Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9)

by Muir, Diane Greenwood

  "What in the hell was that?" Polly asked, panting from both fear and exertion.

  "Ms. Oswald, are you okay?" Eliseo asked.

  The older woman rolled over, her face scraped and her hands raw and bloody. Blood was seeping through a rip in her jeans and one of her tennis shoes was three feet behind her.

  "Bless your heart, you're something else," she gasped. "No one's ever tossed me like that."

  Polly knelt down. "Can you stand?"

  Helen flexed both of her legs and then rolled her shoulder and her arms. "I seem to be in one piece, though I lost a dad-burned shoe."

  Eliseo stood up and groaned. "That's going to leave a mark," he said. He walked over to her tennis shoe, picked it up and handed it to her.

  "Your face is a mess," Polly said to him.

  "It was the gravel he spat up at me. Do you have any idea what that was about?"

  "We need to call the Sheriff."

  "Don't you dare," Helen demanded. "That will just get Aaron all worked up."

  "Then I'm calling Ken Wallers at the police station. Someone needs to know what just happened."

  "He'll tell Aaron," she muttered.

  Polly took her phone out. "I've found that it's easier for me when they know what's happening here. I run into enough trouble that I don't need them to think I'm hiding things."

  "Are you ready to try standing up?" Eliseo asked, putting both of his hands out.

  "I'd like to tell you that I can do this by myself," Helen said, "but I'd be lying to us both. My legs feel quite shaky."

  "It's shock. Let me help you."

  "I think I'll let you." She took his arm and started to lift herself from the ground, then released him and sat back down. "A few more minutes," she said. "There isn't enough strength in me right now to do much of anything except sit here."

  "The ground is cold. We should get you inside as soon as possible."

  "Just one more minute. I won't freeze to death in one minute."

  Eliseo took his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

  "You're a gentleman," she said, pulling it close. "That's helpful."

  Polly stood up as she reached the police office. "Bellingwood Police, how may I help you?"

  "Hi, this is Polly over at Sycamore House. Can someone come visit me?" She gave a slight chuckle.

  "I suppose so. What happened today?"

  "I hate to say that it was a murder attempt..."

  "Oh Polly."

  "I know, right? But someone in a red car just sped into my driveway and tried to run down Sheriff Merritt's sister and Eliseo."

  "The Sheriff's sister and you're calling us?"

  "She doesn't want him involved."

  "He's going to get involved sooner or later."

  "Oh Mindy, I know that, but could you send Ken or one of the guys over for now?"

  "Sure. I'll see who is in your neighborhood. Where will they find you?"

  "I'm not sure. Just ask at the front. Someone will know where we've landed."

  "Take care of yourself. I'd hate to lose our entertainment."

  "That's not funny."

  "Well. It really is." Mindy chuckled on the other end as she hung up the phone.

  "Someone will be here in a bit," Polly said. "Can we get you inside now?"

  She stood on one side of the woman as Eliseo stood on the other and they helped Helen get to her feet.

  "This is embarrassing," she said, wobbling between them.

  "I'm just glad you're okay," Polly said, holding her with one arm while trying to maneuver the dogs with the other.

  They got to the side door of Sycamore House and stopped while Eliseo opened the door. Polly reached down and unlatched the leashes, letting both dogs run inside. They knew where they were and there was no one around for them to bother.

  "Let me knock on Evelyn Morrow's door," Polly said. "She's a nurse and can check you out to make sure that everything is working properly."

  "Everything's working just fine," Helen said. "Now that I'm up and moving, I'm embarrassed. I should change my clothes."

  "Nope. Both of you are getting checked out by Evelyn. I insist." Polly put her hands on her hips and stared both Eliseo and Helen down.

  Interestingly enough, they followed her meekly to Evelyn's door. Polly knocked. "Evelyn, it's me, Polly. Are you available?"

  The door opened and Evelyn Morrow started to speak and then saw the two wounded people beside Polly.

  "Oh dear. What happened? Come in here right away and let's clean you up."

  Knowing Evelyn had things in hand, Polly realized that she needed to take care of a few things, including her dogs.

  "I'll be back in a few minutes," she said and trotted out of the addition into the main building. "Obiwan, Han, where did you end up?"

  "They're in here," Stephanie said, stepping into the foyer from the office. "Did they get lost?"

  Polly chuckled. "No, they knew just where to go. Jeff has treats for them in his desk."

  "Sorry, boys." Stephanie said. "I don't have anything for you."

  "I'll take them up to the apartment. Say, Ken Wallers is going to be here in just a few minutes. If I'm not back, would you tell him I will be?"

  "Is this about that car speeding through the driveway?"

  "Did you see that?"

  "I looked through your office window. That was crazy."

  "Yeah. He tried to run Eliseo and Helen Oswald down."

  "He what?"

  "They're back in Evelyn Morrow's room. She's dealing with their injuries."

  "Injuries? How bad?"

  "Just scrapes and cuts. Thank goodness. I'll be right back down."

  Polly slapped her thigh and said, "Come on boys, it's time to go home."

  "Is it always like this?" Stephanie asked quietly.

  "Oh honey, you'd be surprised. We can always hope that it will quiet down, but better to be prepared for anything, right?"

  "Uh huh." Stephanie didn't sound like she was ready to accept Polly's pragmatism.

  "Let's go. Obiwan. Han. Follow me." The dogs followed Polly up the steps to her apartment. She opened the door and they went inside, then turned around and wagged at her.

  "You are so spoiled. Yes, I have treats. Let's find them."

  At the word, they ran for the kitchen, stopping in front of the cupboard that held their food and treats. Polly walked in and realized that Lydia would be here any minute. She hadn't taken the chili out of the freezer, she hadn't found sandwiches. Nothing. This was turning into an interesting day.

  Polly handed each dog a treat and took her phone out again, dialing Lydia.

  "Hello dear. I'm just ready to pull out of the garage. Do you need me to pick something up?"

  "We have a problem."

  "What's that?"

  "Somebody just tried to run Helen down in my driveway."

  "What? Is she hurt?"

  "She's got some scrapes and cuts. Evelyn Morrow is looking at her right now."

  "Who was it?"

  "I have no idea. Eliseo was walking with her. Lydia, I've never seen anything like it. He saw the car coming and tossed her like she was light as a feather. Her injuries are more from him getting her out of the way than anything else. He got hit with the gravel the car spun up at him."

  "We have to talk to Aaron. Don't you think it's all connected?"

  "Of course I do, but no one will listen to me."

  "I will. And I think Aaron will now, too. We had a long talk last night. Well, I talked and he listened. But he came to bed with me for the first time in weeks."

  "Does he know Helen is in town? She wouldn't let me call him so I had to call Ken." Polly looked out the kitchen window and saw Ken's car pull in. "In fact, he's driving in right now. I should go downstairs."

  "I'll be right there. After we speak with Helen, we'll make the call to Aaron. Thank you for taking care of her."

  "I don't have anything made for lunch, I'm sorry."

  "That's the last thing we need
to worry about. We'll be fine. Go talk to Ken. I'll be there soon."

  Polly pushed her way past the dogs, who were wagging in front of her, hoping for another treat. "You know better," she said. "Stop begging." She bent down and scratched both of their heads, then planted a kiss on Obiwan's nose. "I need to go, but I love you."

  She ran back down the steps and saw Ken step into the office.

  "Ken," she called out. He stepped back out.

  "Hi Polly. I understand you've had some trouble here today. I'm not sure if you hate me or what."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Mindy said someone tried to run down Aaron Merritt's sister and you called my office?"

  "It was what she preferred."

  He shook his head. "It's never easy with you, is it? Tell me what happened."

  "We were outside. I was taking the dogs for a walk and she was returning from one. Eliseo had come out and the two of them were coming up the driveway to the house. I was going to walk around the barn on the sidewalk. All of a sudden, a red car came barreling into the driveway, aiming straight for them. Eliseo tossed her out of the way and avoided the car, then it went on through, turned south on the highway and sped off. It happened so fast."

  "What kind of car was it?"

  She gave him a sideways glance. "You're asking me?"

  "It was a shot in the dark. How many people were in the car?"

  "Just the driver. But I did see that it had Polk County plates."

  Ken took out a notebook and wrote that down. "Anything else?"

  "Nothing. Now it feels like I was watching a movie. I didn't move. I didn't do anything. But I don't think there was really time. It happened and then in a split second it was over."

  He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. That's about right. Where is Eliseo?"

  Polly gestured to the addition. "They're in Evelyn Morrow's room. She's doing first-aid. Eliseo got cut up by flying gravel and I think Helen landed pretty hard when he tossed her out of the way."

  "Tossed her?"

  "That's the only description I have. That man is strong."

  "Let's hear what they have to say." He waved her forward. "After you."

  Polly knocked on Evelyn's door again and Eliseo answered. "Hello Chief," he said.

  "Polly says you've had some excitement. Can you tell me about it?"

  "I don't know if I can tell you very much. I didn't see anything other than a car ripping down the driveway coming right at us."

  "You don't know what type of car it was either?"

  "Sure," Eliseo said. "It was a Toyota Avalon. Probably only a year old or so."

  "The first two letters of the license plate were X and K," Helen said. She stood up from the chair at Evelyn's desk and walked across the room. She was much more sure of herself. "Hello. You must be the local police. I'm Helen Oswald."

  Ken put his hand out to shake hers. "Ken Wallers. You're Aaron Merritt's sister?"

  "I am. We aren't involving him in this yet. Can you live with that?"

  "Not really. He and I have a strong relationship. I'm not comfortable with holding this back from him."

  "Just for today. That's all I ask."

  "Why?"

  "Because he and I need to spend time working through things before he has to worry about a hired gun."

  "Hired gun?" Ken looked at Polly and then Eliseo. "What do you mean hired gun?"

  "More than likely it is coming from the same person who hired the sniper to kill Aaron's friend. I thought maybe I'd gotten out of Atlanta without... well... let's just say that eyes and ears are everywhere."

  She sat back down at the desk and put her arm out. Evelyn had barely begun to clean the dirt and gravel out of the abrasion.

  "I'm at a loss," Ken said. "That's not my favorite place to be. Would you mind explaining yourself?"

  "I'm sorry, sir," Helen replied. "I can't speak to this until I talk to my brother. That's why I asked Polly not to involve anyone in law enforcement."

  "Helen?" Lydia's voice came from the doorway. "Helen, how badly are you hurt? Polly called. I was already on my way."

  "I'm bruised and battered, but I'll live. Eliseo is my new hero."

  Lydia turned to him. "You wonderful man. You're like an angel sent to Sycamore House, aren't you."

  He chuckled. "Something like that. Seeing as how there is a lot happening here that I don't need to know about, I'm going to go back to work." He put his hand out. "Ken, if you need anything more from me, you know where I'll be."

  Ken Wallers just nodded and continued to nod after Eliseo left the room. Finally he spoke. "Ladies, I need answers."

  Lydia took his arm. "They'll come. I promise. But Helen can't speak about any of this right now. Will you please trust me?"

  "Lydia." Ken scowled at her. "You know I can't..."

  "Yes you can. Pretend you didn't come over here today. Aaron will reach out to you in just a couple of days and tell you everything."

  "But..."

  "Please. I know it's a lot to ask. But you know that I wouldn't unless it were desperately important."

  He took a deep breath. "I don't like this."

  "Trust me," she said. "I don't either. It needs to be over, but not right now. Please?"

  "If I don't hear from Aaron by Friday, I'm calling him. One way or other this will all come out."

  "That's fair," Lydia said. "Will we see you at the dance Saturday night?"

  Ken looked at her and smiled. "You're not an easy woman to push around, are you?"

  "Why, Chief Wallers, I have no idea what you mean." Lydia batted her eyes and smiled back at him. "Will you be there?"

  "We will." He touched her arm and then brushed past Polly. "It's always going to be something over here, isn't it?"

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called."

  "You should always call. You did the right thing. Now we wait for the rest of it to come together."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  "Ain't nothing all that wrong," Helen Oswald protested when Lydia offered her arm as they were heading up to Polly's apartment. "I'm not broken, just battered."

  "I know dear, but you must understand what a shock it was to me."

  "Let this old woman keep her dignity." Helen looked terrible. She had bandages on her hands and forearms, her left cheek and another on her forehead. She limped slightly due to the battering her leg had taken when she landed on the gravel.

  Polly held the door open at the top of the steps. "Aaron is going to be horrified when he sees you."

  "We mustn't speak of such things. Lunch first."

  Polly had no idea what she was serving today.

  "I know that look," Lydia said. "You're worried about feeding us.

  "I'll figure it out. Both of you have a seat out here." Polly shut the front door. "I know you aren't an invalid, but you've had a wild day between riding that big horse and being attacked by a crazed driver."

  Helen dropped onto the sofa and moaned. "That's better. I must admit I'm fearful of tomorrow morning. If you don't hear from me, send gorgeous firefighters to help me out of bed, will you?"

  "That sounds good," Polly said. "You two stay here and I'll forage. Iced tea to drink?"

  "Sweet tea?" Helen asked.

  "Ummm, I have sugar."

  "You northerners don't know how to brew a good ole pot of sweet tea. How did Aaron ever survive up here?"

  "He drinks coffee now," Lydia replied. "I'll get your tea. Don't you dare move."

  Obiwan had planted himself in front of Helen, waiting for attention while Han followed Lydia to the kitchen. Leia rubbed her face against Helen's leg. Polly smiled. Her animals were friendly, no matter what.

  "What are you going to tell Aaron?" she asked Lydia when they got into the kitchen.

  Lydia shuddered. "I don't want to think about it. He'll be furious. He was already angry that I called her. We managed to get through that, but this is going to tip him over the edge. I didn't put it all together until last night, but he's carrying guilt about
her. I wish they would just tell me what happened all those years ago. It's kept them apart for too long."

  She poured out three glasses of tea and Polly handed her a tray. "You go on ahead. Give me a few minutes to make up sandwiches. I'll be right out."

  Lydia started for the door and then turned. "I've lost my mind. There is a basket of food in the back of my Jeep. I sliced beef from a roast and have salads and dessert."

  "Just hanging around your kitchen?"

  "Leftovers. I still can't manage to cook for only two people. I'll be right back."

  Polly heard the front door open and shut and stood in front of the refrigerator. She took out bread and cheese, mayonnaise and mustard and put them on the peninsula, then opened a cupboard and pulled out potato chips and crackers. That was about as far as she could go.

  Her front door opened again and she heard Obiwan let out a bark. Han ran out to see who had come in and then Polly heard a male voice.

  She got to the living room in time to see Aaron on one knee in front of his sister, pulling her into a hug. Lydia came over to stand beside Polly. "He heard it on the scanner and thought maybe he should check it out. Mindy from the police station gave us up. At least Ken's off the hook now."

  "I bet we're not," Polly whispered. "Let me take that." She put her hand out for the basket.

  Before she could get out of the room, Aaron stood back up and turned on them. "You weren't going to tell me about this?"

  "Now Bubby," Helen said, reaching out to touch his arm. "It's not their fault. I made everybody stay quiet. Polly wanted to call you and by the time Lydia arrived, I'd already made the decision."

  "Bubby?" Polly asked.

  "Don't change the subject." Aaron's tear-filled eyes flashed with anger. She'd never seen him like this.

  "Aaron Burr Merritt, you stop it right now." Helen rose up from the sofa and grabbed his arm, pulling him back to her. "You have no right stalking in here like a bear with a sore paw. Especially after everything is said and done. You certainly don't need to make it worse than it already is. Miss Giller has been gracious and helpful. Behave yourself."

  He wrenched his arm away from her and stepped forward.

  "I'm not going to tell you again," she said, in a tone of voice that Polly never wanted to have turned on her. Fire and fury filled the woman's words and Aaron relaxed his posture.