his head. “Uh-uh. I think you need like $25 dollars for that.”

  Gloria glanced in the mirror. Ryan’s mouth drooped and he dropped his chin. He stared down at the $5 bill clenched in his fist.

  “If you do an extra good job, I’ll give you each $20 instead of $10,” she promised.

  That perked Ryan right up. He was so excited, he started to kick the back of the driver’s seat. “Really Grams? I’ll do the best job ever,” he promised.

  Gloria’s heart smiled. She made a vow to spend more time with the boys. They were growing up way too fast. It wouldn’t be long and they would be too grown-up to want to spend time with her on the farm. She hoped that wouldn’t happen, but kids these days got involved in all kinds of school activities and family tended to get pushed to the side.

  The three of them changed into work clothes and then the trio and Mally headed to the barn. Gloria opened the lock and reached over to push the door open. Tyler stuck out his arm and stopped her. “No Grams. Let me do it this time.”

  Gloria stepped aside and watched with pride as her oldest grandson pushed both doors open. She blinked back tears once again. It reminded her of her husband, James, and how he loved the old barn. Tyler looked a lot like his grandfather and it melted her heart.

  Gloria glanced around the barn in dismay. There was still quite a bit of stuff. The place was in shambles. The boys would be earning their $20!

  She put Tyler in charge of hanging the tall heap of clothes that the customers had removed from the hangars and dropped in a pile on a table nearby.

  She gave Ryan the task of picking up the toys. He darted back and forth across the barn floor as he picked up dolls, toy trains and a variety of other items that littered every corner of the barn. Gloria worked on consolidating some of the household stuff. She folded some of the tables and set them off to the side.

  Mally was so excited to see the boys, she kept knocking knick knacks off the table and onto the floor with her happy tail. With the patience of a saint, Ryan would trudge over, pick the item up and set it back on the table.

  When they were done, Gloria let Tyler shut the barn door. Ryan put the padlock on and snapped it shut.

  Tyler looked at the Massey Ferguson tractor Gloria had pulled out of the barn. She had parked it off to the side so she could fit the yard sale stuff indoors. “Hey Grams, can you teach me how to drive that?” He pointed at the tractor.

  Ryan hopped up and down on one foot. “Yeah! Me too, Grams. Can you teach me how to drive it, too?”

  Gloria grinned. “Do you remember when Grandpa Rutherford used to take you boys around the fields in the tractor?”

  “Uh-uh.” They shook their heads in unison.

  James loved to take the boys for rides. He’d tell Gloria that someday all of this would belong to them. She knew he always hoped the boys would love the farm as much as he had. She was sure James’s face was beaming bright from heaven when he heard his grandsons beg to drive the tractor.

  She put an arm around each of their shoulders as they walked back to the house. “Tell you what – as soon as the crops are out this fall, I’ll teach both of you how to drive the tractor,” she promised.

  She went on. “Now, how about some hotdogs for dinner?”

  Ryan jumped up and down and spun around. “Yum-yum!” He rubbed his tummy. “I’m starving!”

  She nodded to the garden. “Could you please go grab a few ears of corn?”

  The boys left her in the dust as they raced each other to the rows of corn. She had a great thought as she watched them pluck corn from the stalks. She tiptoed across the plants. The boys each had an armful. Too many for dinner. She had showed them last year how to pull the husks back and check to see if they were ready to eat.

  “You both earned your $20 in the barn,” she said. “Would you like to earn a little more tomorrow?”

  They both nodded eagerly.

  “I need help in the garden. Someone to pick the ripe fruits and vegetables before they go bad.” She went on. “Would you like to help me in the garden for another $10 each?

  That was a bargain for Gloria! “We can start now,” Ryan announced.

  But Gloria shook her head. “No, it’s time for dinner. You’ll have plenty of time tomorrow,” she assured them.

  She shook her head as they headed indoors with Mally and the corn. She wished she had a third of the energy of just one of her grandsons. The work she could get done!

  Dinner was a quick event and the boys were content to watch TV while Gloria checked her email and the weather forecast for the final day of the sale.

  The boys didn’t argue when it was time for bed. Mally settled in on the rug in front of them and listened as they said their bedtime prayers. Gloria kissed them both. She thanked the Lord for her precious grandsons as she turned off the light and pulled the door shut.

  Chapter 9

  Ruth was up early the next morning. Early, as in before dawn. She had hardly slept a wink the night before. She was so excited about going back to work! To the place she loved! She vowed to never, ever grumble or complain about her job again!

  Sharon had stopped by the night before. The two of them discussed a plan to catch Tammy Dillon red-handed, trying to frame Ruth. Ruth couldn’t believe the woman – someone she considered a friend – to do something like that to her!

  Ruth steeled herself to the task before her. After today, Ruth could put this whole thing behind her. Her name would be cleared and justice would be served. Thanks to Gloria! She owed her dear friend a great deal.

  Ruth stuck her key in lock on the back door of the post office and swung it open. She flipped on the light and stepped inside. It was like coming home.

  She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of cardboard boxes and postage ink. She hung her purse on “her” hook before she slipped out of her sweater and dropped it on top. She had intentionally brought her fluffiest sweater. The one with huge pockets. Pockets that were big enough to slide a bag of drugs into and go unnoticed. She looked behind her. Except for the camera that was going to videotape everything.

  She glanced up in time to see Detective McIntyre’s car drive by. The plan was for her to park down at the end of main street in front of the hardware store. That way she could keep an eye on the computer monitor and get over there as soon as Tammy did her dirty deed!

  Her eyes narrowed at the thought. She shook her head, determined to focus on something else.

  The place was a bit of a mess. Things had been moved around. Ruth had
everything meticulously organized at the post office and now nothing was in its place.

  She opened the top drawer behind the customer counter. The one she used the most. Headlights flashed into the window as someone pulled down the alley. That must be Tammy, she thought.

  She felt her cheeks warm and her blood begin to boil. Get a grip, Ruth. Be cool, she told herself. She took a deep breath and willed herself to remain calm when what she really wanted to do was attack Tammy and scratch her eyes out with her fingernails. The mental image made Ruth smile, just a tad.

  Soon this will all be over and she will be the one in prison, Ruth reassured herself. She forced a smile to her face and spun around in time to see Tammy step through the rear door.

  Ruth was convinced Tammy’s smile was as fake as Ruth’s own. “It’s so good to see you, Ruth,” she smiled brilliantly.

  Ruth bared her teeth and smiled in return. “I’m glad to be back at work.” That wasn’t a lie. Ruth was thrilled to be back at the post office.

  Tammy hung her sweater on the hook next to Ruth’s. “I guess Kenny will be back in a few days.” Ruth nodded, then turned back to the task at hand.

  She prayed she would have the strength to keep her mouth shut. Ruth was grateful the post office opened right after Tammy showed up. The lobby filled up fast. The entire town of Belhaven had heard that Ruth was back and they stopped by to show their support.

  Ruth teared up every time one of them told her how much they missed her. Even Gloria stopped by to check on Ruth. She leaned over the counter and gave Ruth a quick look. “How’s it going?”

  Ruth straightened her lips. “Okay. I’ll be glad when this is over,” she spat out through clenched teeth.

  Gloria had an idea. How they could speed things up. Maybe give Tammy the perfect opportunity to plant the drugs. “How ‘bout we run across the street to Dot’s and grab a quick lunch.”