Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 07 - Missing Milt (10 page)

Gloria reached into her purse and pulled out the invitation addressed to Margaret and Don.  “I’m having a fall party…on the first Saturday in October.”

Margaret studied the front and turned it over. She lifted the flap.  “Of course we’ll be there.  What can I bring?”

A slow smile beamed across Gloria’s face.  She had the best friends in the whole world.  “Dot is bringing donuts, Ruth is bringing stuff for s’mores.  I haven’t talked to Lucy yet.”

Margaret tapped the arms of her chair.  “What would a fall bonfire be without apple cider?  I’ll bring that and some bags of chips.”

Gloria grinned.  “Between you girls, I’m not going to have to supply anything.” They chatted for a few more minutes and then Gloria got to her feet. 

Margaret opened the slider door.  “I can’t wait for the party. It sounds like fun.”

Gloria had one more stop to make.  Lucy’s place.  Not only did she want to drop off Lucy’s invitation, she was curious to find out if Lucy had called Bill.

Lucy’s jeep was nowhere in sight and the garage door was closed. Gloria’s heart sank.  She parked the car and walked to the porch.  Since Lucy wasn’t home, she decided to tuck her invitation in the door.

Gloria opened the screen door and lifted her hand to shove the envelope inside when a movement inside caught her eye.  Lucy
was
home. She was at the kitchen sink washing dishes.

Gloria tapped lightly on the glass.  Lucy swung around. She lifted a sudsy hand and motioned her in.

“I thought you weren’t home.” Gloria slipped inside and closed the door behind her.

“Yeah, I was out earlier and decided to park in the garage.  Might as well start now.” She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and hung it on the handle of the stove.  “You want a cup of coffee?”

“No. I wasn’t gonna stay long.  I wanted to invite you to a fall party I’m having first weekend in October.” She set the invitation on the table and pulled out a chair.

Lucy picked it up but didn’t open it. “Sounds like fun.  What can I bring?”

Gloria went over the list of what the other girls were bringing.  “You don’t have to bring anything.”

Lucy tapped the tip of the envelope on the table.  “You sure? What about bales of hay?”

Gloria frowned.  “Yes, that would be an important part of a hayride – hay.”

“I have a bunch of bales stacked in the shed.  They’ve been there awhile but I’m sure they would work just fine.”

“That would be great.” Gloria gazed out the window. “You still want to go with me to Dreamwood tomorrow?”

Lucy nodded.  “Sure.” She took a deep breath.  “I am so nervous about that breakfast date you set up for tomorrow morning.”

“You’ll be fine.  It’s just breakfast,” Gloria pointed out.

“I’m thinking of canceling,” Lucy confessed.

“How you gonna do that?” Gloria argued. “You don’t even have Max’s phone number.”

“True…” her voice trailed off.  “Maybe he won’t show.”

“Oh, no!  I saw the look in that man’s eyes.  He’ll be there.  Early probably,” Gloria predicted.

Lucy smacked the palm of her hand to her forehead and shook it back and forth.  “I don’t know how I let you get me into these things,” she groaned.

“Speaking of that, did you talk to Bill?” Gloria didn’t want to pry, but she was curious.

Lucy lifted her head, placed the palm of her hand on the table and wiped at imaginary crumbs.  “Yeah.”

“And?”

“It went okay. We talked a little. He has a few things still here at the house that he’s going to stop by and pick up but that’s it,” Lucy told her.

“How do you feel?” Gloria asked.

Lucy lifted her head and stared into Gloria’s eyes.  “I feel good.  Like this was the right decision.  He wasn’t for me.  I guess I knew that all along,” she admitted.  “Maybe I just didn’t want to be alone.”

“But you’re not alone, Lucy,” Gloria argued.  “You have all of us.  All of your friends.”

Lucy nodded.  “I know.  Actually, I’m happier now than I’ve been in a long time.”

“I’m glad,” Gloria simply replied.

Lucy walked Gloria out to her car.  “So you’ll be at the restaurant at 9:00?”

Gloria grabbed the door handle and pulled.  “With bells on.”

Maybe this Max wouldn’t turn out to be anything, but maybe it would. Either way, Lucy was on the right track!

By the time Gloria arrived at the restaurant the next morning, she wasn’t sure who was more nervous – Lucy or her.  Lucy was hanging out in the back, talking to Dot when Gloria made her way inside.

Dot was trying to calm Lucy’s nerves. She stuck a cup of tea in her hand.  “Here, I know chocolate is your drink of choice, but try this mint tea.  It’ll calm your nerves.”

Lucy sipped the steaming tea and nodded.  “I feel better already.”

“He’s here,” Gloria whispered.

Sure enough, Max walked into the restaurant at 9:00 a.m. sharp.  Gloria’s eyes traveled from his head to his toes.  He was sporting a nice pair of dress slacks and polo shirt.  Not too overdressed, not too underdressed.  He settled into a table and looked around.

He hadn’t noticed the girls standing in the back.

Gloria gave Lucy a small shove in the middle of her back.  “Get out there.”

Lucy slapped at her hand and scowled.  She straightened her shoulders, lifted her head and made her way over to the table.

Max jumped up, pulled her chair out and waited for her to sit before taking the seat across from her. 

Dot and Gloria stepped off to the side and peeked at them through the wooden lattice that separated the eating area from the employee area.

Ray walked by with a pot of coffee.  “What are you two up to?”

Dot waved her hand.  “Shush.  We’re trying to spy on Lucy and her date.”

Ray rolled his eyes and wandered over to Max and Lucy’s table. 

Gloria watched as Ray shook Max’s hand while Ray pointed to the girls spying in the back.  Gloria quickly ducked.  “He just ratted us out.” She started to giggle.

Gloria grabbed Dot’s hand and the two of them made their way over to the table. 

Max looked up.  “Hi Gloria.”

“Hi Max.  How’re you today?”

His eyes slid to the side as he gave Lucy a sly grin.  “I’m having a wonderful day so far.”

“Good.” She turned to Dot.  “This is my friend, Dot Jenkins.  She and her husband, Ray, own this restaurant.

Max jumped to his feet. He shook Dot’s hand.  “Pleased to meet you.”

Dot placed two menus on the table and patted the top.  “Here are a couple menus.  I’ll be back to take your order.”  She took a step back.  “No hurry.  Take your time.”

Gloria followed Dot to the back.  “He looks like a very nice man,” Dot decided.

“I think so, too,” Gloria agreed.

Dot returned to their table a few minutes later to take their order while Gloria hung out in the back.  She was torn.  On the one hand, she was dying to know how the date was going.  On the other, she wanted to respect their privacy.

An hour later, Dot wandered over to Gloria, still hanging out behind the lattice.  “He’s gone,” she announced.

“Where’s Lucy?” Gloria wondered.

“Still sitting by the window, gazing out like a love struck teenybopper,” Dot answered.

Gloria jumped out of the chair and made a beeline for the table. She pulled out a chair – Max’s chair – and plopped down. She leaned in.  “Well?  How did it go?”

Lucy was still staring dreamily out the window.

Gloria snapped her fingers in front of Lucy’s face.  “Hellooo Lucy.”

Lucy jerked her head back.  “Huh?”

“I asked how the date went.”

Lucy turned a bright shade of red.  Almost the same color as her hair.  “It was nice,” she answered vaguely.

Gloria crossed her arms.  “It was more than nice.  Your face is the shade of that bottle of Heinz catsup!”

Lucy glanced at the bottle.  She took a deep breath.  “Okay. It was better than nice.  He seems like a really great guy,” she admitted.

“So?”

“So what?” Lucy replied.

“So are you going on another date?” Lucy was totally out of it.  This Max guy had cast some sort of spell!

“Yeah,” Lucy said. “I invited him to your fall party.”  Her eyes clouded over.  “I hope that’s okay.”

Gloria nodded.  “Of course it’s okay.  It’ll give me – give us – a chance to get to know him better.”
Run a background check, interrogate him…

Dot swung by. She dropped a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast in front of Gloria and then slid into an empty seat.  “So you like him?”

Gloria picked up a slice of bacon and bit the end.  “Like him?  She’s over here in la-la land.”

Gloria grabbed her fork. “She invited him to my fall party.”

Dot nodded.  She was happy for Lucy.  He seemed like a nice enough fellow.  Course, she didn’t want to see Lucy jumping into a new relationship too soon.  “How long has it been since you and Bill broke up?”

“Oh, a month.  Maybe a little longer,” Lucy told her.

Gloria didn’t see a problem with it.  The girls weren’t getting any younger.  Of course, she didn’t want Lucy in the same situation with Max as she had been with Bill.

After Gloria finished her breakfast, the two of them climbed into Gloria’s car. 

Lucy buckled her seat belt and stared out the window. 

Gloria fastened her seatbelt and gazed over at her friend. It was going to be a quiet ride to Liz’s place.

Liz was pacing the floor when Gloria and Lucy arrived.  She swung the door open and motioned them inside.  “I’ve been thinking about what you said and it kept me up all night,” Liz groaned.  “What if my best friend is a killer?”

Lucy was out of her dream state and turned to Liz.  “What do you mean?”

“She means that we think Frances is using the cover ‘Raven Fair’ on Worldbook to leave comments on Milt’s page.  Weird comments.  As in, she may be involved in his disappearance comments.”

Liz lifted the lid on her laptop and pointed to the screen.  “Here.”

Lucy leaned forward. She narrowed her eyes and studied the screen.  “Well, I’ll be darned.” She scrolled through a few of the posts. “Whoever this Raven Fair is, does seem to be leaving some odd messages.”

She stood up.  “What makes you think this is Frances?”

Gloria held up a finger.  “One, she doesn’t have a profile on Worldbook.” She held up a second finger.  “Two, whoever Raven Fair is, seems obsessed with Milt, not unlike Frances.”

She put her hand down.  “Last but now least, Frances has a small tattoo of a raven on her lower back.”

Lucy frowned.  “That does seem like a lot of coincidences.” She shook her head.  “But why would she offer a reward, chain herself to the restaurant and call reporters?”

“Maybe we’ll come up with something when we scope out the ladies’ bridge club.  Several of the women in the bridge club have also dated Milt in the past, including Trudy, Vivian and there’s one other.”  Liz tapped the side of her computer thoughtfully.  “I think her name is Carol something…” 

Liz blew air through her lips.  “Whew!  Carol and Frances
really
got into it not long ago.  Almost a knockdown, drag out fight right there in the parking lot.”

Liz closed the lid on her laptop.  “From what Frances told me, Carol and Milt were getting into his car while Frances was just coming back from the grocery store.  When she saw the two of them together, she freaked out.”

“Do you think Frances is unstable?” Gloria had to ask.  She didn’t want to believe Frances was capable of murder.  Kidnapping, now that was another story…” She narrowed her eyes. 
Kidnapping. Any of these women could be off their rocker and capable of…

“I hate to even think about it,” Liz grabbed her keys.  “Ready to go?”

Lucy headed to the door.  “What excuse are we going to use for being in the clubhouse?”

“Got it all figured out,” Liz said. “I tell them I’ll want to check dates to make reservations for a party.”

“Which reminds me.” Gloria reached into her purse and pulled out Liz’s invitation.  “I’m having a fall party the first Saturday in October,” she told her sister. 

Liz glanced at the invitation and set it on the counter.  “Sounds like fun.  Can I bring a – uh – date?”

“Al again?” Gloria teased. 

Much to Gloria’s surprise, she shook her head.  “Nah.  He wants to get serious and I don’t. We kind of mutually agreed to take a break from going out.”

Gloria lifted a brow.  “Another beau?”

“Just a friend,” Liz replied. She changed the subject. “Better get going.”

The clubhouse was not far from Liz’s place, which was in the front of the Dreamwood complex.  There were several cars parked out front.

Gloria could see a group of women off in one corner as she grabbed the door handle and held it for the girls. 

“That’s them,” Liz whispered in a low voice. 

Gloria counted four women.  She recognized a few of the faces from the Worldbook profiles.  The women didn’t pay the girls any mind as they talked amongst themselves. 

The three of them headed to a small office in the rear.  The gold sign on the door read:
manager
. 

Liz twisted the knob and opened the door.  It was a small space - only large enough to hold a desk and two cheap plastic chairs.  The man behind the counter looked up as the girls stepped inside the cramped quarters.

“Hello Liz,” the man said.  “How can I help you?” He didn’t give her a chance to reply.  He tapped his pen on top of the notepad, lying open on the desk.  “Let me guess, the lawn guys adjusted the sprinklers again and they’re hitting your bedroom window.”

Liz opened her mouth to speak. 

“Or did someone dare to park in your favorite spot in the parking lot again?  Wait!”

Liz cut him off.  “You make me sound like a big pain the rear, Ron!”

“Now why would I do that?” He raised a brow and clasped his hands together.  “If you’re not here to voice a grievance, why
are
you here?”

She cleared her throat.  “I wanted to check availability for the clubhouse the last week in October.”

Ron reached behind him and grabbed a large, black book.  He set it on the desk in front of him and opened the cover. He slipped his glasses on and flipped a few pages.  “Hmm.  Sunday afternoon is free.  Sunday, October 30
th
.”

“Pencil me in for that date,” she told him.

The girls wandered back out into the main area.  Liz closed the door behind them. 

Gloria glanced back at the closed door. “You gonna have a party?” This was the first she’d heard of it…imagine having two parties in one month!

Liz jerked her head at the door.  “Yeah. I’m gonna bring a bunch of my friends over here and trash the place.  Serves the putz right.”

The sound of laughter tinkled in the air. 

Liz switched focus.  “C’mon.” She marched over to the women seated at the table in the corner.  Lucy and Gloria trailed behind. 

Liz went in for the kill.  Her target?  Trudy Gromalski.

She didn’t bother with pleasantries, although she did pause long enough to nod at a couple of the other ladies. 

Liz stuck a hand on her hip.  “Trudy Gromalski.  We have been trying to track you down for days now.”

Gloria finally got a good look at her.  Trudy sported a head of short, blonde hair.  The frosted tips swirled up and shot out.  Gloria liked the look.  She patted her own unruly locks self-consciously. 

The woman’s gray eyes narrowed.  She shifted the cards in her hand, pulling them close to her chest.  “Why, whatever for?”

Liz didn’t beat around the bush.  “Milton Tilton is missing, has been for several days now.”

Trudy nodded.  “Yes, such a terrible situation.”

Liz placed her hand on the back of Trudy’s chair.  “Clyde Ward said he saw you talking to Milt the night he disappeared.”

Trudy’s mouth drooped.  She set her cards face down on the table and crossed her arms.  “Are you accusing me of having something to do with Milt’s disappearance?” Her voice rose shrilly.  “Because if you are, I’m going to-to sue you for slander,” she huffed.

Gloria studied the other women’s faces as Liz and Trudy began to argue, which was even more interesting than the catfight that was ensuing.

Vivian Coulter smirked.

Carol Towers lifted her hand to her mouth to hide her laugh.

A woman that Gloria did not recognize looked as if she wished the ground would swallow her up.

Thank goodness the clubhouse was empty except for the bridge ladies and the three of them.

Gloria was so caught up in her observations that she had missed part of what the two women were saying to each other. 

Suddenly, Trudy jumped out of her chair so fast, it fell backwards and hit the floor with a loud clatter.  She shoved the sleeves of her blouse to her elbow and bowed up. 

Gloria stepped between the two of them in the nick of time.  Liz was making a grab for the front of Trudy’s blouse.

She held her hands out to keep the women separated.  “Now ladies.” She stressed the word “ladies.” 

Gloria turned to Trudy first.  “Liz was not accusing you of anything.  We just wondered if perhaps you might be able to tell us if Milt had mentioned leaving town or given you some indication something was amiss,” Gloria soothed.

Trudy softened her stance.  “He did mention something about having to come up with some quick cash,” she sniffed. 

Lucy stepped forward.  “Do you know what he needed the cash for?”

Trudy lowered her voice.  “Some kind of gambling debt, I think.  Course Milt was always vague,” she confessed.  “The last couple of weeks he kind of kept to himself.” She shrugged.  “I figured he found himself a new girl.”

Tears filled the back of Trudy’s eyes.  She blinked them away.  Even Liz felt bad.  She held out a hand.  “I’m sorry, Trudy.  I had no idea.”

Trudy lifted the back of her hand and wiped at the corner of her eye.  “It’s okay.  I’ve been sick with worry.”  She turned to Gloria.  “Rumor round here is that you’re trying to help find him.”

Gloria nodded.  “Yes, I promised Liz – and Frances – that I’d look into it.”

“That Frances is a lunatic,” Vivian piped up. “Why, I caught her peeking in the windows at Milt’s place.  We were sitting on the couch, watching TV and I could feel someone stare at me.” Vivian shivered.  “You know, where your skin starts to crawl.”

Vivian went on.  “When I got up to look out the window, I could’ve sworn I saw Frances hightailing it across the lawn towards her apartment.”

“So why are you convinced it was Frances peeking in?” Gloria wondered.

“Because the next morning, she cornered me on the sidewalk and told me to stay away from Milt or else,” she answered.

“Or else what?” Liz prompted.

Vivian shrugged.  “That’s what I asked but she never answered.  She just stomped off.”

Gloria looked around the table.  “Do any of the rest of you have something to add?  Odd conversations, some sort of clue?”

Carol Towers had been silent the entire time.  Up until that very moment.  “Well, I saw a light on at his place night before last.”