Chapter 23
“We need a better plan.” Ruth cruised down Main Street past Designer Diva’s store. “Give me a rundown of the interior.”
“It’s your basic Green Springs building. A showroom is in the front. A small desk and counter are near the back.” Lucy tapped her chin. “Beyond that is a hallway. I’m guessing there might be a storage area and a restroom, possibly even a breakroom.”
“What about stairs leading to the upper-level apartment?” Gloria asked.
“I didn’t notice any stairs, although I wasn’t paying attention,” Margaret said. “I’m sure they’re also in the back.”
“Which means there’s potentially off-street parking. Let’s circle around the block.” Ruth turned at the light and then again, making a quick right onto a narrow alley running along the rear of the businesses.
Liz was the first to spot Carol’s small red car. “That’s the car we caught on camera driving by the farm last night.”
“Which means we were right,” Gloria said. “It was Carol Wright.”
“If she thinks I’m responsible for Deanna’s death, she’s got some guts to start semi-stalking me,” Liz said.
“You could say the same about what we’re doing,” Dot pointed out. “The stalking part, I mean.”
“We’re operating a stakeout,” Margaret said.
“Stakeout, stalk-out,” Lucy said. “It’s the same thing if you ask me.”
“We need to monitor both entrances, which means we’ll have to split up.” Ruth slowed to a crawl. “I see upstairs lights on. Carol must be home. What are the store hours again?”
“We have about an hour before closing time.” Liz watched as Ruth shifted into park and flung the driver’s side door open. “Where are you going?”
“Inside to play customer and take a quick look around.” She made a beeline for the side of the building.
“I hope she knows what she’s doing,” Liz said.
“Me too,” Gloria said. “We’re running out of people for these covert operations.”
*****
Ruth casually strolled around the side of the building. She glanced at the “Designer Diva” sign on the front door and sucked in a breath as she stepped inside.
“Good afternoon.” A woman Ruth recognized from the photos as Tammi O’Toole stepped out from behind the desk .
“Hello. I’m thinking about doing some home renovations, noticed your sign out front and decided to drop in.”
“You came to the right place.” Tammi motioned to the counter. “If I can get some preliminary information from you, we can get the ball rolling and work up a quote.”
The woman jotted down Ruth’s address and cell phone number. “How large of a project are we talking about?”
“I recently retired from the Belhaven Post Office, so I’m spending a lot more time in my house and realized I haven’t updated the place in decades.”
Tammi offered her a small smile. “Retirement certainly has its pluses and minuses.”
“I’m in the minus mindset currently,” Ruth said. “Do you have any photos of completed jobs I can take a look at? ”
“Of course.” Tammi handed a photo album to Ruth. “I’m tight on time right now and am in the middle of working on another client’s project.”
“I understand. I’ll just take a quick look.” Ruth opened the album and studied the pictures on the first page.
Meanwhile, a woman emerged from the back. Tammi propelled her off to the side while Ruth eavesdropped.
“You can take the rest of the day off. I’m sure you need to get down to your uncle’s place and start your shift.”
“I don’t…”
Tammi cut her off, and Ruth’s radar shifted into high gear. Suspecting there was more to it than an appointment, she slowed her pace, perusing each photo and wondering how long it would take before the woman forcibly removed her from the building .
The woman left and Tammi hovered over Ruth’s shoulder. “I hate to rush you, but I’ll need to see you out.”
“I thought. I mean, your store doesn’t close for another.” Ruth consulted her watch. “Half an hour.”
Tammi snaked an arm past Ruth and slammed the photo album shut. “We can set your appointment time today. I have several openings tomorrow.”
“Are you the store owner?”
“I’m a co-owner.”
Ruth almost asked who the other owner was. Sensing this might throw up all sorts of red flags, she kept quiet, watching as Tammi pointedly walked over to the front door and held it for her. “I’ll need to rearrange some of my appointments and will call you when I get home.”
“Or leave a message,” Tammi said. “Better yet, let’s chat first thing tomorrow morning. ”
On her way out, something interesting caught Ruth’s eyes. She did a double-take to verify and reluctantly exited the store. The door shut behind her and she heard the lock click.
The hair on the back of Ruth’s neck prickled, and she knew the woman was watching her. She paced herself, casually strolling to the end of the block, and then doubled-backed. She slipped between two of the buildings and returned to the van, still parked in the alley.
“What happened?” Liz asked as soon as Ruth climbed inside. “We were getting ready to set up a search party.”
“I chatted with Tammi O’Toole, who told me she was part owner.”
“Not true.” Gloria did a thumbs down. “She’s not a partner. She’s a partner wannabe.”
“She was in a big yank to get rid of me and Carol Wright, who was also there.” Ruth briefly recapped the store visit. “The place was a mess. There were papers everywhere.”
“Even more of a reason to keep an eye on it,” Liz said.
“Whoever she’s meeting with, if that’s even the truth, she didn’t want me or Carol to see them.”
A car flew up behind the spymobile, forcing Ruth to pull into a narrow parking spot. “We need volunteers for both sides, front and back.”
Liz unbuckled her seatbelt. “I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs.”
Ruth shook her head. “Carol and Tammi would recognize you. We need someone else.”
“Lucy and I are out, too,” Margaret said. “We’ve already met with Tammi.”
“Which leaves me,” Dot said.
Ruth shifted into park. “Gloria, you drive the spymobile around front while Dot and I hang around out back. Keep your phone close by so we can remain in contact.”
“Where exactly are you and I hanging out?” Dot tapped the bridge of her glasses.
“I was thinking over there.” Ruth pointed to a wooden fence running the length of the alley. Beyond the fence was an overflow lot with a “public parking” sign hanging from it. “Ready to take over?”
“Yep.” Gloria slid from the passenger’s seat to the driver’s side. Meanwhile, Ruth opened the rear cargo doors and began rummaging around inside a plastic storage bin.
Dot joined her. “What are you doing?”
“Making our stakeout as comfortable as possible.” Ruth grabbed a canvas bag and slammed the doors shut. “I have two folding chairs, one for each of us.” She rapped on the side of the spymobile .
Gloria stuck her head out the window. “Are you ready to roll?”
“Yeah. You know the drill.” Ruth kept an eagle eye on her van, watching as Gloria came to a full stop at the stop sign. After checking for traffic, she turned right and headed back toward Main Street.
“The spymobile will be fine.” Dot nudged Ruth toward the overflow lot. “They’re only going around the block.”
“I know. I trust Gloria’s driving. Lead foot Eleanor and Margaret are another story.” Ruth fell into step with Dot as they made their way to the end of the sidewalk. They circled around until they reached a sizeable gap in the fence. With a few minor adjustments, the friends were comfortably seated, giving them an unobstructed view of the store’s back door.
Ruth’s cell phone chirped, and she pulled it from her pocket. She laughed.
“What is it?” Dot leaned in .
Ruth handed her the phone and Dot read the text aloud. “Spymobile is in place. Found a great spot. Plenty of bumper room, so no one else is close.” A picture of the van was attached.
“That’s my girl, Gloria. Protecting my baby.”
“Or suffer Ruth’s wrath,” Dot joked.
“You know me too well. How’s the food truck biz going?” Ruth asked.
“Better than I ever dreamed possible. Ray and I found our calling.” Dot shared some heart-wrenching stories about the homeless people she’d met since starting Dot’s Hot Meals on Wheels.
“Do you miss running the restaurant?”
“I do and I don’t, if that makes sense. I miss keeping up on all the happenings around Belhaven and seeing friends, but I don’t miss the daily grind. Looking back, it was taking its toll. I guess I just couldn’t see it. ”
“But we could. Gloria, Lucy, Margaret. Even Eleanor. We were beginning to wonder if you would ever retire and enjoy what years you and Ray have left. I mean, I know I’m stating the obvious, but we’re not spring chickens anymore.”
Dot lowered her gaze, and Ruth could see something was troubling her friend. “Is everything okay?”
Dot shook her head.
“Everything is not okay.”
“Are you…has the cancer returned?” Ruth pressed a hand to her chest.
“No. I’m fine. It’s Ray.”
“What’s wrong with Ray?”
A lone tear trickled down Dot’s cheek. “He got lost going to the Quik-Stop last week. Yesterday he didn’t remember me.”
Ruth swallowed hard as sudden tears burned the back of her eyes. “I’m sorry, Dot. ”
“I scheduled a doctor’s appointment as soon as I could get him in.” Her voice was barely a whisper as she struggled to continue. “I’m scared.”
“We’ll take it one day at a time.” Ruth squeezed her friend’s hand, waiting until their eyes met. “You won’t be dealing with this alone, I promise.”
Dot sucked in a ragged breath as another hot tear trailed down her cheek. “We had so many plans—to travel, to help others and enjoy our golden years.”
“You can and you will. You don’t know for certain it’s dementia. It might be stress. Shoot, the only time I don’t forget why I went into a room is the bathroom.”
Dot smiled through her tears. “I haven’t told the others yet. The homeless people need us. They depend on us for food and to have someone to listen to them, someone who cares.”
“God didn’t call you to help the homeless just to have this happen. There’s a reason for everything. Like I said, it could be something else, something controllable. In the meantime.” Ruth made a zipping motion across her lips. “I won’t breathe a word. If, and when, you’re ready and you have a diagnosis, it will be up to you to break the news.”
“We’ll know more next week.”
Ruth’s cell phone chimed. It was a text from Gloria. Some activity. Keep an eye out.
10-4, Ruth texted back.
The women resumed their surveillance operation, with Ruth being careful to avoid mentioning Ray again.
“Hey!”
The women turned to find a man standing in an empty parking spot a few feet away. “You guys need help with something?”
“Who’s asking?” Ruth asked .
“A concerned citizen, curious about why two women are sitting in a public parking lot staring at a fence.”
“We’re not staring at a fence,” Ruth said.
The man, in his mid-thirties if she had to guess, strolled toward them. He leaned forward, placed his hands on his knees, and peered through the opening in the fence. “You doing some sort of stakeout?”
“We are,” Dot said.
“What are you…cops or something?” The guy eyed them skeptically.
Ruth’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she pressed a finger to her lips. “If we are, it’s something you shouldn’t know.”
“I. Yeah. Carry on.” The man walked away, looking back at them once before climbing into his vehicle and driving off .
Dot burst out laughing. “He thinks we’re undercover cops.”
“Or fruitcakes,” Ruth chuckled. “Either way, he has a story to tell. Two old chicks staring at the side of a fence.”
Ruth’s cell phone chimed again. Tammi O’Toole is tearing the place apart.
Minutes ticked by, and then there was another text from Gloria. Tammi left. We need to go in, to figure out why she’s tearing the place apart.
Time to regroup, Ruth texted back.
On our way.
The spymobile crept past. Gloria circled around and eased the van into a parking spot next to Ruth and Dot.
Gloria scooted into the back. Dot took the empty spot next to her while Ruth climbed behind the wheel .
“You said Tammi was in a big hurry to get rid of you because she had an appointment,” Gloria said.
“Correct,” Ruth confirmed.
“So it stands to reason she’ll be gone for at least a little while.”
“Yeah, depending on what kind of appointment it was. I’m not opposed to breaking and entering, but there are surveillance cameras watching the place.” While Ruth talked, she studied the back of the building. “Hold up. I don’t see any cameras on the roof.”
“The roof?” Lucy asked.
“Give me a sec.” Ruth gauged the distance between buildings. They were close…close enough so that if someone was standing on the roof, they could cross over to the adjacent building. “I think I found a way in.”