Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy (12 page)

The five of them worked right along and a couple hours later everything was organized and ready to go. 

Dot was the first to leave.  “I’d offer to help tomorrow…”

Gloria nodded.  “I appreciate that Dot, but I know you have the restaurant to run.” She went on.  “Ruth will be here and so will Jill.”

Lucy and Margaret had more flexibility and told Gloria they’d be there around 9:00.  Then Gloria remembered Andrea.

Andrea had asked if she could take a look at everything before it went up for sale.  Gloria pulled the phone from her pocket and texted her.

Lucy was the last to leave.  She put a hand on Ruth’s shoulder.  “I can go to the post office with you,” she said, “for moral support.”

Ruth took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.  “Thanks, Lucy, but I need to take care of this on my own.”

Lucy drove off while Andrea pulled in.  “This place is like a revolving door,” Ruth observed.

Andrea parked in front of the barn doors.  She slid out of her sports car and held the door open.  Brutus bounded out and over to Gloria. 

Mally had been wandering around inside the barn sniffing everything.  When she saw Brutus, she did an about-face and came close to check out the visitor. 

Andrea grabbed hold of Brutus’s collar.  “Sit,” she commanded.  Brutus obeyed Andrea and sat. 

Gloria reached for Mally’s collar. “Mally sit, too.”  Mally sat. Her eyes never left Brutus.  Then Mally thumped her tail.  Just a bit.

Brutus thumped his tail in response.

“I think that’s a good sign.” Gloria bent down.  “Mally, this is Brutus.  Brutus, Mally.”

The two dogs sniffed the air.  Then Mally crouched down and pulled herself forward with her front paws. She looked at Brutus, then looked away. Brutus thumped his tail again.

Mally pulled herself closer.  At the same time, both dogs leaned forward to sniff each other, then barked “hello” at the same time.

“Well, I’ll be.” Andrea shook her head.  “They like each other.”

Gloria released her hold on Mally’s collar first.  Andrea let go of Brutus’s collar.  Brutus sniffed while Mally pranced.  When Mally tried to lead Brutus out of the barn, Gloria stopped her.  “Whoa!  I don’t think you two should wander off.”

She looked up at Andrea.  “I’ll be right back.” She led Mally back to the house and put her indoors.  She was glad the two got along but wasn’t sure if Mally wouldn’t be so excited to show Brutus around that they might run off down the road.  To the neighbor’s chicken coop or somewhere else they shouldn’t be.

By the time she headed back to the barn, Andrea had grabbed a set of delicate china and placed it on the front seat of her car.  “I think those are Dot’s,” Ruth observed.

Gloria pulled the colored tag from the top plate.  “Yep.”

Andrea picked out a few more things before announcing she was done.  She handed Gloria a hundred dollar bill.  Gloria looked at the money. “I’m sure the stuff wasn’t that much.”

Andrea grinned.  “This will help jump start your sales.” She hugged Gloria good-bye and climbed into her car.

Gloria closed the barn door and put the padlock in place.  “I think I’ll head to the post office before I chicken out,” Ruth decided.  She grabbed her purse and car keys then headed to the van. Gloria waited until her van was out of sight before she headed to the spare bedroom. The bedroom Ruth was staying in. 

She pushed the door open and peeked her head around the corner.  The room was tidy.  The bed was made and the curtains open wide to let sunshine in. 

Gloria stepped all the way inside and over to the dresser.  She sucked in a breath when she saw a white box on the floor next to the dresser.  It looked like the box that Kenny had handed her at his house the other morning. 

Gloria lifted the box and set it on top of the dresser.  She folded the cardboard top back and looked inside.  It contained a single item - a plastic box.  It looked like a fishing tackle box.  She lifted it out and held it up to the light from the window. 

Inside the box she could see small divided compartments or bins but she couldn’t make out what was in them.  The frosted cover blocked the view.  She turned it around and her heart plummeted.  There was a small combination lock on the front!

She pulled the box close to her face and sniffed the lid.  There was no odor.   She shook it gently.  There was no noise. Frustrated, she dropped the box inside the cardboard container, closed the lid and set it back on the floor. 

Whatever was in the box was something Ruth didn’t want others seeing. Why else would it be locked?

Gloria remembered the mini spy camera.  She pulled it out of her pocket and peeled the instruction sheet off the back.  She went into the kitchen and grabbed her glasses from the table.  The instructions
looked
fairly simple.  She switched the button to “on” then headed back to Ruth’s room. 

She needed to put it in a spot where it wasn’t sticking out like a sore thumb.  The perfect spot was a small shelf loaded with collectibles Gloria had accumulated over the years.  She tucked the black ball between two of the darker objects and stood back.  She could barely see it.
 
Unless Ruth was looking for it, she’d never even notice!

She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her apps screen.  What was the name of that thing?  She remembered seeing it stamped on the side.  Was the name of it -
My Spy
? She scrolled some more.  There it was! 
Eye
Spy! 
She clicked on the name and waited while it loaded.  The screen changed and suddenly she was staring inside the bedroom and right at the dresser where Ruth normally kept her purse.  She could even see the floor where the box sat.

She switched the phone off and took it to her bedroom where she set it on the dresser.  Gloria closed her bedroom door and wandered back into the kitchen just in time to see Ruth come up the steps.  She opened the door and waited for her to step in.  “How’d it go?”

She could tell by the look on Ruth’s face it wasn’t good.  “They said they were hours away from wrapping up the investigation and making an arrest.”

“Well, that’s good!  Then you can get back to work,” Gloria said.

Ruth shook her head and frowned.  “I don’t think so.  By the tone of Sharon’s voice, I think they plan to arrest me!”

Gloria’s mouth fell open as Ruth pulled out a chair and slumped down.  “Something about how they have more than enough evidence now.”

“But why you?”

Ruth dropped her chin in her fist.  “Maybe because they really don’t have a suspect and I’m as good a scapegoat as any?”  She shrugged her shoulders and tears filled her eyes.  “I’ve never been to jail before.”

Gloria remembered the mountain trip when she, Liz and Margaret had ended up in jail overnight.  She shuddered at the thought.

She patted Ruth’s arm.  “The Lord won’t let that happen.”

She grabbed her Bible off the side shelf and flipped it open to one of her favorite verses.

Psalm 143:1 (NIV)

Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.

The women bowed their heads and prayed that Ruth would not be wrongly accused and that the true criminal would be brought to justice and their actions brought to light.

Ruth wiped the tears and gave Gloria a watery smile.  “Thanks for being such a great friend.”

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Gloria vowed.  “Soon.”

Ruth didn’t pull her laptop back out.  She didn’t seem interested anymore in the goings on at the post office.  Instead, she plopped down on the living room sofa and stared at the TV the rest of the afternoon.  Gloria knew she wasn’t watching it.  She didn’t bother to pick up the remote, which was right next to her.  She never turned the channel.  Not once.

When dinnertime came, Gloria asked if she wanted grilled cheese and soup.  She stared blankly at Gloria, then shook her head “no.”

But Gloria made her one despite her objections.  She wandered into the living room with both their plates and set Ruth’s on her lap.  “You have to eat something.”

Instead of argue, Ruth lifted the sandwich and took a small bite.  When the sandwich was gone, Gloria took her plate and returned with a piping hot mug of tomato soup and pile of crackers.  “Here, eat this.”

Ruth crumbled a few crackers into the soup and spooned the mixture into her mouth.  The glazed expression never left her face. 

When they finished, Gloria washed up the few dishes and returned to the living room to find Ruth in the same position she’d left her in.  For once, Gloria didn’t know how to help.  She didn’t know how to fix this for Ruth. 

Gloria was sinking as far down-in-the-dumps as Ruth herself was. 

She let Mally out one last time and decided to head to bed.  Tomorrow was going to be a busy day for the girls.  Hopefully, it was one that wouldn’t include Ruth’s arrest!

Cars were lined up in the driveway and on the road in front of the house by 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  News of the yard sale traveled far and wide.  The fact that several families would be involved and the sale would have lots of antiques and children’s clothes brought them in droves.  It didn’t hurt that Dot told every person that came into the restaurant that they were having a sale at Gloria’s. 

By the time Margaret and Lucy showed up at 8:15, the place was jam-packed.  Gloria put Tyler and Ryan in charge of keeping an eye on the kids in the crowd, who tended to wander off when their parents weren’t looking, and the first place they headed was in the direction of the busy road!

As soon as Lucy arrived, Gloria pulled her aside.  “I need your help inside.”

Lucy raised her eyebrows but obediently followed Gloria across the drive and into the house.

Gloria pulled her phone from her pocket and turned it on.  They were the only two in the house.  “I set up a small surveillance camera in Ruth’s bedroom.  I need you to stay inside and keep an eye on it.  I have a hunch something’s going to happen today.”

Lucy nodded.  “Okay.  I’m certainly not one to question your hunches.”

“There’s only one thing,” Gloria went on.  “You need to stay out of sight.  You know, so no one knows you’re in here.”

She grabbed Lucy’s arm and pulled her to her bedroom.  “You can hang out in here.”

After she settled Lucy in the room and showed her how the camera worked, she headed back outside.

Thank goodness no one seemed to notice Lucy was MIA.  They were all too busy helping customers with their purchases.  Gloria recognized a lot of the faces in the crowd.  But there were quite a few she didn’t recognize. 

Dot dropped by at noon.  There was a small lull in the crowds.  She brought a tray of sandwiches and salads.  Gloria headed indoors to grab Lucy, hoping no one would notice she hadn’t been around.

She ducked her head around the bedroom door to find Lucy reclining on her bed.  “See anything yet?”

Lucy sprang up.  She shook her head.  “Nope.  Not a thing.”

Gloria stuck her hand on her hip.  “I hope my hunch wasn’t wrong.”

They wandered out to the others and gathered around an empty card table.  The tables were clearing out fast. 

Dot glanced around.  “Wow, a lot of stuff is already gone! Any idea how much money we’ve made?”

Ruth was in charge of sales.  She stuck her hand in the metal box they were using as a cash register. She pulled out a wad of bills.  “I haven’t had a chance to count, but look at all of this!”

The group had decided at the last minute, for the sake of convenience, to split the money evenly.  They decided that, other than Dot, they’d all contributed about the same amount of stuff. Dot didn’t seem to mind.  She was just happy to have her house cleaned out. 

They finished their food and got back to work.  Lucy gave Gloria a dark look and headed back inside to finish her stakeout.  Gloria was itching to do it herself but knew that if she stayed inside someone would notice.

Gloria’s heart sank when she saw Sharon McIntyre, the post office detective, pull into the drive.  Ruth had also noticed her pull up.  The color drained from her face and she clutched at her throat. 

Gloria met her at her car.  “This is a surprise, Detective McIntyre.”  The woman reminded Gloria of a younger version of Joyce Jameson, the female detective on her favorite series,
Detective on the Side.
She was tall and thin.  Her shoulder length blonde hair was parted off to one side.  She wore little makeup and every time Gloria saw her, she had the same frown on her face, as if she hated her job and made sure everyone knew it. 

The woman straightened her frame and peered down at Gloria.  “This isn’t a social call, Mrs. Rutherford,” she said.  “I’m here to see Ruth Carpenter.”

Several of the customers stopped to stare.  Margaret came to stand near Ruth.  She put a protective hand on her shoulder. 

The detective spied Ruth and walked over to her.  She bent forward and began to talk in a low voice.  “I need to bring you down to the post office to meet with one of the other of the detectives.”

Ruth gulped.  “Right now?”

The woman nodded and looked at the gathering crowd.  “Yes, now.”

Gloria stepped in.  “Surely you can see that we need Ruth.  We can come down in a few hours when we close the sale,” she bargained.

But Detective McIntyre was having none of that.  She shook her head. 

Ruth reluctantly stood and shuffled along behind the detective as she headed to the unmarked police car. 

Gloria was torn.  She wanted to go. To support Ruth, but she couldn’t leave now!  The timing couldn’t have been worse!  She stomped her foot.  That stupid detective knew exactly what she was doing!

Maybe Andrea could run up there and show a little moral support. Or even Dot!  She turned on her heel and headed towards the house.  She was halfway across the drive when Lucy ran out the front door.  She waved frantically at Gloria. 

“You’re never gonna believe…” Gloria said.

Lucy cut her off.  “No!  You’re never gonna believe what I just saw!” She tapped the front of the phone.  Then she looked over Gloria’s head and made a weird statement.  “Good.  She’s gone!”

Gloria was confused.  “You’re
glad
they took Ruth away?”  She must’ve heard Lucy wrong!

“Huh?” Now it was Lucy’s turn to be confused.  She waved her inside.

She pulled out a kitchen chair for Gloria.  “Grab your glasses and have a seat!”

Gloria pulled her reading glasses from the center of the table and slipped them on.

Lucy pulled out the chair next to her and dropped down.  “I was bored earlier so I started playing with this camera-thingy and I figured out how to record stuff.”

“That’s good.”  So that was what Lucy was excited about?

“Right after I figured out how to do that, you’ll never guess what happened!” Lucy shoved the phone into Gloria’s hand and pushed a button on the screen. 

Gloria watched in silence as a figure crept into Ruth’s room.  At first, Gloria couldn’t make out of a face.  Only that it was the more petite figure of a female.  The person tip-toed over to Ruth’s purse and opened it up, then slipped something inside before turning back around.  When the figure turned around, the camera got a clear shot of the face.

Gloria’s hand flew to her mouth.  “You know who that is!”

Lucy nodded.  “After she left, I went right into Ruth’s room and opened her purse.”

Gloria’s head shot up. She stared into Lucy’s eyes.  “What was it?”

Lucy sprang from the chair. “C’mon.  I’ll show you!”

Gloria followed Lucy into Ruth’s room and over to the chair.  The purse was still there and it was open.  She leaned over and looked inside.  She lifted her eyes and stared at Lucy.  “Is this what I think it is?” 

“It has to be cocaine.  I mean, I’ve only seen it on TV but that’s what it looks like to me,” she theorized.

Gloria stood straight up.  “We need to get down to the post office right away,” she said. “Maybe they haven’t arrested Ruth yet.”

It was Lucy’s turn.  “Arrested Ruth?  Why Ruth’s still outside…”

Gloria shook her head.  “Detective McIntyre just took her away in her car.” She looked down at the purse.  “Don’t touch that.  It’s evidence.” She hugged Lucy.  “Thank you, Lord, that you showed Lucy how to record on that crazy phone.”

Gloria looked around the room.  Propped up in the corner was a wooden dowel she used to hold the bedroom window open in the summer months.  She plucked it out of the corner and used the end to lift the purse up.  She carried it outside. 

Jill and Margaret were huddled together near the money table.  Margaret’s eyes were red and puffy.  She wiped at a tear with the back of her hand.  “I can’t believe they took Ruth away!”

“Not for long,” Gloria insisted.  “Not after they see the evidence Lucy and I have.”

Lucy stepped around the side of Gloria.  “We have to get down to the post office right away.”

Tyler wandered over to the table.  “We can take care of things here, Grams.”

She smiled down at Tyler.  Well, not really smiled
down
.  He was getting tall now, almost as tall as Gloria herself.  “Thank you, Tyler.”

There was no time to lose.  “We’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Gloria climbed into Lucy’s jeep.  They started to back out when a vehicle pulled in behind them, blocking their path.  Gloria glanced in the rearview mirror.  Judging by the outfit the man had on, it was another detective.  He was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and his expression was grim.

He walked right by the jeep and headed to the porch door.  Gloria climbed back out of the jeep and followed him up the steps.  “Can I help you?”

The man turned around.  “I’m looking for Gloria Rutherford,” he said.

“That would be me,” she answered.

“I’m here to pick up Ruth Carpenter’s purse.”

Gloria pointed to Lucy’s jeep.  It’s in the jeep.  We were headed to the post office with it when you pulled in behind us and blocked our vehicle.”

The stone-faced man looked at the jeep.  “I’ll take it.”  He didn’t wait for an answer as he side-stepped Gloria and headed to the vehicle.  He walked straight over to the passenger side, reached inside and grabbed the purse.

Gloria furrowed her brows. 
Great detective he is, contaminating evidence with his prints!
she thought.

Without uttering a single word, he walked back to this car, climbed inside and backed out of the driveway.

“What was that all about?” Lucy wondered.

Gloria shook her head in disgust.  “Terrible detective work, that’s what.”

They turned the jeep around and headed to town.  Gloria prayed for Ruth on the way, that they hadn’t taken her to jail yet.

Gloria’s stomach twisted in a tight knot when they pulled up in front of the post office and saw half a dozen unmarked vehicles parked out front.   The girls could see straight inside the large plate glass window. 

Ruth was in view, her back to them as several people stood around her in a small circle.  Gloria stepped forward and tapped on the glass window.  One of the men in the group looked up at them then shook his head.

But Gloria was NOT about to give up.  They had evidence and these detectives needed to see it!  She tapped again, but this time harder.

They all looked up now.  One of them signaled Gloria and Lucy around to the rear.  A man was outside waiting for them.  “The post office isn’t open,” he said as they approached.

Lucy rolled her eyes.  “We
know
that! We have evidence in this case.”

“What kind of evidence?” he asked.

Gloria switched the “on” button on her phone and hit the play button for the recording Lucy had made a short time ago.  “This!  Ruth Carpenter is being framed!”

The man watched the video in silence.  “Where did you get this?” he asked after the video ended.

“A small spy camera was installed in the corner of the room where Ruth’s purse was.  The video recorded this woman planting drugs in her purse.”

He nodded.  “That package of cocaine was found in her bag.”

“Who’s the woman in the video?” he asked.

Instead of answer his question, Gloria pushed aside and opened the screen door.  “Sharon McIntyre knows exactly who this is.  Let’s ask her!”

She barged into the rear of the post office.  All the heads swung around as they heard the commotion.  Gloria and Ruth’s eyes met.  Gloria’s heart sank when she saw her friend’s swollen, red face. 

She walked up to Detective McIntyre and thrust the phone into her hand.  “Watch this video,” she said.

The group of detectives clustered around the small screen and watched the video.  The only one who couldn’t see it was Ruth.  “Ruth’s been set up,” she said.

Sharon shook her head in disbelief.  “Where did you get this?”

Once again, Gloria explained how she had set up the camera in Ruth’s room and Lucy had monitored it during the sale on a hunch that something was going to happen.

“Well, this changes everything,” Sharon McIntyre announced. 

Lucy took a step closer.  “That means that Ruth is free to go?”

Sharon slowly nodded.  “Turns out my informant is the real culprit.”

Ruth abruptly burst into tears when it sank in she was free to go.  That she was no longer a suspect and that she wasn’t going to be arrested.  She flung her arms around Gloria’s neck and sobbed.  Gloria held her friend in a tight grip.  Lucy circled the two and all three of them hugged for a long moment.

When they took a step back, the detective stepped forward.  She touched Ruth’s arm.  “I’m sorry for the grief and aggravation we’ve caused you these last few days but I might have to ask for your help.”

Ruth sniffled and eyed the detective warily. 

She went on.  “We’d like to set up a sting.  You know, catch the true criminal in the act and I think you can be of assistance.”