Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 05 - Eye Spy Read Online Free PDF Page A

pooch.  She lifted her hands above her head in a long stretch.  Tomorrow was shaping up to be a very busy day.  The first thing on her to-do list was head to the post office and try to find out what in the world was going on.
     

Chapter 3
     
    Gloria pulled into the post office early the next morning. The first thing she noticed were the two unmarked police cars parked off to the side.  They were in the spots that Ruth normally parked her own car.  Gloria hoped Ruth hadn’t noticed, but she probably had.  Ruth had gotten up early and headed out right after breakfast. 
    She told Gloria she was going to get busy on sorting through her stuff.  But Gloria knew what she really planned to do was drive by the post office to see what was going on.
    Gloria slid out of the driver’s seat and made her way in through the front door.  Behind the counter was the woman – Sharon – and a tall, thin man with wire-rimmed glasses.  The two of them were back behind the counter talking in low voices.
    Gloria dropped her envelopes in the mail slot and then peeked around the side of the mail slots.  She spied Kenny Webber near the back.  He was sorting through the packages and dropping them into various bins.  “Good morning, Kenny,” she said.
    Kenny whirled around.  A smile lit his face when he saw Gloria.  “Good morning, Mrs. Rutherford!”
    Gloria glanced at the two detectives.  They had their backs to Gloria.  She nodded her head towards the door and mouthed the words.  “Meet me outside.”
    Kenny nodded.  He dropped the package in his hand and headed for the back door.  “I’ll be right back,” he announced. 
    The woman looked up and nodded.  She continued her conversation as Kenny stepped outside.
    Gloria met him in the rear, near the dumpster.  They stood behind the bushes, out of view of the door.  “You have any idea what they’re investigating?” There was no need to beat around the bush. Gloria had a reputation around town for her sleuthing. 
    Kenny grinned.  He figured Gloria would be along shortly and he wanted to help Ruth in any way he could.  And that meant keeping his ear to the ground.  Or in this case, his ear to the back of the post office. 
    Kenny nodded.  “Yeah.”  He looked around to see if anyone was in earshot.  “Narcotics trafficking.”
    Gloria’s eyes widened.  “Drug trafficking?  Here, in our little town of Belhaven?”
    Kenny lowered his voice.  “Yeah!  From what I overheard, there’s some big drug ring in Lakeville and they were using this post office to move the drugs from South Florida to here.”
    “But why here?”
    “Well, if you think about it, Belhaven’s smack dab in the middle of the state.  What better place to distribute illegal drugs than from here?  Plus, this place is – you know – off the radar.  Who’d ever suspect little old Belhaven as being a drug haven?  Belhaven, drug haven, get it?” He chuckled at his comparison. 
    Gloria gave him a dark look.  This wasn’t one bit funny.  What would people think if they found out Belhaven was some major distribution center for illegal drugs?  Why, their property values would plummet!  Who’d want to live here?
    Gloria envisioned drug lords roaming the streets in expensive vehicles with tinted windows, walking main street with thick gold chains around their necks and guard dogs…
    “Look, I gotta get back to work!” Kenny turned to go.  “Stop back later if you want.  Maybe I’ll have more info.” He winked. 
    “Thanks, Kenny.  I’ll have to do that.” 
    Gloria wandered to her driver’s side door and then stopped.  She glanced across the street at Dot’s restaurant.  Maybe Dot had heard something. 
    She crossed the street and headed in through the front door.  She nodded to a few of the locals as she made her way to the back.  Dot was at the sink, rinsing dishes.  She wiped her hands when she saw Gloria in the doorway.  “I heard Ruth was staying at your