Chapter Eight

But this note doesn’t say where he will be. It just says what kind of costume they’ve put him in.” Amber held up the note so Stan could read it over her shoulder. “This isn’t any help.”

There’s something funny going down.

It might be that gnorman’s a clown.

When the day is done, he’ll make a pun

And everyone else will have lots of fun.

Stan groaned. “Does someone think they’re being funny? Is this a hint that we’re just a couple of Bozos?”

Amber lowered the note and turned to him. “Are you kidding?”

His blank expression told her that he wasn’t.

Amber glanced down the block, as if Gnorman would just be there, waiting to be discovered. “Did Tucker have a time frame? Did he say how long it was from the last time he looked at my store door to the time he found the note?”

“No. I think he’d just started his rounds. That means it could be anytime from when you closed and left to when he phoned.”

Which really wasn’t long. She’d driven to Stan’s shop, picked him up and gone to his house, made a pot of spaghetti, and they’d barely sat down to start eating. It hadn’t been even an hour.

She looked up at the sky. It wasn’t dark yet, so likely whoever had slipped the note there hadn’t yet put Gnorman in his designated location for the night.

“What’s the matter? Are you locked out of your store?”

Amber spun around.

Libby stood at the edge of the sidewalk, holding the bright red leash that secured her little dog. Amber smiled. No matter how rotten she felt, seeing Libby’s cute little miniature schnauzer always cheered her up.

“No, I just needed to stop by.” As she spoke, she ran her finger along the paper in her hand. Libby was always good at solving problems, making her wonder if she should tell Libby about the new note. For a second she considered Tobie. Schnauzers, even little ones, were known for their noses, possibly little Tobie could help sniff out Gnorman’s current location.

She hunkered down to pet Tobie, and without Libby seeing, put the note under the dog’s nose so he could sniff it.

Above her, Libby smiled. “Tobie and I were just at the dog park and we’re on our way home for supper. We’re a little late today. I was busy making my cinnamon pecan coffee cake, but you know Tobie. He just had to have his daily constitution, and I needed my walk for the day too.”

At the word constitution, Tobie’s stubby little tail started to wag. He ignored the paper and turned around to look back toward the dog park.

Amber stood. “I should let you go. Have a nice evening.”

Instead of leaving, Libby rested one hand on Amber’s arm. “I know you’ve been stressing about the escapades of your little gnome. Can I give you some of the cinnamon pecan coffee cake I just made? It’s still warm. You know I don’t eat the sweets myself, but I like to have something on hand for guests.”

Amber opened her mouth to decline Libby’s kind offer, but beside her, Stan’s eyes lit up.

“Cinnamon pecan coffee cake?” She could almost see his mouth watering. “Really?”

Amber forced herself to smile. “That would be wonderful. We’d love to have some of your yummy cake.”

“Then come with me.” Libby waved for them to follow her, but Stan touched Libby’s shoulder, stopping her before she started walking home.

“We’ve got Amber’s car. I know you’re getting some exercise for you and Tobie right now, but how about if we give you a ride the rest of the way.”

Libby waved one hand in the air. “Nonsense. You two can take the car to my house, and I’ll walk Tobie the rest of the way home.” Before Stan could protest, Libby resumed her walk.

Amber couldn’t help but grin. “I guess that’s decided. Let’s get in the car and go. It’s not far, she’ll only be ten minutes behind us.”

Guilt washed over Stan’s face. “I feel like I’m being rude. We can’t let her walk while we take the car.”

“We’re not being rude. She’s out walking her dog, and she’s now walking half a block ahead of us. If you want to walk with her, go ahead. I’ll meet you there.”

Stan glanced back and forth between Libby and the car, shrugged his shoulders, gave Amber a quick wave, and jogged off to join Libby.

Good ol’ Stan.

Amber got back in her car and drove the few blocks to Libby’s house, making sure to wave as she passed Stan and Libby, chatting as they headed to Libby’s house.

Walking down the path to Libby’s house, Amber sighed as a case of the warm fuzzies enveloped her. She adored Libby’s house. The stately but homey two-story red brick house had two immaculate white columns in front for the porch. In large beds surrounding the porch, colorful azaleas bloomed. Two huge old oak trees in the front yard shaded the front of the house when the sun was up, keeping it cool until later in the day.

Of course the best garden was in the back. That was where Libby kept her roses and all the other summer blooming flowers, behind the house, out of the hot midday sun. Like the Lake Bliss Retirement Village, Libby also had a fountain in the middle of her garden. It was an ongoing but fun argument for the community to say which fountain had come first.

Since this year Becky had won the now-missing trophy, Amber hadn’t seen Libby’s early garden. Libby was never shy about showing off her prize roses, just like most of the people who were on the operating board for the garden club. Amber didn’t think Libby would mind if she went into the backyard to see what Libby had planted this year.

The clever secret latch for the gate wasn’t really so secret, and she pulled the right board to gain access. The large fence provided not only security for Libby’s little dog, but Libby valued her privacy. Amber only went in because Libby had invited her. The yard, including the magnificent garden, was Libby’s haven.

Sure enough, Libby’s spring garden was awash with color. Before checking out the flowers, Amber stood still, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply, wanting what she could never have—to enjoy the beautiful fragrance of all the gorgeous blooms in her own backyard, just like this.

After a few deep breaths she opened her eyes and turned to the corner where Libby grew her favorite roses, a brilliant yellow blossom, rare, and difficult to grow. Amber couldn’t remember the genus except that it was a number. It was an ongoing joke at the garden club that the year Libby turned the age of her favorite rose’s name, there was going to be one very big party.

Strangely, if she had to guess Libby’s age, she would have said that Libby was older than Kathy, and that party still hadn’t happened.

She turned and made her way to the corner when a small outcropping of a hideous combination of clashing colors stopped her in her tracks.

The click of Libby’s gate echoed, followed by a symphony of yipping.

“Amber? Where are you? Tobie led us to the back, so we knew you were here. I can make some tea and we can . . .” Libby’s voice trailed off. “Oh! How did your little gnome get here?”

Stan cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to say. He’s kinda . . .” Words failed him.

“Ugly?” Amber replied with more of a question than an answer, but they obviously shared the same opinion.

Libby dropped Tobie’s leash and plunked her fists on her hips. “You have to get him out of here. He clashes with my Forty-Niners. He’s absolutely garish.” Libby’s face skewed with clear distaste at the gaudy mismatch of Gnorman’s bright clown costume with the blended milder tones of her valued roses.

Tobie, however, had no hesitation. He walked up to Gnorman, sniffed him, shuffled into the right angle, and raised one hind leg.

“No!” Amber screeched, and she ran to the dog. She scooped Tobie into her arms and backed up a few steps without putting him down.

Libby’s cheeks turned as pink as the flowers beside the house that Stan couldn’t remember the name and pulled her dog out of Amber’s arms. “I’m so sorry. He’s a feisty little fellow, as you know. Your Gnorman doesn’t belong here, so Tobie needs to show Gnorman who’s boss.”

Stan bit his lower lip. That wasn’t the way Stan showed his employees at the shop who was the boss. He merely signed their paychecks.

While Amber stood there gaping, Stan went to the gnome and pulled yet another note out of his hand. Just like the others, it was constructed from words cut out of the Gazette.

For now, gnorman is not on the run

He is stopping to have some fun

So do not be a party pooper.

Bring out the balloons, it will be just super!

Libby tapped one finger to her chin. “This poem has kind of a lilt to it, don’t you think?”

“Never mind the prose. What is this note trying to say?” Stan clenched his jaw. “I’ve always hated clowns. Now I hate them even more.” He turned to Amber, still staring at Gnorman’s brassy outfit. “Have you ever enjoyed a clown?”

Amber shook her head. “I’ve never liked slapstick. I can’t see anything funny about people falling or doing things that would normally hurt.”

Libby absently patted Tobie while she spoke. “Amber, dear, clowns can be funny with their outlandish shoes, tooting horns, colorful costumes, and painted faces.” She then frowned at Gnorman. “Except for that one. He certainly isn’t funny, at least not in my garden.”

While it was true that clowns did have painted faces, Gnorman didn’t. The only coloring added was a sponge cut into a round shape that covered his nose. Amber approached Gnorman, poked the sponge, and swiped her thumb across his cheek. “At least they didn’t paint his face. That stuff is hard enough to get off of skin. I don’t know if that would have damaged his paint.” She extended one hand toward Gnorman. “I’ll get the trophy back. I promise I will.” If it wasn’t his imagination, Stan thought he detected a break in Amber’s voice, like she was trying not to cry.

Libby nodded. “Of course you will. But what are we going to do right now? Whoever put Gnorman here wasn’t thinking very clearly.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have a dog.” Libby grinned ear to ear, accenting the laugh-lines at the corners of her eyes. “Naomi didn’t catch whoever is doing this while he was in her territory, but Tobie and I certainly will.”

Stan kept his lips sealed, not wanting to mention that whoever put Gnorman in Libby’s yard had obviously done so despite Libby’s watchdog wannabe. However, if Libby had taken this as one-upmanship between herself and Naomi, this was something he could use to their advantage. Still, he would have preferred to do his own surveillance, but he didn’t want to be the one to cause the dog to bark, then ignore the dog’s barking when the Gnome Gnapper really showed up for what was turning out to be a series of middle-of-the-night rendezvous.

“Let’s go inside. I’ll start some tea, and we can let Tobie do his doggy duties.”

He pressed his fingers to the small of Amber’s back to guide her toward Libby’s house. “That’s great, but if you don’t mind, if Amber can loan me her car keys, I’d like to go home and get some chicken wire to put around Gnorman first.”