Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy (6 page)

Ruth nodded.  “Sure. I love Diet Coke.”

Gloria grabbed a second one, set the sodas on the table and pulled out a chair.   She opened the lid on the pizza box and handed a plate to Ruth. 

“What kind is this?” Ruth didn’t wait for a reply.  She grabbed a slice of pepperoni with extra cheese and three chicken wings.  She took a bite of pizza and turned to Gloria.  “How did you know pepperoni pizza was my favorite?”

Gloria grinned. She grabbed a slice of ham and mushroom.  “Just a wild guess.”  She popped a mushroom in her mouth and nodded at the closed computer.  “The post office was closed and you were still watching it…”

Ruth nibbled on the edge of a wing.  “Mmm…spicy even.” She peeled a piece of meat off and popped it in her mouth.  “I was just about to close the cover on it, right after that Sharon lady locked the front door, but something told me not to.  So I waited.”

Gloria leaned forward.  This was right up her alley!  “And?”

“I heard a noise.  You know, like a doorknob rattling.”

“Did someone go inside?” Gloria bit into her pizza.

Ruth nodded.  “I could hear footsteps but the dang camera is turned the wrong way.  Whoever it was - was out of view.  Like they somehow knew about the camera.”

Ruth went on.  “Then I could hear thumps.  Not like pounding thumps but more of a…”

Ruth’s eyes shot up.  She stared at the ceiling.  “The kind of noise you would hear if boxes were being tossed around.”

Gloria set her half-eaten piece of pizza on the plate.  “Why didn’t you come get me?” she demanded.  “We could’ve jumped in the car and gone down there.  Maybe even caught the criminal red-handed.”

Ruth’s face grew grim. She leaned forward.  “I started to get up to do just that and then I heard the door slam and it was silent.”

She shook her head and grabbed another wing.  “Something or someone spooked them and they left in a big hurry!”

Gloria took a big swig of Diet Coke and slammed the can down on the table.  “Sounds like it’s time for a stakeout!” she announced.

Gloria spent the next morning sorting through boxes of trinkets and bags of clothes in the bedrooms.  There was so much to get rid of, it was a bit overwhelming.  She spent a good part of her morning filling bag after bag. 

In the back of her mind, she knew she would have to sort through all the stuff and tag it.  When she got to the tenth trash bag, it was time to stop.  One more bag and she’d be trapped upstairs.  The doorway at the bottom of the stairs was partially blocked from all the bags she’d thrown down.

She made her way to the bottom of the stairs, shoved the bags aside and stepped into her dining room.  Ruth was waiting for her at the bottom, her hands on her hips.  “And I thought I had a lot of stuff.”

“Well, I had three kids,” Gloria argued.

“True,” Ruth admitted.  She reached down and grabbed two bags before heading to the back door.  “You know you have to mark all this stuff,” she pointed out.

Gloria trailed behind her, dragging two bags as she went.  “I have a plan.”

Ruth stopped to open the kitchen door.  “Oh? And what’s that?”

The two started across the drive.  “You know how some stores have bins?  The ones that say $2.99 or $3.99 or whatever?”

“Yeah?” Ruth waited while Gloria unlocked the barn door and shoved the heavy door to the side.  “Well, what if I did that? Have a bunch of bins with a bunch of different prices?”

Ruth snapped her fingers.  “That’s a brilliant idea – but say we
all
wanted to do that?”

“We could put little dots on the items.  Pink for the stuff that’s $2.99, green for the $1.99 stuff and so on.  If we stick together during the sale, we can all decide whose stuff is what.  We just have separate sheets of paper and when an item is sold, we take the sticker off and put it on the person’s sheet.”

Ruth dropped the bag in what was unofficially Gloria’s section.  “Sounds like a plan!”

They moved the rest of the bags into the barn and Gloria decided it was time to stop for the day.  Ruth stepped into the kitchen and plopped down in front of the computer. 

Gloria followed her in and headed to the kitchen sink. She washed her hands and nodded to the laptop.  “Anything new?

“No!”

She pulled the leftover pizza from the night before from the fridge and popped it into the microwave.  “Still want to do the stakeout tonight?”

That question seemed to cheer Ruth.  She perked right up.  “Of course.  I already have my outfit picked out!”

The girls munched on the pizza and discussed strategies.  In the past, Gloria almost always did a stakeout alone.  This time she would have company.  She didn’t see Ruth being much of a problem… at least she hoped not.

Gloria’s eyes slid over to Ruth, who was sitting beside her in the passenger seat.  The car was tucked away, out of sight, in the alley behind the post office.  They were parked at just the right angle to have an unobstructed view of the back of the post office – and the rear entrance. 

Gloria smiled every time she looked at Ruth’s outfit.  Her friend was shrouded in black.  Black pants, black t-shirt, black socks!  She even had on a black ball cap. 

The sun had set hours ago.  Gloria reached over and plucked Ruth’s black sunglasses from her face.  “You don’t need those anymore,” she pointed out.

Ruth shoved the sunglasses inside her purse.  “I almost forgot I still had them on.” Her eyes never wavered, never left the back door of the post office. 

Gloria had to admit, the woman was tenacious.  She made a mental note to remember that if she needed an eagle-eye with her on a stakeout, Ruth would be the one to ask.

Gloria looked up at the sky.  Soon it would be pitch-black out.  A small mercury lamp hung low over the back door, which gave off some light, but unless they watched the door every second, it would be easy to miss someone sneaking inside.

Gloria checked her cell phone lying in her lap.  She was waiting for Paul to call.  She had left a message for him earlier.  She hadn’t heard from him in a few days now.  Not since his children had moved in.  The poor man had his hands full. 

Gloria looked at Ruth in the passenger seat.  She had her hands full, too.  They needed to turn this investigation up a notch or Ruth would be living with her until Christmas!

Ruth reached over and whacked Gloria’s arm.  “Hey!  I just saw something!”

Gloria followed her gaze.  There was a small movement, over in the bushes on the other side of the building. 

Ruth reached into her bag and pulled out a set of binoculars.  She lifted them to her face and adjusted the dial with her index finger.  “You see that? Someone’s out there!”

Gloria squinted and stared.  “Nope!” She was a bit disappointed in herself for not remembering her own binoculars.  That was Detective Work 101.  Don’t forget the binoculars!  She chalked it up to being distracted over the new houseguest and having to clean the upstairs bedrooms. 

She wondered what on earth she was thinking when she suggested a yard sale.  The crazy thing had ballooned and taken on a life of its own.  As of today, Gloria’s barn was half-full.  Lucy had stopped by with a bunch of stuff, then Margaret had popped in.  The entire back of her SUV crammed full.  And Dot?  Dot stopped by with a loaded van, then came back with another second load!

Ruth reached for the door handle.  Gloria could tell from the look on her face that she planned on confronting the intruder!

Gloria grabbed her arm.  She’d been through enough of these investigations to know that was a mistake!  “You can’t do that!”

“But someone just slipped behind the bushes!” Ruth pivoted in the passenger seat.  “This could be our guy!”

“And what if “our guy” has a gun?”

“Oh.” Ruth’s face was crestfallen.  She let go of the door handle.

“We watch and wait,” Gloria told her.

Patience wasn’t one of Ruth’s stronger suits.  Not that it was Gloria’s, either. 

Ruth crossed her arms and pouted.  “I wish I had my computer so I could see if they went inside.”

Gloria caught a movement.  The lid of the dumpster flew straight up in the air and then dropped back down.  “No.  They’re not inside.  Whoever it is - is in the dumpster.”

Ruth jerked the binoculars back to her face.  “Yeah, I see.  What on earth???”

Without warning, the lid slammed shut and the dark figure darted around the side of the post office.

Ruth pointed.  “We need to follow them!”

Gloria threw the car in drive, stomped on the gas and swerved to the left.  Gravel flew in the air as she spun out of the spot.  She made a sharp right in front of the building, then she stopped. Her heart sank.  “You see anything?”

Ruth rolled down the car window and stuck her head out.  Her face fell.  “No. I think they’re gone!” She slapped the palm of her hand on the top of her leg.  “I knew I should’ve gone after them!”

Gloria shook her head.  She made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Ruth.  The woman was going to get hurt if she kept that up.

Ruth was still in bed the next morning when Gloria snuck out.  Well, not really snuck out.  She just didn’t tell Ruth she was leaving. 

Gloria had wandered out to the kitchen in the middle of the night for a drink of water and found Ruth still glued to the computer monitor. 

Gloria grabbed her purse from the chair and her car keys from the hook by the door.  The first stop on her list was to run by the post office to see if Kenny had been able to find anything else out.  She wanted to catch him before he started his route. 

Gloria wandered into the post office and headed to the counter.  Kenny wasn’t in back sorting boxes.  She leaned over the counter and glanced behind the mail slots.

“Can I help you?” Sharon, aka the detective, was at the counter now. 

“Yeah.  I’m looking for Kenny.”

Sharon narrowed her eyes.  She peered down the front of her nose as she studied Gloria.  “He’s not here.”

“Oh, I’ll just come back later,” Gloria replied.  “When do you think he’ll be back?”

“When our investigation is over,” Sharon answered.

Gloria’s eyes widened.  Did that mean they considered Kenny to be a suspect now, too?

Gloria opened her mouth to speak and then clamped it shut.  She dropped her mail in the slot and exited the post office without saying another word.  Gloria slid into her car and headed out of town.  To Kenny’s place.

Kenny had lived in the same house for years.  It was a cute little bungalow.  One that looked like it belonged on the beach.  The wood exterior was painted the palest shade of blue.  The windows were trimmed in white, which was a perfect match for the small white porch that covered the front.

Tara, Kenny’s ex-wife, and he had divorced a few years back.  Tara had worked at Prestige Motors, the largest car dealership in the county.  It was in Green Springs.  She’d worked her way up from part-time receptionist to office manager and was eventually promoted to manager of the finance department. She and Kenny had lived the American Dream.  Both had good jobs making decent money.  They had spent their time traveling around the world and buying an array of toys.  ATV’s, snowmobiles, boats…. 

Yeah, things had been going good for the two of them.  Then, one day out of the blue, Tara walked out on Kenny. Rumor had it that Tara had run off with her boss.  Not that Kenny ever shared with Gloria what exactly had happened.  But Ruth knew.  Ruth had taken Kenny under her wing and Gloria knew he felt an unwavering sense of loyalty to Ruth, who was also his boss.

Gloria pulled in the paved drive and climbed out of the car.  She made her way down the small sidewalk and up the three steps to the front door.  She lifted her hand and started to knock when the door flew open.  Gloria’s mouth opened at the same time the door opened. 

Even though there was a screen separating them, she got a good look at Kenny’s disheveled state.  A day old beard framed his face and dark stubble covered his upper lip.  Part of his hair was matted to the side of his head while other parts stuck straight up in the air.  This was not the neatly-groomed Kenny that Gloria knew.

He pushed the screen door open.  “You can come in.”  He stepped aside and watched as Gloria made her way past him and into the cozy living room.  She exhaled the breath she’d been holding.  At least his house was still in order. 

Gloria stepped over to the antique rocker in the corner.  The one that faced the floral sofa.  Tara had done a beautiful job decorating the place. It was a shame she wasn’t around to enjoy it. But that was her loss.

Kenny plopped down on the sofa.  He cupped his head in his hands and looked at Gloria with drooping eyelids.  “You heard, huh.”

Gloria nodded.  “I just stopped by the post office and found out you were let go until the investigation is complete.”

“Just like Ruth,” he said. “Remember when I told you I thought the DEA thought it was an inside job?”

He went on. “So I guess they suspect Ruth or me?”

Gloria nodded.  “But what about Seth?”  Seth was the college kid that worked a few days a week sorting boxes and packages to load on the trucks.

Kenny shrugged.  “He doesn’t have access to stuff.  You know, like Ruth and I have.”