Authors: Kathleen Pieper
"Now, don't go rushing that either, Aunt Polly. Don't act like you aren't trying to do a little matchmaking. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about Alec. Oh, that's dumb, I miss him the moment he walks out the door. But it's been such a short time since we met again. I guess I get a little scared when I have to trust someone. Just don't be giving him any more ideas. Things have to move a little slower, I've made too many mistakes in that area of my life."
"Guess that Larry character hurt you pretty bad, huh?" Aunt Polly tucked Maddy's arm in hers as they walked.
"More than a little, but I'm getting over it. I should have never accepted his ring so fast. It probably wasn't even a real diamond, not that that matters. If I love a guy I don't care if I even got a ring. It's hard to admit I made a mistake with him. I thought he was the one, but I couldn't trust him. It's all about trust for me." It was still hard for her to talk about how afraid she was to trust anyone fully, so she shrugged and kept walking.
When they got back from church Leland and his prospective clients were waiting on the front porch for her to let them in. She crossed the lawn and unlocked the door, coming back to sit with Aunt Polly on her porch.
"I hope you put those letters in a safe place." Her neighbor looked over at Maddy's house.
"Don't worry." Maddy patted her purse. "They're not leaving my sight, not after what happened yesterday."
"Good for you, Maddy."
"Here, listen to this one." Settling back in her lawn chair Maddy read from the diary. Aunt Polly rocked as she listened.
September 16, 1929
I finally got a job in
a diner, not glamorous but it'll pay the rent. I love being on my own. Heard the family is really angry and talk of disowning me, as if I care. I'm working a lot of nights. Must be
careful.
September 30, 1929
I thought I would miss the family but so far, okay. Don't know if the detectives are still looking for me. No one could drag me back now. Not enough money saved yet.
They stopped because Leland and his party were leaving. Looking professional as usual, he wore a sharp navy suit with a red tie and white shirt. They watched as Leland pointed out things on the outside of the house to the people. Maddy and Aunt Polly exchanged worried looks.
"He sure is pushing the positives at your place. You got to give the guy credit, he's a good salesman. Let's just hope not too good, however."
The couple with him seemed to be taking it all in, but from a distance, it was hard to tell how interested they were. They were inside a long time. The woman was young and well dressed, but she kept her arms folded and seemed in a hurry. The man hardly looked at the outside and was first to get in the car. Maddy found it strange they didn't look excited like a young couple should. If she were house hunting she'd be all over the place. They left and Leland came over to Aunt Polly's.
"Well, Leland, your pigeons fly the coop already?"
"Oh, really, Aunt Polly, business is hard enough without any jokes. Where is Miss Maddy?" He seemed a bit out of sorts. When Maddy joined them, the diary and letters were out of sight.
"Hello, Leland, well, what did they have to say?"
"I think they liked it a lot. The roominess impressed them. They wanted a lot of storage so they checked the closets and storage spaces. Pretty good prospects I think." He seemed pleased with himself.
"How much did they offer?"
"Well, they didn't give me a dollar and cents offer just said no more than a hundred thousand." He smiled smugly. Aunt Polly swallowed hard. It was more than the old house was worth.
"That's a pretty good offer. But, Leland, I've decided not to sell."
"It is a good offer. You want to turn it down just like that? You still want to keep that monstrosity?" His voice was incredulous as he looked from one to the other. "What about your job in Chicago? This is a big decision, have you given it ample thought, Maddy? I'm sure your aunt wouldn't want you to saddle yourself with such a responsibility. A hundred thousand is a good price, ask anyone. Aunt Polly, you tell her." He threw his hands up in surrender.
"Well, yes, it is a good price, if you want to sell."
"I give up. You get a good offer and they don't appreciate it." Leland's shoulders slumped in his well-fitting suit.
"Leland. I appreciate your concern, but I've only been here a short time and, believe it or not, it feels like home here."
"Well, it's Nielsen's gain, I guess. You probably wouldn't have liked that couple as neighbors anyway, Aunt Polly. They were rather odd. He'd go off one way and she'd go another. They went through every closet, drawer and cupboard. I could hardly keep up with them." Maddy felt uneasy hearing that. Their actions seemed odd to her too.
"Leland, what was their name?"
"Oh, that's easy. It's almost funny it's so common. It was Smith, Mr. and Mrs. John Smith." He gathered his paperwork and prepared to go.
"Leland? Did you tell anyone that Alec was coming over yesterday?"
"No, don't think so. I told you I would have taken care of it, remember? Oh, wait, I did talk to Jack Drake, he's been wondering how things are going, if the stock certificates have shown up. I told him you haven't found anything yet." He sounded resigned.
“
We’re trying to find out who locked us in the attic.” Maddy watched Leland carefully.
“
I can’t believe that happened yet. Did Deputy McKay find out anything?” Leland looked at Aunt Polly and then Maddy. They both shook their heads. “Well, I tried my best.”
"Yes, I know you did. That's okay. Thanks, Leland."
"Common name, isn't it, Maddy? John Smith." Aunt Polly raised her eyebrows after Leland left.
"It's a very common name. Almost untraceable, wouldn't you say?"
"Well, what do you make of that?" Aunt Polly said as they watched Leland drive away.
"I don't know. He sounded a little suspicious, too." Maddy dropped the curtain with a sigh.
"He would have made a hefty commission on the sale. I was surprised he gave in so easily." Aunt Polly was thoughtful. "I don't know, maybe he does have your well being at heart. Or, maybe he does want a date with you."
"Who wants a date?" Alec still dressed in uniform, his hand poised to knock when Maddy and Aunt Polly started to laugh.
"The man's got more clothes than I do. Plus, he's old enough to be my father, Aunt Polly." Maddy laughed. Even Alec had to join in.
Accepting a cup of coffee he yawned and sat down looking very tired.
"Just thought I'd drop in and tell you there's been no word on our mysterious van or burglar. It's like it dropped off the face of the earth or something. How'd you get along last night?"
"Okay, I think I'll do some more trimming on that tree outside the bedroom window though." She grinned.
"I'll put it on my list. I make a better tree trimmer than a detective right now. It's really frustrating."
"I know. I thought I might be on to something when I remembered I'd told Leland you were coming over to fix the light yesterday. Besides us, he was the only one that knew that." Silence surrounded them, and Maddy decided to kick things up a notch.
"Okay, enough of this. Who wants to accompany me over to my very own front lawn and knock Leland's sign down? My first official act of residence."
"That's the best news I've had all day." Holding out his hand, Alec let Maddy pull him out of his mini-depression. Laughing together they ran over and pushed the gaudy sign back and forth until it fell over.
"It's really mine now." Maddy looked at the fallen sign like the victor of a battle. Alec slipped his hand around her waist.
"Hope I can say the same thing sometime." He looked at Maddy tenderly with eyes that just couldn't get enough of her.
"We just talked about that, deputy. Patience, remember? But just so you know, there's no one else in my life right now." Teasing she ran a finger over his shiny badge.
"Come on in. I'm calling my friends in Chicago right this minute to tell them the news. Boy, are they in for a shock. Maybe you'll get to meet them when they bring my car down. Oh brother, what am I going to do with my apartment? There’s a lot to think about." She closed her eyes and rested her head on Alec's broad chest for a moment before they walked in.
Maddy settled in the chair to dial her friend.
"That's strange. No one answers. They knew I was calling. I wonder why they don't answer?"
"Yeah, that would be weird." Alec replied dryly. "Big city people are weird."
After a busy day of establishing her residence in Nielsen, Maddy stopped by the grocery store to tell Tommy the good news.
"Hey, that's great Miss Morris. I can sure use any work, I'm saving up for a new computer."
"Well, I'll be needing help, Tommy. There's yard work and a couple upstairs bedrooms need to be cleaned up after the rain, there's a bad leak in one of the rooms."
"Yeah, I remember helping Miss Madeline fix that room one time. It's the one with the striped wall paper."
"That's the one. The paper's peeling right off. We're going to have to pull the rest of it off, and then I'll have someone come in and re-plaster the whole thing."
Tommy waved and grinned, "Just let me know when. And, I'll be over on Saturday's to mow."
Driving away, Maddy felt on top of the world. The faces she passed were beginning to look familiar. Her early morning jogs made her familiar to the townspeople too.
Turning on to Main Street, her street, Maddy leaned forward in surprise to see two vehicles parked in her drive.
"What’s going on? That's my car." She squealed and flew from the car the minute she'd parked. Four people stood on the porch casually waiting.
"Marie." Maddy squealed excitedly, giving the pretty dark-haired woman a hug and then turned to the others. That's when the shock set in. "Marie?" Maddy said again, only her voice was verging on anger as her eyes met those of a dark haired man. Turning in obvious rebuff, she lightened again seeing the couple who held hands. "Buffy and Skip, how nice."
She could hardly believe her eyes, her dear friends from Chicago had indeed shown up on her doorstep just as her intuition had suggested. "No wonder I couldn't get you on the phone last night. Whose bright idea was this?" She said between laughs and tears. No one claimed responsibility.
Hugging each one in turn, she couldn't ignore the fourth person, a man, as he stepped slowly from the back of the porch. He wore tan Gucci loafers, impeccably pressed brown slacks and a tan silk shirt.
"Hello, Madeline. Remember me, your fiancée?" She froze at the sound of the familiar voice. A ghost from her past was rising before her very eyes. He came over and tried to give her a kiss but she turned her face, and it was merely a peck on the cheek.
"What are you doing here, Larry?" Maddy didn't hide the displeasure in her voice and pulled away. She looked at the others in astonishment, letting her eyes tell them she wasn't pleased. Buffy and Skip shuffled nervously, obviously uncomfortable, but Marie grabbed Larry's arm and Maddy's and tried to pull the three of them together.
"When Larry heard we were coming out to see you, well, I said why not just come along and surprise her. It's just like old times."
Maddy stared at Marie in disbelief and slipped out of her grasp.
With an innocent smile her friend shrugged. "I told you he was asking about you, well, it was perfectly logical to include him." Marie stood there grinning like the Cheshire cat and Maddy could have easily committed murder.
"Don't I at least get a hello and a hug?" His lips drew back in a wide, winsome smile as if nothing was wrong.
"No, Larry, you don't. I'm really surprised you came all the way out here for nothing. It's been a while. I meant to call, as they say, but I've been busy." The words came out icy and she thought she might become physically ill. Her body language said it all, and for a moment everyone was caught up in the melodrama. Stepping back again, she waved for them to follow her.
"Nice place you have here. A little rustic, but I bet you can get a good price for it." Shoving his hands in his pockets and looking around, Larry seemed not to notice or care about her cool reception. He knew Maddy, her weaknesses and strengths and he also knew how to bide his time.
Marie, intent on making it all one big happy family setting, kept her arm linked with Larry's and chattered on, seemingly oblivious to the fact her friend was furious with her.
"I told him you were way out in the sticks and when we picked up your car and decided to deliver it in person; he thought he might be of some help. He knows all about real estate too, he was telling us on the way down." Marie gushed.
Shocked, Maddy remained silent. Marie was talking like an idiot. She knew how Maddy felt about Larry and she allowed this to happen anyway. A wave of shock and determination set upon Maddy and a whole lot of self-confidence at how to handle it.