The next morning when I got up I grabbed my purse and counted the money filling out the deposit slip. Shaking off being tired I went downstairs to Myla filling up bags for customers and saw notes on some of the larger pieced with names all spread out in the entry way. I asked her, "How much do you spend on bags a month?"
She laughed and said, "Oh girl I get them during the holidays and a lot of the time my customers hand them back to me and you see black splotches. I cover the names and use again. Although today I am glad I brought a lot with me because I been at this an hour and a half and people are already messaging me."
"How do they know what you have?" I asked. "If that is not being nosey?"
"Not nosey at all," She said. "I have all your boxes laid out and I make mini videos of what's prices and in the boxes. I get two to three videos made a day and the items sell themselves. I also have a list of what people are looking for so if I see anything on the list come up I call them and let them know. Everything sells itself."
Laughing I said, "Well Mom had a storage room and if I find any bags I will sell them to you at a discount."
"She laughed and said, "You better girlie. Are you heading to the bank?"
"Yes," I said. "Then to the storage place to drop off all the suitcases. Thank god I can load it up because some of these vintage clothes are beautiful. What do they say? Old is the new trend. See you a bit later."
Getting in the car I noticed rain in the distance. Hopefully it will be cool enough I can continue in the attic. Getting to the bank I dropped my deposit into the overnight door and headed to the storage unit. When I got there I parked next to the entrance and the guard brought me a cart. He smiled and said, "You the girl who is the writer and traveling the world aren't you?"
"I sure am," I said. "Storing these in the SUV so I can switch out when I need them."
He laughed and said, "My wife heard about you and follows your site. She is proud of you and loves your stories."
"Well please tell her I said Thank You," I said. "Once I start traveling I will be doing lives on YouTube and TikTok."
"Oh she will love that," He said. "Let me help you get this to your car. You have a lot of clothes."
"Yeah," I said. "As I am cleaning out the house I have found a lot that I figured I could use. Waste not want not. Besides some pieces are vintage so having them saves me money."
"Smart girl," He said. "I will help you unload and take the cart."
After everything was removed from the cart I opened the back of the SUV and side doors. Stacking the suitcases in I was happy to see I had plenty of room left for more. Shutting and locking everything I headed out to my car when I heard, "Gabby we need to talk."
Turning around I saw Jasper standing there. Looking at him I said, "There is nothing to talk about your violating the restraining order. If you leave now I will not have the police call. If you get any closer I will be forced to act."
Jasper looked at me and said, "You are gonna get in your car and write me a fat check for everything being sold. You cost my Mom her job and we need that money."
"So she was blackmailing people," I said. "I hope Kaylie isn't doing it."
He gave a look and said, "I said now or else."
"No," I said and he took a few steps closer and I hit my panic alarm.
The security guard came out running and asked, "Are you alright?"
Looking at him I said, "No I have a restraining order against him. He will not leave me alone and he is threatening me."
The guard came next to me and said, "Do not worry Gabby, Here are the police now. Boy I would suggest you stay put Mr. Kline is on his way down from his office now."
Jasper stood there saying, "You will not get away with this Gabby. We have powerful friends."
Mr Kline walked over to me and said, "You alright?"
Nodding I said, "All I wanted to do was drop my clothes to storage and get back to working at the house I have a date today and tomorrow."
Mr. Kline chucked and said, "Officers this man and his whole family were served restraining orders due to the harassment of this minor. He knows he should not be here."
The officer looked at Jasper and said, "Alright Jasper you know the drill."
Mr. Kline looked at the officer and said, "We will be following up with the station to make sure he is booked and processed as he broke the restraining order. We are pressing charges I already spoke to Gabby's guardian."
The officer had a look of fear on his face and said, "Yes Mr. Kline."
As the cuffed Jasper and he was read his rights I turned to Mr. Kline and said, "We suspect his family is blackmailing people from the firm his Mother worked at. The look on the officers face said it all. I also hope Kaylie is not involved."
He patted my arm and said, "We know thats why I am here because I am assisting the firm."
The officer walked over and Mr. Kline said, "Son you seem like a good guy. If you had dealings with the Magee law firm contact them immediately as there have been developments on old cases and actions."
The officer looked at him and said, "Including secrets?"
"Yes son," He said. "They are going over every file since Jaspers mother started working there twenty five years ago."
The officer sighed a breathe of relief and said, "I will call him and speak with my commander when I get to the station. She has been blackmailing my family you see my father is Bisexual and is in the closet. My mother is a very accepting woman and my father had one long term partner. When his partner passed away he left my father everything. She started blackmailing the family because my father was a councilman and he did not want to come out to everyone. When he passed away she continued but lowered the amount. I will gladly book Jasper. Miss I knew your Mom and you have my best wishes."
After the officer walked away he said, "I knew his Dad. He loved his wife and children beyond measure but he also loved his Partner Matt as well. Gabby I know you go get your coffee and head home. I will handle everything else and always come to the guard shack if your alone even if you go inside alone. This is going to stir up a shit show."
Nodding I went to get a coffee for Chris, Myla and I along with breakfast and headed home. When I walked in Myla grabbed me in a hug and looked me over saying, "Are you alright?"
"Yes," I said. "The guard realized right away what was happening and ran out to me after calling the police. I got us coffee and breakfast."
She took the coffee and sandwich I got her and Chris ran in and hugged me hard. He looked at me and said, "Except for school me, Myla or Mike are with you when you go out do you here me. His Dad was parked down the road waiting for you as well."
"Well," I said. "Kaylie will be calling you soon they arrested Jasper and apparently they were blackmailing a lot of people. We don't know if Kaylie is involved yet."
Sitting at the table I said, "The blackmail is bad. I know of one case and I will not go into detail but Mr. Kline is helping the firm hit with this. Chris I would suggest you talk to Dad's old friends at work and make sure Kaylie does not have hands on anything sensitive. But be discreet as we don't want her to lose her job if she is not involved."
Chris nodded and said, "I know who to talk to. Myla will be here with you and I will be back soon."
We nodded and Myla sat down and started eating her sandwich. I looked at her and said, "I have an idea for the food that was given to us."
"Really please tell me because girl those freezer and pantry are packed," She said.
"Well I am going to call Mrs. Garry and offer her to move stuff in today even though the house is not closed on yet as the library and downstairs guest room are empty." I said. "I am also going to offer her some of the easy meals and canned goods stored in the pantry as we will not be eating all of it. Why waste the food. Plus with all the Grandbabies there I bet they are eating her out of house and home."
Myla laughed and said, "Now that is a worth while cause. Let me know what she says."
Myla went back to work and I called Mrs. Garry. She answered on the second ring, "Gabby sweetheart I did not think we would hear from you until Monday after the sale."
"Hi Mrs. Garry I know its the weekend but I had to talk to you about two things," I said.
"Sure Gabby how can I help you," She asked.
"Well its more so how can I help you," I said. "I finished cleaning out the library and the bottom floor guest room. I know we have not closed but I guessed you and Mr. Garry have already started packing and if you want to make room you are more then welcome to start storing this weekend."
"Oh Gabby that would be great," She said. "We have a wall of furniture and boxes ready to store. When he gets back we would love to move them as my daughter and the kids move in this week."
"That brings is to the next thing," I said. "I know you said things were tight with your daughter and I am guessing your going to be going food shopping this week right?"
"Yes dear we are planning on shopping Monday morning," She said, "Why do you ask?"
"Please come to my house and take some of our food," I asked. "We have two stand up freezers the inside freezers and my moms massive pantry full of food. People made us so many casseroles and food to freezer we will never eat it all in time. You would be doing me a huge favor."
She laughed and said, "Well we are almost out of everything so if you are sure I will be glad to stock up my fridge and freezer and our small chest freezer. I was waiting to go shopping with my daughter but with your generous offer how can I refuse. It will save on the food budget and you will not have much waste. Oh my Henry just got here we will see you in an hour or a little over I will bring laundry baskets for the food."
"Perfect," I said. "See you soon."
Walking to the store room and I said, "I spoke with Mrs. Garry and she will gratefully take whatever we want to give."
"I am heading to Kaylie's old room," I said. "Let me grab these baskets and let me know when she gets here."
Myla waved and I went up to Kaylie's room. Going upstairs I checked the attic and it was way to warm to work in there. I did grab the extra baskets, garbage bags and went into Kaylie's old room. I went to the standing mirror and opened it. Inside were a piles of decorative jewelry. Going through the mirror I kept a few pieces and moved the mirror downstairs. Which was perfect timing as the doorbell rang. When I opened it Mrs. Garry was there smiling, "Show me they way dear to the room for ot
"No dear we have it," She said.
We then heard, "No sweetheart we have it. Go get your baskets and go with Gabby. Chris is here and offered to help me."
"Well then go ahead and place the boxes in the spare bedroom first," She said. "Use the closet as well we will be able to fit more in."
I waited by the door as she grabbed her baskets. When she came back I said, "Let's start with the pantry and please take all you need and t here will be more here if you need it. I am sure with the four kids it will be a help. Not only for you but for me because we can't take this with us. I hope you have freezer room."
She laughed and said, "I think we have chicken nuggets, hamburger and fried in there. I may just cook one of these up for tonight."
Mrs. Gabby looked in the pantry and said, "Well my dear you said your Mom liked to be prepared. Did she can all of this?"
"She sure did," I said. "Mom always had a summer garden but was running behind this year. She had talked about having a small green house built as there is plenty of room for one."
"Well my dear we will definitely take a bunch of these," She said. "My daughters soon to be ex husband hated vegetables and yelled when she bought them. She had to buy limited healthy food and vegetables to keep him calm. I am shocked they stayed married for so long."
"What was her final straw?" I asked.
"He told her that she was to give him another boy," She said. "My daughters last pregnancy was bad and she was told by her doctor no more children. When my daughter brought that up he told her that he did not care if she didn't give him another child then he would find someone who would. But do not worry about her my dear. We have money for emergencies and savings. We hired Mr. Kline to represent her and he is going after him as he texted all of this to her. He has since started dating a woman and is living with her. He forgot that we bought the house and its in both their names so she will get money from the sale. Then she is going to go to school for nursing with us helping with the children. We have her back and if one day she wants to move then we will deal with that then. To be honest with you our condo have become popular and we will be able to sell for quite a pretty penny."
I helped her pack her baskets with about half the pantry and Myla came in and said, "I have a few boxes to hold the frozen for you Mrs. Garry."
Mrs. Garry looked up and said, "Oh thank you dear. I was wondering how we would be able to move the frozen. So Gabby where are the freezers?"
Laughing I said, "We are going to start with the kitchen incase I find some stuff I want so I can move it inside. Then into the garage and laundry room."
We filled four boxes full of frozen food. When we were done Mrs. Garry said, "Gabby thank you so much. These already made casseroles will be a big help when the kids move in. However that breakfast casserole will be dinner tonight as I do not feel like cooking. If your okay with it we may come by with more things Monday night."
"That will be fine," I said. "Also if you have room you can shop some more. I hate food waste and would love for you all to use what we will not."
She laughed as Mr. Garry came in and saw the food baskets and boxes. He looked at us and said, "I thought we were leaving with a few things?"
She took his arm and said, "Gabby here had so much food from when her parents passed she asked that we take some so it does not go to waste. These premade meals will be so helpful and she said we can take more when we drop stuff off to help us with the children while May packs the house and we get her moved in with us."
He looked at Chris and I and said, "Thank you we do appreciate the food. It will save us shopping. I will be at Mays house most nights and Harriet will have the kids most of the time while we move her out."
He picked up the first box and said, "Hmm Breakfast casserole. We may just do breakfast for dinner."
We helped the Garry's move everything to their truck and said our goodbyes. As they left Mike pulled in and held up bags of food saying, "Lunch time. Chris Myla I grabbed you some sandwiches as well."
As we walked inside Chris's phone rang and he said, "I will inside in a few minutes."
We went inside and I was telling Mike what we found out about Jasper and the family. Mike chuckled and said, "Yeah I was going to tell you all his Mom contacted my Mom this morning while we were on the way to the Doctors. I took the phone and told her go ahead and tell everyone I am rich it will make no difference. She was at a loss and I told her good luck lady. My Mom called Mr. Kline as she knows about him helping build a case against her and he is handling it."
"Are you worried about Joy spreading things," I asked.
"Nope you handled it like a champ and I will as well," He said.
"Well Mike," Chris said. "I have good news when it comes to that. Mr. Kline said that they have enough evidence to go ahead and arrest her at this time and as more evidence comes to light the whole family may be arrested. Apparently Joy has been implicated as well. There is also a rumor they used Kaylie as a runner to pick up the payments."
Mike whistled and said, "I am sorry your sister got involved. Maybe she did not know?"
"I doubt it," Chris and I said.
When we were finished eating Mike asked, "So which room are we going to be working in?"
As we headed upstairs I said, "We are taking apart Kaylie's old room. Then later when it gets cooler out we will switch to the attic."
When he walked into her room he said, "Kaylie must love the color pink."
"You have no idea," I said.
We talked all afternoon while I cleaned out Kaylie's closet. When we were finished the closet we moved the baskets downstairs and when we got there we met Myla's buyer. We grabbed her empty baskets and we went into my parents room to drop clothes off to the suitcases on the floor. Mike looked at the suitcases and asked, "What are these?"
"These are clothes I am keeping to switch out when I travel to colder weather or need different clothes," I said. "There is a few suitcases in the back of my suburban now. As well as a box in my storage unit."
Mike looked impressed and said, "Gabby you are super organized. I hope once I start really going through Grams house I am as organized as you. My has come over and stuffed a bunch of boxes in my garage and said they are mine to deal with. I asked her I thought she was packing stuff to have Myla buy and stuff to go with your Dad."
"Oh she has that as well," He said. "She said that is stuff that was Grandma's or my stuff. She knows not to place anything in the small dining room. So there has been mysterious stacks in the already packed living room. I know she has sold stuff directly to Myla and Dad left yesterday with quite a few suitcases of his and her clothing for their new house. Dad found a house fully furnished and he bought it on the spot. Dad said there was only furniture so he had to get some towels and plates."
"When he left yesterday he left with a pile of suitcases full of his, Matts and Mom's clothes," He said. "I think my Mom plans on leaving stuff she has no interest in or wants to sell to Kaylie at my home. Which is fine I told her that I will be selling everything and traveling. She was surprised at first but when I explained why she understood that it is hard to be there with Grams not there."
"So how is Matt handling the thought of the move," I asked.
"He is not doing very well," He said. "You know I wanted to join you on a few adventures but I may have to travel with them to Denmark and help Matt get settled. I just feel bad because I wanted us to travel together on and off but may not be able to for a while."
"You know I can come to Denmark as well," I said. "They also have trains in Denmark. Besides you being with Matt right now during a very large change in his life will make it easier on your parents and you will not worry about him so much. Besides Copenhagen have two day trip trains that have cars for children and adults with special needs or sensory issues. Also they have a large amount of places Matt can visit for fun and getting settled. The city has so many programs."
Mike got a soft look on his face and said, "You looked into it? Why?"
"Mike I like you a lot," I said. "I would very much like to be a couple and have a long term relationship. I love the fact that you love your brother so much and want to be there with him. Honestly coming to Denmark will not be a bad thing and like I said there are trains I can go on while I am there."
He stood up and pulled me to my feet hugging me. Tilting my head up he gave me a deep kiss and when he pulled back he said, "Thank you. Every girl I have ever dated has always looked at Matt like a burden. I think its safe to say we are a couple."
Chuckling lightly I said, "Yes I think it is safe to say we are a couple."
He sat back down as I continued to sort things and said, "So you will really come to Copenhagen?"
"You bet," I said. "There are hostels and hotels I can stay at all over the city. But I think you have to do something very important later today."
"What is that," He asked.
"Talk to Matt about me," I said. "I am not going to just drop in and be like I am someone special in your brothers life. You need to start explaining who I am and what our relationship is. We need to make sure our relationship does not hurt him or cause him anxiety because I am not taking you from him."
"How did you become so wise about special needs kids?" He asked.
"My cousin Sammy was special needs with complications from cerebal paslsey," I said. "She passed away two years ago. She was the kindest sweetest girl and lit a room. We visited her once a week, if we could not we would video call her and talk to her for a while. My parents got me a phone early because sometimes I would just call her to let her know I was still there for her. I was one of the few people in the room when she passed."
He nodded and said, "Wow I am so sorry you lost her. I will talk to Mom when I get home about how she thinks we should explain our relationship. He knows you as my friend Gabby but I want him to know how special you are to me."
"Good," I said. "When Matt is ready I will come over and get to know him at his pace. Then when he moves I will call you and talk to him as well. What are his interests?"
Mike laughed hard and said, "He loves trains."
Laughing I said, "Well then I will send him videos of the trains I go on. By the way Matt can't do base camp who is going to be with him while your gone?"
"My Aunt is coming in this week to get back into Matt's routine and will be watching him," He said. "She used to babysit him but got married and moved a few hours away. She met her husband through Matts therapist and he adores Matt so on the weekends he will join them. He is so excited she is coming to visit and stay with him while we go climb a mountain."
"You guys have been preparing him haven't you?" I asked.
"For a year now," He said. "We told him there may be time we cannot call him because phones do not work well there and he was upset at first but now he is like alright."
We sat talking for the rest of the afternoon as I continued to go through Kaylie's closet and room. When it came to dinner time Chris walked in and asked Mike, "Man I am ordering Pizza please tell me you like Supreme."
"Who doesn't?" He said.
"Your girlfriend and Myla prefer cheese or vegetarian pizza," He said. "It will be here in an hour."
When he left we started taking the bed apart and when I lifted the mattress we were shocked when we found bags of cash and ledgers. Mike went to the hallway and called out, "Chris and Myla we need you please."
****************************************************************
They ran in and Chris said, "Gabby are you alright?"
I pointed to the box spring and said, "You tell me?"
Myla leaned over and said, "When Kaylie came here for the reading of the will did she try to come upstairs?"
"Yes she did," I said. "But Mr. Kline told her to come to the living room. That is a lot of cash and those ledgers are weird. Whoa Chris call the police."
Chris looked at me and said, "Why?"
"There is two guns peaking out from under the journals," I said. "All of Dads guns are still in the office in the gun safe. "I went through the entire closet and part of the room and found nothing until we went to take apart the bed. Better yet call Mr. Kline and see what he wants us to do."
We grabbed the filled and empty baskets leaving the room. Chris went to the kitchen and called Mr. Kline. We went to the kitchen and we heard Chris say, "Okay we will see you soon."
"Mr. Kline is on his way," Chris said. "Gabby take the baskets that are left and head up to the attic we will call you down when the pizza or Mr. Kline gets here."
We got up to the attic and I said to Mike, "I am so glad that Kaylie does not have kids. She is in serious trouble."
Mike sat on a chair in the attic and said, "Was she stupid enough to hide stuff here? How often did she come here when your parents were alive."
"She would stop by all the time saying she was looking to see if she wanted any of the clothes or things in her room," I said. "Since they didn't use the room unless we had a family event we never thought to clean it out."
We got to work and I would sort and Mike would place in a basket. After another thirty minutes we heard Chris call us down. We grabbed the baskets and headed downstairs to find the pizza, Mr. Kline and the police in the kitchen. Myla took the full baskets and Mr. Kline said, "Thank you for calling us. Myla explained you had been sorting out the closet and furniture in Kaylie's old room. Did you find anything else?"
"No," I said. "There is a garbage bag in there full of older papers from her dresser and tables but we did not ready them as its none of my business. There was nothing else other than clothes, jewelry and random things you would find in a room. We only found that when we went to start dismantling the bed so we could get under it and get it out of the room."
"Gabby how much of the room have you gone through?" He asked.
"The full closet and the mirror," I said. "Kalie has baskets of junk and so much clothes so I have been sorting so much. She had a steamer trunk as well. Mike said it felt heavy still even though it was empty. Myla do you have it still?"
Myla nodded and said, "Yes one second I will go get it."
Myla came back dragging the trunk and said, "My god Mike your right its still heavy."
Mr. Kline knelt down next to the trunk and said, "That would be because there are hidden compartments. My wife has this trunk style. Officer do you have gloves?"
We watched as Mr. Kline put on gloves and then pushed a button on the bottom of the trunk. When he did a drawer popped out the side. It was full of cash, jewelry and silver. When Mr. Kline popped the stop cash and two more guns came down. Mr. Kline said, "Chris and Gabby I am so sorry. I believe that Kaylie may be involved in the blackmailing."
Chris shook his head as I said, "Well that explains why her bag she had never looked fuller when she said she wanted stuff from her room."
Mr. Kline said, "Officer Detective Montgomery is on his way over. When he gets here we will let him bag the evidence. Gabby when are you going to work on the room more."
"I was hoping to finish it tomorrow," I said. "Going through the house we have not found anything strange except this."
Myla said, "Well there is pizza so why don't we eat and wait to see what the detective say's. Mr. Kline and officer your welcome to join us we have plenty."
We made plates and sat down to eat while waiting for the Detective. After thirty minutes the door bell rang and Mr. Kline went to answer. We heard him speak to who was at the door and after a few minutes he walked back in with Detective Montgomery. She looked at the food and asked, "May I have a slice I was on my way to get dinner when I got the call."
Myla handed him a plate and said, "Please help yourself."
As he ate he asked questions and we went over how we found everything. He looked at me and asked, "Gabby we have two ways to do this. One we can shut down the house and ransack it but I understand the circumstances. Or two we take what you find now and you contact me directly if you find anything else. That goes for the rest of the house as well. How would you like to proceed?"
"Honestly I want to get the house sorted Detective," I said. "This is not normal is it?"
"No," he said. "We are still building a case and this is very hush hush. We do not want anything to be said to anyone. We have evidence bags and we will log this with the Sheriff only. Do you have a box we can load this into?"
"I have a few you can use," Myla said. "We only touched the trunk to move it and sort it."
He nodded and said, "Well officer glove up. We will bag it now and bring it back to a secure room for the Sheriff to look over."
When we were done I asked, "So in the morning when its to hot for the attic we can go back to the room?"
"Yes," He said. "Take my card and call me if you find anything."
Nodding I said, "Well you may want to take the garbage bag from her room as well. It just has papers and pictures from her room. If you don't need it after going through it, Trash it. Can Mike and I go back to the attic we have a few hours before he has to leave and want to finish it as soon as possible."
He nods and says, "Do me a favor when we are done can you forgo the attic and continue Kaylie's room."
"Sure," I said. "I can do that. Let us know when your done and we can switch rooms."
Mike and I headed to the attic and I said, "This is insane."
Shaking my head I said, "I had hoped Kaylie was not involved. But after finding all of that I guess not."
We continued to work in the attic laughing about some of the mens vintage clothes we had found along the way. After an hour and a half Detective Montgomery came in and said, "You really are going through everything?"
"Yes," I said. "I wish I had my parents instead of stuff. But its out with most of the old. I have a storage unit with Mr. Kline and my Suburban in storage that all my clothes go into so when I need to switch out things I have it all in one spot."
Mike said, "I am getting practice because I have the same situation from my Grandma. So when I get back from Everest Base Camp, Myla and I will work together a few days a week to get stuff sorted. By the way detective Kaylie's mother in law tried to blackmail me as well because I inherited a large sum of money, a stuffed house and wanted to keep it quiet. Thankfully my real friends already knew and did not care."
Nodding he said, "Do me a favor take my card and I will leave a form for you to fill out. That way it can be added into evidence. Do you have a time stamp for the call?"
"I sure do I can send it to your phone with a screen shot," Mike said.
"Well we did poke around a bit after we bagged everything," He said. "Nothing seems out of the ordinary so please call me directly if you find more and I will be here as fast as I can. If you find more just go to a different room."
I nodded and Detective Montgomery left. Mike and I bought the full baskets downstairs. Myla was on the phone with her big buyer, "I understand Mitchel. Thank you for your understanding and I will see you at the sale tomorrow. Gabby had been going full speed to get the house done so the new buyers can move in. You will get dibs on the lot at the end for anything that does not sell."
She listened for a moment and laughed saying, "Well of course I will be buying lots as well. But thankfully we look for two different things."
When she hung up she said, "Hey guys thank you for waiting. Now tomorrow is the big sale. Mike I know you will be helping Gabby in the afternoon. When I get here in the morning I am setting up full displays. All baskets that you fill will be placed under the table with disclaimers negotiable. So you can still clean everything out. If you find things for Detective Montgomery he said he will be discreet and act like a buyer. The sale starts at 3pm. So I will be pricing as much as I can up till then. If we have to bring in furniture from the room then we will."
We nodded and Chris came in saying, "Myla and I are going to hang out outside of here for a while. Gabby do not leave the house even to walk Mike to his car. Mike if Gabby has to put anything in her car please walk her out. Gabby if Mike leaves keep the stuff till morning. Am I clear?"
Nodding I said, "Yes Chris I will not go anywhere."
They left and we went back to Kaylie's room. We moved the bed downstairs and Mikes alarm went off. He looked at me and said, "Lets walk and make sure all the doors are shut and locked. Text Chris and tell him your going to arm the house when I get outside. If you hear anything do not be a hero you run to your room lock your door and run into the bathroom and lock the door. Call the police and me. I will be right back here."
Hugging him I said, "I promise I will be careful. You know where I will be."
He gave me a kiss and said, "Sorry I have to leave early but it helps Matt sleep."
When Mike left I set the security system and texted Chris to let him know. I went into Kaylie's room and continued to sort. Thank God Chris changed the alarm codes the other day. While I worked I listened to YouTube on my tablet while checking in with Chris and Mike the rest of the night. I was almost done with Kaylie's room when Chris came home. He knocked at the door and said, "Kiddo it's almost midnight are you not tired?"
"Not really," I said. "Can you help me carry the dresser downstairs?"
"Sure," He said. As we carried the dresser down he asked, "So are you and Mike a official couple now?"
"Yes we are," I said. "Are you and Myla?"
He chuckled and said, "Yes, we are."
We both started laughing and when it died down he asked, "I am not telling you not to but what's up with Denmark? I over heard you to when I went to my room for something."
I explained the whole Matt situation and the plan so we can see each other. Chris nodded thoughtfully and said, "You are a good woman Gabby. Myla and I are also making plans as well with her visiting me on base. But I still want to do some travel with you as well. Maybe we can include Mike and Myla as well."
"I would like that," I said. "I guess I should head to bed so I can knock out Kaylie's room in the morning."
Going into my room I looked out the window and saw someone in the backyard. Running to Chris's room I knocked and he opened it with his gun in hand, "Call the police I saw him in the backyard I think its Jasper's Dad. Lock yourself in the bathroom NOW."
Calling 911 I explained the situation and was told there are units nearby. Sitting in my bathroom I sat and listened. After thirty minutes my cellphone rang, "Hello?"
"Gabby its okay you can come out of the bathroom," Chris said. "The police got him as he was trying to get into the side entrance."
Unlocking the bathroom door I went to my door and unlocked it. Chris was waiting outside. Pulling me into a hug he said, "It's okay, we are alright."
Starting to cry I said, "They knew we found stuff. That's why Kaylie tried to come back and see us."
Detective Montgomery came up and said, "For the next few days we are going to keep units near the house. Gabby you and Chris are alright."
When the police left and we went to our rooms I messaged Mike and told him what happened. He called and said, "I told you to call me."
"Chris was here and he was armed," I said. "It was Jasper's Dad and he was arrested. I am going to bed and I will see you tomorrow."
"Well I was planning on the same time tomorrow and I am bringing us food," He said. "But I will try to get there sooner depending on Matt. I am planning on starting to tell him about you in the morning."
Smiling I said, "If he wants to meet me I can video chat from whatever room I will be in."
"That sounds like a great plan," He said. "Get some sleep and I will see you tomorrow."
I took my envelope from today and put it in my purse. Then after showering I went to bed hoping the next day would be more peaceful.
****************************************************************
The next morning I woke up with a knock at my door. Looking at my phone I saw it was ten-thirty in the morning. I said, "Come in."
Mike walked in with a iced coffee and breakfast saying, "I came early after talking with Matt. Chris said you usually wake up at six. Are you alright?"
"I was so tired," I said sitting up. "Thank you for the coffee and breakfast."
He came around and sat next to me asking, "So I talked to Chris already and I know you want to get stuff done. My house is not big but I have all the utilities on. If you finish the house early and want to leave you can stay at my Grandma's house till Graduation and leaving for your first trip. There are bedrooms for you both. Chris said he may take me up on the offer as he does not leave until a week after graduation and I leave a few days after that."
Leaning against him I said, "After last night I may just take you up on the offer."
Kissing the top of my head he grabbed our food and said, "Just think on it we have plenty of time. Plus depending on how long your there maybe you can help me as well. Mom said she found more stuff and has now moved it along the wall of the dining room. She sent three boxes of things for Matt to my Dad yesterday. We told Matt his toys were traveling to the new house first to get things set up. What Matt doesn't know is on the way back we are stopping at the new house and unpacking the stuff Dad has not. On his time off he started checking out Doctors and therapists with my Mom on video call."
"They want everything set for Matt for when they get there," I said. "I understand that it would be good to get him into a new routine fast."
"I agree," Mike said. "Besides they found a school for Matt already and from the tour Dad was given Matt is going to love it."
Myla walked in and said, "Hey sleepy head. I wanted to give you this now."
I signed the form and said, "You gave me an envelope last night."
Laughing she said, "Yes but I did a few sales and got change for the big one today. I sold a lot of that vintage clothes from the other night and a few other things to buyers who could not make it this afternoon. So I figured get this out of the way now and then you will get more tonight. Listen when we do public sales starting next weekend I want you to stay out of the room, everything will be priced or tucked in the closet to price when we are slow. Chris will run things from where ever you are to the room incase Jasper's family send people to snoop. We will also have the doors blocked off in the entry way. Today are my buyers though and they are going to wipe us out so keep bringing it down. Also would you mind if I did another invitation only event some night next week?"
Nodding I said, "That's fine with me. Let me know as soon as possible as I can make arrangements with the Garry's with all times."
When she left I grabbed clothes and got ready for the day. We headed to Kaylie's room and Mike said, "Wow you were not kidding when you said you wanted this room done. Did you find anything else?"
"No," I replied. "Thank God!"
We got to work sorting and placing things in baskets. Any papers or pictures I sound I placed in a trash bag. There was a box in the corner of the room and when I looked in I realized just how much Kaylie hated my mom. Every gift Mom had ever given her was in boxes in the corner covered with a blanket. Most of the items were never even opened. Going through the items I kept some of the homemade things Mom had made and continued on. By two in the afternoon we finished Kaylie's room.
We went downstairs for a quick lunch and I said to Chris, "Go into Dad's closet and look if there is anything you may want. That is where I am going next."
Grabbing all the cleared baskets from Myla I asked, "During the sale where do you want the baskets?"
She smiled and said, "Open the sliders and push them under the table. Any furniture just bring it to me directly."
When we finished eating Chris walked in and said, "I took what I wanted. Looks like I may have to go to the storage unit later."
Finishing placing the items I had in my trunks I said, "After I finish the closets in Mom and Dads room I may have to as well. Also one trunk is almost ready to go as well."
We grabbed the baskets and headed upstairs. While we sorted everything Mike would run down full baskets immediately for Myla to add to the sale. Mike said its a good thing I was up here the front room is packed with a lot of people shopping. Thanking my lucky stars that I was up stairs as well we finished Dads closet and I stood in front of Mom's.
Mike asked, "Are you alright?"
"I know I have to do this," I said. "I still have to go through their dressers as well."
He hugged me from behind and said, "Take your time and I am right here. Besides you can keep whatever items you want. Think of it as your mom cleaning out her closet and you helping her."
Closing my eye's I counted to three and opened the door. My Mom's perfume scent enveloped me like a hug. Turning to Mike I said, "I got this. Thank god there are extra suitcases because my mom had a bit I fit into and want to keep."
Mike laughed and said, "I guess we will be going to the storage unit at some point today to drop things off."
Mike did everything he could to keep me positive and by the time we were finished with the closet he had added six suitcases to my car. When my stomach started growling Mike said, "Ok either you have a a angry bear hidden or you need food. I am taking you out and getting food after you sort your basket and I drop these downstairs."
"Like a date?" I asked.
"Well this whole weekend is a date," He said. "But yes I am taking you out on our first date. Do not change you look fine the way you are."
We went to my room and I added a few things to my suitcase and travel bag. I grabbed my purse and Myla came into the room. She looked at us and said, "Going somewhere?"
Mike laughed as my stomach growled and said, "The beast in her needs food. So we are going to the storage unit to drop off the suitcases and I am taking her on a out of house date. Gabby needs a break."
Myla handed me an envelope and said, "That is from tonight. Please sign here."
I took the envelope and signed the sheet saying, "Are you sure you added right? This is insane."
Myla laughed and said, "Yes I am. Also we have sales pending for two of the cars as well. I am allowing cashier checks due to the amounts. I did tell the buyers they had to draw the cashiers check at your bank if they choose to buy the cars."
"Well then I guess we are swinging by the night drop as well," I said. "I have to get a deposit bag ready it will take just a moment."
Mike said, "You do that I am checking in with Mom."
He took his phone out and went outside the room. I heard him talking to his Mom as I made the deposit slip. He came back in as I sealed the envelope. I asked, "Everything alright?"
"Yeah Matt is being a handful," He said. "Would you mind if we stopped at chickfila after we go to your bank? I want to get her something and drop it off so she doesn't have to cook. Then we can go drop of the suitcases and head to dinner."
"Of course I don't mind," I said. "It's sweet to get her something. I bet she is working on the house like i did today."
He nodded and said, "Yes she has been. Its been difficult because Matt is a handful. But she wants me to be a normal kid and not Matts caretaker. She cleared out the guest room and Dad's closet to ship to him. As of right now he will be coming home two days before graduation."
We got to my car and I asked, "Your okay with me driving right?"
"Yeah," He said. "I learned from my Mom you do not pull I want to drive stuff."
We headed to the bank and I dropped the cash in the night drop slot making sure it was dropped. Then we drove to Chick Fila and got food for Mikes Mom and Matt. When we got to Mikes house he got out and said, "Come on Matt wants to meet you."
When we walked in his Mom met us in the kitchen. She walked over and said, "Gabby I am so glad to meet you. Thank you for sharing Myla with is she is amazing with buying and selling stuff for me."
"Myla is great," I said. "It is great to meet you as well."
Mike looked up and said, "Why don't you guys sit down I am going to get Matt."
We sat in the living room and talked as Mike left the room. His mom said, "Thank you for being so understanding about Mikes relationship with Matt."
"I understand," I said. "I had a cousin with similar issues."
She smiled and said, "Mike said you would visit in copenhagen while we settle?"
"Of course," I said. "I will be a world traveler and even though I am going to be doing train trips to start, there are trains in Copenhagen as well. I told Mike I will make train videos and send them to Matt."
She gave a warm smile and said, "Even if you post them on YouTube that would be great. I saw your blog and other children can watch them as well. Kids with Matts issues love trains. If you said his name in the video he will think he is famous."
I started to laugh and said, "Well lets make Matt famous."
That is when Mike came in holding a little boys hand. Mike sat next to me and said, "Gabby this guy here is my best friend Matt."
Matt looked at him and said, "I am your brother to."
Mike laughed and said, "Always little man."
Matt turned to me and said, "Your Gabby?"
"Yes," I said. "I am. I am glad to meet you."
"I thought you would be taller," He said."
"Matt," I said. "I wished I was taller as well. But I am short."
Matt looked at me and said, "Mike said your going to be going on trains. I like trains."
"So do I," I said, "When I start to travel and I told your Mom that when I start going on the trains I will post videos for you of the trains. Would you like that?"
"You promise?" He asked.
"Promise," I said.
He turned to Mike and took his face in his hands. He sighed and said, "I like her. She can be your girlfriend. Now go on a date with her."
Mikes Mom covered a laugh with a cough and said to Matt, "They are going to go on a date but Mike went to chick fila and got us dinner first. Are you ready to eat?"
"Yes," He yelled running to the kitchen.
She stood up and said, "Gabby it is nice to meet you. Now run while Matt is eating."
Mike took my hand and we headed outside. When we got to my car I said, "Breathe Mike it went well."
Mike said, "He really likes you. He would not have told me to take you on a date if he didn't he would have said to take you home."
We got in the car and I said, "He is sweet, he reminds me of my cousin."
As I drove to the storage unit we pulled up to the cars being stored and we went to the window. The guard said, "I will be out in a second with a cart Miss."
We loaded the cart when he brought it out and unloaded it next to the SUV. When he left Mike said, "You have a lot of clothes."
"I sure do its clothes for each season," I said as I opened up the back to organize what I put in there. When it was done I locked the SUV and asked, "So where are we going?"
He smiled, "I figured you were tired so how about Micky's Burger Shack by the beach. We can eat in the car and chill out."
"That sounds so good," I said. "I love their Frisco melts and onion rings."
We drove out to Micky's enjoying the night air. When we got there we saw a lot of the football team there and Mike groaned. "I was hoping they would be home since it was Sunday night."
Taking his hand I said, "Their your friends Mike. We are on a date but we can still talk to everyone."
Mike kissed my hand and said, "Well lets go then."
He ran over and opened the drivers door. When we walked up to the order window we placed our order when we were spotted. James called out, "Mike, Gabby what are you doing here?"
After Mike paid he turned around and said, "Grabbing some dinner."
James looked at us and said, "Oh man your on a date. Sorry to bother you guys."
I smiled and said, "Your not bothering us. We all have to eat right."
James laughed and said, "Well we are heading out in a few because we do not want the Mom looks when we get home."
They called our order and when we picked it up Mike turned to the guys and said, "We will see you all in the morning."
The guys waved and we walked back to my car. Mike opened my door again and when I got in he handed me the tray. Once he got in he said, "James is a great guy. He knows I wanted to take you out and gave us the perfect out."
The rest of the time we were there we ate and talked about my visiting Copenhagen. I showed him some of the sites I found and he was excited about taking Matt on the sensory train ride when I visited.
When we got back to my house I found Myla and Chris sitting at the table and I said, "Myla you look exhausted."
She laughed and said, "That is because I am. The sale went so well though and here is your envelope for tonight."
I looked at the amount and tucked it in my bag. Mike said, "Gabby I will see you in the morning."
Walking him to the door he said, "Leave your money in the dresser and come right to school. I will meet you in the parking lot just in case."
Nodding I said, "Good idea."
Walking back inside I said, "Well you two I am going to bed for the night."
Going upstairs I showered and sat at my desk. Packing my bag up for the following day I placed the cash in my desk drawer under a pile of papers and climbed into bed to sleep.
***********************************************************************
The next morning I went downstairs with my bag and found Mike in the dining room. Looking at him I asked, "Miss me much?"
He chuckled and he said, "Yes. But my Aunt got here after we went to dinner last night and Matt told me he wanted to hang with her. So if you want I can drive you to the bank and we can get breakfast. After school we can come back and I can help you all night after we get our homework finished."
"That sound great," I said as Myla came into the house. She looked very excited and I asked, "Myla what has you so giddy this morning?"
"I may have a buyer for some of the cars," She said. "So what will happen is if I sell them I will take my commission our of what we sell here and you will have cashiers checks to deposit. Do not worry for those purchases I verify the cashiers checks with the bank."
"Oh my that is awesome," I said.
Chris walked in and said, "Gabby the relator had to change the closing to tomorrow afternoon. The building they were going to use had a pipe burst so I offered the dining room for tomorrow. Will that interfere with any school stuff?"
"No that will be fine," I said. "Go ahead and call the Garry's and tell them since its here they can drop off more stuff. When I get back from school Mike and I are doing to knock a lot of the smaller things out."
Running upstairs I got a deposit bag ready and went back down to grab my bag. Mike asked, "Ready?"
"Sure am," I said.
We went to the night drop window and Mike made sure the bag was dropped. When we got to ChikFila I offered to pay and he said, "You get lunch I will get breakfast."
We went to the school and sat in the courtyard eating breakfast while I worked on my blog and a few stories. Heading to class I saw Joy's gang and they stayed away. Sitting at my desk the teacher walked in and said, "Well you guys I can't believe I am going to say this but you all are almost done here. We finished just about everything so after this week you will be officially released from my class. I wanted to say I am so proud of all of you and the work you have put in. I know some of you have a career path in mind or plans for the future already and I cannot wait to see each and every one of you excel. So today you all have a free period. Your final for this class with be Friday of next week. Get your homework started or chill."
The rest of the day was more of the same and teachers announcing we are done after this week except for finals. When class was over Mike and I went and got some subs for lunch and headed to my house. When we got inside I noticed the garage was empty and all the vintage cars were gone. Walking into the kitchen Myla walked up to me and said, "You ready to be shocked?"
"Myla I am shocked already as the garage is empty," I said. She reached over and handed me four envelopes.
Giving her a look she said, "Did you not notice the empty sale room. Gabby you have some work to do girl. I sold the cars and my main buyer came through and bought everything that was left this morning."
Mike chuckled and said, "Well Gabby lets eat and I will drive you to the bank. When we get back we will have to get Myla some stuff to price and sell."
Chris walked in and said, "What no homework?"
Laughing Mike said, "Nope most of our classes are on the last lessons with exams for the following week. We pretty much did everything already."
"So your done except for exams next week?" He asked.
"Sure am," I said.
"Well then we can get the house knocked out faster," Chris said. "But for now Myla and I are going back to her place for a few hours. Remember once you both are back from the bank to lock the house up and set the alarms. Kaylie, a few of Jaspers uncles, Joy and her mom are unaccounted for."
We nodded and locked the door. Mike asked, "What do you have planned for us today?"
"A lot of furniture moving starting with the formal living room," I said. "Then other area's until it is cool enough to get to the attic tonight. Even the basement is hot and I am not having us get sick."
When we finished eating I grabbed the checks and envelopes. When we pulled up Mike said, "I think it would be better if you went inside to deposit that."
Walking into the bank I deposited the money and the teller looked at me and said, "Miss the manager would like to have a word with you do you have a moment?"
"Sure," I said. She called the manager on the phone then directed me to his office.
When I knocked I heard, "Come in."
Walking in the manager stood up and said, "Gabby I am glad you stopped by. Mr. Kline told me you were selling off your parents estate and please accept my sincerest condolences your parents were kind and amazing people. I needed to give you a heads up someone tried to cash checks on their accounts this morning. It flagged our system and I believe it was your sister and her mother in law."
Nodding I said, "Mr. Green thank you for the information can you please do me a favor and secure the video footage for Mr. Kline I will let him and my brother know. Also please make a note on my account that I do not use checks for any of my accounts and none should be processed."
He nodded and started typing away at the computer. He said, "I did an overall message related to all your accounts with us. If anything is attempted from now on you will receive security alerts via call. This will also be for any large transactions over two thousand dollars. You can call the bank and let us know if your going to be doing any large purchases at this twenty four hour line we have for our elite customers. I know with traveling you may have them on and off."
"Thank you," I said. "Does Mr. Kline have your direct number?"
"Of course," He said. "I will await his call."
Mike was waiting in the lobby when I came out of the office. He looked at me and said, "What's wrong?"
"Let's get back to the house I have to call Chris on the way," I said.
On the way home I called Chris and explained everything to him. He said, "Gabby you and Mike get to the house I will call Mr. Kline now."
When we got back Mike and I started the formal living room and by the time Chris and Myla joined us we had about half the room done. Myla got to work and we heard a loud rumble of thunder. I jumped and Mike came over and held me for a moment. He asked, "Are you alright?"
Nodding I said, "Yeah I am, today has been something hasn't it."
"It has," He said.
"Mike I am going to take you up on the offer to stay at your Grams house when we have everything cleared out," I said. "I want to disappear away from Kaylie and start to travel as soon as I can."
He said, "I understand so lets get this house packed up so you can kick her to the curb."
For the rest of the day we continued to sort and pack. By the end of the night we had finished the formal living room and went back to the attic. By the time Mike left we had more than half of the attic finished. After I showered and went to bed for the night I thought about how different my future would be.
The following morning I woke up and went downstairs to go to school. Chris was sitting at the table and said, "Mr. Kline is calling the bank today to start on the check fraud. I see some of your trunks are filling up."
"Yeah I am thinking I may be taking the first of the trunks to the storage unit this week," I said. "So did you hear my plan when I was talking to Mike?"
"Your going to stay with him once everything is packed and being sold," He said. "You know I will be sticking around till you graduate. I will stay with Myla."
"Okay," I said. "Your okay with me staying in Mikes grandmas house?"
He sighed and said, "Not really, however I like Mike and I know he will respect you."
(5mil in escrow till 30) 250000 750000 375000 2.500000 1.200000 5.9 million Credit card 1 75000 Credit card 2 250000 - Blog account/amazon account- $6254 Personal $264472
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Gabby Mitchel- Main (My secret life.) 6/13 3.275mMrs. Garry Harriet, henry amd may
10 trunks
Chris- Older Brother Military
Mike- School/ Boyfriend(Matt Copenhagen) James-School(Grandpa passed article to her)
Kaylie (older sister) Jasper (her husband)(Joy)
Isabella- mom Mike- Dad Great
MR. Kline- Lawyer Myla- seller
Mrs. Fowler- secretary Mrs. Rommel -English teacher
(33) pool area, breakfast room, office/c, basement, attic, garage, pantry, parents room/ bath, chris room/c, gabbys room/bath/c , 1 guest room/c, TV room/c, back porch. hall way downstairs/c, landing, upstairs hallways/c , 3 bathrooms, laundry room, storage room, linen closet, my car.
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