Invitation to Murder (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (29 page)

She explained, “Whispering Oak is a fine old
house on the outskirts of town. There’s even a path from your
doorstep to the lake. It’s wonderful.”

“
If it’s so wonderful, why
is it vacant?” Lillian took a curve sharp enough to fling the paint
off her car, and by the time I caught my breath she had shot down a
side road at the edge of town that I’d never noticed before. I’ve
lived in Rebel Forge nearly all my life, and I’d always assumed the
graveled path was a driveway to the house facing the road. Instead
of taking us to the Jackson place, though, it led on through the
woods until we came to an ancient Victorian home, replete with
fancy shingle siding, gingerbread trim adorning the porch and a
pastel palette that belonged on a greeting card.

“
This place is for rent?”
I asked, knowing full well I couldn’t afford to live there on my
modest income. “Not the entire house, Jennifer,” she said.
“However, there is a free room upstairs that would be perfect for
you.”

“
If it’s free, then I
guess I’m willing to look at it,” I said. “That’s about all I can
afford.”

“
You know perfectly well I
meant it was available, not without cost.” She bit her lower lip,
then said, “It is reasonable, though—less than you’re paying now,
I’ll wager.”

“
I’ll take that bet,” I
said. One of the few advantages of my current apartment was that
the rent was within my means, though just barely.

Lillian parked; then I
followed her as she walked to the front door with a purposeful
stride. I was expecting her to knock, but she strolled right in
like she owned the papers to the place. There wasn’t much
for
me to do but follow. The foyer had
been divided into a vestibule with two doors that were obviously
later additions. “Which one are we going to look at?”

“
Neither one of these,”
Lillian said as she shook her head. Then she pointed to a narrow
staircase in back that I’d missed at first. “We’re going
up.”

I eyed the tight passage suspiciously. “I’m
not sure I’ll fit, let alone the cat carriers.”

“
Jennifer, can you really
choose to be that particular on your budget?”

“
Okay, fine, I’ll look at
it,” I said, doubtful it would suit even my meager
needs.

The stairs went on and on, but we finally
made it to the top. There was a narrow door there, perched on a
landing barely big enough for both of us to stand on at the same
time.

I was getting claustrophobic without even
going inside. “What is it, the attic?”

“
Certainly it was at one
time, but it’s a perfectly delightful space now.” Lillian reached
under the rug and pulled out a key.

As she slid it in the lock, I said, “I just
love these modern security features, don’t you?”

Lillian ignored my comment, unlocked the
door and flung it open. As she stepped inside, I moved past her,
finally having enough room to stand without her imprinting her
elbow into my side.

I thought I’d hate it. In fact, I was
already planning a few choice words that involved chasing wild
geese and hunting snipes.

Then I looked around. It was nothing short
of charming. While it had been an ordinary attic in another
incarnation, it was now the perfect studio apartment. The bead
board walls enchanted me, painted a pastel green that reminded me
of springtime. Light bounced around the room, filtering in from
large windows on either end while two dormers also served to
illuminate the place, making it bright and airy, nothing like what
I’d expected the second I’d realized it was a converted attic
space. It was fully furnished with antiques built in the Shaker
style, and while some folks found the clean design rather plain, I
adored it. A handcrafted quilt covered the queen-sized bed, and a
faded Oriental rug adorned much of the open floor, leaving just
enough of the honey-toned heartwood pine beneath it to make me want
to roll back the rug. “I don’t have to share a bathroom with anyone
else, do I?” I asked, searching for any flaw I could find in its
charm.

“
No, the north dormer has
been outfitted as one. It’s not all that large, but you live alone.
There should be plenty of room for you and your cats
here.”

I shrugged, not willing to commit to it yet.
“So what’s the catch?”

Instead of answering my question, Lillian
said, “Look out that window.”

I walked to the window she’d pointed to, and
looked out A small deck beckoned just outside the window, replete
with an iron chair and side table. For a finale, Lillian pointed
through the canopy of leaves beyond. “The lake is just a few steps
away. Autumn is nearly here, and you’ll soon have a glorious view,
isn’t it delightful?”

I thought it was, but I realized Lillian
must have misunderstood the price. “I can’t imagine how I can come
anywhere near to affording this place.”

When she told me the rent, I didn’t need to
know anything else. “Where do we go to sign the lease?

Lillian smiled in approval. “I took the
liberty of acquiring one from Hester Taylor.” Hester was one of
Lillian’s best friends, operating a combination cop store-apartment
rental agency-ice cream shop in town ever since her husband had
disappeared one day ten years ago. The rumor was that he’d taken
their cash their savings and their dog with him when he vanished.
Hester claimed besides the cash, the only thing she really missed
was the dog.

“
So where do I sign?” I
asked.

Lillian gestured to the places Hester had
marked then took the document from me. “Don’t worry about the
deposit or the first and last months’ rents. I’ve got those
covered.”

When I started to protest, Lillian said,
“Think of them as house warming gifts.”

“
I’d rather think of them
as paid by me,” I said. “I’m not letting you do this.”

“
It’s too late,” Lillian
said. “You already signed the lease.”

“
Then I’ll default,” I
said. “Or you will. I mean it.” I’d learned early on that if I
didn’t stand my ground with her, I’d be stampeded.

She huffed out, “Blast it all, child, do you
always have to get your way?”

“
Think of it as a
character defect I inherited from my favorite aunt,” I
said.

Lillian thought about it a few moments, then
said, “Let’s compromise. You can pay me back, but after your shop
makes a profit two months in a row.”

“
Are you sure you can wait
that long?”

She scolded, “Have faith in your store,
Jennifer, I do.”

I knew better than to push her any more than
I had. There was only one thing left I could do. “Okay, thanks, I
can live with that.”

“
You’re most welcome,” she
said as she hugged me.

We were downstairs, ready to go back to the
card shop, when one of the tenants on the main floor came out into
the foyer. “Who are you?” an elderly man with a black cane asked us
fiercely. “I just rented the apartment upstairs,” I said. “I’m
Jennifer Shane,” I added as I offered my hand. He refused it, then
took a step back from us. “You can’t be serious.”

“
Why? What’s wrong with
it?” I was beginning to think that there might be something I’d
failed to ask.

The man shook his head. “You really don’t
know?” He lifted his cane and shook it in Lillian’s direction, “You
should be ashamed of yourself, madam.” Lillian laughed. “I often
have reason to, but I rarely am. Now go away.”

With a grunt, the man retreated back into
his apartment, slamming the door in our faces.

“
Gee, thanks, Lillian,
it’s sweet of you to make such an effort to get me accepted by my
neighbors.”

“
Pooh, he’ll come around.
Give him time.”

An odd-looking tiny woman with blue hair and
a nose like an ice pick was standing outside when we walked onto
the porch.

Lillian said, “Hester, what are you doing
here? I told you I’d take care of this.”

The woman fluttered her fingers in the air
like a hummingbird’s wings. “I just thought ... I was nearby. . . .
Did she sign it?”

“
I’m standing right here.
Ask me yourself,” I said.

Hester continued to ignore me. “Do you have
the lease agreement?” she asked Lillian.

“
It’s right here, Hester.
Now calm down before you have a heart attack or, worse yet, give me
one.”

Hester grabbed the lease Lillian held out
and without another word she bolted for her parked car, a Cadillac
that was tinted the most unpleasant shade of green.

I turned to Lillian and asked, “What in the
world was that all about?”

“
Hester always was a tad
high-strung.”

I touched my aunt’s arm. “Lillian, stop
dodging. There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?

“
Jennifer, I knew if I
said anything, you’d miss out on a wonderful opportunity. It’s all
nonsense anyway.

“
I wish I’d had a choice,
but I’m already committed. So what is it you haven’t been telling
me?”

She frowned a moment, then admitted,
“There’s just one thing I neglected to mention. Honestly, it
shouldn’t matter one bit.”

“
Come on, Lillian, out
with it.”

My aunt scowled at the ground, then finally
said, “Very well, if you must know, some folks think the place is
haunted.”

“
What, the entire place?”
Great, that was just what I needed, moving into
Amityville.

Lillian shook her head. “No, the rest of the
house is fine. It’s just your apartment that’s said to house a
ghost.”

And that was the first time I’d ever heard
of Francis Coolridge’s demise.

“
So now I’m living in a
haunted house?” I tried to keep my voice from shrieking, but it was
tough to do.

“
It’s all nonsense,
Jennifer. Honestly, I expected you to be more levelheaded about the
whole thing.”

“
Well, I expected my aunt
to look after my best interests. The world’s just full of
disappointments today, isn’t it?”

Lillian took a deep breath. “Let’s discuss
this as we walk by the lake. The air has such a soothing quality to
it.”

I stood my ground. “I’m not taking another
step until you tell me what this is all about.”

Lillian frowned, then said, “I know you; you
won’t quit until I tell you, so you might as well hear it all at
once.”

I planned to stand right there until she
told me, but Lillian had other ideas. If I wanted to hear why my
new apartment was haunted, I was going to have to follow her as she
walked down the path toward the lake.

“
Jennifer, first of all,
you must know that I would never put you in harm’s way. Will you at
least give me that much credit?”

I wasn’t ready to give her anything, but I
knew until I threw her some kind of bone, I was going to be I doing
laps around the lake until my shoes wore out. “I realize you
wouldn’t do it knowingly,” I said grudgingly.

She paused, glanced at me for a second, then
nodded. “Fine.” Lillian’s step faltered a moment. Then she said,
“Francis Coolridge was a friend of mine in another lifetime.”

“
Oh, please don’t tell me
you’re going to say you shared a past life. Who were you,
Cleopatra?”

Some folks around town thought my aunt was
eccentric, but I’d always stood up for her. It was starting to look
like I’d been a tad hasty in my support.

“
Don’t be ridiculous,” she
said. “Do you want to hear this or not?”

I was beginning to wonder that myself. Maybe
I should trot over to the library and look it up on the microfilm.
Then again, the newspaper would report just the facts, and I knew I
could count on Lillian to apply the backstory, and that was often
more telling than what found its way into print. “Sorry, I’ll try
not to interrupt, but I’m not making any promises.”

“
As I was saying,” Lillian
continued, “Francis and I knew each other a lifetime ago. We were
lockermates in high school, and the very best of
friends.”

“
Then how come I never
heard of her until today?” I asked. “You’d think I would have, if
the two of you were so close.” Okay, I didn’t mean to interrupt,
but I couldn’t help myself.

“
We had a falling-out at
our graduation party. I should have apologized to her, but I kept
delaying it until the issue became bigger than it really was, all
the while a wall built with every minute our conflict
continued.”

This was getting good. “What did you do? It
must have been something huge.”

“
Jennifer, the details
aren’t important. All you need to know is that we became estranged
that night.”

“
Aunt Lillian, there’s not
a chance in the world I’m letting you off that easy. Tell me what
you did.”

She stopped and looked at me long and hard.
“I told you, it doesn’t matter.”

“
Then I don’t want to hear
the story,” I said as I turned around and started back to her car.
She was stubborn, but I’d gotten my mulish streak from her; so I
knew I could outlast her. Sometimes it was hare; to get Lillian to
talk about herself, but I knew once she got started, she’d have a
tough time stopping until she finished.

I was twenty steps back up
the path before she said, “I danced with her boyfriend that
night.”

“
When you say ‘dance,’
what exactly do you mean?”

“
Jennifer, don’t be
vulgar: It was one dance, no more and no less. Francis was in the
powder room and Herman asked me. I still don’t know why I said
yes.”