“I’ve watched too many late-night mysteries,” Sunni acknowledged as she pulled into Aunt Marie’s driveway. “Still want me to pick you up next week?”
“Absolutely. Just because everything seems plausible, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a mystery. We’ll just keep our eyes on those two hoodlums.” Aunt Marie closed the door with a bang before walking up the path to her house.
Flynn jerked as the door shut, but resumed sleeping while Lily didn’t make a move until Sunni arrived at home.
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The next day at Sunni’s MOM meeting, the topic was on how to deal with difficult family members during the holidays.
While some families argued throughout their entire holiday, Sunni’s small family gathering never had any problems of this nature.
Aunt Marie was the only relative who lived nearby from Sunni’s family and her in-laws, Sam and Helen, would be joining them as they did for most holidays.
Kristi and her two daughters had joined them for Thanksgiving last year. This year her neighbor, Carolina Leigh, would also be joining them since her family wouldn’t be visiting until Christmas.
“Who knows what could happen this year with a full house?” Sunni mused, trying to pay closer attention to the speaker.
Her tips for relieving stress were simple: keep people moving from room to room so no one person was cornered into a conversation with an “annoying” relative. Breaks of at least five minutes alone would help when tempers began to rise. Steering all conversations on politics and religion to other topics that are less controversial was always a good idea.
Sunni tried to imagine how Carolina would do in a group of people unknown to her. Somehow, she didn’t think Carolina had a shy bone in her body.
Following the others over to the craft tables, Sunni eyed the pinecones warily.
The pinecone project had two different approaches: the glitter dipped turkey, or the turkey made with feathers from your child’s handprints.
Sunni thought Olive seemed to be in more of hurry to finish craft time than usual, and smiled when Olive was the first to ask a question during group time.
“So, Sunni, do you have anything exciting to report from your undercover activities?”
Everyone crowded closer, eagerly awaiting her answer.
“Aunt Marie found out the suspect’s name is Alexander Fine.”
Perry interrupted Sunni. “Oh, he works at our school library. He seems a little sophisticated for the bingo hall.”
“Evidently, the bags I saw him handing to the elderly were filled with books. The envelopes are supposed to be their lists of books for the next month.” Sunni paused with a frown.
“I don’t know. He just seems suspicious to me. I did see another guy hanging around the hall in the alley. He was wearing baggy pants, and had long hair pulled into a ponytail. He was in his mid to late 20’s, but if he hadn’t been so ratty looking, he might have been cute.”
“Cute or hot?” Kristi questioned with a snicker. “I mean, there is a difference, girl, and we need all those details to know if we should put him on the suspect list.” Kristi smiled as Sunni blushed.
“I’m a married woman,” Sunni protested. “Besides, I didn’t pay that close attention.”
“Honey, just because you’re married doesn’t mean you’re blind,” Cheri sagely chimed in. “We have to appreciate what God gave them.”
“Yeah, it’s Thanksgiving, so be thankful for such a great view,” Kristi added, grinning.
“If he cleaned up, he might be handsome, but he had a tattoo on his arm and thingies in his ears?” Sunni cringed at the thought of why someone would have those if they weren’t doing something wrong.
“What’s wrong with tattoos?” Miles questioned, confused.
“Nothing, I guess. He just wasn’t your typical hard working guy. I mean, who has time to lurk around a senior center, just leaning against a building like those guys in that movie with the convenience store? He also winked at me, which is just not acceptable for a mother in a minivan.”
Miles and Kristi burst into laughter, while Cheri tried to keep a straight face.
“Ah, there’s the reason he’s on your suspect list. He flirted with you and that made you uncomfortable,” Cheri explained patiently.
Squirming in her seat, Sunni grudgingly nodded her head in agreement.
While Sunni’s distress grew, she was relieved when Perry stepped in to direct everyone’s attention elsewhere.
“As far as Mr. Fine is concerned, he’s a well-respected, although a bit odd, man at the school. He’s the assistant school librarian and with his work at the main library as well, I would think it’s safe to say he’s on the up and up.”
“I think you were caught off guard by our overly curious hangout hoodlum, if that’s even the correct term for the young man. He can probably be marked off your list as well. What do you think?”
“Well, that puts me back at square one, with nothing but an uncomfortable feeling,” Sunni complained. “I’m going to concentrate on Thanksgiving and see what turns up after we get back to normal after the holidays.”
“Splendid idea,” Olive agreed.
Chapter 3
The week of Thanksgiving arrived, and with it the end of school for Sunni’s sixteen-year-old son, Dusty.
While Dusty was old enough to babysit his younger siblings, Sunni didn’t feel comfortable with leaving both twins with him since they could sometimes be overwhelming, even for adults.
Since Flynn adored him, he tended to be easier for Dusty to handle, which was why Lily got to have a little alone time with a mommy shopping trip for the big Thanksgiving dinner.
Having cooked the meal for many years since marrying Daniel, Sunni had no problems preparing for a large crowd. When the twins were born, Helen, her mother-in-law, had volunteered to cook the turkey while she did the side dishes and dessert.
The tofurkey didn’t require as much work as a regular turkey, but Sunni considered it an important part of her Thanksgiving, so she didn’t mind cooking an extra dish.
Lily was excited to be her helper, and insisted on carrying the list while trying to read what they needed by spelling each letter out loud to her mother.
Distracted by the spelling list as she tried to shop for the ingredients for yams, she ran straight into a solid chest covered by a T-shirt with Pacman on it.
Looking up, she encountered the face of the man who had been leaning on the bingo hall wall.
Sunni backed into her basket as she fumbled to apologize. “Um, I’m so sorry…” She trailed off as she caught the fresh smell of apples coming from the gorgeous man. “I wasn’t watching where I was going,” she mumbled, trying not to look him directly in the face. Instead, she focused on the shelf next to her.
“No problem.” His deep voice was filled with mirth. “Spelling lessons while shopping can tax the brain.” He held up his hand for a high five as he smiled at Lily. “Great job on your shopping list.”
Lily slapped his hand in excitement, just as Sunni recovered her manners. “You have a great Thanksgiving.” She hastily tossed the sugar loaded marshmallows into the basket in her hurry to escape the unsettling encounter.
Her curiosity kicked in as she glanced into his basket as she passed by before she raced to the next aisle.
His cart was filled with pre-made pie crusts, filling, a turkey, and a ham, with a few extras not as quickly identifiable.
She paused to take a deep breath. “What’s next on the list, Lily?”
“S, w, e, e, t…” Lily spelled out.
“Sweet potatoes. They’ll be over in the produce section.” As she redirected them to the other side of the store, Sunni couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of guy made pies and cooked Thanksgiving dinner, but was a possible criminal?” Shrugging it off, she hurried to finish the list so she could take Aunt Marie to her bingo game and get the groceries home.
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Excluding the embar
rassing parts of bumping into Pacman dude, Sunni told Aunt Marie about his shopping cart.
“Why would someone like him be shopping for Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Honey, I’m afraid all sorts of people know how to cook, and even make Thanksgiving dinner.” Aunt Marie enjoyed poking fun at her niece’s naivety.
“Whatever.” She shook her head in frustration. “Just go play Bingo and forget I even mentioned it.”
Aunt Marie closed her mouth, but didn’t plan to forget or stop trying to find out what her niece was hiding from. She went into the bingo hall and chose a spot near the ladies who were known for the best gossip.
“I could sure stand to win the cash prize this week. When someone else yelled, “Bingo!” Aunt Marie muttered, “Christmas is going to be such a disappointment to the twins if I can’t get them the bicycles they wanted.”
Her neighbors nodded their heads in agreement, but concentrated quietly to hear the next number called out.
Dropping a few more hints about a tight budget and future needs over the next two rounds, she knew her seeds of information had been overheard by these well-informed ladies.
Aunt Marie quickly made her way to the restroom, located in the back as they called for a break.
The line wasn’t terribly long since the larger restroom was at the front of the building, but she heard someone follow her into line.
Shelia, a woman around 60-65ish, Marie determined, peeked around the corner.
“Ugh, three more to go. It’s a good thing we get a twenty-minute break. Otherwise, some of us would never make it into the restroom at all,” Shelia whispered loudly.
“Right? It’s not healthy to hold it in for an entire round of cards.” Marie sympathized, moving one person closer to the goal.
“Girl, I don’t know about you, but I’m not as young as I used to be.”
Sheila seemed to be contemplating something, so Marie agreed.
“Exactly!”
“I’m not as nice as used to be either.” Shelia gently touched Marie’s elbow, making her wait until the others had rounded the corner.
“I heard you might be needing extra money for the holidays?”
“Well, news travels fast around here. I do need a little extra, but finding a part-time job is so difficult,” Marie complained. “I can only work so many hours or my social security is cut, and that defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not sure, but I heard about a job. The only problem is they pay under the table, and some people don’t feel comfortable with that kind of thing,” Shelia mentioned quietly.
“I worked hard for my retirement and I shouldn’t be penalized if I need a little more money to get by on. What are they going to do, throw all the old people in jail? At least we would have three hot meals a day and we wouldn’t have to cook.” Marie started to raise her voice, until Shelia looked around, worried someone might overhear.
“So you might be willing to check into it?” Shelia asked, waiting until an older man shuffled past them for an answer.
“Honestly, I’m desperate. I don’t want to be a burden on my family, and my retirement isn’t cutting it.”
“What types of medications do you take?” Shelia questioned intently.
Frowning, Marie appeared confused at the change in subject. “Well, let’s see, I’m on a blood pressure medication, some sleep meds, and then there’s the prescription with codeine in it. But how does that get me a job?”
Shelia shook her head at Marie’s innocence. “We pay you to give us some of your pills. Maybe you can lose a bottle down the drain and have to reorder it. Skip a few pills a month or we can have someone “break in” while you’re out for the day. We don’t want you to get ill or hurt, but there are lots of ways of getting extra meds.”
“Oh, my, that is deviously clever,” Marie acknowledged.
“The insurance pays for a new set of pills and you get paid for the ones that ‘disappear’ as well. If you have any symptoms for something, but you normally wouldn’t have asked for medicine, go ahead. We can take just about anything you can for a prescription and we’ll find a use for it.”
Shelia checked the hallway one last time. “Make a list of pills and slip it to me when we leave with your phone number on it. I’ll let you know what to bring with you to the next bingo day.”
Leaning closer to Shelia, Marie asked, “Do I just bring them in a baggie to you?”
“Oh, good heavens, no. Put them in an envelope with the number of pills and place it discreetly in a book to return to the library guy. He’ll take your donation and give you books with the payment inside.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you? I’d better hurry to the bathroom because I hear them getting ready to start.” Marie gave Shelia a quick hug. “Thank you so much, dear.”
Following Shelia’s advice, she handed her the list as she walked by on her way to her table.
Mingling with the crowd as they left, Marie paused to watch the young man leaning against the side of the building, smoking. Her confidence at her undercover skills made her curious as to if her niece was correct about him.
Appearing uninterested, she continued to watch him as she waited for Sunni to arrive. He simply stood there, watching the slow-moving flood of seniors trotting along with their walkers toward their cars.
He looked over and managed to make eye contact with Marie, winking boldly. Unlike her niece, she winked back, causing his face to break into a full earth-melting smile.
An acquaintance was struggling to hold the door open and move her walker through at the same time.
“Let me get that for you, Vivian.” As she pulled the door open further, it was held open by an arm much stronger than hers, just above her head.
Leaning back, Marie was impressed that the young man was not only strong, but fast as well.
He graced her with a quick smile, then focused on helping Vivian down the curb and through the crosswalk to a parked car. He unlocked the passenger door and settled Vivian into the seat. Marie’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.
Waving to her as he closed the trunk on Vivian’s walker, he slid into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking lot with ease.
A honk brought her attention back to the sidewalk, where Sunni’s van was waiting. Sunni began to explain why she had been slightly late to pick her up, oblivious to Marie’s discovery.
Dusty had egged his younger brother on, and the end result was a mud war of epic proportions.
They pulled up to Marie’s house and parked when Sunni finished explaining the chaos she had discovered when she had arrived home.
Deciding that she should keep all her undercover operations quiet for the day, Marie got out quickly.
“I hope you made those rascals clean the whole mess up.” She tried to keep Sunni from asking about how bingo went.
“Oh, they’re supposed to have made progress by the time I get home.” Sunni tried to cover the smile that crept over her frazzled face as the image of two mud covered boys tried to clean up.
“Thanks for bringing me home, sweetie, and call me if you need anything else done for Thanksgiving dinner. I can always come over early,” Marie offered as she closed the door.
“No problem. I’ve got to hurry before they hose down the entire yard and turn it into a mud pit,” Sunni apologized as she started backing out with a wave.
Chapter 4
Dusty was going crazy during the holiday break. His little brother offered some fun on occasion, but he needed to get out of the house. He went in search of his mother, finding her in the kitchen, baking pies.
“Mom, can I go to Charlie’s house for the night?” He hastened to give her more of an incentive. “It’s not a school night, and I have to hang out with someone over the break. Otherwise, I won’t have any cool stories when we go back to school.”
Sunni looked up and swiped at the hair hanging into her face, leaving a streak of flour in its place.
“I don
’t care, as long as Charlie’s mom comes and picks you up.” Sunni’s grin spread as Dusty let out a whoop, fist pumping the air in triumph.
“She should be here in ten minutes.” Dusty pulled the backpack from outside the kitchen door and slung it over his shoulder.
“I just got played, didn’t I?” Sunni questioned him.
“Yep.” Dusty grinned smugly. “I just know you need less stress while getting ready for the holiday dinner, so I’m taking myself out of the equation.”
A horn honked from out front. “There she is now. Catch you later, Mom.”
Dusty ducked out of the kitchen and toward the front door. He opened it, just as he heard Sunni’s exclamation.
“No, sir.” Sunni wiped her floured hands on her apron.
He waved at Charlie’s mom and partially closed the front door.
“Don’t even think about it.” She walked around the counter and followed him.
Sheepishly, Dusty met his mom in an embrace. Sunni hugged him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“Better? Can I go now?” Dusty waited for permission this time.
“Yes. I’ll walk out with you and speak to Charlie’s mother.”
Ignoring Dusty and Charlie’s enthusiasm, Sunni walked over to the driver’s window.
“Hey. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay with Dusty staying over?”
“Oh, my, yes. Hopefully, Charlie will quit bugging his siblings.” His mother sighed as she glanced at the teenagers in the back seat.
“Well, let me know when I need to pick him up.”
“Sure thing. Is it okay if he and Charlie are there alone with the babysitter tonight? I didn’t remember until we were headed over here that we have a dinner with Joseph’s bosses.”
“I don’t see why it would be a problem. They’ll be playing video games, and probably won’t even come out while you’re gone.”
“True. Boys are so much easier than girls,” Charlie’s mom agreed.
Sunni waited until they were out of the driveway before going back inside to bake the pies.
The Mommy Detectives and the Bingo Hall Mystery Page 3