Holly Grove Homecoming (17 page)

“Trooper and I decided to take a dip in the lake to cool off. The high must be around ninety-five degrees again today. Are you here to go for a swim, Charles? Oh! I may call you Charles, I hope?”

The principal’s gaze shifted from Trooper to Carly and his wide smile reappeared. “Why, of course you can call me Charles, my dear. I’ve seen you around town a few times and I knew who you were but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet you before. I understand you’re a writer?”

“I am,” Carly responded. “Unfortunately, no one’s shown a lot of interest in publishing my dissertation to date, but I’m continuing to work on it.” Her smile widened as her gaze slid past Graham. “Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson. As you see, I’ve returned to risk the dangers of your lake. Have you got that gator penned up?”

“Gator?” A frown touched Graham’s brow.

Trooper’s uncle laughed. “Just a joke,” he said. Then he turned to Carly. “And please call me Roy. Everybody does.”

“Thank you. I’d be delighted.”

An awkward silence ensued. Trooper had just opened his mouth to ask his former principal how the high school was faring these days when his uncle interceded. “So, Trooper, I hear Myrna fixed a mighty good lunch today. Have you come after another mess of green beans?”

Trooper laughed. “Damn, but the grapevine is a speedy one in Holly Grove. If the Bureau could collect information that quickly, half the agents would be out of jobs.”

Charles Graham laughed rather loudly, then slapped Trooper on the shoulder. “Oops, sorry son. Is that the shoulder where you were wounded?”

“I’m all better now,” Trooper responded, glad he had been able to refrain from flinching. The shoulder was still sore. “Are you here to relieve Uncle Roy of some of those zucchinis he’s been trying to palm off on everybody?”

Both men laughed but Charles answered. “Not this trip, but I’ve hauled off my share of zucchinis this year. I’m here trying to talk your uncle into running for the school board this coming fall. He’d be perfect. He has no children, so he could be impartial.”

Trooper raised his brows and looked at his uncle. “Are you going to do it?”

Roy hunched his shoulders. “I promised to think about it.”

“That’s as much as I could get out of him today,” Charles told Trooper before turning toward Roy. “But I’ll be back, old friend, so be prepared to give me an answer.”

“I said I’d think about it, and I will,” Roy responded. “But that’s all I’m saying.”

“I’ll be on my way then.” Charles nodded toward Carly. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Morrison.” Then he turned to Trooper. “I knew you were in town and thought I might be hearing from you.”

Trooper nodded. “I’d planned to call.”

“Any time, son. Any time. Say, it looks like there’s a storm brewing and I left my riding mower sitting outside. I don’t like it to get wet. I’ll catch you all later.” With a quick wave of his hand, he hurried to his car, jumped in, and quickly headed down the driveway.

Trooper glanced over his shoulder, then turned to Carly. “Looks like our swim will have to be delayed. Those are definitely storm clouds moving in from the west.”

Carly too looked toward the west. “You’re right. Well darn. But maybe a little rain will cool us off.”

“Or make it feel like a steam bath outside,” Roy interjected.

“If you don’t mind, Carly, I’d like to head on back. Aunt Myrna was napping when I left and she had clothes on the line in the backyard. She probably wouldn’t sleep through a storm, but I’d like to check on her anyway.”

“I don’t mind at all.” She smiled at Roy. “Guess you won’t need to pen the gator up this afternoon after all.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to find him anyway. That sucker is scared of storms and is probably already hiding on the bottom of the lake.”

Carly laughed and fell into step beside Trooper as he headed toward the car. He hurried to open the passenger door for her and had just made it back around to the driver’s side when the first large raindrops splatted on the windshield.

He was glad enough to be headed back toward Sugar Maple Drive. Something about the meeting with Charles Graham had unnerved him, and he wasn’t at all sure what it was. He needed to check on Aunt Myrna and then settle down on her screened-in porch to watch the rain and give his mind time to play around with the significance of the vibes he’d felt from his old high school principal today.

T
ommy called
Trooper around six thirty to ask if they could put off going to his dad’s to look for Larry Abbott’s suicide note. He explained that one of his customers wanted to come by after hours to test-drive a luxury car that Tommy had been trying to sell him. Tommy needed the sale, he said. The month had been slow thus far. Trooper, of course, agreed.

But the change of plans left him feeling restless. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been counting on seeing that note. He wasn’t quite sure why. Logic told him that there was little he would be able to determine from the note. Still, he wanted to see it and try to determine if it was the original or a copy.

He and Myrna had eaten an early supper of leftovers from lunch and she settled down in her recliner to watch a little television. Trooper wandered outside. The rain had come and gone along with the thunderstorm, but it had left in its wake a stifling degree of humidity. Within seconds of being outside, Trooper felt perspiration trickling down his back.

He glanced across the street. Carly’s SUV sat in the driveway, and her house was closed up tight. He could almost feel the blessedly cool air that would be circulating through her rooms.

She was no doubt writing. He probably shouldn’t disturb her. But he had a house key. He could let himself in and at least get online and check his email. He hadn’t done that in several days.

He hurried back inside, grabbed his laptop, and stopped in the living room to tell Myrna that he would be working over at Carly’s and not to wait up for him. Myrna stifled a yawn and assured him that she’d probably be in bed before he returned. “Just lock the door behind you, dear,” she said before turning her attention back to her show.

Trooper stepped out on the porch and paused. He didn’t feel comfortable about letting himself into Carly’s house when she was at home. He might startle her, which would be worse than interrupting her if she was writing. He pulled his cell phone out of the case attached to his belt and dialed her number.

She answered on the second ring. “Hey, you. I’m looking out my office window and can see you on Myrna’s front porch. Are you leaving for Tommy’s house now?”

Trooper explained about the change in plans. “So I’m at loose ends. I’m not in a mood to work tonight but thought I might take advantage of your wireless internet to check my email, if that’s all right with you. I’ll make a special effort to be quiet if you’re writing.”

“I’m not. I tried to write after you dropped me off this afternoon and just couldn’t get into it, so I did a little research instead. I’ll tell you about it when you get here.”

Trooper was already walking down the porch steps. “Do you want me to use my key to get in so you won’t have to come downstairs?”

“No, I’ll unlock the door. I need to fix a bite to eat anyway. Have you eaten?”

“Yeah. Myrna likes to eat around six. We polished off all the leftovers from lunch or I’d offer to bring you something.”

“Thanks anyway, but I have leftovers of my own. I’ll just be heating up some pasta. Join me in the kitchen when you get here.”

Aware that his mood already felt lighter, Trooper closed his phone and hurried across the street. Just as he stepped up on the curb in front of Carly’s house, his muscles tensed. He’d learned long ago to trust his body’s signals, so he slowed and glanced around. A movement at the window of the Abbotts’ living room attracted his attention. He continued to walk but trained his eyes on the edge of the window. The drape twitched open about an inch.

He transferred the laptop from his right hand to his left. He didn’t know just how crazy Marge Abbott was these days, but if he saw a glint of metal coming from that window, he wanted to be prepared to run and duck. No sense letting someone shoot him before he’d fully recovered from a previous gunshot wound.

But the drape quickly covered the window again as though whoever was looking out had become aware that Trooper was looking back. He sighed. Poor Marge. He’d love to talk to her, to explain that he wished her no harm, but at the same time, they would both be aware that if he cleared his mother’s name, her son’s name might be further blackened.

A hot breeze rustled the maple leaves on Carly’s trees as Trooper stepped off the sidewalk. He’d be glad to get inside her house, away from Marge’s spying. He’d also be glad to see Carly again, even though he’d dropped her off at her front door less than three hours earlier.

What was it about Carly that lifted his spirits and eased his mind these days? There was physical attraction, of course. He’d felt that from their first meeting, and he was positive Carly felt it too.

But it was more than just physical attraction. When he was around her, he experienced a sense of well being, a feeling that he was in the presence of someone he could trust, someone he could depend on to accept him without being unduly judgmental. Where all these feelings came from he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t known Carly long enough to justify trusting her. But there it was. His body appeared to be signaling him that this woman was safe, just as it sometimes signaled him that danger was near.

A smile lifted the corners of his lips as he crossed the porch. The front door was slightly ajar, and he stepped into the blessed coolness of the air-conditioned entrance.

Carly called from the back of the house. “I’m in the kitchen. Come on back.”

“Be right there.” He detoured through the dining room to plug his laptop in, then stepped through the door to the kitchen. Carly was taking a bowl out of the microwave. A bottle of red wine and a large salad were already sitting on the table.

“Come and join me,” she said. “If you’re too hot for wine, there’s beer in the fridge.”

“Wine sounds good.” Trooper helped himself to a glass from the wooden wineglass stand on the cabinet and then took a seat at the table. “Marge Abbott was looking out her window as I crossed the street, so she knows I’m here. Of course I have no way of knowing what she’s thinking these days, but if you hear any strange noises during the night, feel free to call me. I’ll be glad to come over and check it out.”

Carly set a serving of spaghetti at her place, poured each of them a glass of wine, and settled down across from Trooper. “I appreciate the offer, and believe me, I’ll take you up on it if I hear anything.”

Trooper made small talk for a few minutes so Carly could eat her supper in peace. But she soon laid her fork down and gazed across the table at him. “I mentioned on the phone that I’d been doing some research this afternoon.”

“You did. Did you learn something interesting?”

“I got online and found some articles in newspaper archives from twenty years ago. The articles themselves didn’t contain any new information, but I recognized the name of one of the reporters. Harry and I had run into each other a couple of times when I was a TV reporter in Philadelphia. I called the paper where he used to work and was delighted to learn that he’s still working there.” She paused to take a sip of wine.

Trooper did the same, then waited for Carly to continue.

“He remembered the case well. Seems he came to Holly Grove at the time to interview people. He said he was convinced that there was more to the story than was coming out, but he couldn’t uncover any new information so he wrote up what he had and went back to Philadelphia.”

“He didn’t have any idea as to what might be under the surface?”

“Not really, although he’s convinced your parents were innocent bystanders. He couldn’t prove it, of course. But he said he’d been thinking about the case recently because of all the publicity you garnered in April when you were shot. He’d been meaning to dig out his notes from twenty years ago and see if anything jumped out at him after all this time. He hadn’t got around to it but he promised me he’d check on it when he got home this evening and email me if he found anything that might prove helpful.”

“You told him you were thinking about writing a true crime novel about the case?”

“Yes. But don’t worry. He doesn’t know you’re in Holly Grove. He doesn’t even know
I’m
in Holly Grove. I used my cell phone to call him, so if he looked at caller ID, it still shows a Philadelphia area code.”

“That’s smart.” Trooper reached for the wine bottle, then paused. “Do you mind if I have seconds?”

“Help yourself. In fact, I’ll have another glass too. And why don’t we take our wine to my office. I’ll check my email to see if I’ve heard anything from Harry. I’m sure he’ll get back to me if he discovers anything new in his notes.”

“Okay. I’ll swing through the dining room and grab my laptop. That way I can check my email too.”

“Good idea. While you’re getting your laptop, I’ll put my dishes in the dishwasher and then meet you upstairs.”

Ten minutes later, Trooper had pulled up to the worktable in Carly’s office while she had seated herself at her desk. Both were clicking away at their keyboards when something bumped against the outside wall of the house. Trooper glanced up just as Carly turned to look at him with widened eyes.

He placed a finger to his lips to indicate that she should be quiet. She nodded to indicate she understood. Both sat still, waiting.

A few seconds later, the noise came again. Trooper frowned. This reminded him of the sound he’d heard that night when he’d come over and checked out Carly’s yard for her. He’d never discovered what was causing that noise. As he’d told Carly at that time, there was a chance it was a tree limb tapping the house but he’d never really believed that was the case. Now, tonight, he was almost certain he could guess what it was.

He stood and eased to Carly’s side, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. The fragrance of her shampoo momentarily distracted him, but he quickly forced his mind back to their problem. “I suspect that’s Marge Abbott bouncing a ball off the side of your house. I’m going to slip downstairs and outside and see if I can catch her at it.”

Carly turned her head until she could whisper in his ear, causing a chill to dash down his spine. Again he forced himself to ignore his body’s sudden desires so he could pay attention to what Carly was saying. “I’m coming with you.” Her tone indicated she wasn’t amenable to any argument from Trooper.

He nodded but indicated with a finger to his lips that they needed to be quiet. Of course if he was correct in believing that the noise maker was Marge Abbott, there was no need to proceed so cautiously, but on the off chance that someone more threatening was outside Carly’s house, Trooper didn’t want to alert that person to the fact that he was coming to investigate.

Taking care to move quietly, he stepped out into the hallway with Carly right behind him. No sooner had they turned toward the stairs than the sound of breaking glass and a dull thud from somewhere behind them had him twirling around.

Carly gasped loudly. “What in the world?” she muttered.

“That was the sound of a window breaking,” Trooper said quickly. “Stay here.” He stepped back into her office, flipped off the overhead light, and dashed to the window. He pushed it open and stuck his head out just in time to see a figure slipping into the side door at the Abbott house.

He turned back around. “Just as I suspected,” he said. “Marge Abbott has been at it again. Breaking the window was probably an accident, but I’ll have to speak to Ralph tomorrow anyway. He needs to keep a closer eye on her.”

Carly sighed. “I’m relieved in a way. At least we know for sure what’s causing these noises.”

Trooper walked across the room and joined her in the hallway. “We’d better find that broken window and get it boarded up for the night. We can get someone here to replace it tomorrow.”

Carly nodded. “From the sound of it, I’m afraid it was one of my bedroom windows. Let’s check.”

She led the way down the hallway and turned in at the next door on the right. She paused inside the doorway to flick on an overhead light. “Blast it. I was right.”

Trooper’s first impressions were of a room that was both neat and cozy. The bed had been spread up and the covers turned back to display flowered sheets in soft shades of blue and green. A book lay on the bedside table, and the top of the dresser held half a dozen framed pictures and a small jewelry chest.

His gaze passed over those details quickly and paused near the two windows that faced the Abbott house. Broken glass was strewn on the floor and across the seat of an upholstered chair positioned near the window. Hot air poured through the shattered glass. He turned to Carly. “If you’ll hand me a trash can, I’ll pick up the bigger pieces, but we’ll probably need to vacuum in hopes of getting rid of all the slivers.”

Carly heaved a deep sigh. “What a mess! This is too much. Mrs. Abbott is becoming a menace now.”

“Hopefully this incident will discourage her from any further attempts to hassle you.” He continued to look around the room. “I’m assuming she was throwing a ball but I don’t see it, do you?”

Carly immediately followed his lead in looking around on the floor. A few seconds later, she pointed. “There. Under the edge of the cedar chest.”

Within seconds Trooper had retrieved the hard rubber ball. He tossed it into the air a couple of times and caught it in one hand. “Yes, this would bounce off your house nicely, but it’s also hard enough to break glass.” He stuck it in his pocket. “After we get this cleaned up, I’ll step over to the Abbott house and speak to Ralph. I’ll also hunt around for some plywood so we can board that window up.”

Carly waved a hand to encompass the mess in her floor. “I can take care of this. You go ahead and have a talk with Mr. Abbott. I don’t want my house coming under attack from his wife again.”

Trooper noted her squared shoulders and thinned lips and decided not to argue. Besides, he really needed to get a move on. Besides talking to Ralph, which did not promise to be pleasant, he needed to figure out where he could get the plywood he needed to board up Carly’s broken window.

He raised his brows in a question. “If you’re sure?”

Carly gave him a weak smile. “I’m sure. You’d probably get in my way. But thanks for the thought.”

“No problem. Just be careful not to cut yourself. I’ll be back with the plywood as soon as possible.”