Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 03 - They Call Me Ace (21 page)

Chapter Thirty-nine

Mikey’s party was a roaring success. After everyone sang the birthday song to him, Lila and Judith did their own 1940s rendition of the same tune.

Chris was in Bogey mode and the parents seemed to enjoy his banter thoroughly. Men can sometimes be the harshest judges of each other, but I heard a few fathers using some of Chris’s slang and realized they didn’t think it was silly. After all, the real Bogey portrayed a man’s man, and so does Chris.

Mikey opened his presents and each one was like a new adventure for him. One of the things I appreciate about my son is his enthusiasm. It didn’t matter what anyone gave him, his response was the same – amazement and joy. He particularly liked the Hardy Boys books Chris gave him.

Unfortunately, Janet and Don had to leave early after he received a call about a crime. So much for his day off.

The party lasted longer than we expected because everyone had such a good time. We turned on music, there was plenty of food, and we got to know the parents of Mikey’s friends a little better. They all seemed to know a lot about us

because of my son sharing his stories at school. They wanted to know if the stories their kids brought home were exaggerations or not. They weren’t, for the most part.

“Some of us wish we lived your lifestyle,” Danny’s father said. He’d joined the party when he got off work, and after calling his wife he decided to stay and let his son have a good time. “Danny always has stories to tell us.”

“Always? If that’s the case, then I guess Mikey must embellish at least a little.”

I glanced at my son who’d suddenly found his shoes to be quite fascinating. He looked up at me and grinned before turning away to go
hang out
with his friends.

Once when I walked to the kitchen to make more punch, one of the mothers followed along to help.

“I see you’re limping,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, I just had a little accident – bruised my knees. I’ll be fine.”

“What? Did someone push you down the porch steps?” She snorted when she laughed, which struck me funny, and then added water to the punch mix.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Oh.” She stopped laughing and squinted at me like she was trying to figure out if I was joking or not. We returned to the party without further discussion.

The restaurant staff ingratiated themselves by staying through the party and socializing with both the kids and parents.  Well, I noticed that Luis spent his time with the adults rather than the children, but he had warned me he wasn’t big on kids.

Around five o’clock people started drifting out. I headed for the kitchen to begin cleaning up, but Luis and the staff stopped me. “This is our job, so you go sit down and enjoy yourself.”

Chris had joined me, ready to help clean. “Do I hear the cha-ching of raises in your futures?”

“Let’s hope so.” Luis was smiling, but if I had to guess I’d say he wasn’t joking.

When we opened the restaurant we never expected to have such a family of employees. It couldn’t be much, but I decided to talk to Chris to see if he was seriously thinking about small raises, or some other benefit. They deserved it.

Constance picked up her purse, ready to leave. “When will Mikey be coming back to stay with me? I miss having him around.”

He walked over to stand next to her.

I smiled at her. “As soon as his grandparents get tired of him.” I knew that as soon as they began work on Turnbal House in earnest, Mikey would need to stay with Constance. She knew it, too.

“I may never see him again if I have to wait for them to tire of him,” she joked. After
hugging my son she left, knowing she wouldn’t have too many quiet evenings left before she began babysitting again. We very pointedly avoided calling it babysitting when Mikey was within earshot.

After the last child and parent left, we sat down with my in-laws while Mikey inspected his gifts. Someone had given him the
Scooby-doo! Haunted House
game, and someone else had thought to give him the old standard
Clue
game. Did these people know my son or what?

“Ace had a good time, especially for a party that was put together on such short notice.” Chris patted my back.

“Don’t remind me. I’m so glad we pulled this off.” I returned the pat.

“I don’t know where these kids get so much energy,” Judith said, leaning back.

“Yeah. I don’t either.” Chris Sr. looked beat.

“With all the food your friends served, I don’t think we’ll need dinner tonight.” There was a plate of finger sandwiches still on the table. Judith picked one up and took a bite.

“You’re going to explode if you eat any more.” Chris Sr. smiled at his wife.

“You knew those were going to be the next words out of my mouth, didn’t you?” Judith put the other half of the sandwich down.

“Yup. I know you like a book.”

Watching them, I could see that Chris was a lot like his parents. He had a fairly easy-going attitude most of the time, and he was a tease like his father. While his mother had her eccentric hobbies, Chris had his eccentric Bogey behavior.

I smiled to myself, realizing why Chris and I got along so well.

Chris watched me. “A buck for your thoughts.”

“A whole dollar?”

“Inflation. Times are a’changin’, angel.”

“I was just thinking about your parents and how well they get along. It seems to have spilled over on to us. And I was thinking about you and Bogey. So I’ve determined you emulate him because he never would have let himself become glued to a chair.”

“That makes sense, Cupcake, but no. It’s just a lot of fun.”

“Well, you are a little eccentric – kind of like your mother but in other ways.”

I hadn’t noticed that Judith was listening.
“You think I’m eccentric? Wait until you meet
my
mother.”

“Good grief! Your mother? What kinds of things does she do?” I asked.

Chris spoke up. “Where do you think my mother and I got our eccentricities? Yeah, you’ll like Grandma Tillie. She’s a hoot and a half.”

Judith appeared thoughtful. “My mother is… Well, she’s unique. She made growing up a lot of fun, and she instilled a sense of adventure in me. Daddy gave her full rein, just like Chris Sr. does with me. Daddy always said my

mother was a hoot and a half. That’s why Junior described her that way. Daddy loved her craziness and until the day he died he used to say she kept him young.”

Chris Sr. sat quietly and shook his head. “Tillie is a piece of work,” he said softly.

Judith ignored her husband and watched Chris for a long moment. “Junior, your father and I were thinking about moving my mother out here. After all, she can’t stay by herself much longer. She’s close to eighty now and she shouldn’t be living in snow country anymore. She could slip and fall. She thinks she’s invincible, and she’s not.”

My heart skipped a beat when I thought about another eccentric setting up house near us. Chris hadn’t talked about his grandmother to any great extent. I knew she was still living, but that’s about all I knew.

Chris rolled his upper lip under and tugged on his ear lobe. I knew Bogey was about to step up to the plate. I sat quietly, like Chris Sr., and watched the interaction between Chris and his mother.

“But, Ma, she can’t climb those stairs every day. You might want to cool your heels and think about this some more.”

“She’s a healthy woman, Junior.”

“Yeah, I know her ticker’s probably not gonna give out on her, and she’s not really a cream puff, but those old bones might not make it if she took a tumble down the stairs.”

Judith was ready for Chris. “We’ve already thought about that. I talked to the Turnbal twins and we might be able to make a deal for the house Kimberly was living in. Mother could live next door to us.”

Chris Sr. put his hand up to his mouth and coughed. Before lowering his hand, he turned to me. “Thank God for small favors – next door wouldn’t be
too
bad.” He said it so softly I almost missed it.

I coughed, too, covering up a snicker.

“You mean you’d rent the house for Grandma?” Chris asked.

“No, I mean we’d sell my mother’s house and buy it for her.”

“Have you talked to your mother about this yet?” It struck me that she might not want to make a move.

“Noooo, but I know my mother. She’ll want to live near me. The closer the better.”

Chris Sr. coughed again.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and before I could stop myself, I laughed out loud. He was rolling his eyes.

Chris and his mother swung their heads around and looked at me.

“Sorry. I just had a random thought that had nothing to do with our conversation.” I was becoming such a good liar, but sometimes little white lies are called for.

Chris stood up. “It’s getting late. We need to load Ace’s presents in the car and head home. We can talk about this later.”

Judith stood up and motioned to Chris Sr. “We’d better get moving, too. I’m pooped, and we still have to go pick up my purse at Turnbal House.”

“You two head home and Pamela and I will pick up your purse. Where’d you leave it?” Chris motioned to Mikey to start picking up his presents.

Judith sighed.
“Pamela already offered to pick it up. I left it on the kitchen counter. For some reason I really am tired. Thanks, Junior.”

Judith and Chris Sr. left after handing Chris the key to the house, and Chris and I loaded Mikey’s presents into the Jeep.  Chris decided he’d come back on Monday morning and pick up the old Chevy. The restaurant staff had left after cleaning the kitchen. I figured I’d come back with Chris and clean the dining area.

We drove the short distance to Turnbal house. Of course all of the lights were out, and the car lights focused on the weeping willow in front of the house as we pulled up to the curb. It looked so alone and forlorn. There wasn’t enough light to see the nice cheerful oak tree on the other side of the yard.

“You know, Chris, at night Turnbal House is kind of spooky looking. I’ll be glad when your parents finish painting and putting it back in order.”

He patted my arm. “Well, if I’m not out in about two minutes, you call the police.” He thought for a moment. “With everything that’s been going on around here, I really do want you and Mikey to stay in the car, no matter what. And keep the doors locked.”

I saluted my husband. “Yes, sir, we won’t let anyone get us. It’s you I’m concerned about.”

“Don’t worry about me. I wouldn’t let the boogey man take down the Bogey Man.”

“Yeah, think how embarrassing
that
would be.”

I heard the sound of Mikey laughing in the backseat. “You two are so funny, Mom.”

Chapter Forty

Chris climbed out of the car and closed the door softly, pushing on it until I heard the
click
of it latching. I made sure the doors were locked and watched Chris approach the house. I wasn’t sure why he was trying to be so quiet. Maybe the house spooked him, too. I didn’t see any ghostly lights moving through the house and the front door was still closed and apparently locked. Too many things had happened and it was late. There weren’t any people around and it was almost too quiet.

It was a dark night, made even darker by the storm clouds overhead. At least it hadn’t started raining yet. Since the porch light wasn’t on, I watched as Chris fumbled with the key, trying to unlock the door. He finally came back to the car and knocked on the window.

“Pamela, would you hand me the flashlight? It’s in the glove compartment. It’s so dark I can’t see a thing and I can’t get the key in the lock. And hurry. I need to check the plumbing while I’m in there.”

It was like talking to a little kid. “Why didn’t you go before we left the restaurant?”

“Just give me the flashlight and don’t worry about it.” He sounded disgusted. I guess I shouldn’t have spoken to him like I would to Mikey.

He returned to the house and entered, closing the door behind him. Since I knew he had a “mission” while he was inside, I didn’t worry when he was gone a little longer than I expected.

Mikey’d had a big day, and I could hear him softly snoring in the back seat.

While I waited, I glanced around the neighborhood. It was an old area and the houses weren’t cookie-cutter style. Each one was different. I could see that a few were relatively new, but most of them had age and uniqueness in their favor. Some, like the one Kimberly had lived in, were smaller than the others.

I glanced at the house where Ken’s mother lived. Although the house was set back from the street, I could see it from our spot. It was smaller, too. The lights were on and I could see little flashes of light that indicated the television was on. I wondered what type of show Ken enjoyed. Probably cop shows. I also wondered if he usually rooted for the bad guys. Smiling, I realized I was pigeon-holing him, judging him solely by his appearance and attitude. Maybe he was really a nice guy. And maybe his mother was the one watching TV. I’d have to peg her as a game show enthusiast.

I glanced back behind me at Mark’s house. It was dark. I wondered if he’d already gone to bed or if he was out living it up. Knowing in my heart that he knew a lot more than he let on, I wondered why he was so careful not to get involved in anything. He might have even seen who shoved me down the stairs. Oh! Maybe
he’d
pushed me, even though I didn’t really believe he would do such a thing. I didn’t want to think a friend of the twins could have done that to me, although they hadn’t seen him in years. He could have changed a lot since they’d last spent time with him.

Turning back to look out the front window, I studied the cars parked on the street and in the driveways. None of them looked familiar, but why would they? What did Ryan drive? I couldn’t remember. The way people watched Turnbal House, any one of the cars could have hidden a bad guy treasure hunter.

I rolled my eyes and wondered how long Chris had been gone. My thoughts were wandering too far. It seemed like he’d been gone a long time. I glanced at the car clock. I wasn’t sure what time it was when he left the car. I waited a few minutes and checked the clock again. Five minutes had gone by, so I figured he’d been gone at least fifteen minutes.

I didn’t want to leave Mikey alone in the car like Judith had, but I was beginning to worry.

A car pulled up behind me and I sat up straighter. Now what? I pulled my cell phone out of my purse just in case I needed to make an emergency call to the coppers.

I could see a figure approaching the car but it was too dark to tell if it was anyone I recognized. I glanced at my son, almost wishing Chris had taken us inside with him.

As the figure came closer I tried to get a better look, and I let out a sigh of relief as I saw a uniform. It was one of the coppers I’d just thought about calling. I opened the window.

“Good evening, Mrs. Cross.” Ben Hernandez stood on the curb, looking in.

“Good evening, Ben. I’m so glad to see you. I couldn’t imagine who might have pulled up behind me. What a relief.”

He smiled at me. “Didn’t mean to scare you. What are you doing here so late?”

“My mother-in-law left her purse here. We’re just picking it up for her. I’m glad to know you’re keeping an eye on the house. So much has happened.”

“I do what I can. So is your husband inside?”

“Yes. He had to make a pit stop and he’ll be back in a

minute. Say, how are things going with you and Cloene?”

He smiled again. “Good. I’m sorry she lost her friend, but I wouldn’t have met her otherwise. Sometimes things happen just when we need them to, and this was one of those times.”

He’d piqued my curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“It’s been a long time since I met a genuinely nice woman, and Cloe is just that. Really nice, and a lot of fun. I call her Cloe.”

“I see. Well, hopefully something good came out of this, and maybe it was you meeting Cloene. Poor Kimberly. Anything new about her murder?”

“No. Detective Riley is still working on it, but there isn’t much to go on. For Cloe’s sake, I hope we find the perp.  She needs to close this chapter of her life.” He smiled a third time. “And then she needs to begin a new chapter with me. Well, I’d better get back to work. Nice seeing you, Mrs. Cross.”

I had a feeling he’d said more than he meant to. I thought maybe he’d embarrassed himself. He’d been pretty outspoken about Cloene and his feelings, and men didn’t generally like to talk too much.

“You’re a good man, Ben. Be good to Cloene and she’ll be good to you.”

As he drove away it dawned on me that I probably should have had him run up to the house and check on Chris. Sometimes I can be such a dope.

Glancing over my shoulder I saw Mikey watching me. Apparently he woke up while I was talking to Ben. I rolled my window back up.

“Hey, Ace. I guess you needed that little nap, huh?”

“Yeah. Birthday parties can be a lot of work. Where’s Dad?”

“He’s still in the house. I think maybe I should go check on him, but I don’t want to leave you alone.” I was really torn

between Mikey and Chris. “I’d hate to think maybe he fell down the stairs or something.”

“You should go check on him, Mom. I’ll be safe here. Just lock the car doors and I’ll get down so the car looks empty.”

“Uh huh. I don’t want to take you with me just in case something
is
wrong, but I hate leaving you alone in the car.”

I took a deep breath. Maybe I should call and ask them to send Ben back. I glanced at the house and saw a light in the kitchen. It looked like it was either from a flashlight or maybe a candle. Chris must be in the kitchen. Maybe he’d had an upset stomach or something. We’d had a lot to eat, plus he’d had two pieces of birthday cake. That would explain why he was taking so long.

I made a decision and handed Mikey the cell phone.

“I’m going to check on your father. You wait here, and keep the doors locked,
no matter what
. Take a look at the clock.” Was I turning into my mother-in-law?

Mikey sat forward and looked at the car clock.

“If I’m not back with your dad in
five minutes
, use the cell phone and call the police. I’ve got it on speed dial.” I showed him which button to push if he needed to call for help. “Do you understand, Mikey? Five minutes. And don’t you dare get out of this car!”

“I get it, Mom. I’m not a kid anymore. You’re back in five minutes or I call the coppers.”

“Right.” My stomach turned over at the thought of leaving Mikey alone, but something must be wrong for Chris to take so long.

“It’s okay, Mom. Go check on Dad.”

I opened the car door and carefully pushed the lock down. Closing it, I shoved like Chris had done until I heard the latch click. Before stepping away from the car I took one last look up and down the street. Not seeing anything suspicious, I headed for the house. I stopped and turned back

toward the car, holding up five fingers.

I was still close enough to the car to see Mikey nodded his understanding.

Taking another deep breath, I headed for the front porch. I was sure Chris wouldn’t have locked the door behind him, so I shouldn’t have any trouble getting in. Walking softly, I started up the steps. One of them creaked loudly under my weight. I stopped and waited to see if anyone would burst out the front door. Nothing happened.

As quietly as possible I turned the knob and opened the door. I glanced back at the car before entering, needing to make sure there weren’t any bad guys trying to get to my son. I couldn’t see him, but I couldn’t see anyone lurking near the car either. It was too dark. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open all the way.

“Chris?”

I could see his silhouette in the doorway leading to the kitchen. With a feeling of relief, I walked into the dining room.

“Chris,” I repeated, “what’s taking so long? We need to get home. It’s late.”