Aunt Dimity's Death (16 page)

“Damn,” I said; then, “Oh, what the hell.” I tried the lid and it opened without hesitation. The box held a locket, a gold locket in the shape of a heart, with flowers incised on the front. It hung from a fine gold chain. I lifted it gently from the box, slipped a thumbnail into the catch, and opened it.

It was empty. There were places for two small pictures, one in each heart-shaped half, but they held nothing. I closed the locket and regarded it thoughtfully. According to my mother, Dimity had been looking at albums of photographs when the neighbors had found her alone in the cottage, in a state of nervous collapse. Where were those albums now? What if the photograph that had been given to my mother had come from one of those albums, and what if the page had been labeled, and what if … I hung the chain around my neck to remind myself to search for Dimity’s albums, then went to listen at the hall door.

The wind rattled the windows and the rain pounded the roof, but there was no other sound. I hadn’t heard a peep out of Bill since the night before. With any luck, he’d have the good sense to move in with the Harrises for the rest of the month.

*
**

The lights had been turned off throughout the cottage, and a fire burned cheerfully in the fireplace in the study, proof, I thought, that Bill had given up on the ghost hoax. If he hadn’t, he would have called upon my alleged magical powers to start the fire for him. I wondered if he had stayed up all night in the study, reading the Aunt Dimity stories and—I hoped— feeling ashamed of himself.

My experience with the crumpets, and the absence of witnesses, gave me the confidence to try an omelette for breakfast. To my great delight, and even greater amazement, the result was light and fluffy and oozing with melted cheese. I ate in the solarium, watching the rain cascade down the glass panes and hoping that the poor vicar’s repairs had been finished in time. When the telephone rang, I went to the study to answer it.

“I do hope I’ve gotten the time change right.” The line crackled with static from the storm, but Willis, Sr.’s thoughtfulness came through loud and clear. “I haven’t disturbed your sleep, have I, Miss Shepherd?”

“No,” I replied, “and it wouldn’t matter if you had. It’s wonderful to hear your voice.”

“Thank you, Miss Shepherd. It is pleasant to speak with you as well. I take it that you have arrived in good order?”

“Paul drove us to the doorstep last night.”

“And the cottage—it meets with your approval?”

“I’d like to wrap it up and bring it home with me,” I said. “I’m in the study right now, looking out through the ivy with the rain pouring down and a fire in the grate. It’s so beautiful … I wish you could see it. And we had a wonderful time in London, too. Bill was … um …”

“Yes, Miss Shepherd? You were saying?”

“Bill was fine,” I said quickly, too quickly to fool Willis, Sr. I could hear his sigh even through the static.

“Would I be correct in assuming that my son has done something objectionable, Miss Shepherd?”

“Well …” I toyed with the phone cord. “Does trying to convince me that the cottage is haunted count as objectionable?”

“Pardon me, Miss Shepherd. Did I hear you correctly? Did you say
haunted?
”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“Where my son is concerned, I no longer know what to believe. I really am going to have to speak with the boy.”

“I don’t think he meant any harm by it,” I blurted, wishing I’d kept my big mouth shut. I didn’t like the agitation I heard in Willis, Sr.’s voice.

“Nonetheless, this has gone far enough. He can have no excuse for such unprofessional conduct. If he cannot be trusted to carry out Miss Westwood’s wishes, I shall order him home and appoint a suitable substitute. I am beginning to regret my failure to accompany you myself.”

“You mustn’t do that.” Now I was thoroughly alarmed.

“I am Miss Westwood’s executor, Miss Shepherd. It is my responsibility to—”

“It was just a joke,” I insisted, “a silly practical joke. It didn’t even scare me. Not for a second.”

“You are quite sure?”

“Do I strike you as someone who believes in ghosts?”

“No…”

“Then please don’t give it another thought. I’ll talk to Bill myself.”

“Very well. But if he continues to—”

“I’ll let you know, Mr. Willis.”

“I shall count on you to do so.” There was a moment of silence on the line and when Willis, Sr., spoke again, his voice had regained its customary calm. “Now, Miss Shepherd, if I might turn to a more pleasant subject before I go?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I would simply like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your most thoughtful gift. I attempted to contact you in London, but you were out much of the time, and I did not like to convey my thanks through Miss Kingsley. I am most grateful. I have seldom seen such a fine example of cartographic art and I have never seen such a splendidly appropriate frame. My dear, it quite took my breath away.” His warm words sent a rush of pleasure through me. I twirled the phone cord around my finger and turned a slow pirouette, like a little girl being lauded for a flawless piano recital.

And stopped.

Because there, looking up at me from the arm of one of the tall leather chairs near the fire, was Reginald.

Not
my
Reginald.
My
Reginald was upstairs in the master bedroom, in the wardrobe, in the shoebox, in pieces, and
this
Reginald was here, in the study, in the chair, sitting up as pretty as you please, with every stitch intact, two button eyes gleaming, and both ears on straight, as powder-pink as the day he’d been born.

Except for the purple stain near his hand-stitched whiskers.

“I have to go,” I said abruptly.

“Pardon me, Miss Shepherd?”

“I really have to go,” I said. “Right now. I’ll call you back in a little while.”

“Is there anything wrong?”

“I’ll call you back,” I repeated. I dropped the phone on the cradle, tore out of the study, pounded up the stairs, flung open the wardrobe, grabbed the shoebox, and flipped the lid onto the floor.

The shoebox was empty.

*
**

There was no way Bill could have known about Reginald. Not even Meg knew about Reginald. Having a stuffed bunny as a confidant isn’t something a thirty-year-old woman readily admits to.

But someone had known about him. Someone who needed to get my attention.

I put the shoebox back into the wardrobe and gently closed the door. I descended the staircase in slow motion, stopped at the doorway of the study, and peeked in. The fire was snapping, the rain was drumming, a book of some sort was lying on the ottoman, and Reginald was sitting beside it. He had
moved.

“Reg?” I called softly. “Is that you?”

His eyes glittered in the flickering firelight. I walked over to pick him up. With a trembling finger, I traced his whiskers and touched the purple stain on his snout, then cradled him in one arm and bent to pick up the book. It was bound in smooth blue leather, with a blank cover and spine; a journal, perhaps.

Slowly, I sat down with it in the chair and, even more slowly, I fanned through the pages. All were blank except for the first one, on which a single sentence had been written.

Welcome to the cottage, Lori.

Before I had time to digest that, another formed below it as I watched.

I’m so glad you are here, my dear.

I’m not sure how long I stopped breathing, but it was long enough to make my next breath absolutely essential.

“Dimity?” I whispered. “Is that you?”

Yes, of course it is, my dear. And let me say what a joy it is to make your acquaintance after all these years.

I clapped a hand over my mouth to suppress a quavering giggle. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” I cleared my throat. “Uh, Dimity?”

Yes, Lori?

“Do you suppose you could tell me what’s going on here? I mean, I know what’s going on here, but what’s
going on
here, if you catch my drift. I mean … what I mean is … I don’t even know what I mean.”

Perhaps you could be more specific?

“More specific. Right. Um …” My mind raced through the events of the night before. “Did you do the lock and the lights and the lilacs and the … the fire? Did you light the fire in here this morning?”

Why, yes, my dear. As Derek indicated, I wished to celebrate your arrival. You really should trust what he says about the cottage, Lori. He and Emma know it better than anyone. And you must stop blaming young Bill. I assure you, he had nothing to do with my arrangements.

“Well, thank you, Dimity, it was … lovely.” I was reluctant to voice the other suspicion that had occurred to me. It was rather deflating, but it was also staring me in the face. “I should have known it’d take supernatural intervention to turn me into a good cook.”

NO! I had nothing to do with the omelette!

“You mean it?” I asked. “You’re not say—er, writing that just to make me feel better?”

I am telling you the truth. I did lend a hand with the crumpets, but that was only to build your confidence. You may take full credit for the omelette. You might try the oatmeal cookies next. I do so love the scent of cinnamon.

“Me, too,” I said, with a nostalgic smile.

I had become so caught up in the give and take of our “conversation” that I had temporarily forgotten what was actually taking place. In fact, I had pretty much lost touch with reality altogether. When a log fell on the fire, I jumped, then looked slowly around the room, realizing the picture I would present to anyone peering in through the windows. I was sitting in an isolated cottage, the wind was howling, the rain was roaring, and I was communicating with the dead. I tightened my grip on Reginald and glanced nervously back at the journal as a new sentence took shape.

I know how strange this must seem.

“Now that you mention it, this is a little … no, this is a
lot
strange. I mean, you did say something in your letter about not coming back from the grave. And what about all those long chats with my mother?” I paused, almost afraid to ask the next question. “Dimity—how is she?”

I haven’t seen Beth yet.

“You haven’t? Why not? I mean, you’re both in … the same place, aren’t you?”

Not precisely. She’s gone ahead.

“Oh. Well, she … went first, I guess. But you’ll catch up with her, won’t you?”

I hope so.
A sigh breezed through the room.
You see, Lori, things are a bit muddled.

A bit muddled? Was that what they meant by British understatement? My suspension of disbelief was about to snap.

It’s my own fault, of course.

“What is?”

Oh, everything. I’ve known all along that I would never be forgiven.

“Forgiven for
what?
”

I simply don’t deserve forgiveness. And this isn’t such a terrible way to spend eternity, is it? I could think of much worse

The handwriting stopped.

“Hello?” I said. “Are you still there? Can you hear me?”

Nothing more. I stared at the page until my head swam, then looked up, round-eyed, to see Bill standing over me.

“Don’t let me interrupt.” As his eyes traveled slowly around the room, he held out the manuscript of
Lori’s Stories.
“I finished reading it this morning, up in my room, and thought I’d return it before … Lori? Lori, what is it? What’s the matter?” He put the manuscript on the desk, then knelt before me. “You look like you’ve seen a—”

“Don’t,” I said. “Please, Bill, no jokes.”

“But I’m not—” His eyes widened. “You mean, you actually
have
seen—”

“Not
seen
, exactly.”

“Oh, my… .” Bill sat back on his heels. “Dimity?”

I gave a barely perceptible nod.

“So the Harrises were telling the truth.” He pulled the ottoman over and sat on it, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. “I thought they might be. When you first stepped into the cottage, I … I don’t know how to explain it, but I sensed something. That’s why I let you go on ahead without me. I felt like an intruder.” He shook his head. “Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”

“No,” I said. I let the journal fall shut in my lap. “I felt it, too. But I—I thought it was the central heating.”

“That’s what comes of being such a practical sort of person,” said Bill. He brushed away a tear that had rolled down my cheek. “Tell me about it?”

Struggling to keep my voice level, I introduced him to Reginald. “I’ve had him since I was a kid, Bill, since I was really little, you know? I’d recognize him anywhere. But last year a burglar left him in pieces all over my apartment. I brought him to England in a shoebox and now—” I gulped for air.

“Now he’s fully recovered.” Bill took out his handkerchief and wiped away a few more tears that had managed to escape. “The burglar didn’t hurt you, did he? Oh, now, Lori, come on, don’t cry like that. There’s no need to be frightened.”

“I’m not f-frightened,” I said, taking Bill’s handkerchief and burying my face in it. “For Pete’s sake, Bill, it’s not as though headless horsemen are galloping through the living room. How could I be afraid of Dimity? I’m—I’m
ashamed
of myself. Here you are, being so nice to me after I behaved like such a jerk last night. I didn’t even give you a chance to explain.”