Bells & The Bandit (A Willow Crossing Mystery Book 1) Read online

  “Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt you?”

  “No,” she answered. Then she asked, “Who found me?”

  “Griffin Carlin.”

  “Isn’t that the boy who lives in the camper with his father?”

  “Yes, it is.” He didn’t know where she was going with her thoughts.

  “Maybe he did it.”

  “Why would he want to hurt you?”

  “Well, I know for a fact his father is a lazy bum. He hasn’t worked for years.”

  “But what would Griffin have to gain by assaulting you?”

  “Oh, about $15,000. That’s how much my bracelet was worth. It was in my family for generations, and now it’s gone.”

  “And you said you didn’t see anyone in the room where you were assaulted?”

  “No, it was empty except for a few chairs stacked in a corner.”

  “And you said the Delgados and their helpers were all in the banquet hall?”

  “That’s right.”

  Hannah knew what he was getting at and said, “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. He could have gone back there, hit me over the head, taken my bracelet and then pretended to find me. Easy-peasy.”

  “I want you to think real hard, Hannah. Did you see anyone else near the door when you went back there?”

  “Which door?”

  Thinking that maybe her head injury was affecting her memory, he said, “The door you went through to go to the back room.”

  “Oh, no. But there were three doors in that room. One that led to the banquet hall, one that led to the room where I think they were preparing the food, and then another one.”

  “The third door leads to the hallway.”

  “Okay. It’s a really small room, so I can tell you with certainty there was nobody in there with me.”

  “Okay, Hannah. I think we can stop for now. You need to get some rest and I need to get to the station and get all of the reports together.” He moved closer to the bed and held her hand.

  “If you remember anything, will you please let me know?”

  “Of course, Chester. Thank you so much for coming to check on me.”

  Smiling softly, he said, “Get some sleep and I’ll see you soon.”

  He walked out of the room and said goodnight to the nurse on his way to the elevator.

  Chapter 5

  The morning after the wedding, with not much sleep, Ru dressed Opal and readied her for their morning walk. Opal is loved by everyone in town and, quite frankly, it’s understandable. The stocky English Bulldog is very well behaved and lovable. Often dressed in lace and bows, she attends most of the family’s catering events, sitting on a pillow looking pretty for the guests. Ru’s students all love Opal, and when she is out and about with Ru, they always flock to her to pet her. Even though Opal is very bright and easy to train, she also tends to be quite lazy…or maybe she’s just spoiled…and Ru and Esteban usually pull her around in a cute little pink wagon.

  On this particular morning, Ru pulls Opal’s wagon down to the police station. Chief Putnam instantly goes to Opal when he sees her enter his office, his hand full of treats. He feeds her the tasty doggy delights with one hand and pets her with the other.

  “Chief, you’re spoiling her,” Ru says with a chuckle.

  “Of course I am! This is my princess,” he responded, looking at the dog wearing a cute little sundress.

  He then briefly turned his gaze to Ru and asked, “What can I do for you, Ru?”

  “Have you heard anything about Hannah?”

  “When I saw her last night to take her statement, the doctor told me she had a concussion. He thinks she was hit in the head with something.”

  “Really? I thought the bump on her head was from falling.”

  “That’s what she thought, too, but the bruise left on her scalp was perfectly shaped, so the doctor made the determination that someone hit her with a small, blunt object.”

  “That’s horrible,” Ru said, shocked that someone in this sleepy little town would do something so terrible to a little old lady. “I bet she was devastated to find that out!”

  “She’s more devastated that her bracelet is missing. It supposedly was handed down through her family for generations.”

  Ru thought for a couple of minutes while the aging chief played with Opal. When the man turned his attention back to Ru, she said, “It really is a shame about Hannah’s antique bracelet.”

  Slyly she then said, “You know, Kirk Enders was at the wedding, and Esteban said he went to the back room multiple times to smoke. I don’t want to point fingers or accuse anyone of something they didn’t do, but he did seem quite comfortable with that back area. You may want to talk to him; maybe he saw something nobody else did.”

  “He didn’t seem to know anything when I talked to him last night, but I’ll keep that in mind. That man really is a jerk, you know?”

  “Oh, I know!” Ru could tell Chief Putnam had something on his mind, so she asked, “Is there something else, Chief?”

  “Well, I know you love your students, and you do what you can to help them, but do you think it’s possible Griffin had anything to do with it? Lorena did find him back there with Hannah.”

  “Oh, Chief, I don’t want to believe he could do something this bad, but I guess anything is possible.”

  “When I talked to him last night, I couldn’t tell if he was just upset, or if he was hiding something.”

  He paused for a second, and then said, “I know he is more comfortable talking to you…”

  Ru knew where the Chief was going with his thought and asked, “Would you like me to talk to him?”

  Normally, in a big city, the police would do the questioning, but in this small, tight-knit community, Ru is a very trusted woman.

  So Chief Putnam says, “That would be great. I still will need to talk to him again at some point, but maybe it’s better if you try first. I know those kids just love you to death.”

  Blushing, Ru replies, “I’ll talk to him tomorrow at school.”

  “Thank you.”

  “With everything he’s gone through with his father, I have a feeling he has a hard time talking to men, so hopefully he will open up to me a bit.”

  “That Carlin is one tough nut to crack. I really don’t know how he supports himself let alone a son. I just hope Griffin doesn’t follow in his footsteps for too long, or it will be too hard for him to change later on down the line.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, Chief. I have been working on turning Griffin around for three years. He has made such progress and has been such a big help to Esteban and I.”

  Knowing she had things to do, Ru then says, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find a new dress…Esteban is taking me out for a romantic dinner tonight.”

  “Wow, what’s the occasion?”

  “No occasion, Chief, he just loves me.”

  “Well, then, I’d say that’s occasion enough! Would you like to leave Opal here while you shop?” He asked, hoping to spend more time with the loveable pooch.

  “Actually, as much as I know she would love that, I have to drop her off at the groomer in a few minutes.”

  “Awww,” Chief Putnam whined, sounding like a child. “Okay.”

  “We’ll see you soon,” Ru said, and watched as the man snuggled and kissed Opal. She loved seeing the soft side of men, and Opal sure did bring that out in anyone she came in contact with.

  Ru left the police station and went to Barkley’s to drop off Opal. As much as she loved her dog, she looked forward to a few hours of shopping by herself…a treat that doesn’t happen very often. After finding the perfect dress for her date with her husband, she realized she still had plenty of time before she had to pick up Opal at the groomer, so she went for a manicure and pedicure. There she had a blissful 1 1/2 hours of silent time. As hard as she tried not to think about the night before, she couldn’t help it. There was nothing Ru loved more than a good mystery to sol
ve.

  ~~~

  “Dinner was beautiful, my love, thank you so much for a wonderful evening,” Ru said lovingly to her husband as they drove slowly toward their home.

  “No, dinner was great, YOU were beautiful,” Esteban replied as he pulled the car into the driveway.

  “I WAS beautiful? You mean I’m not anymore?” Ru joked.

  Distracted by the sight of someone on their porch, Esteban asked, “Who is that?”

  “Who is who?” Ru asked, confused with his question. She hadn’t been paying attention, so she didn’t see anyone.

  “There is someone on our front porch,” he answered and pulled up to the garage.

  At that point, since the garage is at the back of their property and detached from the house, Ru was unable to see who was at their house.

  They got out of the car and slowly walked to the front of the house, curious about who came to visit. When they stepped in front of the stairs leading to the old, beautiful wooden porch, they saw Hannah Levitt, sitting patiently on the top step.

  She stood quickly and said, “I’m sorry if I startled you. I am just at my wit’s end.” She looked very frazzled.

  “What’s the matter Hannah? What happened?” Esteban asked.

  “And why aren’t you at home resting?”

  He couldn’t believe she just got out of the hospital and was already out and about, and on a mission.

  “What happened? I’ll tell you what happened! The police aren’t doing a darned thing to find my bracelet! I guess they think it will just magically appear. What do you two know about what happened? Do you know who took it?”

  Ru answered, almost feeling attacked by the tiny lady, “No, Hannah, we don’t. I talked to Chief Putnam today and let him know I will do whatever I can to help find the person who did this to you.”

  “Thank you, dear, I appreciate that. Chester is a good man, but I swear he is getting too old for police work. They should be out there scouring the town to find the culprit! He doesn’t have that kind of energy anymore.”

  “Oh, Hannah, you don’t give him enough credit! He is active and fit and he cares about the people of this town. You will get your bracelet back, and you will get justice.”

  “I hope so!” Hannah replies.

  “Chester should retire. He still can care about the community, but we need young people policing this town.”

  Then, as if a light bulb went on in her head, she quickly said, “I need Griffin and Lorena’s addresses. And that other girl, what’s her name? The tall one who works for you.”

  “Her name is Julie.”

  “Yes, Julie. I need their addresses. I need to go talk to them and see what they know.”

  “I’m sorry, Hannah, I can’t give you their addresses.”

  “Why in the world not?” She looked shocked that Ru wouldn’t give her the information she was asking for.

  “Well, as an employer, I cannot give out their information to anyone except the police.”

  “That is absolutely ridiculous! How can I go talk to them if I can’t find them?” Hannah obviously was upset.

  Esteban jumped in and said, “Tell you what, Hannah, Ru and I will do our very best to find out what happened to your bracelet. Would you like for me to talk to the girls?”

  “Well, if you aren’t going to tell me their addresses, then of course I want you to talk to them for me.”

  “Okay. We will do whatever we can to figure out who did this,” he said, hoping it would be enough to calm her down.

  “That’s right, Hannah. We will do everything we can,” Ru added, smiling.

  “Come on, let me drive you home,” Esteban offered.

  “Don’t be silly. I walked here, I can walk home.”

  Realizing just how stubborn she was, Esteban then said, “Well, at least let me walk with you. You shouldn’t be out alone at such a late hour.”

  “It’s not late,” she said looking at her watch. “It’s only 9:30.”

  “Still, I’d feel more comfortable if you didn’t walk alone.”

  “Whatever makes you feel better,” she said, almost sounding annoyed with his kindness.

  As Ru watched Esteban and Hannah walk away, she couldn’t help but giggle at the woman’s tenacity. She knew what she wanted, when she wanted it and in exactly what manner she expected to get it, and she was one tough cookie. When they were out of sight, Ru went inside and started getting her things ready for work the next morning.

  Chapter 6

  “Good morning Mrs. Delgado,” a few female students chimed in singsong fashion as Ru walked to her classroom.

  She loved coming to work and loved the students. It made her smile when they would say hello to her, and with her day brightened, she continued the trek to her room. As she was unlocking the door she saw Griffin out of the corner of her eye.

  “Griffin, I’m glad I caught you before school started. When classes are done for the day, would you please come to my room so we can talk?”

  Knowing she wanted to talk to him about what happened at the wedding, he quickly made up an excuse not to show up, “I can’t today, Mrs. Delgado.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m playing soccer after school. Maybe later this week we could talk.” He was quick with his words.

  “It will only take a few minutes.”

  “If I’m late, then I get put on the crappy team.”

  She knew Griffin wasn’t into sports; in fact, she knew without a doubt he hated sports with a passion. He always was complaining about the “jocks” and their stupid competitive attitudes.

  But, not wanting to show her disappointment or the fact she knew he was lying, she casually said, “Okay. Just let me know what day is good for you. Hurry up now, the bell is about to ring.”

  He hurried away and Ru called after him, “And don’t forget to bring your homework to class today!” Griffin waved his hand in acknowledgement and hurried down the hall.

  When Ru got to her desk, she opened her laptop and logged onto the school email account. She decided to send the principal an email. She was actually quite proud of herself for coming up with such a fast excuse to get some information:

  Mr. Ambrose,

  I am thinking about starting a new club, geared toward students who aren’t fond of sports, but aren’t into the academic club scene. Griffin Carlin is one student I would love to ask, and I will do so in class later today. If you could touch base with a few of his friends and let them know I would like to meet with them during lunch hour today, I gladly will bring food in for them. I’m hoping a club for those who tend to be a little bit more at risk will help those students feel more involved and better about themselves.

  Thank you,

  Ruby Delgado

  Within minutes, Ruby received a reply letting her know the principal definitely would get in touch with those students during first period. She looked forward to talking with the boys to see what she could find out. Throughout the morning classes, Ruby found herself wondering what questions to ask Griffin’s friends when they came to see her, and she was surprised when five boys showed up for the meeting.

  “Thank you all for coming. My student teacher will bring lunch for you guys at the end of the meeting.” She knew if food was promised, the teens would be more prone to pay attention.

  Ru explained she was considering starting a club and asked them some questions about their interests.

  “What kind of club would you like to see here at the school?”

  “A video game club,” one of the students said quickly, followed by a chorus of yeses from the other boys.

  “I should have known you would say that. What other types of things are you guys interested in?”

  “Well, we love movies,” the same student answered.

  Another of the boys said, “Yeah. What if, instead of a book club, we have a movie club? You know, where we watch a movie and then talk about it.”

  “Now that isn’t a bad idea,” Ru said.

&
nbsp; “Do you think Griffin Carlin would be interested in joining a club with you guys?”

  One of the boys answered, “I don’t know, Mrs. Delgado. He isn’t really the club type.” The rest of the boys nodded their heads.