Tyler rushed to meet her, his eyes wide with excitement. “You oughta hear what’s happened, Granny Grace. Big stuff. People got scammed. I guess that means they gave away their money to someone who said they’d do something for them and didn’t.”

“Scammed? What are you talking about, Tyler? Who got scammed? Someone I know? When did all this happen? I’ve only been gone for a couple of hours.”

“Didn’t you see them? The cops stopped all the cars by the park and asked for our driver’s licenses. I showed them my learner’s permit.”

“It must be over. There are no cops or anyone by the park now,” Grace said.

“Of course, they waved us right on. What does a scammer look like anyway?” Tyler asked as he followed her up the steps.

Grace kissed Bob’s cheek, hugged Russell, and submitted to Melissa’s loud and vigorous demonstrations of affection. With the child on her lap, Grace settled into a rocker beside Bob. “What was Tyler telling me about people being scammed? Which people got scammed and by whom?”

Bob and Russell shared their experiences.

Grace shook her head. “I hope no one was seriously hurt financially.”

The saga continued when Amelia and Hannah returned home and hastened across the yard to join them. Amelia looked agitated and related her experience with the stranger at their door.

“My instinct warned me. He just didn’t look honest, and I never will open the door to anyone I don’t know. But, my Lord, it was very upsetting. Think of those poor people who were conned out of their money. Who are they? I wonder if we know any of them.”

“You hear about things like this and read about it, but to have it happen in our neighborhood is definitely sobering. One would hardly expect scammers to pick Covington,” Grace said.

Hannah reported that Velma’s cousin over on Rector’s Corner Road in Marshall had been promised a new roof and had parted with $800 in cash. Betty Austin, her beautician had told Amelia, handed a man $300 in cash to lay a coat of macadam on her driveway. “He told her he was getting it for her dirt cheap, as it was left over from a paving job he’d just finished. They say lots of money was given in advance for new roofs, gutters repaired, trees trimmed, porch steps to be replaced and painted, as well as exterior house painting. And the thieves just vanished.

Amelia continued. “Ida’s name was mentioned, but only that she had been visited by someone she described as ‘very pleasant,’ but she had the good sense not to hand over a penny. In fact, she had her son-in-law come over and check everything the man said needed fixing, and it was all a lie.”