Home for the Holidays (8 page)

He glanced at Dot, seated on the other side of the table.  “Hi Dot.”

“Hello Joe.” Dot and Officer Joe Nelson were on a first name basis.  After all, he was in the restaurant every morning like clockwork.

“I’ll take a cup of coffee, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Gloria rushed over to the coffee pot, dumped some fresh grounds in the filter and filled the pot with water.  She poured the water in the reservoir and then turned it on.

She darted over to the table, slid out the chair and plopped down.  “What ‘cha got?”

“Whew!” Joe scratched his forehead.  “I think I blew open a hornet’s nest.”

He went on.  “Poor Paul.  Man, he has a bunch of people gunning for his arrest.”

“Like who?” Gloria asked.

“Well, there’s the young rookie, Jason Endres.  Alex Tisdale, the other rookie who just got fired filed a complaint.” Gloria wasn’t surprised by either name.  “Anyone else?”

Joe shook his head.  “Believe it or not, even Captain Davies seems convinced Paul was involved.”

Gloria’s heart sank.  Captain Davies.  Paul’s boss!

“I couldn’t get close to Paul’s locker, though.  Seems every time I went in there, someone was lurking around.” He snorted.  “It was almost as if it was being guarded.”

If there were evidence inside Paul’s locker, it would be long gone so maybe it didn’t matter as much as Gloria had originally thought.  Still, someone in the sheriff’s station knew something at the very least…or more importantly, was the real extortionist. 

Gloria clenched her fist and pounded the table in frustration.  “If there was only some way to snoop around inside the police station without raising suspicion.”

Joe leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms.  “Well, I’ve been thinkin’ and I have an idea.”

“What?”

“Montbay hired this new cleaning service a couple months back.  They come in at night and empty trash, sweep the floors, stuff like that.”

Dot perked up.  “Let me guess.  You know someone who works for the cleaning company.”

Joe ginned.  “Yep.  It’s my cousin, Kim.  She’s one of the supervisors.” He pulled a slip of paper from his front shirt pocket and handed it to Gloria.  “I told her I needed to get a friend or two in there to work temporarily.”

He pointed to the slip of paper.  “That’s her name and number.  Give Kim a call and she’ll hook you up.”

Gloria popped out of her chair, reached over and hugged Joe.  “Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I take back all those things I said about you.” She winked.

Joe slid his chair back and stood.  “Now don’t go getting into trouble.”

Dot snorted.  “Gloria?  Trouble?”

Gloria gave her a dark look. 

Joe held up a hand.  “You’re safe with Kim.  She won’t breathe a word, not even to her crew.”

“I’ll be epitome of discreet,” Gloria promised.  “Can I take someone with me?”

Joe’s eyes slid to Dot.  “Yeah.  Maybe one other person.  Not Lucy, though.  She’s a firecracker.  I can see her pulling out a pistol and shooting someone.”

“I’ll do it,” Dot offered.

Joe shook his head.  “Only problem is a lot of the other officers know you.”

That was true.  Gloria frowned. 

“Margaret might work,” Dot suggested.

Lucy was out. 

Ruth was out.  Not only did she work at the post office, she would also be easily recognized.

Dot was out. 

That left either Andrea or Margaret.  Andrea might work.  Gloria quickly dismissed her young friend.  She was cute as a button but she would draw too much attention, especially from the young rookies.  It would have to be Margaret. 

Gloria hugged Joe one more time and then watched as he headed back to his patrol car and climbed into the driver’s seat.  Gloria’s heart lurched as she watched him.  It reminded her of Paul and his patrol car.  She slowly closed the door and turned to Dot.  “I guess we better get Margaret on the horn.” 

Gloria phoned Kim and arranged for the short-term cleaning assignment.  She was relieved that Kim didn’t ask any questions and even told Gloria to give her a call if something came up and she couldn’t make it.

Next on her list was a call to Margaret.  It took some wheedling but Gloria was finally able to convince Margaret to accompany her on her fact-finding mission.  After she hung up the phone, she glanced at the clock. 

“Ryan and Tyler are in the Christmas play at their church this evening and I can’t miss it,” she told Dot.

Dot slid out of the seat and reached for her purse.  “I best get back to the restaurant and check on Ray and Holly anyway.” She hugged Gloria tightly and then headed for the door. 

After Dot left, Gloria took a long, leisurely bath as she thought about Paul and wondered what was going on. She believed in her heart he was trying to protect her.  Still, she missed him desperately and it felt as if someone had tilted her world and he was the only one who could right it.

Gloria quickly warmed some leftovers and pulled the morning paper she hadn’t even touched, across the table to read the headlines while she ate.  She glanced at the front page and pushed the paper away.  It was full of gloom and doom.  The only thing the news reported on anymore was the bad stuff.  They never reported on the good in people. 

She finished eating, rinsed her dirty plate and placed it inside the dishwasher.

Gloria left the light above the stove on, flipped the porchlight on and headed to the car.  It was dark and she avoided driving at night if possible, but tonight, she made an exception.  She wouldn’t miss Ryan and Tyler’s performance for the world.

Jill was waiting near the front entrance of the church.  “Greg is saving us a couple seats.” She tucked her arm through her mother’s arm and turned to head in.  “Paul couldn’t make it?”

Gloria frowned.  “No.  He, uh.  He couldn’t.” Gloria left it at that.  She didn’t want to lie nor did she want to go into a long, drawn out explanation. 

On the drive over, she had determined to set the whole thing aside and focus on the reason for the season, Jesus’ birth.  She also wanted to take a mental break and enjoy watching her grandsons.

Jill shuffled into the pew and settled in next to Greg.  Gloria squeezed in and sat on the other side of Jill.  The seats were perfect.  Gloria had an unobstructed view of the manger, the stable and the twinkling stars strategically placed above the Nativity scene.

Gloria hadn’t asked, and Jill hadn’t told her mother, what part the boys had in the play.  She wanted it to be a surprise.

The music started and the audience quieted.  To the left, from behind the curtain, emerged a miniature Joseph and Mary.  Mary cradled a child wrapped in a blanket. 

The music picked up the tempo and “Away in the Manger” played.  Mary rocked the “baby” which Gloria quickly realized was a doll while “Joseph” looked on. 

A movement to the right caught Gloria’s attention.  The curtain swayed and out walked the three wise men, wearing crowns on their heads, dressed in long, purple robes, tied at the waist with twined belts of gold.  Three beards of white covered their small faces.

Gloria narrowed her eyes and studied them.  She recognized two of the wise men…Tyler and Ryan. 

Tyler spoke first. “Is this the child we have been searching for?” The wise men shuffled across the stage and approached the Nativity scene. 

Bright stage lights beamed down on the Nativity.  Ryan, the middle wise man, shaded his eyes.  “It is…” He paused, blinking rapidly.  “The lights…they’re blinding me,” he said.

The crowd tittered.  The third wise man tried to cover.  “That must be the Star of Bethlehem.”

“Nope,” Ryan argued.  “It’s the stage lights!”

Tyler tried to help his younger brother by nudging Ryan out of the spotlight.  Instead, he stepped on the hem of his own long robe and started to lose his balance.

Tyler’s arms flailed wildly in the air as he tried to regain his balance.  He grabbed the first thing his fingers made contact…with Ryan’s “beard.”  He yanked his brother’s beard off and tumbled backward onto the stage floor.

“My beard!” Ryan lunged forward in a desperate attempt to retrieve his beard and landed in a heap on top of his brother.

The crowd burst out laughing. 

The lights quickly lowered, the boys scrambled to their feet, adjusted their clothing and the play continued, as if nothing had ever happened.

After it ended, Jill, Greg and Gloria headed backstage. 

Tyler was nowhere in sight.

Ryan was sitting nearby on the floor.  He had removed his crown and was spinning it like a top on the stage floor. 

Gloria crouched down and patted his head.  “You were one of the handsomest wise men I have ever seen,” she said.

Ryan shoved his chin on his fist and frowned.  “Tyler ruined it,” he pouted.

Gloria shook her head.  “He was trying to help you.” She quickly changed the subject.  “Did you make out your list for Santa Claus yet?” 

Tyler had been telling Ryan there was no Santa Claus but Gloria knew he still believed, at least a little.

Ryan brightened.  His head bobbed up and down.  “Yep!  I asked for a BB Gun.”

Gloria lifted her gaze and looked at her daughter questioningly.  Jill gave a slight shake of her head and Gloria let out a sigh of relief.  She hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed.

Tyler emerged from the back, his costume long gone.  Gloria scooted over and wrapped her arms around her grandson.  “You were magnificent, Tyler.”

Tyler swiped at his cowlick and smiled.  “Thanks, Grams.”

Gloria stayed for a few more minutes chatting with her family before she made her way out to her car and headed home. 

The evening had been just what the doctor ordered and Gloria was thankful for not only her wonderful family, but also a diversion from her own situation.

Now all she had to do was get inside the police station with Margaret and try to figure out who had set Paul up!

***

Margaret pushed the cleaning cart to the end of the hall and stopped in front of an open door.  “We have to empty trash cans?  Every single one?”

Gloria nodded.  “Yeah.  There can’t be many,” she said.

Margaret scrunched her nose and stared down the long hall.  “You’re kidding.”

Gloria followed her gaze.  There were quite a few offices…but it was only emptying office wastebaskets.  How bad could it be?  It wasn’t like cleaning out a restaurant dumpster.

Margaret reached for a pair of rubber gloves and slipped them on.  She stepped inside the nearest office and looked around.  “No wastebasket in here.” She turned to go. 

“Did you check under the desk?” Gloria asked.

“No.  Why would someone put a wastebasket underneath the desk?”

Gloria leveled her gaze.

Margaret rolled her eyes.  “All right.  I’ll check!”  She stomped across the room, yanked the chair away from the desk and bent over as she peeked under the desk. 

She reached under the desk and pulled out an overflowing wastebasket.  “Well, if that isn’t the stupidest place to put your trash,” she mumbled.

She carried the wastebasket over to the cart, opened the large garbage bag and dumped the contents inside.  She stomped back over to the desk and gave the empty wastebasket a heave-ho as she tossed it underneath.

“Margaret,” Gloria warned.

“All
right!”
Margaret reached under the desk, set the empty wastebasket upright and slid the chair back in place. 

Margaret grumbled about emptying the trash in the second office so Gloria told her they would switch tasks and she would empty the wastebaskets while Margaret spot swept the floors.

When they got to Captain Davies’ office, Gloria picked up his wastebasket and peeked inside.  She glanced at Margaret.  “You keep an eye out.  I want to sift through his trash for clues.”

Margaret nodded and headed for the door.

Gloria carefully inspected each of the crumpled pieces of paper inside the basket before tossing them into the large garbage bag.  One could tell a lot about a person by examining their trash.

Several slips of paper were pink pad messages from the receptionist.  One was a message, telling Captain Davies to call his wife.  Another was from someone named Fred in the homicide division.  A third was from a drycleaner, telling him his uniform was ready for pick up.  The fourth and final message Gloria found inside the wastebasket was from Cal Evergreen, City Commissioner.

The same Cal Evergreen who had solicited a “lady” of the night and supposedly been one of the unfortunate victims Paul was blackmailing.  Gloria would bet money the commissioner was strong-arming the captain to fire Paul.

The only other items inside the wastebasket were an empty fast food bag, a drink cup, junk mail and several wads of chewed gum stuck to the sides of the bin. 

Gloria scraped as much of the gum from the sides of the basket as she could and then tossed the chewed chunks in the trash bag.

Margaret, still standing outside guarding the door, wrinkled her nose.  “That’s disgusting.”

“I agree.”

The girls made quick work of the light cleaning.  When they reached the end of the hall, they noticed an employee breakroom.

Gloria peeked in through the glass windowpane.  Kim had given her a list of duties and Gloria pulled the sheet of paper from her pocket as she scanned the list. 

“Employee breakroom.  Empty trash, wipe inside of microwave, unload dishwasher, spot sweep the floor.”

Gloria grasped the door handled, twisted the knob and stepped inside.  The room was empty. 

Gloria held the door while Margaret pushed the cleaning cart into the room.

Gloria handed the list to Margaret.  “I’ll let you pick out what you want to do.”

Margaret glanced at the list and handed it back.  “None of the above.”

“Margaret…”

“Okay!  I’ll empty the dishwasher.”  Margaret opened the dishwasher and pulled out a cup while Gloria stepped over to the tall trashcan beside the vending machine. 

She leaned over the top and looked inside.  It was loaded with wadded up food wrappers, half-eaten fruit and discarded soda cans.

There was no way she was going to dig through the trash.  Instead, she lifted the whole bag out, tied the top in a knot and dumped it into the larger garbage bag attached to the cleaning cart.