Mysteries of Holt House - A Mystery (11 page)

“
Hey!
” I yelled angrily. The cloth
had been pulled all the way down, covering my shoulders. Whoever was in the
closet had let go of me when I fell to the floor, and as I scrambled up and
tried to pull the cloth off, I heard scraping noises in the room. I finally
pulled the thing off, discovering it was a pillow case, and turned toward the
bedroom, away from the closet. No one was there. I swung around to the closet,
but still didn’t see anyone. It had happened so fast that I wasn’t even afraid,
just angry.

The door to the hall opened and Josh
walked in. “I heard noises in here. I thought I heard someone yell.”

“Yeah, me. Did you see anyone out in the
hallway?”

“No, but I just came from my room. Are you
all right?”

“Yes. Someone was hiding in here. Whoever
it was pulled this over my head and got away.” I shook the pillow case. “I
can’t understand why you didn’t see anyone in the hallway.”

“I can’t explain it either, but there
wasn’t anyone there.” He sounded defensive and I couldn’t blame him.

“I believe you,” I said. “I just don’t
understand. Do me a favor, please, and don’t say anything to anyone about what
happened – at least for the time being. I don’t know what’s going on here, so I
don’t want to scare anyone unnecessarily.” I hoped it wouldn’t scare him.

“Okay.” He sounded reluctant. “But I am
going to keep my eyes open for anything unusual around here. Uh, don’t you
think you ought to report this to the police? I think you should probably do
that.”

“I don’t want to report it right now.
There isn’t much I could tell them, and there isn’t anything they could do.
Besides, the only thing hurt is my pride.”

“True, but think about it, okay?” At least
the whole thing didn’t seem to have put him off.

“I will. It was probably some kid who
snuck in for a look and was afraid of getting into trouble. You know how kids
can be.” I was trying to convince myself as well as him. I should have been
more concerned, but I honestly didn’t feel like there had been any harm
intended.

I was so close that I should have been
able to feel the heat from the sand I was about to plunge my head into.

Chapter Thirteen

I thanked Josh and we left the room. I decided
it would be best to keep everything quiet until I had an idea of what was going
on. I couldn’t imagine what was happening, but apparently my feelings about the
rooms on the second floor weren’t unfounded. Something was, indeed, going on.

Nothing else happened that day and I began
to wonder if it had really been a kid or if we’d had a burglar. Maybe I’d
scared him off before he could take anything. A burglar wouldn’t know which
rooms were occupied and which ones weren’t until he began searching drawers and
looking through closets. But that didn’t explain the other odd things that had
happened upstairs. I hoped the situation would resolve itself, and soon.

That evening the dinner hour was pleasant.
Sharon and I joined Josh and Richard English, Josh being his charming self, and
Richard toning down his banter just a bit. Lucy prepared a roast with potatoes
and carrots, accompanied by homemade biscuits, salad and fresh fruit. It was
delicious.

I’d made a good choice when I hired Lucy.
She was making the rounds of the house, keeping things straightened up, without
my having to give her directions. She always had a pot of coffee and snacks out
between meals in case anyone got the munchies. She told all of the guests that
if they wanted anything besides coffee to let her know and she’d fix them up.
She was making a lot of homemade breads and pastries, too. She was scoring
points with me, as well as with the boarders.

The same held true for David. Sharon said
David mentioned planting a vegetable garden the next year so we’d have fresh
vegetables on the table every night during the summer months. I thought it was
a good idea. We might turn out to be a healthy bunch whether we wanted to or
not.

When I went to bed that night I had these
things, and more, running through my mind. I was too wound up to go right to
sleep, but when I finally drifted off, not even an earthquake could have moved
me.

On Monday morning I got up early. I fussed
more than usual, deciding I wanted to impress Mike when he arrived. Heaven
forbid anyone should see what I look like when I first get up in the morning.
After going through my morning ritual I made my bed, then rushed out to the
kitchen to help Lucy prepare breakfast.

“Good morning,” she said, cheerfully. “You
look great today.”

“Thanks. I’d like to say I always look
this way, but that would be a lie, and you know it.”

“Baloney. I’ve seen you without make-up
and you look fine. Well, maybe a bit better with it.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. “By the way, I want
to remind you that I don’t expect you to take on this big house all by
yourself. I’ll be helping out, and Sharon will be helping me on your days off.”

“I know, but I’ve decided not to take any
days off for the first week. I want to help your boarders get settled in first.
Next week I’ll start taking regular days off. Do you mind?”

“It’s up to you, but if you change your
mind, go ahead and take the days off.”

While we put the food on the warming
plates, I heard the front door open. I’d given all the boarders a key by that
time. If they were going to be living in the house, then they shouldn’t have to
ring the bell every time they needed to come in. Of course, I’d leave the door
unlocked during the day and only lock it at night.

I heard footsteps behind me, and turning I
found Mike standing in the doorway.

“I see I’m just in time to eat,” he said.

“Sure, come and get it.” I smiled, trying
my best to look charming.

“Let me put my clothes away first. I
didn’t have time to eat this morning, so I‘ll be right back.”

I turned back to the warming trays and
found Lucy standing there with that now familiar smug look on her face.

“Lucy… ” There was a hint of warning in my
tone.

“I didn’t say a word. I didn’t do a thing.
Right now I’m just the cook, and I need to get back to the kitchen.”

Mike returned and since no one else was
up, we had a quiet breakfast together. We talked mostly about the construction
he was going to do for me. I was excited about the gazebo and he began to make
sketches while I talked and told him what I had in mind.

“How’s the room renting going?” he asked.
“All filled up yet?”

“Actually, it’s going pretty well. I only
have four rooms left. It’s beginning to look like I may have all boarders and
no vacationers. To be honest, I do want some vacationers because their rooms will
be more expensive.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. That’s business for you.”

I took the next few minutes and told him a
little about the other boarders. I wasn’t
trying
to be mean, but he
laughed at a couple of my descriptions.  “I think they’re all nice people.
Well, I’m not too sure about one of them.”

“Don’t tell me. The skirt chaser.”

“Of course, who else?”

“I hear a truck coming,” he said as he
stood up. “Time to get to work and earn my pay. Maybe I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Okay.”

Sharon strolled in while Mike was leaving.
I hurriedly introduced them before he rushed out to meet the truck.

“I’ve been up for the last half hour,”
Sharon said, “but I didn’t want to disturb you two.”

“That’s ridiculous. You should have joined
us.”

She grinned. “It’s okay. I ate in the
kitchen with Lucy and David.”

It dawned on me why she was being so
thoughtful. Breakfast with David was something she wasn’t likely to pass up.

“Don’t you have to get to work?” I asked.

“No, I took today off. Moving gave me a
good excuse.”

“Ah.”

Around nine o’clock Ted Fernley arrived.
He was tall and lanky, around six feet three inches, and quite good looking,
but in a “too perfect” sort of way. He was very polite, and seemed extremely
reserved. When I described some of my boarders to my parents in a letter I
wrote to them, I told them Ted Fernley seemed to be a very private individual,
rather distant. He had sandy-blonde hair, a neatly trimmed mustache, and his
eyes were a dark, muddy brown. He was almost rigid in his orderly and precise
mode of dress, reminding me of a mannequin’s exacting appearance. Sharon said
the best word she could think of to describe him was dapper. I estimated him to
be around thirty-five or older, but it was hard to tell. He had one of those
faces that never ages. If it turned out he was well over forty, that wouldn’t
have surprised me either. With his reserved disposition, we stuck to calling
each other Miss Sanders and Mr. Fernley. I hoped he’d relax after we got to
know each other.

“Miss Sanders, I like the facilities here
and I would like to take a room,” he said, after I told him about Holt House
and showed him one of the rooms.

“Then welcome to Holt House, Mr. Fernley.
We’re happy to have you.”

He paid me for a month in advance, and I
gave him a receipt.

“I’d like to move in tonight if that’s
acceptable.”

“Whenever you like. I’ll give you a key to
the house. It’s always unlocked during the day, but we do lock up at night.”

“Do the rooms have locks on them?” he
asked.

“Yes, they do. You’ll find your room key
on top of the dresser when you move your things in.”

“Fine. I’ll return this evening with my
personal items.”

“Dinner will be served at six o’clock if
you’d like to eat with us.”

“Thank you. However, I’ll be dining before
I return.” With that he was out the door and on his way.

The construction began that morning, and
one by one all of the boarders moved in during that week. The tenants began to
adjust to each other, although other than dinner, they didn’t really see too
much of one another.

Sharon and David were spending most of
their evenings with each other. He would sit and listen while she rattled on,
but when he occasionally said something, she was quiet and attentive. I’d never
seen her react to any man in quite the same way.

Mike and I saw each other at meals, but he
was busy with my projects, and working on plans for other projects in his spare
time.

Lucy and I spent a lot of time together.
We planned menus, made grocery lists, cleaned house and straightened up
bedrooms. When we had any spare time, we either sat and talked or played cards.
She always managed to bring Mike into each and every conversation.

A month went by and we were into July. The
weather turned very warm, and the pool people had begun their work quite a bit
earlier than anticipated. The pool was nearly complete.

Since Mike and his crew worked hard, the
tennis court and patio were done and ready for use. The gazebo and storage shed
were also nearing completion. The last two had taken longer because I wanted
them to resemble the house and outbuilding.

During the hot evenings you could always
find a few of them out on the patio with cool drinks in front of them,
sometimes chatting, or sometimes sitting quietly, listening to the sounds of
the country night.

Josh and Marion discovered a mutual
interest in chess. Many evenings found them huddled over the chess board.

Marion turned out to be everyone’s
favorite. She was able to pull Ruth out of her shell to some extent, and even
Richard English was respectful when Marion was around. I found that none of us
thought of her in terms of
old lady
. She was probably younger inside
than the rest of us. Lucy took a special liking to her and went out of her way
to make her comfortable, although Marion scoffed at that type of treatment.

Marion always seemed to have time for
everyone. She took an individual interest in each of us, making us all feel
special, although a few of the boarders made a point of keeping her at arm’s
length, like Richard English and Ted Fernley. Richard was polite to her, but
never went beyond small talk, with Ted following suit. Josh, although charming,
never really said too much about himself to anyone, except maybe Marion.

Richard English turned out to be a royal
pain in the neck. It seemed like half of what he said had a double meaning,
unless Marion was nearby. He watched what he said when she could hear him.
Sharon and I found ourselves avoiding him as much as possible, although we
tried not to appear rude. He was a paying boarder, after all. I wasn’t sure how
long he’d last though. If he got too carried away I might have to ask him to
leave.

Ruth always seemed to be lurking around in
the background somewhere, watching everyone but not participating. She
wanted
to be a wallflower, not to be noticed. She tugged at my heart, but there was
nothing I could do. She was on her own.

As the weather climbed to higher and
higher temperatures, I had ceiling fans installed, but they didn’t help much.
The weather was much hotter than normal for Northern Nevada, and I’d begun to consider
installing air conditioning. There were tall trees scattered around the house
and they helped to some extent, giving us refreshing shade.