All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) (43 page)

"Can we take Obiwan outside?" Andrew asked
Polly, holding his hand out for the leash.

She looked at Sylvie, who shrugged.

"Sure, if you'd like to. A couple of things
, though
. Don't
go into the trees by the creek, okay? You have to promise."

"We promise!" Andrew exclaimed.

"And you can't go past the street on either side.
Stay near the school and come get me if anything happens."

"
Nothing's
gonna
happen! Come on, Jason, let's go!"

The two boys ran out the door, slamming it behind
them. Everyone heard them slam through the front doors.

"I'm sorry about that," Sylvie said.

"Oh nonsense," Lydia replied. "This old
school has seen its share of children running through the doors and the halls."

"No kidding," Polly laughed. "And all
the energy of Obiwan's they use up will only help him sleep better tonight."

Sylvie chuckled. "It will help them sleep better,
too. Sometimes I feel badly that I live in a small apartment. They're boys and
should have lots of room like this to run around!"

"Sylvie," Polly said. "Your boys can
come over here any time. The dog seems to have fallen in love with them and
there's plenty of room for them to run, even in the winter. You and I are going
to have to talk! I'll bet I could use some help with snow and the yard and all
sorts of things."

"That would be awesome. It's only five or six
blocks and they could
walk
that on their own." Sylvie replied.

"We'll work something out and maybe later, I can
ask them to come dog sit once in a while, too."

Sylvie smiled and her eyes filled a little. "Wow.
They'd love that. It would be good for them to have some more people in their
lives. Thank you, Polly."

The morning was going well and they could see the end
of the task approaching. Polly had gone out into the hallway for another cup of
coffee when Aaron and Stu came in.

"Good morning!" she said. "Are you here
for coffee?"

Stu looked at his boss, who grinned. "Yes, we're
obviously here for coffee. How are you girls doing?"

"We're nearly finished in there. We'll be done by
the end of the day. Then, everything will be photographed, tagged and logged,”
she said. “That seems kind of incredible, doesn't
it?
"

"We saw Sylvie's boys out playing with your
puppy. They look like they're having fun." Aaron said. "Would you
mind keeping them busy for a
while?
We need to go upstairs and take care of something."

Polly's face fell.
"Oh no.
Not one
of them. Just tell me it isn't Henry."

Aaron looked shocked.
"Oh, no, not Henry.
We'll be back down in a minute."

The two men headed up the stairs and Polly couldn't
help herself. She followed them, paying no attention to anyone else. She
couldn't imagine which of Henry's guys it could be. Probably Leroy, he was such
a jerk. Ben was a nice guy and Marv was helpful and a hard worker. Damn.

They went upstairs and Aaron walked through the open
door to the room where the men were laying floor. Polly watched as each of them
glanced up. Henry came over to stand by Aaron and said, "What's up,
Sheriff?"

"Just a moment, Henry.
I'm sorry to bother you here today." He walked
over to Marv and said, "Marvin Davis?
Or Buddy Landers?
You
are under arrest for the murder of Kellie and Jill Stevens."

Polly slumped. It felt like the breath had been kicked
out of her. She sat down on the floor and watched as Marv put his face in his
hands.

Huge, gulping sobs erupted from his body. "I'm
sorry. I'm so sorry. Oh Sheriff, I'm so sorry!" he cried.

Stu went over to help the Sheriff bring the man to his
feet. Both Ben and Leroy had stopped working and were shaking their heads. They
looked as
awful
as Polly felt and both sat down on the floor where they
were working.

Stu guided Marv out the door and down the steps. When
he could, he read the Miranda rights to the man and before they left the
building, he placed cuffs on Marv and led him to the car,
putting
him in
the back seat. Henry and Aaron followed them downstairs and out the door.

"I'll take him on down to Boone and
get everything started, Sheriff,” Stu said. “
We'll see you later."

By this point, Lydia, Beryl, Andy and Sylvie had come
into the hallway.

Lydia was the first to say anything, "That poor
man.
That poor man.
Aaron, he has no one to help him out. What is he going to do?"

"Lydia. We've got processes in place for this.
Stop worrying about it."

"But, Aaron," she started.

"I said, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure it's him?" she asked.

"We're sure," he said. "Now, I'm going
to Boone and help get him settled. Lydia, that man has known this day was
coming for forty years. You need to be glad that it's me taking care of this
and not someone who doesn't have a wife like you. I'll be home tonight."

"I can't work anymore," Beryl said. "That
about did me in."

Everyone agreed with her, so they went back onto the
stage, their feet dragging. No one said anything
more,
they closed the work down and turned out the lights. Polly pulled the door shut
behind them and locked it, then walked to the front door. Ben and Leroy came
down the steps.

"Boss?"
Ben said to Henry.

Henry's face was as grim and morose as the rest of the
group.

"You guys take the rest of the day. We'll see you
on Monday. Thanks for coming in."

"We closed everything up. We didn't figure you'd
want to work anymore today." Leroy said. He clapped Henry on the back and
then put his other hand on Ben's back as they walked to their trucks in the lot.

"I feel like I need to go down to Boone and make
sure Marv has legal counsel or something," Henry said. "I never put
this one together. How did none of us see
it
?"

"There are going to be a lot of questions from
everyone," Andy said. "It's best to get the answers we can and move
forward, I guess. Do you want someone to go with you?"

"No. I'll be fine," he replied. "I'll
wait about an hour and then call Aaron to see what I can do." He walked
down the steps and through the lot to his truck. They watched as he drove away.

Jason and Andrew had brought the dog back to the
school. Jason asked, "Mom, why did they take that man away?"

Sylvie hugged her sons. "Because they think he
might have killed those two girls a long time ago."

"And they found him today? Here at the school? That's
pretty cool!" Jason turned to his brother. "We got to see them catch
a murderer today! That's not something every kid gets to experience."

Sylvie looked up at her friends, with huge eyes, "No
boys, that's not something you see very often and I hope you never have to see
it again. Now, give the leash back to Polly and go get in the car. I'll be
right there."

Andrew handed the leash to Polly and said, "We
walked him good, Miss Polly. He pooped and peed all over the place! He should
be good to go for a long time!"

Polly giggled. "Thank you so much boys. I might
have to hire you to come over and walk him more often. I'll bet he loves
playing with you."

Jason perked up a little, "We'd do it for cheap! You
call Mom and set it up. We'll come whenever you need us!"

They ran off to the car. Jason yelled,
"Shotgun!" and jumped in the front seat. His brother's shoulders
drooped a little and said, "I never remember," but he got in the back
seat.

Lydia said, "Can you get a sitter tonight,
Sylvie?"

"Why do you ask?" Sylvie said.

"Because I feel the need to sit
around with my friends, some wine and a fire.
Would you all come over for supper and some friend
time?"

Polly nodded. "Me too, but I have a better idea.
Just a second."

She pulled her phone out and stepped away while she
dialed. "Doug? I have a huge favor. I'll pay you and Billy if you'd come
over to the school tonight. Bring Big Jack and some of your video g
ames. Sylvie's boys and my dog
need someone to hang out with them while we go to
Lydia's house. Would you mind?"

She paused while he asked a question. "I do not
know how you heard the news that quickly. But, yes. Sheriff Merritt arrested
Marvin Davis this morning for the murder of those two girls. They believe he is
Buddy Landers. No, I don't know anything other than that. Yes, they're already
gone and headed for Boone." She took a breath. "So, are you free
tonight? I'll make something terrific for dinner."

"What time?" She looked over at Lydia, who
mouthed ‘six thirty?’
"How about you guys show up here
around six o'clock.
Sylvie will
bring her boys by and you guys can play games. Thank you so much! See you
later."

She turned back, "How's that? Is that alright
with you, Sylvie?"

"Well, that was easy! Yes, that's alright. Those
are good boys and Jason and Andrew will have a great time with them, games and
the dogs. Thank you! And I'll help you pay them."

"Oh, they're cheap.
But, sure.
You can help. Is there anything your boys love to
eat?"

"I'll tell you what. Let me cook and I'll bring
it with me."

"Fabulous. Well, Lydia, what shall we bring to
your house tonight?"

"Nothing,” Lydia said quietly. “
I'm so upset that the best thing I could do today is
prepare a big meal tonight. Just come over and help me wallow in sorrow."

"Great. We'll see you then."

They split up and Polly walked back inside with her
dog. She shut the door, listened to the absolute quiet of the building, locked
it behind her and let Obiwan off the leash. He bounded up the steps and she
followed him. They went in the front door of her apartment and he jumped up on
her couch waiting for her to join him. She turned the television on, pulled a
blanket over the two of them, leaned her head back and fell asleep.

Until six o’clock,
Polly
and Obiwan played in her apartment. Then
they went downstairs and opened the front door to see
Doug d
ri
ve into the parking lot
.
Big Jack
barreled out and headed for Obiwan,
followed closely by Billy. Polly held on to the leash
as the two dogs met on her stoop, sniffing and wagging. Sylvie pulled in behind
Doug and her two boys leaped out of the car and ran to the dogs. Andrew pulled
up short and looked at Billy and Polly.

"May I pet the dogs," he asked the two of
them.

Billy looked a little stunned. Polly laughed and
remarked
,
"Kids are easier to train than dogs."

She handed the leash to Jason and
took
two
groceries bags filled with chips and snacks
from Sylvie who
carried in two casserole
dishes in slings.

"I made enchiladas, is that alright?" she
asked.

Doug said, "Awesome! That's wonderful!"

"I have everything else you'll need in the
bags." She turned to Polly, "Including paper plates and stuff. No one
needs to do dishes tonight."

They carried
everything
to the kitchen and
Polly put the
casserole dishes in the oven. "I'm not turning the oven on, guys, but
these are
already hot and they should stay that way in there for a while."