Hattie Cromer proved to be fine, just minus her hearing aids…taken out to change the batteries and left out because she had not thought she needed them the rest of the night.
Sue Ann sent him from there to the Lutheran Church for a fender bender. Like the other churches in town, St. Marks had a Wednesday evening service. Tonight, unfortunately, Christian forgiveness had not extended past the service for the choir soprano shrilling at the baritone who backed into her T-bird.
While radio traffic indicated Duncan took a report at the Phillips station on a customer who used the self- service pumps and drove off without paying, Garreth answered a noise complaint and without vampire compulsion, had the young man working on his motorcycle shut it off for the night. Then he listened to Duncan go on high band behind the Co-op while he refereed neighbors over the one neighbor’s dog, whose barking the other neighbor claimed was keeping her baby awake.
The next time he passed Anna’s, her house had gone dark.
Not that he had any excuse to speak to her again tonight. His hope lay in tomorrow.
11
The evening began with promise.
Maggie invited him to eat with them on Sunday. “We like going to early Mass, so we have the rest of the day free. Come over at ten for waffles and my Uncle Leo’s homemade sausage, the best sausage you’ll ever eat.”
He accepted, despite the daylight time and food he needed to weasel out of eating. The invitation counted the most, making him feel accepted.
Out on patrol, traffic moved smoothly. He saw no sign of Scott Dreiling’s Trans Am. No one reported stolen Halloween decorations, though a dog did break out of its yard to attack a scarecrow at the neighbor’s house. The dog followed Garreth back to its yard. Its owner agreed to restore the scarecrow. Problem solved without further action necessary…giving him freedom to locate Dorothy Vogel’s Vega at Dillons.
Luck continued to smile. Duncan radioed a request they meet and Garreth suggested the parking lot of Gfeller Lumber, from which he could watch the Dillons and Walmart exits.
Duncan wanted to crow about locating the driver who had taken off from Phillips the night before without paying. “And I did it with a partial tag number and clerk at Phillips just remembering it was a light colored Galaxy.”
Garreth only half listened to the long narrative of how Duncan ID’d the car and driver, watching the exits south of them. He caught the end of the recitation, though, and gave Duncan the praise he wanted…and deserved. “Good work. What does the guy say about not paying?”
Duncan snorted. “That he ‘forgot’ because he was thinking so hard about getting home.”
An orange Vega wagon pulled out of the Walmart lot and turned up the highway. Turning onto Pine gave Dorothy a straight drive across town to Anna’s place. Garreth set a clock in his head. She never hurried, in case her mother wanted to pause along the way to say hello to a friend, so he had a few minutes before he needed to be there…time enough to avoid arousing Duncan’s curiosity by rushing off.
“Is the Phillips manager prosecuting?” he asked.
“Oh yeah. Got to set an example.” Duncan chuckled. “Mr. Absentminded has to pay for the gas
Garreth put his car in gear… “Expensive fill-up. Again, great job.” …and with a salute, pulled out onto the highway.
He timed his pass at Anna’s house so Dorothy had pulled into the driveway and begun taking bags out of the open back. Anna was disappearing in through the side door of the house.
He parked, telling Sue Ann he would be on high band, and climbed out of the car with his portable radio. “Mrs. Vogel, can I help you with those?”
Dorothy looked around, took a moment to recognize him, then smiled. “Mother’s ancestor hunter. She said you’d moved here and joined the police. Is this the serving part of serving and protecting?”
Garreth smiled back. “Yes, ma’am. Which bags would you like me to take?”
Between them, they managed everything in one trip. The side door opened into a small porch with another door opening into the kitchen.
There Dorothy set the bags she carried on the table. “Put it all down here.” She raised her voice. “Mother, come see our new grocery boy.”
Shortly, Anna appeared through a hallway door and seeing him, raised her eyebrows. “In a snazzy uniform, too.”
Garreth shrugged. “I was passing and saw your daughter with a load of groceries to bring in, so I gave her a hand.”
“That’s very kind. Thank you. I’m glad you stopped.”
“Do you want this in your sewing room?” Dorothy picked up a Walmart bag bulging with red plaid flannel.
“That’s a lot of flannel,” Garreth said.
Anna nodded. “I’m making a set of queen size sheets. Yes, the sewing room please.”
“A chintzy wedding present if you ask me,” Dorothy said over her shoulder.
Anna waved that off. “Sometimes you need more than love to keep you warm…and my old bones say it’s going to be an early, cold winter.”
Garreth leaped at the chance that gave him to ask about Lane. “Let’s hope not too severe to keep Mada from making it home for Thanksgiving.”
Anna cocked a brow at him. “Garreth — may I call you Garreth — I wanted to talk to you yesterday but you — ”
His radio interrupted. “
Garreth silently cursed the interruption while rogering the call.
“And there you go off again,” Anna said. “If you have a chance before it gets too late, will you come back? I do want to talk to you.”
“I’ll be back.” One way or another.
The traffic accident proved to be a minor fender bender with both ladies involved apologizing to each other…without any influence on his part. Discretion prevented intervention with the parents of two juveniles caught trying to steal cigarettes at Rexall Drugs…two of the thirteen-year-old trio who stole brandy on Monday. But he did urge the store owner to press charges. Maybe juvenile court would shake sense into the idiots…or teach the parents to enforce grounding.
Impatient as he was to go back to Anna’s, conscientiousness made Garreth hold off until after the stores closed and most of the cars left downtown. Some previous nights Anna’s lights remained on after eleven. He just had to hope for that tonight, too.
The hope paid off. When he cruised past he found not only house lights on, but the porch light. She was waiting for him. He called in a break for himself and rang her bell.
The sidelight curtain twitched aside briefly, then Anna opened the door, smiling. “You did make it. Can you stay for a while?”
“I hope. I’m on break.” He came in, tucking his cap under his arm. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Mada, of course. Come in the diningroom. I baked an apple pie this evening. Would you like some?”
No problem ducking this offer. “Thanks but I’m not a desert eater.”
She sniffed. “I can see that. It wouldn’t hurt to put a little more on your bones you know. Come in the diningroom anyway.”
While he took a chair there and laid his cap on the table, she opened a lower door of a sideboard with a picture of the Virgin Mary hanging over it. “Did you find your grandmother?”
“No…but it doesn’t matter anymore.” Give her an acceptable reason for that. “Looking was…something to do while I sorted out a personal situation.” Almost the truth. “Now it’s resolved.” With luck.
She turned holding a photo album. “Mary Catherine told me about saying Mada is probably your grandmother.
