Mysteries of Holt House - A Mystery (8 page)

“Yeah,” Lucy said. “It’s almost as
annoying at those crickets.”

Lucy answered the door and returned with a
tall, gray-haired man following her. His build was slender and athletic. I
judged him to be around sixty or so. He had an open, friendly face. I could
picture him out on a golf course or a tennis court.

Lucy introduced us.

 “Miss Sanders, this is Mr. Forbes.
Mr. Forbes, Miss Sanders.” She was playing the part of the faithful employee
and quickly exited after making the introductions, although I could tell she
wanted to hang around and see what happened.

“Have a seat, Mr. Forbes,” I invited,
pointing out a chair.

“Thank you. I’m impressed already. It was
a great drive out here, although I’d imagine it’s a bit different during the
winter months.”

“Yes, spring is beautiful around here.
Lots of great scenery. I really like this area. It’s convenient to several
different towns, but still away and by itself.” I was trying to sell him on the
area and wanted to play down the image of a snowy winter’s drive. “You should
have all the peace and quiet you want out here.”

“I don’t want
too
much quiet,” he
replied.

Whoops! “I’m having a tennis court and
swimming pool installed, and of course in an area like this there’s always
hiking. Within the next couple of weeks I’ll also have a library set up. The
library will include tables to play checkers or chess, or whatever suits your
fancy. I may even put in a pool table.”

“That sounds fine.”

“Additionally,” I said warming up to the
challenge, “if you’re interested it’s only about a forty-five minute drive to
skiing during the winter months.”

“I’ll pass on both,” he chuckled. “My
knees aren’t what they used to be. May I see the room now?”

“Certainly,” I said, standing. “Follow me,
please.”

I led him up to the second floor, to one
of the rooms near the stairs, and opened the door.

“This is basically what all of the rooms
look like. There are minor differences in each one, but this will give you the
general idea.”

“Hmm. I like it,” he said, looking around.
“This furniture looks authentic. Is it the original?”

“Most of it is. The house was built during
the Civil War period, and the furniture is almost as old as the house. It’s
been restored.”

“This is wonderful. I’m an antique buff.
I’d love to look through the whole house sometime, if you don’t mind. I’ll bet
there are some real treasures in this old house.”

“Yes, there are. I can arrange for you to
see the rest of the house whenever you like. You might be pleasantly
surprised.” I found myself still trying to sell him on the house, although it
didn’t seem necessary.

We discussed the cost of room and board
and I told him that it was to be paid on a month-to-month basis.

“I like the room and the price, Miss
Sanders. I’d like very much to live here.” I breathed a mental sigh of relief.
I could quit pushing.

“Please, call me Kelly. Now, if you’d like
to show me which part of the house you prefer, we’ll go from there.”

“Call me Josh.”

I smiled, liking my new tenant already.

We turned to leave the room and I had an
odd sensation of movement behind me, although I hadn’t heard anything. Glancing
over my shoulder, nothing seemed out of place, so I followed Josh, pulling the
door shut behind me.

He chose a room on the second floor next
to the master bedroom. He felt it would be quieter towards the back of the
house, and he’d have a little more privacy. I agreed with him.

I showed him where the bathroom was and he
said he really didn’t mind sharing the facility. The bathrooms were one
drawback I could do nothing about.

“What would be the earliest I could move
in?” Josh asked.

“You can move in at your own convenience.
Tomorrow or any time after that would be fine,” I replied.

“Since I’m staying at a motel, I may as
well make the move tomorrow. Living out here will be wonderful.” He glanced out
the window at the soon-to-be leafed out trees. “I’ve spent too many years
living in the city.”

We passed the first room I’d shown him,
and I noticed the door was ajar. I knew I’d closed it when we left the room.
Lucy must have been upstairs looking for something. I’d have to remember to
mention I wanted to keep the doors closed. I wanted the prospective boarders to
have a sense of privacy when I showed them the rooms.

Josh and I returned downstairs and he paid
me for the first month. Lucy stepped out of the kitchen and spoke to him for a
moment while I wrote him a receipt. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

“It’s been a pleasure, Kelly,” he said,
handing me the check. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

What a weekend it was going to be with
three people moving in. Josh was a little different from the others though. It
gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling to have my first honest-to-goodness boarder.

After Josh left I returned upstairs to
make up his bed. When I passed the first room I leaned in and glanced around,
but nothing had changed. Shrugging, I pulled the door closed and reminded
myself once again to mention the doors to Lucy.

There seemed to be so many things to
remember. I have to start writing notes to myself or I’d forget something
important. 

Chapter
Ten

Saturday morning I made a point of being
up and ready by six o’clock. I guess that was a little too early because I got
cleaned up, had breakfast and then found myself with nothing to do. I’d already
made up Sharon’s and David’s rooms, so I didn’t even have that job to keep me
busy.

When Lucy wandered into the kitchen at
seven-thirty, I had her breakfast waiting for her.

“This is a surprise,” she said.

“I heard you get up so I figured I’d beat
you to it. Now sit down and eat.”

“I’m supposed to be cooking for you, my
dear.”

“I know. And you will be, but I felt like
cooking this morning, so I did. Besides, I didn’t have anything else to do.”

She grinned. “What time did you get up?”

“Too early, apparently. By the way, I
meant to talk to you about the rooms upstairs. Yesterday you opened one of the
doors and forgot to close it. With boarders moving in I think we should get
used to keeping them closed all the time.”

“I’ll be happy to keep them closed, but I
wasn’t upstairs yesterday. I never had a reason to go up.”

“Oh. That’s odd. I closed the door and
then found it standing open. I’ll have to check the latch and make sure it’s
not broken.”

By the time Lucy was through eating, it
was almost eight o’clock. I stood by the sink, shifting my weight from one foot
to the other, and I couldn’t seem to stop watching out the window. When I
turned around, I found Lucy watching me.

“You sure seem antsy. What’s the matter
with you?”

“Today is the day things start happening.
I’ve got three people moving in and the ad runs in the newspaper. I’m a little
jumpy.” I sighed. “If I’m this nervous with three people moving in, one being
the handyman and one being a friend, what am I going to be like with a house
full
of strangers?”

“You’ll be fine. I think you’ve got a case
of stage fright. You’ve got all of your plans worked out, and everything you’ve
told me makes sense, and I know you’ll do okay. Just try to relax.”

“Easier said than done. I’m glad you’re
here, Lucy. I don’t feel quite so alone.”

“Don’t count on me with the guests. I’m
the housekeeper, remember?”

“I know, but you’re great with moral
support.”

About that time I heard a truck pull into
the drive.

Remembering Lucy’s distrust of David, I
asked, “You didn’t see David when he was here yesterday, did you?”

“No, I missed him. I’ll make a point of
introducing myself to him today. After all, we’ll be seeing a lot of each
other. I suppose I’d better try to get along with him.”

“I can’t understand why you formed an
opinion without even meeting David. It doesn’t make much sense to me.”

“You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry,” she
said. “I guess I’m not being very fair. I don’t understand it myself.”

“Come with me and I’ll introduce you two,”
I said, taking hold of her hand.

She looked reluctant, but when I let go of
her hand she followed me out to the back where he’d parked his truck.

“Mornin’.” He greeted us with a smile.

I glanced at Lucy and her expression seemed
to have softened just a touch. I had no idea what she’d been expecting. I told
her he was handsome and pleasant, but for some reason she didn’t seem to trust
my judgment. Maybe she actually thought I hired him solely on the merit of his
looks.

“Miss Sanders...”

“Please, call me Kelly.”

“Okay, Kelly, I was thinking I could build
a fence railing out front to indicate where your tenants should park.”

“I like that. I was thinking about having
you put in some hedges in front too, for more privacy. What do you think?”

“Good idea,” he replied.

I glanced at Lucy again, and she appeared
thoughtful. I had a feeling she was impressed because his first thought was how
to help out.

“David, this is Lucy Daley. She’s our cook
and housekeeper.”

“How do you do, Lucy?”

“Fine, thank you. Happy to make your
acquaintance.”

“Come on and I’ll show you to your room,”
Lucy said. “And I’ll get you a cup of coffee. I made a coffee cake last night,
too.”

“As soon as I get my things put away I’ll
be ready for dessert,” he replied.

Lucy beamed at him. At least now I
wouldn’t have to worry about them getting along. They were doing fine together.

We turned to walk to the house and I heard
a car coming. Looking back I saw Sharon pulling into the driveway. She saw us
and pulled to the rear of the house.

“Wait a second,” I said. “Here comes my
friend Sharon.”

She parked her car and pulled a box out of
the back seat before joining us. “Hi y’all,” she said. Every once in a while
Texas showed through when she spoke.

“Sharon, I’m so glad you’re here. Let me
introduce you around.”

I made the introductions, noting that
David couldn’t take his eyes off her, and that Lucy was looking from one to the
other with that smug look I’d seen the day before when she watched Mike and me
together. She was a natural born matchmaker. Sharon was in such a dither that
she didn’t seem to notice anything.

“I’m happy to meet you both. I’m sorry,
but I’ve been rushing so much this mornin’ that I’m all turned around.” She
almost sounded breathless.

“Well don’t just stand there,” I said.
“Let’s go inside. You two can put your things away while Lucy and I get the
coffee and cake ready.”

While we walked, David dropped back in
step with Sharon. She had that effect on most men. I couldn’t help but wonder
what Mike would think of her, but I admonished myself because what did it
really matter anyway?

Lucy showed David to his room while Sharon
followed me to the one she’d be using.

“I’m so glad to finally be here,” she
said. “It’s been too quiet for me in town without you there. It seems like we
were always at each other’s apartment or going somewhere together. Um, that
David would make one hunk of a Texas cowboy.”

“I didn’t think you noticed.”

She grinned at me. “Kinda quiet though,
isn’t he?”

“Sharon, as much as you talk, he won’t
need to say a word. I’m going to go help Lucy. I’ll be back in a while.”

Sharon was already hanging up her clothes,
so she just nodded. She hadn’t brought much with her, although she had asked if
she might put a few boxes in the storage shed.

“What can I do to help, Lucy?” I asked,
entering the kitchen.

“Not a thing. Everything’s under control
here.”

I decided to run upstairs and check Mr.
Forbes’ room one last time to make sure it was in order. Reaching the top of
the stairs, I saw the door of the first bedroom appeared to be closing. I
couldn’t figure out who might be upstairs, so I opened the door but saw no one.
That’s when I had my first true experience with an optical illusion. The
dresser seemed to be moving, but when I blinked, it was still. It was a weird
sensation. I shook the cobwebs out of my head, blinked a couple more times, and
left the room, closing the door on my way out. If there hadn’t been so much
going on, I’d probably have given the door and the dresser more thought.

I checked Mr. Forbes’ room, and noting
that everything looked in order, I returned to Sharon’s room.

“Need any help?” I asked.

“Not really, but sit down and talk to me
while I finish unpacking. That’s one nice thing about renting a furnished
apartment. I don’t have too much to take with me when I move.”