A Big Life in a Small Town (Bellingwood #2) (21 page)

"Really? Because you certainly look like you are together like that. You're awfully comfortable with each other if you aren't ... like that."

"No. And don't start putting those thoughts out there. I don't want the universe to get any crazy ideas. I'm a long ways from wanting a relationship ... like that. For now, we just enjoy spending time together."

"I'm not very good at understanding relationships, but I think Henry wants more than that,” Elise said.

"He might, but if he's smart and doesn't want me to throw a hissy fit at him, he'll go slowly and there will be none of the 'like that' until much, much later."

They both giggled. Polly sat down on the other side of the two cats, who had found a soft spot in the sofa and were snuggled together beside Elise. She turned to the girl and said, "Will you tell me what is going on?"

"Can I sleep first? I'll talk to you tomorrow, I promise."

"Elise, I have to know something. Is that even your real name? Who is Linda Marberry?"

"I am," Elise said, her voice pitched low. "I am."

"Why are you here as Elise Myers?"

"Because ..." she stopped, "I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Are you running away from something? And where have you been these last few days?"

"I've done nothing wrong!" Elise declared. "But, I guess you could say I'm running away. I didn't think anyone would find me before ... I really don't want to talk about this."

"Are you really in grad school and working on your dissertation?"

Elise looked up and nodded. "Yes! I am! All of that is true. And my family did give me money so I could go somewhere and dedicate myself to finishing it. But, it isn't really true that I have an aunt who heard about Sycamore House. I made that up."

"That's a start. Now, tell me where you've been and why you looked so awful when I found you tonight? And why do you have a gun?"

The girl sighed. "The gun is what I don't want to talk about.” She took a deep breath. “When you told me you had received a couple of calls about me, I knew I had to leave. I figured they would show up, discover I wasn't here any longer and go away. I called a taxi service in Boone and went down there, but then I realized I couldn't register under either of my names. I hitched a couple of rides, slept in some rest areas and a few barns and finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I hitched a ride back here. When I saw all of the activity, I knew I could sneak in with a group of people coming in to work."

"Should I call you Elise or Linda?"

"Elise is fine. It's my first name. Linda is my middle name, but since my Mom was Elise too, I always used Linda. But, you know me by Elise,
so you can use that."

"Where are you from?"

"Chicago. I promise all of that is true."

"Did something happen to you there? Is someone trying to hurt you?"

Elise's face looked so wounded, Polly wanted to hug her, but she said, "Nothing happened to me, but I think these guys want to hurt me."

"Do you know them?"

"No, I don't know them personally. I think they were hired to find me."

"What do you mean?" Polly asked. Now she had hired goons chasing her guests in Bellingwood? She was never going to live this one down. If Bellingwood had a railroad, they'd want to run her out of town on the rails. As it was, she was already getting a reputation for shady characters hanging around.

She sighed and said, "Who hired them?"

"I don't want to talk about that," Elise replied.

"Who brought you here?"

Elise shook her head. "It was just a friend. But, if they know I'm here, he's the only person who could have told them. I hope he's
okay."

"Told who? Elise, who is after you? What's going on?"

"I didn't even know anyone knew I was there," she said. "I waited until everyone left before I came out."

"What are you talking about?" Polly asked.

"Polly, really. I don't want to talk about this tonight. I haven't had any sleep in days and I want to lie down in a real bed." She rubbed her eyes. "Do you have any idea what it is like for someone with my fear of the world to be stuck out there not knowing what's going to happen next? I've been sick to my stomach all week long and scared out of my mind."

Polly's heart broke. "Of course you have. I'm sorry I was pushing. Tomorrow will be fine. And Elise, one of my best friends is the Sheriff here. Will you talk to him and let him help you? He's a great guy and ..."

"No! I know you might think he's a great guy, but I can't trust anyone. I can't even believe I've told you this much." She seemed frenzied and then Polly watched her bring herself under control.

"I just need some sleep," she said. "If I can sleep through the night, I'll make better decisions tomorrow."

"Will you think about talking to my friend?" Polly asked.

"I'll think about it tomorrow. But, first I need to go to sleep." Elise stood up and began to walk to the bedroom. "I'm sorry that I've involved you in all of this. If I had anywhere else I could go, I'd have stayed away, but right now this is all I've got."

"It's fine," Polly said. "You get some sleep. I can wait until tomor ..."

Polly's front door crashed open and two men wearing black ski masks and carrying handguns rushed in. They took in the situation and while one of them grabbed Elise, the other strode over and as she rose up off the couch, thumped Polly in the back of the head and everything went black.

Polly opened her eyes. She was sprawled across her coffee table. One of the mugs had been overturned. Henry hadn't returned, so she hadn't been out very long. She pushed herself up and sat back on the sofa, rubbing the back of her head, then picked up her phone and dialed.

"Aaron. Two men just broke in and took Elise."

"What? I'll be right up. Are you okay?"

"I think so. One of them hit me over the head and I blacked out."

"Don't move. I'm calling the squad. They'll be right behind me."

"Okay. I'm not going to move. My head hurts."

From the background noise of his phone, she heard his tires spinning across her gravel as he said, "Do you hear anyone still in the building?"

"I don't know. They broke my door, Aaron."

"I'm here. I'll be right up."

"Thank you, Aaron." Polly ended the call, shut her eyes and rubbed the back of her head again. Yes. That was going to leave a mark.

Aaron rushed through the door followed closely by Henry. Polly heard sirens and wasn't any too happy to realize they were coming for her. She giggled as both men came in close.

"What are you laughing about?" Henry asked as he sat down beside her.

"I heard the sirens and thought about how they were coming for me and all I could think was, ‘They're coming to take me away, ha ha, they're coming to take me away.’

Polly sobered, "Don't let them take me away, Henry. I have too much to do. Please?"

Aaron chuckled. "You're going to let them take a look at you and if they say you will be a
ll right, you can sign their refusal form and stay home tonight. But, if they say anything different, I'm going to act like your father and tell you to be obedient."

Polly turned to Henry, "Don't let them take me away. I hate hospitals."

"I'm with him. Whatever he says, I say."

When Aaron left the apartment, Polly said to Henry, "They broke my door."

"I know. Are you really okay?"

"Apparently, I have to wait for someone else to tell me whether I am or not," she said and slumped back on the couch.

Aaron came in with two people. Polly recognized the girl from the night last fall when Doug had been beaten by her ex-boyfriend, Joey. "Hi there," Polly said sheepishly. "You're back."

The girl grinned and said, "Yes, I guess I am. Don't move. I need to make sure you are going to live. Sheriff Merritt says you're afraid we're going to take you away to the funny farm because you got knocked in the head," and she winked at Polly.

Henry had gotten up and walked away, giving the EMT room to look at Polly.

"Can you tell me your name?" she asked.

"Me? Didn't Aaron tell you who I was?" Polly asked.

"Yes. I'm trying to make sure
all of your synapses are triggering. Would you answer the question?"

"Oh," Polly giggled, "I'm Polly Giller."

"Good answer. Now do you know where you are?"

"In my apartment in Sycamore House in Bellingwood, Iowa. Is that enough?"

"That's perfect. Now, do you know what time it is?"

"Ummm ... I don't think I knew what time it was before this happened. Probably around ten thirty. Is that close enough to keep me out of the hospital?"

"It's ten forty-five, but that's close enough."

"She's
fine, Sheriff. We won't take her away if she doesn't want to go. But," she turned back to Polly, "are you sure? You got hit hard enough to knock you out. It wouldn't hurt for you to get checked out."

"Don't make me go. I'm fine. I answered the questions and I'll sign your paper."

The EMT turned to her partner and held her hand out. He placed a clipboard and a pen in her hand. She said, "Read through this refusal and then sign and date it here, please."

Polly took the clipboard and said, "So what's your name? When I meet someone like this a second time, I figure it might be the start to a pattern."

"I'm Sarah and I hope we meet under better circumstances if there's going to be any pattern."

Polly signed the paper and handed it back to Sarah, then said, "Well, I'm not going to die tonight, right?

Aaron interrupted. "Girl, you are going to be the death of me, even if it doesn't kill you. How does this keep happening to you?"

"Am I supposed to feel guilty? Because I feel lousy enough right now it would be an easy next step."

He laughed. "No, you don't need to feel guilty,” then he said, "I'll be right back. It sounds like my people are showing up and I want to know what happened here tonight. He passed his wife as she walked in. They nodded and she stood beside Henry, taking his arm.

"Why are you here, Lydia?" Polly asked.

"Aaron called me. Did you think I wouldn't come over to check on you?"

"Elise didn't have a coat or shoes or anything. They just took her!" Then Polly looked around. "Where are the cats? Are they okay?"

Henry spoke up. "They're in the bedroom. Don't worry."

Polly tried to stand up and reached for the arm of the sofa. "Okay, whoa," she said. When she got her bearings, she continued. "That's a little more excitement than I want to have." She blinked her eyes and rolled her shoulders, then reached around to touch the back of her head. "Ow! He thumped me hard." She sat back on the couch and breathed.

Everyone in the room was watching her and she giggled, "I'm not dying. Sarah isn't making me go to the hospital so I'm pretty sure that's the truth. You need to get those grim looks off your faces, and besides, if I were dying, do you think that's what I'd want to stare at?

"Polly, you scared us to death." Lydia rushed over and sat beside her on the couch, putting her arm around her back.

"Again with me scaring you," Polly said. "I didn't do it on purpose. I promise!"

"I know. I know. But when Aaron called, I couldn't think of anything but getting over here."

Polly allowed herself to relax and be hugged by Lydia, who held on to her far longer than Polly expected.

"Aaron needed his vehicle tonight, so I brought it over since he was driving mine and he refused to leave you. Honey, I was worried!" Lydia pulled Polly in close again. "If you aren't going to the hospital tonight, you're coming to my house."

Polly pulled back from her. "No. I just want to stay here. They got what they came for and I can't imagine they’d come back. Please don't make me leave."

Lydia looked up. "Henry? Can you talk to her?"

He laughed. "Are you kidding me? No. I'm not walking into that minefield. I am not that stupid. However, I already have my things and will stay on her couch."

Polly looked at Lydia, asking if that was acceptable.

"Fine." Lydia said. "I don't like it, but you're an adult and I'm not your mother."

Sarah and her partner were heading to the open door in Polly's entryway.

"Thanks so much," Polly said. "You should come back for the dance on Saturday, as guests, not to work."

Sarah smiled and said, "I just might! I hope you have a good night." She looked at Henry. "Call us or get her to
Boone if anything weird happens."

He nodded and they left.

Aaron came back in, sat down on the coffee table in front of her and said, "Polly did they touch anything in here?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. One of them grabbed Elise and before I could get up, the other one crossed the room and hit me." She rubbed her head again. “I'd like to kick him in the balls, that one. Damn, that makes me mad."

Aaron chuckled. "I'm not sure if you're going to be able to, but if the opportunity arises, take it. I'd like to get into Elise's room and see if I can find something that will tell us what has happened and where they might have taken her."

Polly felt around for her phone and couldn't find it in her pocket. "Where's my phone?"

Lydia tried to rearrange some of the chaos that had happened on the coffee table. She picked up the scattered teabags, put them in the basket and handed the basket and mugs to Henry. He returned with a towel to sop up the spilled tea.

Aaron stood up from the coffee table and Lydia laughed, "There it is," she said. "Under the newspaper you were sitting on."

She handed it to Polly, who peered at it and then pressed a few keys and said, "There, I emailed you her key so you have access to that room. How did they get past you?"

He sat back down in front of her on the table. "I don't know. We're going to figure it out. I don't know how long we'll be here tonight, but I won't bother you again until tomorrow. Try to get some sleep."

He put his hand on Lydia's knee. "And you need to go home and let her sleep. Here are your keys," and he dropped them in her outstretched hand. "I'll be home when I can."

Lydia pulled Polly close one more time and said, "I'd much rather know you were safe in a room next to mine, but if I have to be adult about this, I will. I love you, sweet girl, so you take care of yourself tonight. Do you promise?"

"I promise," Polly said and drew her finger across her heart, "but I'm not going to say hope to die."

Lydia stood up and followed her husband out of the apartment, turning around at the door to wave.

"Wait, Aaron?" Polly called.

"What?" he asked.

"I talked to Elise tonight. She said those guys were hired to find her. I think something bad happened in Chicago and she saw it. Whoever did it didn't know she was there, but the friend who brought her to Bellingwood must have told them. She's been hiding out in Boone and around the area for the last week and saw those two men down there. She recognized them."

Lydia had stopped with Aaron and when she realized that he wasn't walking out, said, "I'll see you later. I'm going home. Let me know where you are tonight, will you?"

He bent over and kissed her forehead, "Check your phone whenever you wake up, I'll text you and let you know throughout the night."

"I love you." She hugged him and waved at Polly, then went on out into the hallway.

Aaron walked back into the room and sat down in the chair. "What else can you tell me, Polly?"

Polly told him everything she could remember from her conversation with Elise.

"Most of the information she originally gave me about herself was true, I suppose. Maybe some of that can help you figure out what's going on," Polly said.

"I've got some contacts in Chicago. I'll reach out to them." He stood up, then said, "We're looking for her. Doc Ogden saw the car Tuesday night, so we know what we’re looking for. You
get some sleep now."

Henry walked him to the door and she watched the two men shake hands. Aaron said something quietly to Henry, who nodded and then held the door as he left.

Once the apartment was empty, Henry sat down in the chair next to the sofa. "Is it always going to be like this with you?" he asked.

Polly grinned at him, "I guess I have a few surprises up my sleeve as well!"

"I swear, mine are much more fun," he replied. "When I saw Aaron flying in your front door, I nearly had a heart attack and poor Obiwan was so upset, he practically dragged me up the stairs."

"Where is he, by the way?"

"I should probably let him out. I put him in the bedroom with the cats."

Henry opened the bedroom door and Obiwan rushed out and jumped up on the couch beside Polly. He nudged her arm with his head and when she began to pet him, he lay down with his head on her lap.

"Henry, we have to get that door fixed."

"I know." Henry sat back down. "It's fine for now. It will close enough so the cats won't escape. Don't worry, I've got it."

"I'm worried about her, Henry. Somehow I feel responsible for Elise."

"Of course you do. But Polly, tonight I'm worried about you. Can you sleep?"

"Not yet. Can we just sit here for a while?"

"Sure. Here. Scoot over and make room for me." He slipped in between her and the arm of the sofa.