Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 07 - Missing Milt

by Hope Callaghan

  Ray rolled his eyes and wandered over to Max and Lucy’s table.

  Gloria watched as Ray shook Max’s hand while Ray pointed to the girls spying in the back. Gloria quickly ducked. “He just ratted us out.” She started to giggle.

  Gloria grabbed Dot’s hand and the two of them made their way over to the table.

  Max looked up. “Hi Gloria.”

  “Hi Max. How’re you today?”

  His eyes slid to the side as he gave Lucy a sly grin. “I’m having a wonderful day so far.”

  “Good.” She turned to Dot. “This is my friend, Dot Jenkins. She and her husband, Ray, own this restaurant.

  Max jumped to his feet. He shook Dot’s hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

  Dot placed two menus on the table and patted the top. “Here are a couple menus. I’ll be back to take your order.” She took a step back. “No hurry. Take your time.”

  Gloria followed Dot to the back. “He looks like a very nice man,” Dot decided.

  “I think so, too,” Gloria agreed.

  Dot returned to their table a few minutes later to take their order while Gloria hung out in the back. She was torn. On the one hand, she was dying to know how the date was going. On the other, she wanted to respect their privacy.

  An hour later, Dot wandered over to Gloria, still hanging out behind the lattice. “He’s gone,” she announced.

  “Where’s Lucy?” Gloria wondered.

  “Still sitting by the window, gazing out like a love struck teenybopper,” Dot answered.

  Gloria jumped out of the chair and made a beeline for the table. She pulled out a chair – Max’s chair – and plopped down. She leaned in. “Well? How did it go?”

  Lucy was still staring dreamily out the window.

  Gloria snapped her fingers in front of Lucy’s face. “Hellooo Lucy.”

  Lucy jerked her head back. “Huh?”

  “I asked how the date went.”

  Lucy turned a bright shade of red. Almost the same color as her hair. “It was nice,” she answered vaguely.

  Gloria crossed her arms. “It was more than nice. Your face is the shade of that bottle of Heinz catsup!”

  Lucy glanced at the bottle. She took a deep breath. “Okay. It was better than nice. He seems like a really great guy,” she admitted.

  “So?”

  “So what?” Lucy replied.

  “So are you going on another date?” Lucy was totally out of it. This Max guy had cast some sort of spell!

  “Yeah,” Lucy said. “I invited him to your fall party.” Her eyes clouded over. “I hope that’s okay.”

  Gloria nodded. “Of course it’s okay. It’ll give me – give us – a chance to get to know him better.” Run a background check, interrogate him…

  Dot swung by. She dropped a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast in front of Gloria and then slid into an empty seat. “So you like him?”

  Gloria picked up a slice of bacon and bit the end. “Like him? She’s over here in la-la land.”

  Gloria grabbed her fork. “She invited him to my fall party.”

  Dot nodded. She was happy for Lucy. He seemed like a nice enough fellow. Course, she didn’t want to see Lucy jumping into a new relationship too soon. “How long has it been since you and Bill broke up?”

  “Oh, a month. Maybe a little longer,” Lucy told her.

  Gloria didn’t see a problem with it. The girls weren’t getting any younger. Of course, she didn’t want Lucy in the same situation with Max as she had been with Bill.

  After Gloria finished her breakfast, the two of them climbed into Gloria’s car.

  Lucy buckled her seat belt and stared out the window.

  Gloria fastened her seatbelt and gazed over at her friend. It was going to be a quiet ride to Liz’s place.

  Chapter 13

  Liz was pacing the floor when Gloria and Lucy arrived. She swung the door open and motioned them inside. “I’ve been thinking about what you said and it kept me up all night,” Liz groaned. “What if my best friend is a killer?”

  Lucy was out of her dream state and turned to Liz. “What do you mean?”

  “She means that we think Frances is using the cover ‘Raven Fair’ on Worldbook to leave comments on Milt’s page. Weird comments. As in, she may be involved in his disappearance comments.”

  Liz lifted the lid on her laptop and pointed to the screen. “Here.”

  Lucy leaned forward. She narrowed her eyes and studied the screen. “Well, I’ll be darned.” She scrolled through a few of the posts. “Whoever this Raven Fair is, does seem to be leaving some odd messages.”

  She stood up. “What makes you think this is Frances?”

  Gloria held up a finger. “One, she doesn’t have a profile on Worldbook.” She held up a second finger. “Two, whoever Raven Fair is, seems obsessed with Milt, not unlike Frances.”

  She put her hand down. “Last but now least, Frances has a small tattoo of a raven on her lower back.”

  Lucy frowned. “That does seem like a lot of coincidences.” She shook her head. “But why would she offer a reward, chain herself to the restaurant and call reporters?”

  “Maybe we’ll come up with something when we scope out the ladies’ bridge club. Several of the women in the bridge club have also dated Milt in the past, including Trudy, Vivian and there’s one other.” Liz tapped the side of her computer thoughtfully. “I think her name is Carol something…”

  Liz blew air through her lips. “Whew! Carol and Frances really got into it not long ago. Almost a knockdown, drag out fight right there in the parking lot.”

  Liz closed the lid on her laptop. “From what Frances told me, Carol and Milt were getting into his car while Frances was just coming back from the grocery store. When she saw the two of them together, she freaked out.”

  “Do you think Frances is unstable?” Gloria had to ask. She didn’t want to believe Frances was capable of murder. Kidnapping, now that was another story…” She narrowed her eyes. Kidnapping. Any of these women could be off their rocker and capable of…

  “I hate to even think about it,” Liz grabbed her keys. “Ready to go?”

  Lucy headed to the door. “What excuse are we going to use for being in the clubhouse?”

  “Got it all figured out,” Liz said. “I tell them I’ll want to check dates to make reservations for a party.”

  “Which reminds me.” Gloria reached into her purse and pulled out Liz’s invitation. “I’m having a fall party the first Saturday in October,” she told her sister.

  Liz glanced at the invitation and set it on the counter. “Sounds like fun. Can I bring a – uh – date?”

  “Al again?” Gloria teased.

  Much to Gloria’s surprise, she shook her head. “Nah. He wants to get serious and I don’t. We kind of mutually agreed to take a break from going out.”

  Gloria lifted a brow. “Another beau?”

  “Just a friend,” Liz replied. She changed the subject. “Better get going.”

  The clubhouse was not far from Liz’s place, which was in the front of the Dreamwood complex. There were several cars parked out front.

  Gloria could see a group of women off in one corner as she grabbed the door handle and held it for the girls.

  “That’s them,” Liz whispered in a low voice.

  Gloria counted four women. She recognized a few of the faces from the Worldbook profiles. The women didn’t pay the girls any mind as they talked amongst themselves.

  The three of them headed to a small office in the rear. The gold sign on the door read: manager.

  Liz twisted the knob and opened the door. It was a small space - only large enough to hold a desk and two cheap plastic chairs. The man behind the counter looked up as the girls stepped inside the cramped quarters.

  “Hello Liz,” the man said. “How can I help you?” He didn’t give her a chance to reply. He tapped his pen on top of the notepad, lying open on the desk. “Let me guess, the lawn guys adjusted the spri
nklers again and they’re hitting your bedroom window.”

  Liz opened her mouth to speak.

  “Or did someone dare to park in your favorite spot in the parking lot again? Wait!”

  Liz cut him off. “You make me sound like a big pain the rear, Ron!”

  “Now why would I do that?” He raised a brow and clasped his hands together. “If you’re not here to voice a grievance, why are you here?”

  She cleared her throat. “I wanted to check availability for the clubhouse the last week in October.”

  Ron reached behind him and grabbed a large, black book. He set it on the desk in front of him and opened the cover. He slipped his glasses on and flipped a few pages. “Hmm. Sunday afternoon is free. Sunday, October 30th.”

  “Pencil me in for that date,” she told him.

  The girls wandered back out into the main area. Liz closed the door behind them.

  Gloria glanced back at the closed door. “You gonna have a party?” This was the first she’d heard of it…imagine having two parties in one month!

  Liz jerked her head at the door. “Yeah. I’m gonna bring a bunch of my friends over here and trash the place. Serves the putz right.”

  The sound of laughter tinkled in the air.

  Liz switched focus. “C’mon.” She marched over to the women seated at the table in the corner. Lucy and Gloria trailed behind.

  Liz went in for the kill. Her target? Trudy Gromalski.

  She didn’t bother with pleasantries, although she did pause long enough to nod at a couple of the other ladies.

  Liz stuck a hand on her hip. “Trudy Gromalski. We have been trying to track you down for days now.”

  Gloria finally got a good look at her. Trudy sported a head of short, blonde hair. The frosted tips swirled up and shot out. Gloria liked the look. She patted her own unruly locks self-consciously.

  The woman’s gray eyes narrowed. She shifted the cards in her hand, pulling them close to her chest. “Why, whatever for?”

  Liz didn’t beat around the bush. “Milton Tilton is missing, has been for several days now.”

  Trudy nodded. “Yes, such a terrible situation.”

  Liz placed her hand on the back of Trudy’s chair. “Clyde Ward said he saw you talking to Milt the night he disappeared.”

  Trudy’s mouth drooped. She set her cards face down on the table and crossed her arms. “Are you accusing me of having something to do with Milt’s disappearance?” Her voice rose shrilly. “Because if you are, I’m going to-to sue you for slander,” she huffed.

  Gloria studied the other women’s faces as Liz and Trudy began to argue, which was even more interesting than the catfight that was ensuing.

  Vivian Coulter smirked.

  Carol Towers lifted her hand to her mouth to hide her laugh.

  A woman that Gloria did not recognize looked as if she wished the ground would swallow her up.

  Thank goodness the clubhouse was empty except for the bridge ladies and the three of them.

  Gloria was so caught up in her observations that she had missed part of what the two women were saying to each other.

  Suddenly, Trudy jumped out of her chair so fast, it fell backwards and hit the floor with a loud clatter. She shoved the sleeves of her blouse to her elbow and bowed up.

  Gloria stepped between the two of them in the nick of time. Liz was making a grab for the front of Trudy’s blouse.

  She held her hands out to keep the women separated. “Now ladies.” She stressed the word “ladies.”

  Gloria turned to Trudy first. “Liz was not accusing you of anything. We just wondered if perhaps you might be able to tell us if Milt had mentioned leaving town or given you some indication something was amiss,” Gloria soothed.

  Trudy softened her stance. “He did mention something about having to come up with some quick cash,” she sniffed.

  Lucy stepped forward. “Do you know what he needed the cash for?”

  Trudy lowered her voice. “Some kind of gambling debt, I think. Course Milt was always vague,” she confessed. “The last couple of weeks he kind of kept to himself.” She shrugged. “I figured he found himself a new girl.”

  Tears filled the back of Trudy’s eyes. She blinked them away. Even Liz felt bad. She held out a hand. “I’m sorry, Trudy. I had no idea.”

  Trudy lifted the back of her hand and wiped at the corner of her eye. “It’s okay. I’ve been sick with worry.” She turned to Gloria. “Rumor round here is that you’re trying to help find him.”

  Gloria nodded. “Yes, I promised Liz – and Frances – that I’d look into it.”

  “That Frances is a lunatic,” Vivian piped up. “Why, I caught her peeking in the windows at Milt’s place. We were sitting on the couch, watching TV and I could feel someone stare at me.” Vivian shivered. “You know, where your skin starts to crawl.”

  Vivian went on. “When I got up to look out the window, I could’ve sworn I saw Frances hightailing it across the lawn towards her apartment.”

  “So why are you convinced it was Frances peeking in?” Gloria wondered.

  “Because the next morning, she cornered me on the sidewalk and told me to stay away from Milt or else,” she answered.

  “Or else what?” Liz prompted.

  Vivian shrugged. “That’s what I asked but she never answered. She just stomped off.”

  Gloria looked around the table. “Do any of the rest of you have something to add? Odd conversations, some sort of clue?”

  Carol Towers had been silent the entire time. Up until that very moment. “Well, I saw a light on at his place night before last.”

  Chapter 14

  Gloria leaned forward. “Did you tell anyone?”

  Carol shook her head. “I guess I should have. I live in the unit next to his and I was coming home from a movie. It was dark out.”

  “What kind of light?” Lucy asked.

  Carol shrugged. “It wasn’t really like, you know, a lamp or anything.” She tapped her finger on the table. “Now that I think about it, it was more like a bouncy light. Probably a flashlight if I had to guess.”

  No one seemed to be able to add any additional information. Gloria – and Liz – thanked them for their time and headed out the door and onto the sidewalk.

  Lucy looked back. “What do you think?”

  Gloria didn’t know. It seemed as if one of the ladies knew more than they were letting on. She didn’t have anything solid. It was just a hunch – a gut feeling.

  “I think Frances needs counseling,” Liz said.

  Gloria nodded. That was true. The woman had an over-the-top obsession with Milt. It was a cause for concern that she was a peeping Tom, or in this case, a peeping Frances.

  But just because she was peeking in his windows, making up a fake name on Worldbook to spy on him, chaining herself to the restaurant, didn’t mean she was involved in his disappearance. Of course, it didn’t mean that she wasn’t either…

  Gloria wasn’t convinced that this mysterious debt was the reason he disappeared. Although, he could be hiding out, sneaking back into his apartment in the dead of the night to pick some stuff up.

  Back inside Liz’s apartment, Gloria paced the floor. She still believed the key to Milt’s disappearance was in Dreamwood. “We need to organize a fact-finding mission.” She stopped. “Liz, I need the addresses of Vivian and Carol. We already have Trudy.”

  She started to pace again. The last woman at the table had remained strangely silent the entire time. “Who was the other woman at the table, the one who didn’t talk?”

  Liz furrowed her brow. She shook her head. “I don’t know but I’ll find out,” she promised.

  Gloria and Lucy headed back to the car after Liz promised to find out the name of the mystery woman and her address. The girls decided to meet Sunday evening at dusk and do a little behind-the-scenes investigation of each of the women’s homes.

  Although Gloria was initially against it, they agreed a divide and conquer plan would wo
rk best. Each of them scoping out a different home, which meant that Frances would have to participate. They needed four people.

  Gloria passed through downtown Belhaven. Main Street was like a ghost town.

  “Do you think Frances will go over the edge if we include her in our spy mission?” Lucy asked the question that Gloria had already asked herself.

  “Well, we don’t really have a choice. Unless, of course, we ask one of the girls to help out.” Gloria raised a brow. They could do that. Maybe Margaret, Dot or Ruth would be willing to help.

  Gloria fumbled inside her purse and handed her phone to Lucy. “Give Liz a call and tell her to hold off asking Frances to be part of the investigation.”

  Liz’s line rang and rang. Lucy was about to hang up when a breathless Liz answered.

  “Oh, good. I’m glad I caught you,” Lucy told her.

  “Yeah, I was just sitting here talking to Frances. She’s more than willing to help out with the fact finding operation.”

  Lucy frowned and glanced over at Gloria. “So Frances is with you and she’s agreed to help out with the Sunday evening plan.”

  Gloria let out a low groan. They were stuck now. There was no way they could talk Frances out of this.

  “Okay, well. We’ll give you a call later.” Lucy disconnected the line and dropped the phone into Gloria’s open purse. “Too late. I could hear Frances in the background talking a mile a minute.”

  Gloria pulled in next to Lucy’s jeep, still parked out in front of the restaurant. “What’re you doing this weekend?”

  Lucy grabbed the car door handle. “Well, I have a little canning to do. The apples are falling all over out in the backyard and I figured I could can them this year.” She opened the door. “You need any?”

  Gloria nodded. “Can you set some aside for the party?”

  Lucy nodded. “Sure. I’ll bring a bunch by Sunday before we head out. They’ll stay fresh if you store them down in your root cellar.”

  “Ryan and Tyler are spending the night and we’re gonna work on the tree fort Saturday. You’re welcome to come by,” Gloria offered.

  She didn’t want to think that poor Lucy was sitting home with nothing to do.