Mysteries of Holt House - A Mystery (10 page)

We took care of money matters and Miss
Bell decided to move in on Monday night after she got off work. When she
mentioned that she was a librarian, I almost laughed out loud. Stereotypes do
exist.

I watched her walk to her car. She looked
like she hoped no one would notice her. I wondered how she would ever be able
to deal with a house full of people. I hoped being placed in a situation like
this would help bring her out of the darkness I sensed in her.

At two o’clock James Thomas arrived. He
preferred to be called J.T., and I took an immediate liking to him. He was
medium height, heavy set and balding, and one of the happiest people I’d ever
met. He was so cheerful that I couldn’t stop smiling. What a marked difference
between Miss Bell and J.T. His eyes fairly sparkled. I went through the whole
routine with him and he also took a room. It looked like I was going to fill
the house quickly. At least I hoped so.

There were five bedrooms on the second
floor, and I’d already filled three of them. J.T. took the master bedroom at
the end of the hall on the third floor. I was exhilarated. Things were going
well, maybe too well. Things had never worked out this easily in my previous
life, the one before having money. It was a little scary and I felt like I was
waiting for the big gong to signal fun time was over. Realizing how pessimistic
my thinking was, I made a point of reflecting on and enjoying my current good
fortune.

I had three more calls that day, one man
deciding we were too far out of town, one woman who didn’t want to live in a
“co-ed” house, and Ted Fernley who made an appointment to come out on Sunday.

The rest of the day was busy with helping
everyone finish getting settled and helping them find their way around, and
after dinner I finally got to sit down. The minute I hit the couch a memory
jogged loose in the back of my mind. I stood back up and headed for Mike’s
room.

When I’d taken Ruth Bell to see the room,
I noticed that the dresser had been slightly pulled out from the wall. Now, as
I turned on the light, I saw that it had been returned to its original
position. I wasn’t a suspicious person by nature, but I was beginning to get an
odd feeling about the room. Maybe I should suggest to Mike that he choose
another. But no, that was ridiculous.

Once again, I knew my imagination was
working overtime.

My head plunged a little closer to the
sand.

Chapter
Twelve

When I awoke on Sunday morning it was raining.
Clouds had moved in overnight and it had begun to rain early. By the time I got
up it was pouring, and thunder and lightning added emphasis to the storm. I
watched out the window and saw the treetops whipping around in the wind.
Opening the window, I sniffed the fresh scent the rain had brought with it.

Oh, no!
I’ll bet today’s appointments don’t show up
. I
closed the window.

After showering and dressing, I wandered
through the kitchen, told Lucy good morning, and moved on to the dining room to
look for breakfast. Lucy had set out warming trays with crisp bacon, breakfast
rolls, fluffy scrambled eggs and toast. There was a pot of coffee, a pitcher of
orange juice and my favorite, a pitcher of ice cold milk. I drink coffee, but a
meal isn’t a meal without milk.

“Lucy,” I called.

“Be right there.”

I picked up a plate and began dishing up
my food. Lucy entered the dining room, drying her hands on a dish towel.

“Will you look at this rain? It’s going to
ruin everything. No one will come out today.”

“Thanks for sharing your mood with me. You
want a little cheese with that whine?”

“Sorry,” I said.

“Oh, come on. It may clear up later. Wait
and see.”

“I hope you’re right. Why don’t you join
me

“No. If Mr. Forbes comes down, well, it
just wouldn’t look right.”

“It’s going to be hard to get used to this
kind of life. I promise though, when I can I’m going to eat in the kitchen with
you.”

“You do that. I’ll look forward to it. In
the meantime, I’ve got David for company. But when the guests are around, you
stick to business and you treat me like an employee, not a friend.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.” She’d
been right, I sounded like I was whining.

“Wait here and I’ll go get that cheese.”
She turned towards the kitchen, shaking her head.

“Okay, you’re right. I’ll do an attitude
adjustment while I eat my breakfast.”

Sharon passed Lucy on her way into the
dining room. “Good morning, Lucy.”

“Morning.” Lucy left us and headed back to
the kitchen.

“Good morning,” I said. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine. The thunder finally woke me up, but
it’s getting late anyway.”

“Late? It’s only seven o’clock. I didn’t
think you ever got up before nine or nine-thirty on weekends.”

Sharon began piling food on a plate. “It
just depends on my mood. Sometimes I can still sleep as late as nine o’clock,
but not very often. Do we have to talk about sleeping habits?”

“Just making idle chit chat,” I said.

“Look at that rain. I love the rain. As
soon as I eat I’m going for a walk.”

“Wait until the lightning stops and I’ll walk
with you, if you don’t mind. I’m getting a little worried that my appointments
won’t show up, and maybe some exercise will help my mood.”

“I hope so,” Lucy said, walking into the
room with a plate of fresh fruit.

“Okay, okay,” I said.

The telephone rang and Lucy returned to
the kitchen to answer it.

“It’s a Mr. Fernley,” she said to me,
sticking her head around the door.

I groaned before I followed her into the
kitchen. Fernley said he’d be over on Monday night instead of his scheduled time
because of the weather. I thanked him for calling and said I’d see him then.

Josh came in and dished up his breakfast
while I finished eating mine.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Good morning,” he replied. “How are you
ladies this morning?”

“Well, thank you,” Sharon said. “And how
are you today?”

“Very well indeed.”

I stood and picked up my plate. “Excuse
me. I’ve got a few things to take care of Sharon, so let me know when you’re
ready for that walk.” I left them to finish their breakfast in peace.

The rain was making me restless. I felt
cooped up. I was pacing back and forth across the living room when the doorbell
rang. I practically ran to answer it.

One of my potential boarders had shown up
regardless of the weather. “Hello, I’m Marion Webster. I have an appointment
with Miss Sanders this morning.”

“Hi. I’m Kelly Sanders. You’re a little
earlier than I’d expected, but that’s okay.” Great! I couldn’t have said
anything that would have made her feel more ill-at-ease. “I was afraid that
with this rain you wouldn’t come at all,” I said, trying to redeem myself.

Marion Webster was an older woman – I
guessed her to be close to seventy – but she looked to be in good shape. I had
expected a younger woman from the sound of her voice over the telephone. I
invited her in and we sat in the living room.

“Well, Miss Sanders, I must say I was
expecting an older woman.”

I almost laughed, but didn’t tell her what
my expectations had been.

“Aren’t you rather young to be running a
business like this? I’m sorry, that was rude. Age has nothing to do with
running a business, does it?”

“Not really. And you’re not rude, just
honest.”

We settled back and I went through the
whole routine again. She laughed when I mentioned tennis, hiking and skiing,
and I had to laugh with her.

“The rest of it sounds quite pleasant
though, Miss Sanders, even the pool.”

“Please, call me Kelly. I should mention
all of the rooms are on the second and third floors, and there are no
elevators.”

“That’s wonderful. Stairs are very good
exercise. I’ve tried to keep myself in shape over the years. I exercise almost
every day.”

“Well, follow me and I’ll show you the
rooms.” I knew I was going to like this woman.

She was pleased with everything she saw
and chose the master bedroom at the end of the hallway on the second floor. She
wanted to bring a large trunk and an easy chair with her, and there was plenty
of space in that room.

Marion left and said she’d be back with
her personal possessions during the week. She wasn’t sure what day, but that
didn’t matter.

There was only one bedroom left on the
second floor – the front bedroom across from Mike’s room. I understood why no
one wanted the third floor rooms, with the exception of J.T. Those rooms meant
one extra flight of stairs to climb.

I looked out the front window and saw
another car pull in. About that time, Sharon found me.

“The thunder and lightning stopped. Are
you ready for that walk?” she asked.

“It looks like I’d better wait until
later. Fortunately, people are showing up after all.”

“All that worrying for nothing,” she said,
grinning. “Well, I guess I’ll walk by myself. I’ll see you later.”

She let Richard English in when she walked
out the front door. He turned and watched her climb down the steps. He looked
her up and down, not seeming to be able to take his eyes off her. The
expression on his face made me uncomfortable.

“Mr. English? Mr. English!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. What a lovely lady. How
nice,” he said, turning to me. “
Two
lovely ladies. Are there more?”

Oh brother! Not one of
his
kind. I
didn’t care for the look in his eyes. It wasn’t flattering at all, and his tone
of voice was suggestive. Richard English was about five feet ten inches tall
and he was slightly pudgy. He had the doughy look of someone who hasn’t
exercised or spent much time in the fresh air, but at the same time his skin
appeared oily. His hair was so thick that it made him look like he was wearing
a toupee.

“There will be at least five ladies living
here, if you include my housekeeper, although not everyone has moved in yet.” I
was trying to be tactful, remembering how I’d felt when Lucy judged David too
fast. There wasn’t much doubt in my mind about Mr. English, but I knew I should
give him the benefit of the doubt. I had to take my own advice or keep my mouth
shut in the future.

I went through the whole spiel again. He
seemed to like what he saw and decided to take a room. I’d given the speech
enough times that it was becoming monotonous. He chose the room across from
Mike. He had his things with him and would move in immediately, which surprised
me. I had those nagging reservations about him, but chose to ignore them, at
least for the time being.

Now there were only four rooms vacant on
the third floor, but time would take care of that. At least all of the rooms on
the second floor were taken. Besides, I might need a room or two for
vacationers. I wouldn’t argue if I had to let the rooms out to permanent
boarders though.

In a way I was glad no one else would be
out that day. I was tired of repeating the same things over and over.

I glanced out the window and saw Sharon
and David walking together and it brought a smile to my face. Men were always
interested in Sharon, but very seldom did anyone come along that caught
her
interest. She wasn’t conceited, just picky. She had a certain type of man in
mind and so far nothing could budge her from what she was looking for. It
didn’t seem like David met her criteria, but one never knew what life would
throw at us.

As for me, I never really looked for
anyone. I felt that when the time was right, that certain someone would show
up. I certainly couldn’t force the issue, so why worry about it. On the other
hand, Mike did spark something new in me.

In the meantime, I was glad to see Sharon
looking so happy. I noticed that she was doing most of the talking and wondered
if opposites really do attract.

Since nothing demanded my immediate
attention, I decided to go up to Mike’s room and look around. Something just
wasn’t right about that room, and I knew I’d better not let it go on any longer.

I climbed the stairs, and as I reached the
last step I looked up and saw that the door to Ruth Bell’s room was open. As
with Mike’s room, I knew I’d closed the door. She wasn’t there, so there was no
reason for anyone to be in her room. I sighed before walking down the hall to
take a look and close the door.

Entering the room I had a sense of
movement, just as I’d had in Mike’s room. Most of the people here were
strangers to me so I decided I’d look a little further. Not seeing anything out
of the ordinary at first glance, my instinct was to check the closet. I opened
the door and something dropped over my head. I tried to pull it off, but I
couldn’t. Someone was pulling the cloth downward so I couldn’t see. I
struggled, and in return for my efforts I was knocked to the floor.