Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy (9 page)

She jerked her head and grimaced.  “Not much of a date tonight, huh,” she said.

Paul sighed heavily.  “Me neither.” He shook his head.  “What do you think I should do about the kids?  Give them a deadline?  Tell them they need to move out and risk alienating them?”

Paul had a bigger dilemma than Gloria.  After all, Ruth would move out.  Eventually.  Hopefully soon…

Paul was in a tough spot.  What would Gloria do if one of her kids moved in?  It would depend on the circumstances.  The plan.  But it sounded like the only plan these two had was to stay right where they were…

“Maybe sit down and explain to them that it’s not fair to Allie to let them stay forever.  After all, someday half that house will be hers.” Gloria paused.  “What
does
Allie think of all this?”

The food arrived just then.  They waited for the waitress to leave before Paul answered.  “So far she’s okay with it.  But Allie has a strong personality and she’ll only put up with it for so long.” He smiled.  “If she thinks they’re taking advantage of me, she’ll get onto them.”

Gloria stabbed a fork full of chicken and lettuce.  “Maybe you should let it ride and let Allie handle it when the time comes.”  She chewed thoughtfully for several seconds.  “Or better yet, call a family meeting.  You know, Allie, Jeff and Tina.  Put it out there as a meeting to help figure out how they can get back on track and on their feet again.”

She pointed the tines of her fork at Paul.  “Yes, I think that would be the best idea.  Head this off before it becomes a much bigger problem.”

Paul nodded.  “That’s what I love about you!  You’re my little problem-solver!”

He cut off a slice of pork chop and held it out to Gloria.  “You have to try this.  It is so good!”

She opened her mouth and let him feed her from his fork.  It was delicious.  She made a mental note to experiment now that she knew how much he loved pork chops.  “Delicious,” she mumbled.

Paul lifted his water glass and took a sip before peering at her over the edge.  “How about if you come for the family meeting, too?  You know, a sort of referee!”

Gloria was already shaking her head.  She was anxious to meet Paul’s children but that wasn’t the way to do it.  “Nice try, but I think I’ll wait until this blows over before I meet your kids.”

The sun had dipped down over the lake.  The yellow glow on the water was soft and soothing.  Gloria glanced down at her plate.  She was full and had only eaten about half the food.  She loaded her leftovers in a to-go container and they wandered back out to the parking lot. 

The evening had flown by.  She frowned when she realized she couldn’t even invite him in for coffee or dessert!  Unless, of course, Ruth wasn’t back yet. 

But Ruth was back.  The kitchen lights were on.  The blinds were open and she could see Ruth sitting at the kitchen table staring at the computer screen!

Paul’s face fell.  “I guess you won’t be inviting me in for dessert,” he said.

“Sure!  C’mon in!  It’ll just be the three of us!”  She snapped her fingers.  “Hey!  I have an idea!  Why don’t we move Ruth in with your kids and then we’ll have a place to ourselves.”

Paul glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then leaned across the driver’s seat.  “You mean shack up?”

Gloria slapped his arm.  “No!” Her face turned red.  “You know that’s not what I meant,” she sputtered. 

She giggled as she envisioned telling her family and friends that she and Paul were moving in together.  Not that they ever would unless they were married.  Still, visualizing the expressions on their faces made her grin. 

“Aha! You
are
thinking about it,” he teased. 

Gloria narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her.  “Paul Kennedy, you know that’s not true!”

Paul unbuckled his seatbelt.  He leaned over to the passenger side and slid his arm around her shoulders.  He pulled her close and whispered in her ear.  “Yeah, but what if we eloped?” 

She giggled.  Now that would make the tongues in Belhaven wag!  She reached over and put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him close.  “Convince me that we should,” she flirted. 

He tipped his head and touched his lips to hers.  It was a sweet, warm kiss.  It almost reminded her of when she would go on a date as a teenager and her parents were awake and waiting for her inside at the end of a date. 

Paul read her mind.  “This date night and kissing in the car makes me feel like a teenager again,” he said.

Gloria peeked around Paul’s head.  She could see Ruth’s face turned toward the driveway.  She let out a deep sigh.  “I better go before she comes out here and starts tapping on the window, wondering if we’re okay.”

Gloria grabbed the door handle and started to pull.  “Let me know how the family meeting turns out,” she said.

The light mood was over at the thought of confronting his grown children.  It was something he wasn’t looking forward to, but knew it was something that had to be done.  Before they got too comfy.

He watched as Gloria made her way up the steps and opened the porch door.  She turned around and blew him a kiss before disappearing inside the house.

Gloria woke unusually early the next morning.  She lay there in bed wondering what on earth had woken her.  She glanced at the clock.  It was 6:30 a.m. and still dark outside.

A light
tap tap
interrupted her thoughts.  The tapping noise was the rattling of pipes.  Water pipes.  Which mean only one thing.  Ruth was already up. 

Gloria was up most mornings before Ruth, but not today.  That meant only one thing.  Gloria had a hunch Ruth was up to something.  She flung her feet over the edge of the bed and slipped her feet into her slippers.  She pulled her bathrobe on and wandered into the other room.  A bright light shone under the bathroom door.  She could hear water running in the bathroom sink. 

She shuffled past the door and into the kitchen, which was still dark.  Gloria flipped on the light switch.  Mally opened one eye and stared up at Gloria as if to say,
what on earth are you doing?
  Even she knew it was too early. She closed her eyes and sighed before rolling over and burying her head between the wall and her doggie bed.

Coffee.  Gloria needed coffee.  She started the pot and pulled out a kitchen chair.  She could see the newspaper lying on the porch.  She wandered out and grabbed the paper. 

When she stepped back in the kitchen, she ran right into Ruth, who was fully dressed. She looked as if she was leaving.  Or, better yet, sneaking out. 

She stopped abruptly when she spied Gloria.  “Oh!  Uh. I was just going to leave you a note.  I couldn’t sleep and for some reason was worried about the house.  You know, like I needed to check on it,” she explained.

Gloria didn’t buy it.  Not for a minute.  She wondered if this had something to do with Kenny sneaking into the post office the night before.  Her eyes narrowed.
Was she going to meet Kenny?

She had a strong hunch that was exactly what she planned to do. “Oh. Okay.”  Gloria poured a cup of coffee, then wandered over to the kitchen table to have a seat.  Like she didn’t care at all that Ruth was leaving the house before daylight to check on a house she hadn’t been the least bit worried about.  Until now.

“How was the date with Steve?”

Ruth stopped at the door.  She glanced at the flowers centered on the table and turned a pale shade of pink.  “It was very nice,” she said.  “We might go out again.”

Gloria nodded.  “You want a cup of coffee before you go?” she asked.

Ruth looked at the coffee pot and shook her head.  “No.  I think I’ll stop by Dot’s after I check on the place,” she said.

Gloria nodded, then grabbed the paper and began to read the front page, all the while watching Ruth out of the corner of her eye. 

Ruth paused for a moment, as if she might change her mind.  That didn’t last long. She grabbed the door handle and opened it.  “I’ll see you later,” she said.

Gloria nodded.  “Okay.” She didn’t look up from her paper as Ruth shut the door behind her and headed down the steps.

Gloria crept out of the chair and made her way over to the kitchen window.  She peeked around the edge of the frame and stared at Ruth’s back as she headed to her van.

When Ruth climbed in the driver’s seat, Gloria darted out of the kitchen and ran to her bedroom.  There was no time for a shower. No time to brush her teeth.  She was determined to find out what Ruth was up to!

She blindly reached into her closet and pulled out the first thing her hand came in contact with.  A pair of dark blue sweatpants and a t-shirt she’d picked up in Chicago the summer before when she’d visited her son, Eddie, and his wife, Karen.  It had a picture of the old Sears Tower on it.  Of course, it wasn’t called Sears Tower anymore.  It had another name.

She yanked on the sweat pants and pulled the shirt over her head, then bolted back into the kitchen.  She slipped on a pair of sandals by the door, grabbed her purse off the kitchen chair and her keys before she bolted out the door. 

Gloria had a sneaking suspicion that Ruth was not going to meet Kenny at her house.  There were too many neighbors close by.  No.  She was headed to Kenny’s place out in the country where no one could spy on them.  No one that is, except Gloria.

She threw her purse on the passenger seat and fired up the engine.  She backed up and turned the wheel, then pulled forward.  She roared out of the driveway and toward Kenny’s place.  Her adrenaline was pumping as she pressed down on the gas pedal and exceeded the speed limit.  Just a little. 

She had just a few short minutes to figure out
how
she could spy on Ruth and Kenny and not have her cover blown.  Then she remembered the field that ran parallel to Kenny’s place.  There was a small two-lane dirt path the tractors used to get to the fields.  A wooden fence ran alongside it. 

She pulled into the path and coasted down the rutted trail.  Her car bounced up and down as she tried to ease in far enough so she wouldn’t be spotted from the road.   From her vantage point in the car, she couldn’t see much.  Actually, she couldn’t see anything.  She slid out of the car and gently eased the door shut.

Gloria ducked down as she tiptoed along the tree line.  She looked down at her outfit. At least her clothes were dark! She moved far enough along so that she could see both the back of Kenny’s house and the driveway.  Her heart sank when she spied the empty drive.  Ruth wasn’t here!  Neither was Kenny!

Maybe they were over at Ruth’s place after all!  She turned to head back to the car when she saw bright headlights beam through the row of trees.  Gloria stiffened straight up and plastered herself against the nearest tree. 

The lights shut off and so did the car’s engine.  A door slammed.  Another beam of light flashed around the tree.

Beads of sweat covered Gloria’s brow and her heart began to pound in her chest.  Had she been spotted?  She closed her eyes and began to pray.  Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all!

The beam of light disappeared and was followed by the distinct sound of another door slamming.  Muffled voices echoed through the trees.  Gloria slid down to the ground and turned around. She peeked around the side of the tree.

Two figures stood underneath the bright porch light.  It was Ruth and Kenny!  They were bent close together, talking in low voices.  Ruth would pause every couple of seconds and glance behind her, as if waiting for someone else. 

“…come in….” The words wafted through the trees.  Ruth shook her head.  Kenny headed up the porch steps and disappeared inside his house.  He reappeared a few moments later, a box in his hand.  He handed the box to Ruth. 

Gloria watched as she opened the box and stuck her hand inside.  Satisfied with whatever the contents were, she gave Kenny a quick hug then climbed back into her car.

Kenny watched as Ruth pulled out of the drive before he stepped back inside his house.

Could it be that whatever was in the box was what Kenny had snuck into the post office the night before to get?  Gloria had a hunch that was exactly what it was. 

Gloria jogged back to her car.  Well, not really jogged since she was wearing flip-flops.  She shuffled across the wet weeds to get back to her car.  She wondered if Ruth would bring the box back to Gloria’s place.  Or maybe she would she drop it off at her own house?

She climbed into Anabelle and headed back towards town.  She turned the car down the street that ran opposite Ruth’s tidy ranch.  She peered between the houses and could see Ruth’s van parked in the drive.  Gloria drove around the block as she waited for Ruth to leave.  The third drive around the block was the charm.  Ruth’s van was gone. 

Gloria turned onto her street.  She pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. 
Should she or shouldn’t she?  What if Ruth came back and caught Gloria inside her house?  Even if she did, she was pretty confident that Ruth wouldn’t press charges. 

As much as Gloria wanted to get inside and look for the box, she could envision this ending badly for her.  If Ruth caught her, at the very least it could put an end to their friendship.

It wasn’t worth the risk.  Gloria put Anabelle in reverse and slowly backed out of the drive.  Whatever Ruth was up to, there had to be a logical explanation.  After all, Ruth couldn’t really be a drug lord, could she?

Gloria passed Dot’s restaurant on her way back to the farm.  She drove right by Ruth’s van, which was parked out front. 

When she got home, she let Mally out before she headed to the shower.  She lathered up her hair and mulled over what information she did have.

So far, nothing made sense.  Obviously, whoever had been in the dumpster the other night was not part of Ruth’s little group.  Maybe it was a homeless person rummaging through the bins looking for something of value.  She dismissed the thought.  She had never spotted a homeless person in their small town of Belhaven before.

Then Gloria had another thought.  What about the person that broke into Andrea’s place?  Did that have some sort of connection to the drug trafficking?

She decided a stop by Andrea’s was in order.  She could check on her friend and find out if any other odd occurrences had happened. 

She passed Ruth on her way to Andrea’s and waved.  They were like two ships passing in the night.  Or in this case, in the day. 

Andrea’s car was the only one in the drive when she pulled in.  There was no contractor trucks or vans.  She made her way to the front door and reached for the bell. Instead of a bell, there was a brand spanking-new nifty door knocker.  It was in the shape of a lion’s head. She grinned and grabbed the ring.  She gave it three loud taps and waited. 

Seconds later, Andrea swung the door open.  She was dressed in what Gloria would term as garden gear.  She had a red bandanna tied across her head.  Her shorts were splattered with paint and her t-shirt was a rainbow of colors. 

Andrea grabbed Gloria’s hand and pulled her in.  “You must have ESP.  I was just going to call you!”

“Follow me.” She didn’t wait for Gloria to answer.  Instead, she grabbed the mahogany handrail and climbed the steps to the second floor.

Andrea had been taunting Gloria for weeks now about some sort of surprise.  Something she’d been working on that she didn’t want Gloria to see until it was finished. 

Brutus followed them up the steps.  Gloria had forgotten all about Andrea’s new companion.  “Well, hello there my furry friend.”

Brutus stuck his head under her hand and thumped his tail.  “I bet you know all about the surprise, don’t you?” The dog and Gloria trailed Andrea up the grand staircase.

At the top of the stairs, Andrea turned left, in the direction of the master suite.  She swung the double doors open and stood to the side.  Her face beamed with pride.

Gloria couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in Andrea’s bedroom.  It might have been the night the Blackstone brothers had kidnapped them.  Or maybe it was the night Gloria and Lucy snuck in the house and found the stolen money in the floorboards. She glanced at the spot where she and Lucy had uncovered the cash. 

She had never mentioned the discovery to Andrea.  Of course, Andrea hadn’t owned the house at the time they found the money…

Gloria gasped at her first look around the room.  It was stunning and it looked so different.  The room looked bigger somehow.  If that was possible.

“Well, what do you think?” Andrea asked.

“This is a room fit for a princess,” Gloria said.

The walls were painted a muted gray.  The trim bright white.  New plantation shutters covered all the bedroom windows.  The exterior of the fireplace had been redone in a sleek, blue slate.  Two pale, purple wingback chairs faced the fireplace.  Wide plank wooden floors completed the look.

Still, something was different about the room.  Gloria stuck her hand on her hip and spun around. 

Andrea grinned.  She knew Gloria couldn’t figure out what the big change was.  “It’s the ceilings.” She lifted an index finger and pointed up.

Gloria focused her gaze on the ceiling.  “Well, I’ll be. You’re right!”  The ceiling had once been low and flat.  They were now cathedral ceilings with interesting lines. A small, cozy window nook was tucked in one corner of the room.  A sparkling chandelier hung over the massive, king-size bed.

She motioned Gloria to the bathroom.  “That’s not all.”  Andrea pressed on the side wall - the secret entrance to the master bath.  She hit the light switch and stepped inside.  The original marble tile that surrounded the tub had been polished, and the tub itself had been replaced. It was a bit bigger than the original and this one was jetted.  Stained-glass windows surrounded the tub on three sides and a crystal chandelier sparkled from above.