All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) by Diane Greenwood Muir Page B

dropped that ceiling
years ago."
    Doug sat down on the floor. "Bones. And skulls." he said again.
    Polly tried to step past Doug and Jerry to get into
the bathroom. She wanted to see what in the world had happened.
    Jerry stopped her. "Are you sure you want to see
this?"
    "I think I need to! " she said.
    He let her through and followed her back into the
bathroom. The ceiling had taken a beating when Doug pulled his hand back out of
the drywall. It looked as if he had grabbed the
ceiling to maintain his footing on the
ladder and pulled an entire section down on top of him. He was absolutely
right. Two skulls had fallen out of the ceiling onto the floor , as well as a
number of bones. Polly saw there were books and clothing as well. She started
to step further in, but Jerry stopped her again.
    "We need to call the police. You shouldn't
disturb anything." he said.
    "Right. Right. Alright. You're right." She used her phone to snap
pictures of the room, the floor and the mess as well as the ceiling. "I
wonder if the other bathroom's ceiling is this low," she said out loud.
    "That's a good question. I can't believe no one
ever noticed this." Jerry said.
    "I suppose the only person who might have noticed it would have been the custodian." Polly mused, and then said, "Who are
these people and what are they doing here?"
    "We aren't going to know anything more until the
police show up and start investigating," he said. "Do you want to
call them or should I?"
    "Oh. Yes. That." Polly walked back out into
the main hall. "I'll call them. Will you take care of making sure no one
else goes in there and messes things up?"
    She looked at her phone. In all of her life, she'd
never had to call the police. Should she call 9-1-1 or contact the police
department. And which police department handled something like this. She walked
over to the top step and sat down.
    Then, she realized she wasn't thinking straight at all
and dialed the number of the one person who could help her .
    "Hello, dear. How are you today?" said Lydia when she answered
the phone.
    "Lydia, I need your husband. How can I reach
him?" Polly asked.
    "What? You need Aaron? Whatever for? Are you alright? Did someone break in and steal something?"
    "No, Lydia. Doug Randall broke my ceiling and two
skeletons fell out on the floor," Polly said.
    "Well, leave it to Doug. Wait, did you say
skeletons? Are they real?" Lydia gasped.
    "I don't know anything other than that there are
two skeletons in my upstairs bathroom and I think I need Aaron as quickly as
possible." Polly's body shook as a small shiver passed through her.
    "Don't worry," said Lydia. "I'll call
him and get him over there immediately. Tell everyone to stay away from it. I
know those boys and they're going to think this is fascinating!"
    "Fascinating. Yeah. That's exactly what I thought," Polly
sighed. "Thanks Lydia. I'll talk to you later."
    She pressed the 'end' button on her phone and turned
around. Everyone was still standing around, talking quietly about what was in
the bathroom. Doug wasn't paying any attention to the conversations taking
place over his head, he just sat there.
    Polly stood up. "Jerry?"
    "Yes, Polly." he responded.
    "I think Doug might be in shock. I know I'm a
little shook up. But, he might need to be distracted or something. Would you send someone down stairs for something hot to drink for him and some sugar? I
know there is plenty out on the table." Polly had taken to putting baked
goods on the kitchen table so the guys who were working could have snacks with
their coffee. She figured she was spoiling them, but they certainly didn't mind
eating the sweet stuff and she was glad they kept showing up and working.
    One of the other electrician's apprentices, she
thought it must have been Billy of the lost power stapler, took heed of Jerry's
nod and started down the steps. Then, he looked at Polly. "Can I bring you
something too?" he asked.
    "Sure," she said. "Coffee would be
great."
    She watched as