Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 07 - Missing Milt Read Online Free PDF

his bushes the last few nights.”
    “Like a peeping Tom?” Gloria prompted.
    Clyde nodded.  “Yeah. Every time he went out to check, there was no one there.”
    Gloria nodded.  “Huh. That’s interesting.”  She stepped back down onto the sidewalk.  “Is that all?”
    “Yeah,” Clyde rocked back on his heels.  “Hope old Milt’s okay. Good poker player, that one,” he added.  
    Gloria fumbled inside her purse and grabbed a pen, along with small scrap of paper from her wallet.  She scribbled her phone number on the slip of paper and stepped back up, pressing it into Clyde Ward’s hand.  “If you think of anything else, please call.”
    He glanced down at the paper.  “Will do, ma’am.”
    He watched as Gloria and Mally stepped back onto the sidewalk and turned left.  She could feel his eyes following them until they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

Chapter 4
    Gloria and Mally walked to the next corner and stopped.  She wasn’t sure which way to go and where this Wisteria Way might be.  They turned right and headed deeper into the neighborhood, farther away from the front where Liz and Frances’ apartments were located. 
    They walked three more blocks.  Gloria was about to give up and call Liz to see if she knew how far back this Wisteria Way was.  At the corner, finally, she found the street.
    The two of them made another right.  It was a small cul-de-sac. Gloria let out a sigh of relief.  She loved the walk and fresh air, but realized they would have to cover the same distance to get back to the car.
    She looked down at her shoes – flats - and not necessarily the best pair of shoes for walking the neighborhoods. 
    The two of them made it to the end of the street when Gloria spied the address she had been looking for: 72709 Wisteria Way.  She glanced at the name on the mailbox: Trudy Gromalski. 
    The driveway was empty and the garage door shut.  The curtains were drawn.  It appeared as if no one was home, but Gloria pressed on as Mally and she made their way up the drive to the side door that faced the drive. 
    She rang the bell and waited.  No answer. She rang the bell a second time.  Still no answer.  After the third ring, she gave up and the two of them headed back down the drive. 
    She looked down at Mally.  “We might as well finish the walk before we head back,” she told her.
    Mally’s tongue hung out the side of her mouth.  “Woof.”
    Gloria admired some of the houses on the street, and correctly guessed that this section of Dreamwood was a newer one.  The houses were all Craftsman style with spacious covered porches and custom woodwork. 
    The homes were the complete opposite of Gloria’s old farmhouse, which was in desperate need of a new paintjob.  Maybe she could hire Tyler and Ryan to paint it next spring.
    She turned back to give Trudy Gromalski’s house one last look and wondered if maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her.  She could have sworn she saw the curtain move.  She narrowed her eyes.  Maybe someone was inside - avoiding her! 
    Back on the next street, she studied several other houses.  The styles of these homes were a bit different, a little older and more of the traditional brick exteriors.  She saw a few more curtains move and decided to make a game out of counting how many curtains moved and guessed at how many people were watching her – a stranger to their neighborhood – and Mally walk by.
    Gloria didn’t see Liz as she made her way through the parking lot and over to her car. She opened the door and waited for Mally to climb in.  She started the car and pulled out of the lot.  At the stop sign, she debated.  Should she make a run by Del’s Diner to see if any of the employees or his buddies could recall anything odd Milt may have said or done or save it for another day?
    It was already late afternoon. The first shift employees – the ones that probably waited on Milt and his pals – were long gone.