Unexpected Riches (Bellingwood Book 13) (23 page)

"What if you don't like the answer?"

"We'll deal with it. At this point, I can’t imagine that I’ll like it. You've turned this into something immense and it doesn't need to be. Obviously, the answer makes Heath uncomfortable. What are you asking me?"

"What happens if you don't like what Heath has to tell you?"

"I don't know," she said. "It depends on what it is. But it can't be as bad as the two of you are making it. So far, the worst thing that I know is that Heath and Libby went out to the trails when they aren't supposed to be together. And oh, by the way, her mother has made it quite clear that you aren't to see her again. That was a big mistake in your relationship with her. You couldn't obey the rules and now you'll have to face the consequences."

"Consequences?" Heath asked.

"Yes. You are no longer allowed to spend time with her outside of school. You screwed up. I can't punish you any more than that for making that mistake. That is, if she's someone you wanted to be with."

Heath nodded and looked down at the floor.

"That's a lesson you'll want to learn right away," Polly said. "If a girl's mother sets out rules, you follow them. Because when you don't, she will make it impossible for you to see her daughter. And oh, by the way, I'm fine with that."

He looked at her. "I thought you liked Libby."

"I like her, but you two disrespected her mother and I will support her decision." Polly wasn't about to tell him the rest of what Libby's mother had said. The woman was scared for her daughter and furious that they'd been sneaking around behind her back.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "So what's the rest of the story."

Hayden glared at his brother and then turned to Polly. "He thinks you'll kick him out."

"What?" The word exploded out of her mouth, startling everyone in the room. Han jumped down from where he'd been sitting beside her, Luke leaped off the back of the sofa, Leia sat up, and Obiwan turned to look at her. The two boys were startled as well.

"Sorry," she said in a normal tone of voice, but then she stepped it up again. "How in the world could you believe something like that about us? Why would you even think that?" Polly stood up and then sat down on the coffee table in front of Heath. She was beside herself. She grabbed his knee. "After what you went through last summer, why would you think that there is anything you could do that would make us let you go? We are committed to you, for as long as you want to be part of our family." She sat back. "No, that's not right. It's not up to you. We're committed to you. That's all there is to it. There's not a damned thing you can do to change that."

Polly turned to Hayden. "And you, too. We might not have signed papers declaring that you're part of our family, but you are. Henry and I love you two. Both of you. And Heath..." She reached over and touched his face, forcing him to look at her. "You can't make us stop loving you."

Tears streamed from his eyes. Polly pointed at a side table on the other side of the room. "Tissues."

Hayden's eyes were full as he stood and went to get the box. He put it on the table beside her and she pulled out a handful and put them in Heath's hand. "I keep this nearby for just such occasions as this. I'm always crying."

He nodded.

"Is that a 'yes, you're always crying' nod?" she asked.

He smiled through the tears and nodded again.

"Have I cleared up your biggest fear about this conversation?"

Heath blew his nose and nodded one more time.

"I'm going to need a few more words," she said. "We are going to finish this today. And maybe it won't take quite as long as I worried it would. Are you ready to talk yet?"

He put his head in his hand. "I screwed up so bad. It's just so bad."

"There's nothing so bad that you can't recover from it," Polly said. "That's one of the great things about having a family. We act as a buffer between the really bad stuff and you. But we have to know what we're dealing with. You need to talk to me."

"It was Ladd," Heath said.

"I'm sorry, Ladd Berant?" she asked. "He's in prison."

Heath nodded. "Yeah. He is, but his crew isn't and they blame me."

"And they waited six months to retaliate?"

"I've been at work, home or school most of the time," he said. "I should have known something was up, but I thought maybe they'd finally forgotten about me."

"How did they know where to find you?"

"Libby is friends with one of their girlfriends and she was bragging about how we were going to sneak out of school and go for a walk."

"Yeah," Polly said. "I forgot about that. We'll need to deal with the whole sneaking out of school thing, too." She grinned at him. "I'm not too happy that you're laid up. It would have been a perfect time to get your shower scrubbed down."

"I'll do it when I'm better," he said.

"You're right," she agreed. "You will. Now, tell me what really happened Friday afternoon."

"I didn't think anything about it. Libby and I skipped last hour and went down to the trails. And they jumped us. They told Libby that if she didn't do anything, she wouldn't be hurt. I told her to just let it happen to me. All I could think was that I had to get her home in one piece. I'd just take the beating and it would be over before school let out and then she could get on the bus and no one would ever know."

He stopped.

"And then?" Polly pressed.

"And then it got worse. They wouldn't stop hitting me and then…" He touched his cheek. "He cut me and told me that was what was happening to Ladd in jail and that I needed to feel it because it was my fault he was there."

Polly took another deep breath and looked first at Hayden and then at his brother. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry that you are still dealing with this. We're talking to the sheriff."

"No," Heath said. "That will just make it worse."

"No way. I'm not letting these bullies hurt you like this and get away with it."

"But I can't go through any more with them. There's always another one who wants to prove that he's part of the crew. I'm a target."

"Not today you aren't. Not this week, in fact. We aren't finished talking about how to handle this, but the last thing you want to do is let a bully think he has won. This is assault with a weapon. Heath, we're calling the sheriff."

He slumped back on the couch and Hayden reached out to him. "She's right."

"I know," he said. "It just sucks."

"Today looks really bad," Polly said. She put her hand on Heath's knee. "That bit about your family being a buffer is true. We will discuss all of the options you have before you have to face any of those boys again. I promise."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like I don't know yet," she said with a smile. "This will require more research. Now, is there anything else you need to tell me?"

The two boys looked at each other and grinned.

"What?"

"We had a bet," Hayden said. "I bet him that you wouldn't kick him out and he took it. He owes me ten bucks."

"Sucker bet," Polly said. "And if you didn't hurt so bad, I'd squeeze you."

Heath moved away from her. "Ouch?"

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Leaving the boys in the living room, Polly called Aaron. When she gave him the names of the boys who had been involved, he groaned.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing. They are trouble."

She heard him breathing.

"Aaron?"

"Sorry. Is Heath willing to accuse them of beating him up?"

"I don't know," Polly said. "He's certainly fearful of reprisals. He didn't want me to tell you and I think he hopes this will just go away."

"This is one of those things I hate about my job," Aaron said. "I want to nail these delinquents, but Heath is right. It won't be easy for him at school. They have their claws dug in pretty tight and as you can see, they're more than willing to make a statement with their fists, feet, and now weapons."

"Doesn't that change things?" she asked.

"That a knife was used? Yes, for one of the boys. But the others will still be around to torment Heath and his friends. What a strange sense of loyalty they have. But it's worse for Heath because he was once part of them. He sighed. "We'll round them up and see what we can shake out, but I don't know what we'll be able to do. How is he doing?"

"He's getting better," she said. "I’m not sending him back to school this week. If he has to face them, I want him to at least be healthy. You know, Aaron, I can totally get helicopter parents. I want to yank him out of there and put him into a completely different school system so he never has to see those boys again."

"I understand," Aaron said. "Let me ask more questions at the school before you make any decisions. This beating is an escalation, but they've hurt kids before. From what I understand, Ladd Berant has become a hero to some of the kids that knew him."

"How does that even happen?" she asked.

"The world is a scary place for our young people some days."

"Can I open a little home school in my back yard?" Polly asked. "How can I send Rebecca into that type of environment?"

"Most kids don't even realize this is going on. She might never see any hint of it."

"This is Rebecca we're talking about," Polly said. "You know better than that. Say, by the way, have you gotten any more information on Ethan Carter's death?"

"Your friend Beryl and young Tallie gave me some names this morning. Anita is checking to see if any of the other cousins are in Iowa, just in case they came up to check on his progress."

"Finding a treasure that no one knows whether it even exists?" Polly was incredulous. "After all of these years, why would they think it's just going to pop out at them?"

"It's the only thing we have to go on."

"Did you talk to Beryl about her half-brother, Darien?"

"The English boy?"

Polly laughed. "He's not a boy. But yes. I'd almost bet that he was the one who broke into Sycamore House last night. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"What do you think he was looking for?"

"That's where we're stumped," she said. "Maybe it was the list of family members so he could reach out to Lester Carter's descendants or get in touch with some of the boys he'd talked to last fall when he contacted Ethan. Or maybe he was looking for the research Andy had done on land that the early Carters owned around here."

"This is all pretty convoluted," Aaron said with a chuckle. "I'm glad you reached out to Bellingwood police rather than me, though."

"That was the alarm company. I would have called you."

"Dead bodies, Polly. All I want is dead bodies from you."

"And beaten up sons?"

"I will always take care of your family. We do need to talk to Heath, though. Stu is up in that neck of the woods. Can I have him stop by?"

"Sure. Heath's brother is here for a while. It might help if Stu talks to both of them. Hayden is good support."

"I'll give him a call. Thanks, Polly."

"Thank you," she replied.

Polly wondered if she still had Jeanie Dykstra's contact information in her phone. They really didn't see each other outside of summer band rehearsals and performances, but they'd exchanged numbers the first year. She scrolled through the list until she found it. Blast Beryl anyway. This wasn't Polly's job and here she was doing it just because Beryl asked.

She frowned, then swiped the call open and waited as it rang.

"Jeanie Dykstra, how may I help you?"

"Hi, Jeanie. This is Polly Giller. How are you?"

"Polly! I'm fine. What can I do for you?"

"Well," Polly said. "Apparently you are descended from Lester Carter, one of the founders of Bellingwood."

Jeanie laughed. "Yes I am. Are you on the committee for the sesquicentennial? I guess you can't get started too early on this."

"No. That's not it. It's something else entirely right now. I wonder if your family has any old family letters or pictures or information from the days of Lester and Jedidiah Carter."

"I'm sure we do. They're all out at Mama and Daddy's house, though. What are you looking for?"

"That's just it," Polly said. "I'm not sure. Apparently, descendants of the third brother, Cyrus, found letters that Lester had sent to him regarding Jedidiah's robbery of the bank."

"Oh that," Jeanie said. Polly could hear the smile in her voice. "That's old news."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know about the gold, but I know that it was all paid back to the bank. Jedidiah's daughter cleared his name. We have the bank ledgers. That's kind of a family legend that's been passed down."

"But you don't know if they found the gold?"

"I suppose not. You've heard about Pearl, though, right? How she wrote under a man's name? Cyrus was very proud of her. If she hadn't done what she did, he would have lost the bank because of her father. The regulators were coming in to audit the accounts and Cyrus didn't know what to do. Pearl sold more stories that year than ever before so that she could pay him back for her father's wrong doing. Old Jedidiah had died by that point. She wouldn't have had to take responsibility for it, but she did."

"So Cyrus didn't have any idea where Jedidiah might have buried the gold?"

"Buried it?" Jeanie laughed out loud. "He was such a thief and a gambler, it had to have just dribbled out of his hands."

"But as I understand it, he died before that could have happened."

"Hmmm," Jeanie said. "I suppose. It might not be a bad idea to look through that little box of goodies we have at the house. Maybe I should give Mama a call. Would you like to see it, too?"

"I would love that."

"Polly?"

"Yes."

"There's someone at the door." Jeanie paused. "Well, he's a handsome fellow."

"Tall? Dark hair?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

"Jeanie, don't answer the door."

"What do you mean?"

"If he's who I think he is, you don't want to answer the door. He's looking for the same information that I am, but I don't know what his motives are."

"What should I do?"

"I don't think he'll try to break in," Polly said. "Is your front door locked?"

"No," Jeanie said. "I never lock my door during the day. Do you think he'll come in?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He's opening the door."

"Halloo, is anyone here? Jeanie Dykstra, are you home?" It was a distinct British accent.

"That is who I thought it was," Polly said. She ran out into the living room. "Heath, do you have your phone?"

He held it up.

"Call the police and tell them that Jeanie Dykstra has unwanted company." Polly said to Jeanie. "What's your address?"

"Two-oh-four East Polk," Jeanie whispered. "I'm in the back bathroom. I don't think he came in the house, though."

Heath handed Polly the phone. "Hi, this is Polly Giller and I think the man who broke into Sycamore House last night might be over at Jeanie Dykstra's house."

"Is she safe?"

"I think so. Could you send someone by there, though?"

"Right away. Are you on the phone with her?"

"I am."

"Tell her to remain quiet and we'll be right there. Do you believe he's a threat to her?"

Polly pursed her lips and thought. "Not really. It's the middle of the morning, so probably not, but I'd hate to be wrong."

There was a knock at Polly's front door and she nodded at Hayden. She felt like an octopus with a telephone in each hand and now this. He stood up and opened the door, then stepped back as Deputy Stu Decker came in.

Stu took in Polly's situation and smiled at her, then extended his hand to Hayden.

"Stu Decker."

"I'm Hayden Harvey. Do you know my brother, Heath?"

Stu nodded. "How are you feeling today Heath?"

"Better."

"You still look pretty rough. Polly called the sheriff and said you have some names for us. Can we talk?"

Heath looked at Polly just as Jeanie said, "I think he drove away. Would he go out to my parent's house?"

Polly turned away from the conversation in her living room. "I don't know that, Jeanie. The police are on their way to you. If you're worried, call your mother and talk to the officer about it."

"Ms. Giller?" the dispatcher asked. "The officer is pulling up in front of her house right now. He says there is no one there. Will she answer the door for him?"

"Jeanie," Polly said, thinking she deserved a headache after this. "There's an officer coming to your front door. Do you feel comfortable letting him in?"

"I do. Can I call you later?"

Polly chuckled. "Of course. I'll stay on the phone until you tell me that it's okay."

"It's okay," Jeanie said. "I know him. Thank you."

With that she was gone. "She knows the officer that's at her front door," Polly said to the dispatcher. "Thank you for your help."

"Thank you."

Polly turned back to the men in her living room and Stu raised his eyebrows. "Officer? What's going on?"

"Too much," Polly said. "There has not been enough coffee in my morning for all of this.”

"Is everything okay?"

"I think so. That was Jeanie Dykstra. There was a man at her front door that shouldn't have been there. I'm pretty sure it's the same man who broke in here last night. So, we called the police." She handed Heath's phone back to him. "Thanks."

Stu chuckled. "There's always something when you're around, isn't there?"

"Stop it. This is not my fault. When will you people get that through your head?" she asked with a laugh. "You got here faster than I thought you would. I haven't had a chance to talk to Heath yet."

"I see," Stu replied. "Heath, I just need you to tell me what happened Friday night and who was involved. How did they know where to find you?"

Heath looked up at Polly again and she nodded at him. "Tell him everything. You aren't in trouble here. He needs the whole story."

"Go ahead," Hayden said. "Just tell it. It's the right thing to do."

Heath told his story, this time with more confidence. Stu quietly took notes as the boy spoke, asking questions only to encourage him to continue. When Stu asked Heath if he feared for his life, Heath shook his head.

Then he stopped, looked down and then back up. "I do now. I don't want to be a drama queen, but they told me I'd die if I talked to you."

Polly sucked in a breath and held it. This couldn't be happening. Heath was finally participating in life again. He couldn't shut himself back inside the shell he'd built before coming to live with her.

"Would your friend, Libby, corroborate your story?" Stu asked.

"I think so," Heath replied. "She was pretty scared, though. I don't know what she remembers." He looked at Polly. "And her mom hates me now, so she might not help."

"What about other kids at school. Are these same boys threatening anyone else?"

Heath huffed a derisive laugh. "All the time. Nobody does anything about it, though. I even heard them threaten one of the teachers. Nobody did anything about that either."