Read Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines for Free Online Page A

love you, Polly. Does that help?”
    She smiled. “It does right now and I love you too.”
    “Talk to you later.”
    “Bye, Henry.”
    She opened the garage door and went inside to the back stairs. Obiwan followed her up the steps and into the apartment. The cats were already moving toward the kitchen for breakfast. Polly filled their dishes and made sure water was available. She took her hat off and put it on the table in the entry way, saying “I’m not going to need you today, am I?”
    When she got back outside, her heart sank at the mess. She walked far enough out into the parking lot to take an all-encompassing photo, then moved closer and took more pictures, emailing each to Henry. She turned around as she heard a car pull onto the gravel in the parking lot. She was expecting Ken Wallers and was surprised to see Lila Fletcher get out of the passenger side of the car that pulled up in front of the building.
    “What happened?” the woman asked.
    “I don’t know,” Polly said. “It’s been a crazy weekend here.”
    “It has? I was gone. What was the excitement?”
    “Well, this,” Polly pointed to the front of Sycamore House, “and there was an incident Saturday morning with Thomas Zeller.”
    The woman stopped in her tracks and demanded, “What happened?”
    Polly explained that he had been killed and that the Sheriff wished to speak with her. Lila said nothing more and went inside.
    “Well, that was odd,” Polly muttered to herself.
    Ken Wallers drove in next. He got out of his car and came over to stand beside her, looking up at the front of the building. “What in the hell?” he asked.
    “Those were my words,” she commented. “Hi there.”              
    “Do you have any idea who might be angry enough to do this?”
    Polly thought about it. “Angry with me? I don’t have a clue.”
    “Have you had any other vandalism around here lately?”
    “Other than the murder the other night?”
    “Yes. Other than that.”
    “No, I haven’t.”
    “You’re going to want to make sure things are locked up tight and put away for a few days. This isn’t an accident and if someone has gotten it in their head to hurt you, they might try other things.
    “Do you want to come inside?” she asked. “I can turn on the coffee pot in the office.”
    “That would be great. I need to start a report and then I’ll be out later with my camera. Are you cleaning this up today?”
    “As soon as I can. I hate the idea that everyone will see this.”
    “You could always put a ‘Pardon the Mess’ sign out front,” he chuckled.
    “Aren’t you helpful,” she grinned. “I talked to Henry and he and Eliseo will come up with a plan for cleanup.” She flipped the coffee pot on in the outer office and followed him into her office.
    “You’re up awfully early this morning.” He pulled a notepad out of his jacket pocket.
    “I slept so badly the other night that I went to bed early.”
    Ken scratched notes and asked about her insurance.
    Polly heard the coffee pot end its cycle and said, “Excuse me,” then left the room. She poured two cups and brought them back into her office, setting one in front of him. He was pondering something he’d written and automatically picked the cup up, blowing on it as he thought.
    “What are you thinking about?” she asked.
    “We haven’t had any vandalism in town for quite a while. I’m just thinking about who my regular offenders are.”
    “Do you think this was done by a regular offender?”
    “It won’t hurt to check them out.”
    “Polly?” Eliseo came in the door to the office. “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt.”
    “That’s all right,” Ken said. “I need to get the report finished and come back with a camera. Come on in.”
    “You two have met, haven’t you?” Polly asked. “Oh, sure,” she said. “What was I thinking?”
    Earlier that spring, Eliseo had been living in her barn as he looked for a former army mate who