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I woke early in the morning and looked out across the back yard and smiled. Flowers bloomed, my rosebush looked marvelous. Grandma did wonders with my garden, and I wondered what I’d ever do without her. Glancing at the clock, I decided that there was plenty of time for a run before work. I gave Aaron a peck on the cheek. “I’m going for a run. It’s only six. Go back to sleep.” I slipped into my jogging shorts and top, and out in the kitchen I did a few stretching exercises before grabbing a water bottle and dashing out the door.
The early morning freshness cleared my mind as I jogged. I let my thoughts wander. I thought about my parents who’d been killed in a car accident and realized once again, that the driver was never found. Time to talk to Grandpa. I turned the corner and headed in the opposite direction of the store. I hoped that the identity of the barmaid would soon be discovered. I didn’t like the idea of that woman coming into the store in costume. It struck me as duplicitous and dangerous. I questioned the friendships between the others in the case, and wondered again about the motive behind the camaraderie. I headed back home after jogging two miles, and that’s when I noticed the car inching along behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder, the driver wove into the outer lane and turned a corner. I couldn’t be sure if this person was following me, but it certainly felt like it. It gave me goose-bumps.
I felt relieved as I entered our little development. And, once inside the house, I didn’t want to leave again.
“How was your run?”
“Not sure, but I think I was followed.” I plopped into a kitchen chair and let Aaron place a full glass of orange juice in front of me. I nearly drank it all down.
“How so?” He held up two eggs, and I held up one finger while finishing my juice. “What did the car look like?”
“Small and dark blue.”
“It’s not conclusive by any means, but it does sound like the car that I think was following me. We’ll have to pay closer attention to who is behind us at all times.”
“I wish I had gotten a better look, but I just didn’t expect it.”
“You better drive to work from now on. When will Max return?”
“Hopefully today.”
Aaron dished up the fried egg and I ate my breakfast. After that, I took a shower and prepared for work. As I brushed my hair, I asked, “What shift today?”
“Afternoon.”
“Good. You can stay with me at work.” I set down my brush and applied lipstick. “I’m off. When will you come?”“After I mow the lawn.”I kissed him goodbye, and headed out to the car. I tossed my bag inside, and started the engine. As I backed from the garage, my cell phone chirped and I stopped to answer it. “Hi Bambi.” I heard sniffles and said, “What’s wrong? What happened?” More sniffles. “Bambi? Tell me.”
“My...my...uncle....,” she sniffled and blew her nose. “I’m sorry, Liv, but this is really tough.”
“Take your time, honey.” I put the car in park to wait. “Want to call me back?”
“No...I...have...to tell someone. Someone who can help.”
“Did something happen to you?”
“No,” she whispered. “Worse.”
“Bambi, what happened?”“It’s my uncle Gunnar. The lawyer uncle who was in charge of Gina’s ranch property.”
I was afraid to ask but went ahead with the question, “What happened?”
“He’s dead.”“That’s awful. What happened?”“No one knows yet. The police aren’t saying anything, except that it’s considered a suspicious death.”
“Oh my God!” I said. “Sit tight. Don’t do anything. Let the cops do their job. I’ll see what I can find out and will get back to you if I learn anything.” She disconnected and I sunk deep into my car seat. After a couple of minutes, I shut off the engine and climbed out of the car. Once inside, I marched straight to Aaron.
“Uh-oh. Let’s hear it,” he pulled me down beside him on the bed. He’d been dressing. “You look dreadful.”
“Bambi just called. Her uncle, the lawyer overseeing Gina’s ranch property, has been found dead. It’s considered suspicious.”
“Oh dear God.” He pulled me close. “Bodyguards?”“No, I can manage. No one’s after me, anyway.” I sighed.“I’m putting the mowing aside and taking you to work.” Aaron smiled down at me, and then reached out to fluff one of my curls. “Nothing is going to happen to my baby girl.”
“No way. The lawn needs mowing. Let me go, big guy.” We kissed.
“I’m taking you,” Aaron said. He stood by the door waiting as I approached. “You’re looking good, girl.”
“Thanks.” He held the door for me, and I swept past, going right into the garage. “I’d hoped to start back into walking,” I grumbled, “guess that isn’t going to happen for a while.” I climbed into the car beside Aaron and buckled up.
“It’ll all be over with soon, just be patient.” Aaron started the engine and backed out of the garage, then pressed the button to lower it.
“That’s what you always say. I wonder when—?” I glanced toward Gina’s house. “Hey, pull over for a minute. I want to take a quick look at Gina’s house. I just remembered that I thought I saw a light on in there last night. We should really take a look.”
“Good grief. I’m calling it in and reporting it. Honestly, there is no stopping you.” Aaron parked in the driveway and shut off the engine. He found his phone and spoke to the dispatcher.
In unison, got out of the car and strolled together across the street. It’d been a week since Gina died, and I realized I’d totally forgotten about the books. I made a mental note to thoroughly look through them tonight. As we approached the front sidewalk, I took Aaron’s hand and he squeezed mine.
“I’m sure everything’s fine.” Aaron tried the front door, and found it locked. “Let’s circle around the back.” I kept my eyes peeled as we walked for inside shadows or broken glass shards from basement windows but found everything as it should be.
“How about the back door?” I waited on the steps as Aaron tried the back door and also found it locked. “This is all good news. The house seems secure, right?”
“You did see a light?”
“Yes, I think I did, but I was mostly asleep, and can’t be positive.”
He took my hand and we briskly walked toward our car. I climbed in and got ready to leave as Aaron answered his phone. “Someone’s going to check it out,” he told me after hanging up.
We drove silently to the store, lost in our thoughts. I couldn’t help but wonder if I hadn’t seen a light in Gina’s house, and if so, which light it might have been. As I thought about it, I realized that there was one light I couldn’t see if it was on when we walked around her house, as I was too short for that window. “Aaron, I just realized, that the light had to have come from the bathroom.”
“The detectives will look into it. Any questions, they’ll stop by and ask.” Aaron waited a beat. “I’ll also tell them about someone possibly following both of us.”
I turned to look out the car window. I didn’t want him figure out what I was thinking. I wanted back in that house. I wondered if the spare key had been removed, figuring that it must have been. Then I got to thinking, if Aaron hadn’t told them about the key— maybe it’d still be in the hiding spot. I resolved to go back later this evening when he was on shift at work to see for myself. What could the killer want or hope to find? There had to be something we overlooked. I turned my thoughts back to the last conversation with Gina and play-by-played-the conversation and previous conversations, but nothing struck a chord. Perhaps the aunt warranted another phone call?
“You’re awfully quiet.” Aaron glanced at me while waiting for a light to change.
“I’m curious about the house and if I should speak to the aunt. When will her house be emptied? Someone should’ve come for her things by now.” Truthfully, I wondered who would come, Sunflower—Harry? Someone I didn’t know?
“I expect they were going to wait until after the will was read. It can take time to settle her estate, after all.”“Yeah, well, that isn’t going to happen for awhile now that the lawyer is dead.” I shook my head. “Don’t you find that suspicious?” I snapped my fingers. “Just like that? And, there may be a huge amount of money involved, too.”
“It’s not for us to say.” The light turned and he drove ahead, soon parking in back of the store. “We need more information, but because the lawyer’s death happened in North Dakota, way out of my jurisdiction, that may be hard to come by.”
Disappointed, I didn’t speak as I climbed from the car and went to the building with him following. It bothered me when he played the cop routine of not discussing stuff with me or saying that it’s up to the police. It was as if I don’t have a brain of my own.
“Everything look good?” Aaron went first into the workroom, turning on the light. “Nothing’s out of order here.”
“Good.” He stepped aside for me to enter the room. I noticed that the work I had set aside for myself the day before was still in place. “Let’s go through the showroom.” I placed down my bag, and took out my cell phone, slipping it into my pocket. I held my breath and shut my eyes as the remembered the horror of finding Jackie Newell’s body leaning into the corner dollhouse. “This is going to give me nightmares.”
Aaron pulled me into his arms, and said, “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” He held me tight for a few minutes until my breathing became regular once again. “Better?”
I nodded, pulling back. “Thanks.” I wiped tears from my eyes. “I’m glad you’re here even though I don’t think anything will happen, but you never know.”
Aaron went to open the front door and turn the sign around as I sat in front of the computer and started it humming to life. It wasn’t long before I logged into my account. “I’m going to check to see if anyone answered my question about knowing Alice or Roosevelt.”
Aaron came around in back of me and watched as the computer loaded twenty replies that had arrived overnight. “Wow.”
“I know.” I weeded through the many good- hearted people who heard timeless stories around their great-grandparents tables about his kindness and how he’d hunt down thieves and riff-raff. A close friend of Allice’s reported that he was known to never drink anything stronger than a cup of coffee. How he loved hunting and exploring. Another guy mentioned that he became his great-great-grandson’s godfather. Everyone speaks highly of him except one. “Read this.” I leaned over for Aaron to see.
“He swindled my family out of my ranch, Wrangler Pete’s,” Aaron read.
“Do you think the ranch is still in operation?” I asked. Maybe this was the break we needed.
Aaron’s phone buzzed with an incoming message. “I just got word.” Aaron slipped his phone out of his pocket and checked it. “Here’s something. The bar maid’s name is Pam Simons. Ever heard of her before?”“No.” I shook my head. “I wonder how she’s connected?”“I think they wanted someone to look around. Simple as that.”“That’s probably it.” I scrolled through the rest of the mail, deleting a number of junk messages. Aaron’s phone buzzed again. “They checked the house,” he reported.
“And?”
“Nothing. They think the light was left on in the bathroom accidentally. I told them about the spare key, and they have it, so you can now put that thought out of your mind.” He smiled.
“How did you know?” I stared at him. “It’s like you can read my mind.”
“Because you are my baby doll, and I love you.” He gave me a hug. “I’m going after coffee. Be right back.”
I didn’t know if I was irked or pleased that he could read my thoughts so easily.
I gave Inga a call. “Inga, how’s it going?”
“Not bad. The police called about some items they found, wondering if they were among the things stolen. I made a list for them, but—well—the police— they’re always asking questions.” She sighed. “What can I say?”
“Gina’s lawyer is dead. I spoke to Bambi, a friend of hers, who says the police are regarding it as a suspicious death.”
“Hmmm, let me call some of my old contacts, maybe I can find out more.”“Thanks.” I hoped she could. The woman had contacts all over the US, I wasn’t sure how, and I wondered if she hadn’t been a CIA agent in a former life. I knew she has a daughter, but she never spoke of a husband, and didn’t invite questions.
I logged out of the account and got up once again to stretch my legs.
“Good morning, ladies. Sorry for ignoring you a few moments ago.” As I circled the houses, I took more time than usual to rearrange the tiny furnishings within each. I stopped at the Eisenhower house and studied the pictures on the wall, especially those hung in the master bedroom. I removed a tiny picture and held it closer and smiled. The picture was of President Eisenhower’s boyhood home in Abilene, Kansas. “Mrs. Eisenhower, you’re a peach. I love your bangs. I’ve searched high and low for the material to have a dress sewn similar to what the women wore during your husband’s final campaign.” President Eisenhower was born in Texas, but lived most of his life in Kansas near the Presidential Library in Abilene. No, the White House isn’t in Kansas. I replaced the small picture just as Aaron returned with the two coffees.
“Here.” He handed me my cup. “When’s Max due back?”
“Anytime, why?”
“My sergeant needs me to fill out some paperwork. I wouldn’t be long.” He eyed me over the cup ridge. “I can call Marie.”
“Go ahead, I’m fine. Grandma’s busy.” I gave him a kiss, and watched him walk out the back.
The morning sped by pretty fast; I made two sales, one of the historical White House with Dolley Madison and the other of Edith Roosevelt’s newly remodeled family rooms. After the buyers left with their purchases, I wiped down the display table and placed a new house on it. The task took most of the afternoon since I had to deal with another prospective customer who spent a great deal of time perusing my entire stock and asking questions, and then left without buying anything. By mid-afternoon I was wondering why Aaron hadn’t returned yet, when a pounding on the back door startled me.
“Aaron?” I called as I marched toward the back room. “Aaron?” Why didn’t he answer? I opened the door, but there wasn’t anyone there. My heart pounded as I slammed it shut, and leaned against it.