Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines (5 page)

“I didn’t get to the barn yesterday.”

“That’s okay, but those beasts have a lot to give you when things are falling apart. Come on. Let’s head down.”

“You’re right. Ken doesn’t need me.” She stood up and took a deep breath, releasing it through her nose. “I’m ready.”

They walked through the building and out the side door into the covered walkway. There were only two guests in this addition, but it felt good to have the rooms used. Polly couldn’t believe she was really an innkeeper. All of those years she’d spent in college and working as a librarian in Boston had prepared her for quite a bit, but not for this.

She put her hand on Eliseo’s back. “I don’t tell you thank you enough for all you do here. I really appreciate you.”

“I appreciate the work, Polly.”

She stopped him and pulled him into a hug. “No, really. I’m so glad you are here.”

He stiffened and then hugged her back. “I am too. You’ve given me a pretty wonderful life.”

She released him and they left the covered walkway and headed for the barn. “I’ve given you a job. You’ve made a life here. I don’t know how you get everything done. Lydia told me a couple of weeks ago that Mrs. Mulberry said you cleaned out her pond and then you promised to clean her gutters before winter.”

“She’s a nice lady. She feeds me pie. Each time I see her, she has pie for me. I have to work like this or I wouldn’t be able to walk!”

They were laughing as they opened the doors to the barn.

“Good morning, everyone,” Polly called. She heard movement and watched as the horses came to life. Nan’s head was first out of the stall and Eliseo strode over to greet her. He murmured at her and stroked her head, then moved to Nat, who shook himself before putting his head out.

“Polly!” Jason and Rachel both ran into the barn and pulled up short when they saw Polly and Eliseo.

“Did you see it?” Rachel asked.

“
Yes, and the police have already been here,” Polly said.

Rachel was moving toward Daisy’s stall and Jason stepped up to Nat. Both of these young people had bonded with the four horses, but had chosen their own favorite to care for. When they all rode together, they knew who was most comfortable on which horse.

“Come on, guys. Let’s feed them breakfast and we’ll saddle up after cleaning out the stalls. No time to waste!” Eliseo said and hefted a bucket to Jason. He tossed a second at Rachel and Polly caught up to him before he tossed another.

The horses were soon eating and the humans made quick work of clean up.
Jason hauled the last of the waste out to be dumped while Rachel and Polly followed Eliseo into the tack room. There wasn’t a day that went by when Polly wasn’t grateful for the months she’d put in hauling hay bales and cleaning these stalls by herself. She was in better shape than she’d ever been and the thought of lifting a saddle up on to Demi’s back no longer frightened her. She could tell he looked forward to their rides together and this morning she could hardly wait to feel his muscles move underneath her. She was still in awe that she got to be part of their lives.

CHAPTER
FIVE

Demi’s strength and calm demeanor was the perfect remedy. Eliseo was right. Other than a few words of guidance as they rode, these early morning rides were quiet. Rachel and Jason were still trying to wake up, Eliseo never had much to say, and this morning Polly was fine with silence. She had a lot to think about.

When they returned to the barn, they brushed down their horses and Eliseo stepped out to take a phone call. “Henry thinks that pressure washers will clean up most of the paint,” he said, walking back in. “He’s a little worried about the front doors, but told me that we should do as much as we can and he will look at it when he gets back.”

“Okay, so we need to line up pressure washers and ladders,” Polly said. “Did he say anything about where to get that stuff?”

“No, but he told me that you should call him when you’re free.”

“Thanks. I’ll finish in here and head up to the office.”

“You go. The kids and I can do this. I’ll stop in to find out what’s next.”

“I’m sorry about this, Eliseo. I know today is usually your day off.”

“Don’t even think about it. I’d rather be outside cleaning than stuck in my kitchen working on tile. That job will be there this winter when it’s cold and miserable.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you. I’ll make it up to you.”

“You already have, several times over. Don’t worry about it.”

Polly dialed her phone as she left the barn.

“Henry? Hi,” she said.

“Hi there, pretty girl. How are you doing? Did the ride help bring you back to normal?”

“It did, but now I’m stressing about how to get my hands on the equipment to clean this up.”

“I’m already on it. Jimmy Rio knows where mine is in the shop and he said his dad has one he could borrow. I called Doug and Billy and Doug is pretty sure his dad has one, too. They’ll be coming downstairs any minute to talk to you.”

Polly listened as he gave her instructions and then said, “Where are you? What am I hearing in the background?”

“I’m on the other side of Kalamazoo, heading your way.”

“I thought you were going to some lecture this afternoon with your sister. It was some guy she wanted you to meet.”

“I’ll meet him later. I woke her up and told her what happened and she asked why I was still in her house. She kicked me out and I let her.”

“Henry,” Polly whined, “I didn’t want you to do this. I could have handled it.” Then she stopped and chuckled. “Well, at least with you on the other end of the phone. You seem to be handling it for me even long distance.”

“I’m coming home. I’ll be there late this afternoon and you better have some good food to feed me because the only stops I’m making are for gas. Snacks are gonna get me to you.”

“I’ll cook whatever you’d like. I promise. I can’t believe you’re doing this for me. You’re a nut.”

“I have to tell you, Polly, I can’t take any more of this.”

“Any more of what?”

“Any more of you having terrible things happen when I’m nowhere near.”

“You can’t hover around me all the time.”

“I can give it my best shot. But, I promise you this, I’m not leaving town for an extended period of time unless you’re with me. And that’s all I have to say about that!”

She chuckled, “I love you too, Henry.”

Doug and Billy came around the corner and into her office.

“Henry, can I call you back in a bit? Doug and Billy are here.”

“Sure. I love you. Talk to you later.”

“I love you too.”

The two young men were roommates, living in the apartment above her garage. Polly felt like they were her two younger brothers. She’d met them last fall when renovation had started on Sycamore House. They worked for an electrical contractor and had ended up as part of her family.

“Hey Polly, was that Henry?” Doug asked.

“I certainly hope so,” she laughed. “Who else would I be telling that I loved them?”

“You say it all the time to everybody,” Billy deadpanned.

Doug nodded in agreement. “We’re going over to Dad’s to get his power washer. We’ll be back.”

“Thank you. Eliseo will organize this, but I appreciate you.”

“If we borrow your truck, we could bring back a ladder.”

“Uh,” she hesitated.

“It’s only across town,” Doug laughed. “I’m a good driver. I promise.”

Polly tossed him a key. “You hurt it, I’ll mess you up,” she said.

“Deal.”

They walked out of the office and she heard Billy say, “Dude! She doesn’t trust you. Maybe I should drive!”

Polly almost stopped them. She stood up from her chair, then sat back down. “If I trust them in my house, I trust them with my truck,” she muttered. She loved her truck, but only because it had belonged to her dad. It had gone into storage after he died and was one of those things that made her think of him every time she drove it. She wasn’t sure how she would ever let it go, so she did her best to take care of it.

She looked down at the flash drive on her desk. “Crap,” she said and looked at the time. She knew Aaron went to ten thirty church with his wife. Polly had time to call him. She didn’t want to explain why she hadn’t done so yesterday, but figured she might as well face the music.

“Polly?” Aaron’s deep voice was a little hesitant when he answered her call.

“No more bodies. I think one is enough for this week, don’t you?”

“Well, that’s good news. What’s up this morning?”

“First of all, Lila Fletcher came back early this morning. She said she’d been gone.”

“I’ll have one of my boys stop up and talk to her. What else?”

“Did you hear about the vandalism here?”

“I heard it on the scanner. Talked to Ken. It sounds like he’ll do what he can. Did you need me to do something with that?”

“No, we’ve got it. But, I’ve done something bad, even though it was totally unintentional. I’m afraid you’re going to be mad at me.”

“I’ve been mad at you before. It doesn’t do me any good. What did you do?”

“I kind of forgot to tell you about a flash drive that Thomas Zeller gave to me just before he died.”

“You what?” Aaron sounded more irritated than usual.

“I totally forgot about it until late last night when I was talking to Henry on the phone. I dropped it into the pocket of my robe and I found it there when I put it on
last night.”

“Why did he give this to you?”

“I don’t know, Aaron. He told me that it was only for me and that I was supposed to find him.”

“Find who?”

“I don’t know that either. I haven’t had time to go through the files.”

“You’re just going to give it to me? No argument?”

Polly was shocked. “Why would I argue with you? I want you to find out who killed him.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to figure it out?” he teased her.

“If I do figure it out, that would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it?”

“Not the way you do things. Your luck, the murderer will show up and try to hurt you and I’ll have to rescue you. I’d like to tell you to just let me do my job and keep your nose out of things, but I’d be making noise into the wind, wouldn’t I?”

“Maybe?” she laughed.

“Polly, you give me a headache.”

“I don’t do it on purpose. It’s not like I ask these people to die around me. I keep insisting that it’s not my fault and no one seems to listen.”

“Lydia and I will stop by after church. With this vandalism episode, she isn’t going to rest until she’s wrapped her arms around you at least once.”

“We’re washing down the front of the building this morning. Hopefully it will be clean by the time you get here.”

“What does Henry have to say about all of this?” Aaron asked.

“Excuse me?” she said.

“Lydia would probably swat me for that question, wouldn’t she? I’ll ask again in a different way. Is Henry helping you clean this up?”

“Not exactly,” Polly laughed. “He’s still in Michigan.”

“That’s right. That has to be frustrating for him.”

“I think it is. But not in that ‘caveman gotta protect his woman’ way, though.”

“Oh. No. He would never act like that,” Aaron laughed.

“Not if he wants to live through the next week,” she responded. “He’s smart and doesn’t treat me like I’m going to break just because I’m a girl.”

“He is smart,” Aaron replied. “And one of the smartest things he did was corral you. You’re good for him, Polly.”

“Thanks, Aaron.” This was the longest conversation she’d ever had with Aaron about something other than a dead body. His wife was one of her best friends, but Aaron usually let the two of them chatter while he remained quiet, observing and rarely commenting.

“I’ll see you later. If you still need help with cleanup, you know I’ll be there.”

“I think we’ll be fine, but thanks.” She watched as Jimmy Rio and Sam Terhune drove into the parking lot. Jimmy parked his truck and they got out.

“Good-bye, Polly.”

“Bye, Aaron. Hug your wife for me.”

She hung up and when she got outside, said, “Hi guys. Thanks for helping today.”

“This is really something!” Jimmy said, “When Henry called, I couldn’t believe it. Who would do this to you?”

“I’ve got nothing.” Polly shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Eliseo came around the corner of the building.

“Hi Jimmy. Hi Sam,” he said.

“We’ve got two power washers and some hose here. Where do you want us to hook up?”

“Follow me,” He strode toward the garage and they followed him, the end of a hose trailing behind them.
Doug drove in with Polly’s truck and parked. He and Billy jumped out, unloaded a ladder, then went back to pull more hose and another washer out of the bed of the truck.

“Do you think your water pressure can handle this?” Doug asked.

Polly shrugged. She had no idea. “Ask Eliseo,” she said.

He was coming back, carrying one end of a ladder.
“We’ll be fine. We’re going to run one from the kitchen and then one from the other side of the building.”

“But,” Polly interrupted.

“No, I’ve got it,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

“Okay. What can I do?”

“Really?” he asked.

“Really. I need to do something or I’ll go out of my mind.”

“You’re going to get wet.”

“Then I’ll get wet. It’s going to be 82 degrees today. I think I’ll live through it.”

“When the paint and water comes down to the sidewalk, you need to sweep it into the gravel. We’ll wash it down again after the walls are clean, but I don’t want it to stain the concrete.”

“Brooms in the shed?” she asked.

“They are. Let me get these hoses hooked up and water running. Guys, we’re going to begin up high and wash it down. Jimmy, you work on the doors. Henry and I are most worried about those. The windows and brick should clean right up.”

As they were setting up, cars were slowing down on the highway in front of the parking lot and several drove through. The first person to pull in was a couple Polly had met several times with Henry. She could not believe that she didn’t remember their name.

“What happened, Polly?” the husband asked.

“Paint. All over everything.”

“Do you know who did it?”

“I don’t have a clue. Ken Wallers was here earlier. That’s all I could do, I guess.”

“Wow, that’s too bad. I hope it cleans up for you.”

“So do I. But, Henry seems to think this will do the trick and I figure if anyone knows, he does.”

“He’s a good man, that Henry is,” the man said. “Well, good luck!” They drove on out and before she took two steps toward the shed, another car pulled in. This time it was Lisa Bradford, Polly’s mail-person.