Look Always Forward (Bellingwood Book 11) (8 page)

He came back to Polly. "Are you okay? Is it someone you know?"

"I know who she is. We just hired her at the coffee shop. But no, I don't know her very well and I'm fine."

He relayed the information to his wife and then said. "I'll call in the team. Why are you there anyway?"

"Lights were on inside and the place was messed up. There are broken mugs and books were pulled off the shelves. Tables and chairs were tossed around too. The place was all unlocked."

"Okay. We'll be there in a few minutes. Stay out of things, will you?"

"You're training me," Polly said. "You know I'll be good."

She put her phone back into her pocket and looked up at Henry. "There's a good walk ruined."

"Does Aaron want us to stay?"

Polly nodded. "Yeah. And I don't want to call Sal."

"You should wait to do that. Let them get in and started before she shows up all worried."

"You're right." She patted the step beside her. "Wanna join me?"

"I'll take the dogs home and come back. That shouldn't make a difference, should it?"

Polly stood up. "Would you? That would reduce the amount of chaos. I'll stay here with Julie." Her shoulders drooped. "I don't know anything about her. I don't know where she's from."

"It will be okay." Henry put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't take all of that on right now. Get through tonight and take care of the rest as it comes."

"I need to call Jeff. And Camille. Maybe I'll let him tell Camille. The rest of the kids are going to be upset. I don't want to tell Andrew, Rebecca and Kayla. They had fun with those older kids the last couple of days." She paused and handed Obiwan's leash to Henry. "Sometimes I think I have too much death in my life."

"We've been over this before. The death was already there. This isn't about you."

"You're right." She kissed him. "Thanks for dealing with the dogs. I'll just be sitting here in this creepy alley waiting for the Sheriff to show up."

He chuckled. "I'm not too worried about you. You're a scary woman. You'll take care of 'em." He walked with the dogs down the alley to the sidewalk and turned south to go home.

Polly took her phone back out and hovered over the keypad. Jeff first. He'd have more information. She swiped the call to him.

"Hey Polly." She understood the concern in his voice. She never called him in the evening. "What's going on?"

"Jeff," she started. "You aren't going to believe it."

"Believe what? If it were a dead body, you'd be calling the Sheriff. So what is it?"

"Well, actually."

She heard him take a deep breath and then say, "Excuse me. I need to take this in private."

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"It's okay. Now, what's going on?"

Polly explained to him what had happened in the last half hour and he quietly took it in. Then she said, "Jeff?"

"What?"

"You're not talking."

"I don't know what to say. Do you need me to come back to Bellingwood?"

"No," she responded. "I don't think so. There's nothing you can do. I'll call Sal and tell her about this. Aaron will probably want Julie's employment records so he can reach out to her family."

"You know where those are in the computer. And we should talk to Camille."

"Maybe we should let Aaron tell us what to do next and who to talk to," she said.

"Yeah. You're right. I'm really flustered."

Polly heard a car door open and then she heard the sound of the car starting in the background. "Jeff, what are you doing?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm coming up to Bellingwood."

"Did you just leave someone in a restaurant?" she asked with a small chuckle.

"Holy cow, I did!" he said. "What am I thinking? I need to go back in and apologize and then I'll be right there."

Polly smiled. She wasn't going to let him forget this anytime soon. "Stop talking and stop doing anything. If Aaron wants to speak with you tonight, he'll call. Otherwise, let them do their job and take care of Julie. I'm here. I can get into the system and give them any information they want. Camille is at Sycamore House if they want to talk to her. Handle your date and I'll let you know if there's anything else."

She heard the car turn back off. "I'm sorry I was such a dope," he said. "I'll be fine. He's never going to believe this."

"Who's that?" Polly asked.

"Uh huh. Whatever. I'll talk to you later. Have you called Sal yet?"

"No. You were my first call. I expected you to be the least crazy. If Sal ends up being the calm one about this, my world is upside down. You know that, right?"

"Good luck with it. Call me later."

"You won't still be on your date?"

"Uhh. No. If it wasn't dead before now, this effectively killed it. Call me. Okay?"

"I will."

Lights came down the alley and Polly grinned at her phone. She was rescued from calling her friend. Stu Decker got out of his SUV and walked over to her.

"I always look forward to spending time with you, Ms. Giller."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're a brat."

He smiled at her, then turned serious. "Where is she?"

Polly stood up and walked with him over to where the girl's body was, then backed away, knowing that he would want to get right to work. He knelt down on his haunches and took in the scene, then stood back up.

"Did you see this stick?" he asked. "Do you know what it is?"

She walked back over to him and looked to where he was pointing. A long walking stick, covered in blood, was tucked up against the girl's body.

"I do," she said flatly. "It belongs to the man we just hired to run Sycamore Inn."

CHAPTER EIGHT

Even though she had tried, Polly's respite from the conversation with Sal didn't last long. Just after Henry came back, her phone rang.

"What in the hell is going on?" Sal demanded.

"There's been a murder," Polly said, as matter of factly as possible.

"In my shop?"

Technically, this wasn't inside the shop. "Well, not really," Polly said.

"What exactly do you mean by 'not really'? Denis just called and said the place was crawling with Sheriff's vehicles. And he said that he saw you and Henry go inside. Are you still there?"

She didn't want to point out the obvious. And maybe Sal wasn't quite as alert to Polly's superhero status as everyone else was, but she said, "There's been a murder. That means there was a dead body. So ... that means I'm here."

"Was it inside the shop or not?"

"Sal, honey. I think the first question you should probably ask is if we know the person. And yes, we do. It was Julie Smith."

"Oh for god's sake, it's going to be known as the jinxed coffee shop. I can't believe this has happened again. I can't catch a break."

"Salliane Judith Kahane, you stop talking right now and think about what you have just said to me," Polly said. "I can't believe you are being this self-centered when a young girl has been murdered. Get over yourself and start asking the right questions."

The phone went dead and when Polly looked at it, she realized Sal had just hung up on her. Sometimes being that girl's friend was full-time work. They had known each other for over fifteen years and there were times it was more difficult than others.

Aaron had walked over to stand beside her and asked, "We need to speak with Jeff Lyndsay, the woman you've hired to manage the shop, and Mr. Greyson. I understand he's been hired at the inn?"

Polly nodded. "Camille is staying at Sycamore House. Jeff will come back tonight if necessary and Grey should be in the apartment at the inn. He moved in today. Was his walking stick the murder weapon?"

He gave her a weak smile. "You know I'm not making any assumptions until we have more information."

"You need to see what happened inside, too," Polly said. "I can't tell if there was a fight or if someone deliberately tossed the place."

"We'll check it out." Aaron creased his brow. "Were you opening tomorrow?"

"Jeff was planning to. He doesn't want to make a big deal out of it until we get the kinks out. Just let people find us when they do. He's going to have a big grand opening later this fall. The employees need time to get their feet under them."

"And this girl was one of your new employees?"

"Yeah. I don't know her, but I can get into the employee records back at Sycamore House and find information. Do you want Jeff to come up tonight?"

"He'll be here in the morning. That's soon enough. Have you spoken with him?"

"Yes, while I was waiting for you."

"Sheriff?" One of the deputies called and Aaron walked away.

"How are you doing?" Henry asked, coming up to stand beside her.

"Sal's mad at me. I yelled at her."

"You knew it wasn't going to be easy."

Polly bit her lips together. "She drives me crazy. Always worried about the silliest things. She believes this place has a jinx on it now. It didn't matter that one of her employees had been killed. The only thing she worried about was whether it had happened inside or not and if it was going to mess up the building."

"Do we need to discuss finding money so you can buy the rest of this from her?" Henry asked.

"It crossed my mind. But I'm not ready to do that yet. She's poured so much of herself into this." Polly stopped. "And yes, I understand that's why she's so upset. But still ... property versus people. Will she ever learn the difference?"

"She's never had to be responsible for people before."

"The thing is," Polly said. "This is exactly what makes her so angry with her mother. This same behavior. She sees it in her mom, but has no concept that she's doing the same thing."

"If you yell at her a couple more times, she'll figure it out," he said. "Do we need to stick around?"

"I'll ask Aaron. You didn't happen to bring keys, did you?"

Henry pulled out two sets. "I brought the extra set. Figured maybe he'd lock it down when he was finished."

They found Aaron and gave him the keys, which he promptly turned over to Stu Decker.

While they were walking home, Polly heard her name being called. Turning toward the sound, they saw Jessie and Rebecca pushing a stroller.

"What are you two doing out?" Polly asked when they got close to each other.

"There was all of this excitement down here and we had to find out what was happening," Jessie said. She had moved into the apartment building that Sylvie and the boys used to live in. It was only a couple of blocks from the main downtown area.

Polly had hoped a relationship might happen between Jessie and Stephanie. Sharing expenses would have helped both girls, but neither was interested in an adult roommate. They had their own girls to raise. It made sense. It was hard enough having a husband in the same house some days. At least he knew better than to judge her when she didn't clean the place right away.

The truth was, even though having a roommate through college was one thing, she was glad when she moved into her own apartment. It had been a struggle at first. There were times when going to the grocery store was the only shopping she could afford. And other times when a surprise gift from her father was what put toilet paper in her bathroom.

If she thought about it, though, those were some of the strongest memories she had of her days in Boston and she was proud of herself for having made it through them.

Rebecca stopped in front of Polly and asked with a little condescension, "Did you find another dead body? Is that why you're here?"

Polly nodded, the seriousness of the evening falling on her. "I did. The Sheriff is taking care of her now."

The girl's mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide. "Was it at the coffee shop?"

"It was out back," Polly said, nodding. "And once the Sheriff is done, you will have to come back up and re-shelve those books. Someone pulled them all down. The coffee shop is a mess."

"Who died?" Jessie asked.

Polly started to speak, but stopped when Henry took her hand. He gave a slight shake of his head and she smiled back at him. "Let's not talk about that tonight. I want the sheriff to do his job and then we'll talk after he contacts the family. Is that okay?"

"Okay," Jessie said. "I hope it's not someone we know." Then she screwed up her face. "It's bad that it is anyone, but if it's a friend, that makes it worse."

"It isn't anyone you know well. I promise," Polly looked into the stroller. Molly had a toy in her hands and was making small noises. "How are things with her?"

"She should be in bed now," Rebecca said. "But we wanted to see what was happening. We're going to make popcorn and watch a movie after she goes to sleep."

"Then you two should get back and start your evening," Henry said. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He took Polly's hand as they watched the two girls walk back toward the apartment building. "It's so strange to realize that we're parents and responsible for a child's upbringing," he said.

Polly huffed a chuckle. "It makes me nervous. I still think of myself as barely an adult and now I'm supposed to teach her how to grow up."

"You have me," he said.

She looked at him to see if he was serious. The grin on his lips made her smile.

"Yes I do. You can be the adult when I forget how," she said.

The girls turned a corner and Polly and Henry continued toward Sycamore House. "It's practically on our way," she said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The convenience store. Can we stop?"

He laughed. "You're a nut. We don't have enough ice cream at home for you?"

"But this is out-for-a-walk-after-I-found-a-body ice cream. Please?" Polly leaned in against him and tilted her head to look into his eyes.

"How can a man resist that?" They turned down the street and he moved so she was walking on the inside. "Do you think Mr. Greyson killed the girl?"

She shook her head. "I can't come with any good reason. It makes no sense. Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You always move to the outside when we're walking. If a car were to come crashing over the curb, we'd both be dead."

Henry chuckled and shrugged, then brought her hand up to his chest and hugged it close. "It's just something Dad taught me. I watched him do it with both Mom and Lonnie. As I grew up, Mom always moved to the inside so I'd learn. It's not about cars careening into us, though."

"Then what?"

"From what Dad said, it goes way back to before cities had running water. People in upper stories would toss their water and garbage out into the street and if they didn't get it out far enough, the gentleman took the brunt of it."

She laughed. "That doesn't seem fair."

"It was chivalrous. Think about the ladies in their beautiful dresses. Men wore dull suits and a top coat on. They also wore hats. More protection. So they walked on the outside, offering pretty girls all the protection they needed."

"But why do men still do it?"

"Are you telling me your dad didn't move you to the inside when you walked together?"

Polly nodded. "All the time. I never thought anything of it."

"But it's odd for you when I do it."

"No, it's sweet. I guess I finally just asked why."

"We still do it to give our girls some protection. If we were walking along a street and a car went through a puddle and splashed us, I'd take the worst of it. I'd always sacrifice myself for you that way." He stopped and tugged on her hand to turn her toward him, then kissed her.

"You're so good to me," she said. "All of that chivalry and you still let me be independent."

"And I buy you ice cream." Henry opened the door to the store and let her enter first.

Polly nodded a hello to the young man behind the counter, walked to the freezer and peered in. "I don't know what I want," she said. Then she slid the top panel open and took out a toffee and chocolate covered ice cream bar. "This. Something different."

"Good for you," Henry said with a smile. "You're branching out." He took out another item and they went to the cash register.

"That's new," the young man said to Henry.

"He knows my buying habits," Henry said to Polly with a laugh. "We're trying new flavors tonight. It's always good to be adventurous."

They paid for the ice cream, left the store, and stood in front of a trash can to unwrap their treats.

"I almost don't want to go home," Polly said. "When I get there, I'll have to think about all of the things that are going on in my life right now."

"We can keep walking," he replied.

"Not long enough," she said. "I want to sleep under the stars and dream about worlds where there is no murder and where children stay sweet and kind and never grow up."

They crossed the highway to Sycamore House and Henry led her to the garden. Street lamps glowed and bugs fluttered in their light. "Maybe just a few more minutes out here, then," he said.

Polly swatted a mosquito away. "Nah. We can go in. But thanks for letting me dream a moment." She stopped suddenly and put her arms around him. "How did I get so lucky?" she asked.

He held his ice cream treat away from her face and kissed her, chocolate and ice cream mingling on their lips. "I'm the one who married the greatest girl in three states." He backed up and swept his arm toward the building. "Look at what you've done here. And I get to be a part of all of it."

"You have to be a part of all of it," she said with a chuckle. "Sometimes I feel badly for dragging you into my crazy life. But you're so good for me."

"I
get
to be a part of it." He kissed her lips again. "Don't ever think that I didn't know what I was getting into when I asked you to marry me. I chose to be part of all of this because it is exciting and part of you. You're exciting. You're crazy and wonderful and generous and loving and a little weird and you will never let me be bored. I'm the lucky one."