Treasure Uncovered (Bellingwood #3) (19 page)

Sylvie chuckled, "It's a deal."

She parked her car and they went inside. Jeff wasn't in his office, so Sylvie headed for the kitchen and Polly went up to her apartment. When she walked in, Jeff and Sal were laughing at the dining room table, with mugs of coffee in front of them.

"Have you had anything to eat yet this morning?" Sal asked. "I made breakfast."

Polly dropped her head, "I'm sorry. I was supposed to take care of you while you were here."

"From here on out, you are responsible for my happiness," Sal laughed. "But, it's been nice getting the scoop on your life from Jeff. He has plenty to say."

"Should I be embarrassed?" Polly asked.

"Only that you didn't introduce me to Henry. But, other than that, I think you're fine. Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I'm good. I can wait for lunch. What would you like to do?"

"I've met your inside animals and Jeff. How about you show me around the rest of the place and I'll put on a pair of your boots and we can go out and talk to your horses. Will you join us outside, Jeff?"

Polly snickered and Jeff laughed. "I promised Polly that I wasn't taking my leather shoes anywhere near horse crap, so no. I'll work inside while you two go out and act like cowboys."

He turned to Polly, "Did Sylvie come back with you? Is she safe to be around yet?"

"I think she calmed down. I'm glad she was here, but that was something!"

"She's not normally that bossy?" Sal asked.

"No, when I met her, I thought she was a mouse," Polly said. "She's gotten a lot more confident since she started going to school, but this was quite new!"

"I might like to meet her again now that we aren't in the middle of a crisis."

"Let me take a quick shower and I'll be ready to go," Polly said. "Do you mind waiting a few more minutes?"

"Don't mind me, I'll just clean your kitchen," Sal laughed.

"If you two are going to get all girly, I'm going back to work," Jeff said and headed out Polly's front door.

"He seems great," Sal said. "He's got your back here."

"Can you believe it? And he knows what he's doing with all of the things we have going on around here, so I can sit back and enjoy myself."

"Yeah. Like that's what you do. You are the fulcrum on which everything balances."

"I don't know about that, but there's always something going on."

Polly went into her bedroom and stripped down for the shower. The cats followed her in and curled up on the countertop waiting for her to finish. When she came out, they both jumped to the floor and rubbed themselves on her ankles while she pulled a comb through her hair and brushed her teeth.

"Did you feed the cats too?" Polly called out.

"I did. I hope it was enough. They finished what I put out," Sal replied.

"They're fine then. Thanks."

Polly got dressed and pushed things around in her closet until she found a second pair of work boots. They were still fairly new and Sal could break them in once they got to the barn.

"Let's go," Polly said as she re-entered the living room. "Time's a-wastin!"

"What are you going to show me first?"

"Let's hit the kitchen so Sylvie can redeem herself and then I want to take you outside to meet Henry. He'd normally be over at my friend Beryl's house re-doing her studio, but today he's on-site."

"How were you so lucky to find him?"

"Good, clean living is the best answer I have for you."

"Whatever. You have led a pretty clean life, but there had to be more to it than that."

"I don't know. We started out working together and then we got to know each other and then he asked me out on a date and it was the sweetest thing I'd ever experienced."

"I know. You told me all about it. I was so jealous."

"When he left to go to Arizona, I wasn’t in a relationship. Everyone else around me kept implying that we were, but I didn’t think anything about it." Polly stopped and said, "That's not true. I didn't think about it happening very fast. When he was gone for two months, I realized how much I missed him. He's become important to me and I can't imagine not having him around."

"That sounds nice and boring."

"Well, it's not boring when he kisses me," Polly smirked. "He makes me swoon."

"Oh, girlfriend. That's a big deal!"

"Tell me about it. My head gets all stupid and I forget to breathe."

"I can't wait to meet him," Sal laughed.

They walked into the kitchen and Sylvie looked up from her computer. She wiped her hands on her apron and shook Sal's hand. "I'm so sorry that I was rude this morning. It's nice to meet you."

"You too. Wow," Sal said. "This is a great kitchen!" She walked around and peeked inside the glass doors to the pantry cupboards.

"I love this prep area," she continued. When she got to the stove, she turned a couple of the burners on and off. "This would be a great place to work!"

"Polly did it all," Sylvie said. "It's pretty close to perfect. I don't know what else I could ask for."

"I would never have imagined you had this in you, my friend," Sally said, clutching Polly's arm. "I'm proud of you!"

Polly took her into the auditorium and showed her the cases filled with items that had been found in a storage room in the basement, then they went outside to find Henry.

"I suppose I should do this formally," Polly said. "Henry Sturtz, this is my friend Sal Kahane from Boston. Sal, this is Henry."

The two shook hands and he said, "Well, you got your first glimpse of the craziness that Polly brought to Bellingwood."

"Stop it!" Polly protested. "I keep trying to tell you that it's not my fault."

"It's never her fault," he laughed and put his arm around her shoulders, "but she keeps finding more and interesting ways to keep us entertained."

"You have done beautiful work with this place, Henry." Sal said. "Polly's lucky to have found someone with your skill. How long have you been a cabinet maker?"

"I've been doing this all my life. Did you see that table in my kitchen?" he asked Polly. "That was one of the first things I built with my Dad. I was eight or nine years old. It's seen a lot of wear and tear over the years. I would have gotten rid of it a long time ago, but Mom was so proud of it, she wouldn't let me. Now I'm glad that I still have it."

"That makes a lot more sense now. I wondered about it when I saw it. It certainly didn't fit in with the craftsmanship of the rest of the house," Polly laughed.

"It's sturdy, if nothing else. I think I used every nail and screw Dad had in the shop."

Polly took Sal out to the barn and the horses came in from the pasture to greet her. Sal had ridden in high school, so was comfortable with them. Polly left her and went in and up to the hay loft again to see if Eliseo had left things behind. The blankets were still there, but it looked as if he had gathered up all of his personal possessions. She tossed the blankets to the floor on the main level before climbing back down.

"That's a lot of horse you have here," Sal said. "It's a good thing they're good-natured or you would have a terrible time."

"Nan can be a brat sometimes. If she doesn't want to do something, she lets me know. But, I try not to ask her for much more than she wants to give me. It makes it easier on all of us."

"Are you going to hitch them up to a cart one of these days?"

"We will, but I will probably let Mark Ogden tell me when they're ready. I've only had them here a few months and after the time they had, I want to make sure they are completely healthy and feel safe. Speaking of Mark, what if I asked him to go to dinner with you, me and Henry tomorrow night?"

"What? You're setting me up on a date with someone from Iowa?"

"Let's not call it a date," Polly laughed. "Let’s call it four people going out to dinner. He's terrific and I know you two will enjoy each other. That way ... okay, it's a date. What do you think?"

"I'm game for anything. Does he know about this yet?"

"No, not really," Polly snorted. "I should probably call him and ask, but I wanted to check with you before I said anything. Just a second."

She stepped back through Nan's stall and walked into the main alley of the barn to dial her phone. "Mark?"

"What's up, Polly? Is there a problem?"

"No, everything's fine. I was wondering if you were busy for dinner tomorrow night."

"Umm, aren't you dating Henry?"

"Stop it. I have a friend in town from Boston and thought it would be fun if the four of us went out to dinner."

"You are setting me up on a blind date?"

"Maybe?"

"Is this what all those questions about Sylvie were about?"

"Maybe? So, will you?"

He was quiet long enough that Polly said, "Did I lose you?"

"No, I'm still here. I'm wondering if this is as strange as it sounds."

"It's no big deal. Come on. Say yes."

"I can't say no to you. I'll go."

"Thank you, Mark. I'll text you details. See you tomorrow!"

She slipped her phone back in her pocket and walked outside. "He's on. This will be fun. So, now that I'm thinking about food, I'm hungry. Are you ready to go for lunch?"

Sal slipped out of the work boots and put her shoes back on. "What do you want me to do with these?"

"Let's leave them here. I don't know why I hadn't in the first place," Polly said.

They walked to the parking lot and got in Polly's truck. She drove around a little bit, showing Sal the little town she now called home and then turned onto the main street going through the downtown area.

"Oh, it's so quaint!" Sal exclaimed.

"Don't let them hear you say that, okay? People work in these shops and live here."

Sal pursed her lips. "I'll be good. But, this is wonderful! And why am I not surprised that nearly every other vehicle is a pick-up truck?"

"Oh, I can hardly wait to hear what you have to say about the diner. Please be good when you're in there, alright?"

Polly parked her truck and they walked across the street. When she opened the door to the diner, the warm smells of grease and food greeted them. Lucy was standing at the kitchen window waiting for an order and acknowledged them with a nod, then pointed at an empty table. Polly took Sal's arm and led her over.

"Are you going to try a pork tenderloin?" she asked. Polly knew her friend didn’t keep kosher, but this was almost funny.

"When in Rome, I guess."

"Do you at least want a salad to start?" Polly asked.

"What are you having?"

"A salad. Yeah. That's what I'm having," she nodded.

"No onion rings today?" Lucy asked as she approached the table with menus and silverware.

"Okay, we'll split some onion rings and I will have a salad with ranch dressing. Lucy, this is my friend Sal from Boston. She's here to try one of your famous pork tenderloins."

"How about a nice salad for you, too?" Lucy asked.

"Sure. Do you have a vinaigrette dressing?"

"I have oil and vinegar or our house Italian."

"House Italian sounds fine and an iced tea. Thank you."

Lucy left and Polly felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and Ken Wallers was standing over her.

"We keep meeting in all the restaurants in town. I'm going to have to start bringing my lunch to work. People will talk," he said.

"Hi Ken," she smiled. "This is my friend, Sal, from Boston. Sal, this is our police chief, Ken Wallers. What's up today?" she asked.

"I heard your new custodian showed up with a lot of scrapes and cuts this morning. Do you know what he got himself into?" he asked, pulling out a chair and sitting at the table with them.

"He won't tell me. But, he's doing a lot better. Sylvie Donovan took matters into hand."

"There was a bad fight at Jefferson Street Alehouse last night. A couple of out-of-towners were involved. Do you suppose that was him?"

Polly put her head into her hand and sighed. "I don't know, Ken. I'll ask him later today. I'd hate to think I hired another loser for this position. I like him and he has worked so hard this last week."

"Well, make sure you are careful. You've found enough bodies for one month, okay?"

He stood up and started to walk away, then turned back. "Take care of yourself. Neither the Sheriff or I want you in any trouble."

Running her finger around the rim of her glass, Sal had watched the interchange between Polly and the police chief. After he walked away, she said, "You've got some good friends in this town. People like you a lot."

"Sal, I can't tell you how glad I am to be settling in here. I don't think I ever appreciated small town Iowa until I came back to it. When I was young, I couldn't wait to go away to college and start living in the real world, but it's nice to be back. I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else now that I'm here."

"I didn't intend to talk you into coming back to Boston, your emails and our phone calls have let me know how much you love it here, but until I saw it for myself, I didn’t understand how this fits you. You know, I was serious the other night. You're a lot different now."

Polly wrinkled her nose, "Different? What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking about this. You were living someone else's life when you were in Boston. You had friends, you had an apartment, you had a job. But, it wasn't all you. I haven't been here very long, but your friends are bonded to you a little more deeply and your apartment is so your home. There are little pieces of you everywhere I looked. And you don't just have a job, you have a life here. Sycamore House is an extension of who you are. The whole town recognizes you and it's like you are a piece of their puzzle. You fit in."

"I suppose."

"No, I'm not kidding. It never occurred to you to have a pet while you were in Boston, but look at you. You have horses and a dog and cats. What's next? Sheep? Cows? Chickens?"

Polly put her hands up in defense, "Nothing! I swear. Nothing!"

They laughed and Sal continued, "I'm so glad to get a chance to experience this part of your life and see how content you are. I hope someday I will feel as satisfied with my life as you are right now. You figured this out."

"I never thought about it. Sheesh, Sal. Everything just fell together. Other than buying the building, there was no plan in place where I would uncover peace and contentment."

"Well, you found it and I'm a little jealous."

"You don't think you could find yours in the middle of Iowa?"

Sal let out a loud laugh and they both looked around the diner to see if anyone was paying attention after that outburst. People glanced up, but went back to their own conversations and meals.

"No," she laughed again. "Somehow Sal Kahane, Jewish American Princess and small town Iowa will never be the perfect blend of peace and harmony. I like a little more excitement in my life. However, when it comes to the excitement barometer, you're certainly pushing it up there. Dead bodies, beaten employees, rescued horses. We wouldn't have known what to do with you if any of that had happened back east."

"You know, Sal, you should never say never. Stranger things have happened. Who knows, maybe you'll meet the perfect man. You could always teach. There are plenty of great universities and colleges out here."

Sal had started to take a drink and set it back down. "Can you imagine what my mother would do if she thought I was going to marry someone and move to Iowa? She'd have a heart attack. Remember, she's still setting me up with doctors and dentists as often as she can."

"I can't believe that you have never gone on a second date with any of them. Where is she finding these people?"

"Oh, I haven’t told you about the one she set me up with last week. He's the son of some woman she knows from her card club. She doesn't even like the woman, but when she heard there was a single male, those two biddies set us up. They made reservations for us and sent a cab to pick us both up so we couldn't bail out on it."

"How was it?"

"At first I thought it was going to be, well, not the worst blind date I'd been on. He was fairly good looking and polite. He held doors open for me and even helped me with my seat at the table. I was a little impressed."

"So?" Polly encouraged.

"We ordered our meal and when the soup came out, I thought I was hearing strange noises, but I couldn't figure it out. Then, the entree came out and when he wasn't eating, I didn't hear them, so I paid close attention. He was snorting like a pig as he chewed!"

Polly gasped. "No way!"

"I'm not kidding you! And once the food got there, he couldn't hold a conversation, he was so intent on jamming it in his mouth. I've never seen such awful table manners and I've been on some pretty bad blind dates."

"I'd have died."

"I wanted to. I was so embarrassed, but honestly, that wasn't the worst of it."

"There can't be more."

"Well, yes, there can be. He finally finished eating and wiped his mouth with the linen napkin. That was fine, but then he stuck the thing in his mouth and began rubbing his teeth clean. When that was over, I am not kidding you, he belched. Right there in one of the nicest restaurants in downtown Boston, he belched!"

"No, no, no, no, no," Polly sighed. She shook her head. "What did you do?"

"I pulled money out of my purse, put it down on the table, stood up and walked away. I didn't say another word to him. I didn't say good bye, I just left. I called a cab, then I called my mother and told her that was the last straw. She is never again setting me up on another blind date. Ever."

"You do know that I'm nervous about you meeting Mark Ogden for a blind date now, don't you?"

"I thought you assured me this wasn't a date, girlfriend."

Polly shivered and chuckled. "Okay, it's not a blind date and I promise you that I've had a meal with him and he doesn't snort or do anything gross while he eats. He's really nice."

They were laughing when Lucy brought their meals to the table and set them down. She said to Polly, "I hear you had more excitement over there at Sycamore House this morning."

Sal's eyes sparkled as she listened. Polly knew exactly what she was thinking, but said, "It never ends, does it, Lucy?"

"Do you suppose he was part of that fight at the Alehouse?"

"I'm going to ask him. I hope not, but you never know."

"How long has he been in Bellingwood?"

"He started working for us last week, but I don't know how long he'd been in town before that. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, just wondering. Enjoy your tenderloins, girls."

She walked away and Sal snickered under her breath, "News travels fast around here, doesn't it!"

"You have no idea," Polly said. "And not only news, but before too long, they'll have names and blood types and every other piece of information about all the parties involved. They'll know motive and what the police should do about it. Now, only ten percent of it will be actual truth, but if you listen long enough, you get a few nuggets of good information."

She stopped talking and watched as Sal's eyes got big. She had pulled the fries away from the sandwich and sat up a little straighter as she attempted to take in the full dimensions of the tenderloin.

"I can't eat all of this," she whispered.

"No one can," Polly laughed. "Cut it in half, then eat what you can."

After lunch, Polly and Sal wandered up and down the main street in Bellingwood, peeking in the stores, and stopping to say hello to people who recognized Polly. Sal couldn't believe the prices on items in the thrift and antique stores.

"I could make thousands of dollars, buying from the stores here and reselling these things at home," she exclaimed as they wandered through an antique shop. "How come no one does that?"

"I'm sure they do," Polly said. "You aren't the first person who has been astounded at these prices. But, everyone makes the money they want to make, so they're all happy."

Sal picked up a stack of old photographs, flipped through them and said, "How sad. Someone's memories are here and no one will ever know who they were." She set them back down on the table and drew her finger across a small chest of drawers that was next in the aisle. "This would be lovely in my foyer."

"I don't think they'll let you carry it on the airplane, Sal."

"I know, but I love it." She turned the price tag over. "Polly it's only one hundred dollars. Are they kidding me?"

Polly pushed her friend's hand away from the chest. "You can't take it with you. Let it go."

"But!"

"Let it go. Maybe we ought to get out of here before you forget yourself," Polly laughed and began walking toward the front door of the shop.

"How can you come in here and not want to buy everything?"

"That's why I don't come in here, you nut. It's the only way I restrain myself. Besides, where would I put this stuff? I still haven't unloaded the storage unit at home."

They walked back onto the sidewalk and Sal said, "You haven't dealt with those things yet?"

"No, not yet," Polly replied.

"I figured that once you got settled, you would bring all of your memories into your home."

"I know. I know. It's just that if everything is over there, tucked neatly away, I don't have to think too hard about missing them," Polly said. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears and brushed at them with her hand.

"It was one thing to live in Boston and not have them around, but I've been avoiding those feelings since I moved back to Iowa," she continued.

"I'm sorry I brought it up, then. I didn't know you were still carrying that," Sal said. "You never talked about it much after your Mary died. I suppose we all figured you were doing fine."

She stopped on the sidewalk and turned to Polly, "I'm sorry I wasn't more sensitive to your loss during those years. I feel terrible that you were holding it all in and I didn't see it."

Polly took her hand and they crossed the street. "I was fine. I loved my job and I was having fun doing things with my friends and living my life in the big city. It was okay. Some nights I would pick up the phone and think about calling Dad or Mary to tell them about the things that were happening, and then I would cry, but it happened less and less as time passed. One day it was a good memory without the pain."

The two of them stopped again in front of the Bellingwood General Store. "When I was little, the drug store in Story City had a soda fountain," Polly said. "The drug store here doesn't, but this place has great ice cream. Are you game?"

Sal grinned and hooked her arm in Polly's. "What do you suppose their flavor of the day is?"

The two went inside and sat down at the counter. A young man, replete in his soda jerk uniform greeted them. The owner had designed a throwback fountain, with sparkling glass ice cream dishes and parfait glasses standing on transparent glass shelves in front of a mirror. Neon signs at each end of the wall advertised "Ice Cream Sundaes" and "Coca-Cola." Polly pointed to a metallic sign advertising root beer floats and Sal smiled as she took in the nostalgic touches, with glass straw dispensers and a bright red and chrome milk shake maker.

Sal ordered a scoop of their daily special - peach ice cream, and Polly ordered a turtle sundae. Before long they were sharing their ice cream with each other and giggling at the stories in a book Sal pulled from its stand on the counter.

Sal sighed, "I'm going to be miserable all afternoon if we keep eating like this. Maybe I should walk back to your house."

"Oh, nonsense. It's only ice cream. You're fine. Come on. Let's go for a ride," Polly said.

They crossed the street back to Polly's truck and Sal laughed. "You don't worry about jay walking or getting hit by cars in this little town, do you!"

"Every once in a while you have to pay attention, especially after school is out and the kids are home, but it's not a bad way to live."

"Where are you taking me now?" Sal asked.

Polly looked at her watch. Sylvie's boys, Jason and Andrew would be showing up a little after three, but she didn't need to be home until around four thirty. With Jason and Sal's help, they could have the horses back in the barn quickly. There was plenty of time.

"Let's drive down to Boone. The town is so pretty. You'll love all of the homes there. I remember driving through there when I was young, astounded at how beautiful they were."

"Okay," Sal sounded doubtful.

"Trust me. It's a nice day for a drive. We'll drive past Mamie Eisenhower's birthplace and though we don't have a lot of time, I'll take you past the old train station."