Trash To Treasure Crafting 1 - Murder at Honeysuckle Hotel (2 page)

He continued. “I, Opal Mae Mathers, being of
sound mind and body…”

My mouth dropped a little further, if that
was even possible. Was this really happening? I wasn’t sure if it
was just me, but the room seemed smaller. The walls appeared
narrower, and the lights brighter. And I was pretty sure the floor
was swaying like in one of those carnival fun houses.

“… do bequeath all of my belongings to
Raelynn Pendleton.”

I let out a squeak that sounded like a cross
between a mouse and a sheep.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Claire Ann hurried around the counter. “Here,
have a seat, honey.” She pulled out the old stool and led me to it,
her hand on my elbow.

“I think I got a little dizzy for a second.”
I rubbed the side of my head.

“Yeah, I think you did.” Claire Ann
frowned.

I practically saw the little wheels spinning
in her head. She lived for gossip and big events such as these. It
didn’t matter if it was someone else getting good news, as long as
there was news.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to shock you.”
Mr. Whiteman leaned closer to the counter, meeting my gaze.

Claire Ann waved her arm in his direction.
“Look what you’ve done. You scared the poor girl to death. Do you
always go around scaring people?”

His face grew a shade of red that matched his
tie as he glanced down at his shiny brown loafers.

“I’m fine. I don’t need y’all fawning over
me.” I waved a dismissive hand and grabbed the towel next to me,
then wiped my forehead. “Please, do go on.” I took the bottled
water Claire Ann handed me and gulped half of it. They watched me
as if they’d never seen anyone drink before.

“Like I said, she left you everything.” He
shuffled through a few more papers.

“Everything?” I swallowed hard.

“Everything?” Claire Ann repeated my
question.

He nodded. “Everything… the house and its
contents. The house is lovely. It just needs a little work. It has
new-ish plumbing, the electricity is okay and the roof is just a
few years old. Beautiful old house.”

“But I hardly knew her.” I set the water
bottle down. I didn’t stand yet; I’d have to let the news settle in
for a while before I attempted to use my legs. “There must be some
kind of mistake.”

“Well, like I said, she had no children and
no living family. She left you this letter.” He extended the paper
toward me. “She said you were the only one who was nice to an old
lady in this town.”

With a shaky hand, I took the letter from his
outstretched hand. I unfolded the paper and read.

Dear sweet Raelynn,

If you’re reading this letter then you know
I’ve gone to be with my beloved Peter. The news must have been a
surprise to you, but I know a kind soul like you will take care of
my home. It’s all we had. You were the only one who seemed to
genuinely care how my husband and I were doing. When I visited you
in the store, I knew I was speaking with a true friend. Enjoy the
home. May it bring you as much joy as it did my husband and me.

Sincerely,

Opal Mae Mathers

I didn’t know what to say. Why would she do
such a thing?

“Wow,” Claire Ann said from over my shoulder.
“She really liked you. What did you do to her?”

I looked up at her shocked face. “I don’t
know.” I shrugged. “She came in every other day and we’d chat about
nothing in particular. I knew she was lonely because she talked
about her husband a lot.”

“She was eccentric, that’s for sure,” Claire
Ann added.

“Well, apparently you were the only one who
talked to her, so she left you her home. Best of luck.
Congratulations and all that.” He gave a little salute.

“I can’t possibly accept it.” I pushed the
paper toward him.

“It’s yours now. What you choose to do with
it is totally up to you. I just need you to sign some papers and
I’ll give you the keys. We can settle a few other things in the
next few days. The utilities are on, but you’ll have to switch them
into your name.”

I stood, but my legs still shook. With my
trembling hand, I signed on the line he pointed out. I supposed I
should have read it before leaving my signature or, at the very
least, skimmed over the contents, but my mind wasn’t functioning
correctly.

My watch read five p.m. Still an hour until
Becky showed up and I could take off. How would I concentrate now,
knowing the empty house waited for me? Did I go to the house after
work? It would feel strange traipsing around someone else’s place.
Or apparently, my place. No, the words sounded too strange. This
seemed like a dream.

He took the paper and stuffed it back into
his briefcase. “I really need to get back to Lexington. Here are
your keys. You’ll get copies of the paperwork in the mail. Shall I
send it to your new address?”

With one hand, I held the key, and with the
other, I ran my fingers through my hair. “Um, sure?” Heck, I didn’t
know where the mailbox was. Could I really live in this woman’s
home?

“Again, congratulations, Mrs. Pendleton.” He
held out his hand.

“I’m divorced.”

I could never allow anyone to call me that.
Not anymore.

“Right, sorry, Ms. Pendleton. I was told you
were married.”

“Not a problem. Thank you for coming here to
see me.” I didn’t know what else to say. I shook his hand and
watched as he turned on his heel, then hurried out the door. Mr.
Whiteman eased down the broken concrete this time and out of view.
In the course of twenty minutes, he had changed my life.

“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it.
It’s like you won the lottery or something.” Claire Ann threw her
hands up and began pacing in front of the counter.

“Well, considering the woman died, I don’t
really want to think of it as the lottery.” I tapped my fingers
against the counter.

“She was old, it was her time.” Claire Ann
waved her bright pink tipped finger in front of my face. “She lived
a happy life.”

I shrugged. “I guess, but how happy could she
have been? She was alone the last year of her life, no family, no
children.”

Would I turn out the same way? I’d be living
in the big old house for the rest of my life alone, too. No
children, no husband. I guessed I could get a cat. Or ten.

“You’re right, it is sad, but you have to
admit it is pretty exciting at the same time.”

A woman and her toddler approached the
counter and I rang up her items faster than I ever had. A matter
such as this I didn’t want to discuss in front of anyone. It would
be all over town fast enough, no sense in rushing it. After handing
over the change, I gave the woman her bag, smiled, and waited until
she was out the door before turning to Claire Ann.

“How can I afford the house? The electric
alone must cost a fortune.” I wiped my forehead with the back of my
hand. The heat must have been getting the better of me.

“Didn’t she leave you any cash?” Claire Ann
asked as she picked the letter from my back pocket.

I frowned. “No, I don’t think so. Isn’t a
house and its contents enough? She probably spent her last penny on
utilities.” I shook my head. “What about mowing the lawn? I don’t
have a mower, nor can I afford to buy one. And what about if
something breaks? How would I fix it?” I shook my head. “No, I’ll
just have to sell the house.” I plopped down on the stool
again.

“Sell the house? Sell the house?” Claire Ann
placed her hands on her hips.

“Yes. That’s what I said, sell the house.” I
nodded.

“Who’s going to buy it? Have you seen a house
sell around here lately?” She paced in front of the counter.

I stared at her, then stood and began my own
pacing. “You’ve got a point.” I tapped my index finger against my
chin. “What to do, what to do?”

This could add a whole new level of problems
to my life that I’d never anticipated. And I thought things
couldn’t get worse. The door on the front jangled and we both spun
around to see who had entered.

“Howdy, ladies.” Mitchell tipped his hat and
made a bowing gesture, waving his right hand in front of his
stomach. He wobbled a little trying to right himself.

I raised an eyebrow. “He must have found his
money,” I whispered to Claire Ann.

“Raelynn, seems like you’ve got yourself a
house.” He appeared to be more sober than before. Maybe the whiskey
was fading.

I liked Mitchell when he was sober. He made
sense, and was, at times, even funny. To be honest, I hadn’t known
he drank so much until Claire Ann mentioned it.

I let out a sigh and sat on the stool again.
“You mean to tell me it’s already circulating around town? How?
It’s only been a few minutes.”

“While I was sittin’ next to the building I
saw Martha Murdoch stop that lawyer.” He gestured with a tilt of
his head. “Next thing the poor sap knew, he was telling her all
about it. Was it supposed to be a secret?”

I looked at Claire Ann. She shrugged her
shoulders. “You’re going to write about this in the newspaper,
aren’t you?” Claire Ann worked part-time at the store and was the
editor of the local paper.

Apparently, her pink sandals became very
interesting. She stared at her shoes, not glancing up. “Well, it is
news… and there’s not a lot going on in Honeysuckle right now. Not
until tomorrow when the county fair starts.”

“Yeah, yeah, not a lot of news to go into a
small-town paper, I know. I guess people would know anyway when
they saw me messing around at the old house.” My shoulders slumped
a little further and I let out a sigh.

Mitchell ambled to the back of the store and
pulled out a case of beer. I gave Claire Ann the look. “Don’t you
think it’s too early to drink beer, Mitchell?” I asked.

“I didn’t know that my business was up for
discussion,” he said.

“If mine is, then yours certainly is.” I
flashed a wide grin.

He placed the beer on the counter and eyed
me. Well… one-eyed me. “Where’d ya get that pretty blonde hair,
darlin’? From your mama or pappy?”

I shrugged. “Hmm. Well, neither, I guess. My
grandmother had blonde hair. I guess I got the blue eyes from my
daddy.”

Claire Ann snickered. “Mitchell’s flirting
with you,” she whispered.

I didn’t need her to tell me what he was up
to. He was half-drunk; he probably flirted with the fire hydrant,
too. Heck, he was so drunk he couldn’t hit the ground with his
hat.

“What are ya gonna do with that big ol’
house, anyway? Maybe you need to fill it with a bunch of kids.”
Mitchell wiggled his eyebrows.

Was he volunteering for the job? “Well, kids
have gotta eat, you know? So I don’t think that would be such a
good idea.” I forced a grin and placed the beer in a bag for him.
“I can barely feed myself, much less children.”

“You need a husband,” he said as he ambled
out the door.

I used to have a husband. I watched him
shuffle past the window. “Thank goodness he didn’t propose.”

Chapter Three

A few more customers later and it was six
p.m. Time for Becky. She couldn’t get here fast enough. I’d watched
the hands on the old Coca-Cola clock and tapped my fingers on the
counter for the past half hour. I had thought Claire Ann was going
to go nuts from the rat-tat-tat. When the clock hit twelve, I
grabbed my purse from under the counter and hurried to the
door.

“Time to go,” I said as I waltzed past.

“Whoa. You’re not going without me. Besides,
Becky isn’t here yet.” Claire Ann rushed from around the
counter.

“What? You’re closing tonight, remember? And
you can handle things until she gets here.” I patted her hand.

“C’mon, Becky will be here any second, you
can wait for me. She can watch the place while I walk over there
with you. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.”

“Well, I should hope so. She’s a teenager and
she’s only worked here for two weeks.” I leaned my hip against the
counter.

“She’ll be fine.” Claire Ann gave a wide
smile.

“She’s smart, but I don’t think she’s ready
to close on her own just yet.”

“Don’t get all wacky, I promise I won’t stay
long. I’ve never been in the house, I just want to see the
inside.”

“Why don’t you bring your camera along and
you can take pictures to go along with the article in the paper?” I
asked.

She perked up. “Really? That would be
great.”

I rolled my eyes. “No. Not really. I’m being
sarcastic. You should be used to my witty sarcasm by now.”

She frowned. “You’re right, I should.”

Becky bounced through the door. “You would
not believe the bargains I found at the mall.” She popped her
chewing gum. Her blonde ponytail swayed as she sashayed past in her
hip-hugging jeans and cropped white T-shirt.

“Bye-bye, y’all.” I waved as I walked toward
the door.

“Becky, I’ll be back in just a few. Hold down
the fort.” Claire Ann’s hurried steps rushed up behind me.

As I stepped onto the sidewalk, she fell in
step beside me. “This is exciting.” She had a huge grin spread
across her face.

I couldn’t help a smile, too. “It is a little
exciting.”

“A little?” she screeched.

“Like I said, I shouldn’t be excited over
someone’s death,” I whispered.

“You’re not excited over her death. It’s the
house that has your insides dancing.”

I held my index finger up to my mouth.
“Shush.” I glanced behind us.

She lowered her voice. “Besides, I’m pretty
sure she didn’t leave it to you for you to feel guilty. She wanted
you to enjoy it. That’s generally why people leave things to people
when they die.”

“No, they leave things to people because they
can’t use them anymore.”

She scrunched an eyebrow.

“You’re right. You’re right.” I let out a
deep breath as we continued our walk. “I promise I’ll try to not
feel guilty.”