Mysteries of Holt House - A Mystery (9 page)

I smiled. Nice way to live.

“By the way,” she added, “I stopped at the
post office and picked up your mail like you asked me to, and while I was there
I got myself a post office box.” There was no mail delivery to Holt House
because it was so far out of town so I’d given Sharon my key, asking her to
pick up my mail.

“Why don’t you keep the key and you can
pick up my mail when you pick up your own.”

“Okay, that’s what I was going to do
anyway.”

While Sharon finished unpacking, she
filled me in on the latest news in town, and I told her about my new plans,
people I’d been dealing with, especially Mike, and we finally stopped talking
and started laughing.

“You’d think we hadn’t seen each other in
a year,” I said.

“I know. It feels that way. You’re the
closest thing I’ve got to a sister. It’s hard to spend too much time apart.”

“You’ve got competition. Lucy wants to be
my big sister,” I said.

She looked at me questioningly, so I
explained about Lucy’s comment and told her I thought Lucy was probably lonely.

“You may be right, but the sister thing is
sort of cute. I think I’m going to like her.”

“You will. She’s so down to earth. She’s a
little bossy, but she really seems to care about people. She fancies herself a
matchmaker, too.”

Sharon finished putting her things away
and we strolled to the kitchen where we found Lucy and David already having
coffee.

“Took you two long enough,” Lucy said.
“Come and sit down.”

“We had a little catching up to do,” I
said. I was watching David out of the corner of my eye, and had to suppress a
chuckle. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Sharon, although I could see he was
trying to be nonchalant.

We women were carrying the conversation
when David stood up and said, “I’m going to go look around the place and see
what needs to be done first. Be back later.”

“Come in around noon for lunch,” Lucy
said.

“I will.”

We looked at each other after he left and
started laughing.

“Sharon, I think you have an admirer,”
Lucy said.

“
I
think he got tired of listening
to us ladies run on about everything,” Sharon replied. “We do get carried away
sometimes. And, Kelly, you were right. He’s about as hot as they come.”

“You were right about something else,
Kelly,” Lucy said. “He’s a nice guy. I don’t know why I made up my mind about
him without even meeting him. I’m not normally that quick to judge people.”

Lucy seemed to study Sharon for a moment.

“You know, while the two of you were in
Sharon’s room we talked about a lot of different things, and he’s a very intelligent
man.”

“He’s got a college background, but says
he prefers the outdoor life,” I said.

Bing! Bong!
That wild doorbell was calling my name.

Lucy stood up.

“I’ll go,” I said. “It’s probably Mr.
Forbes. I mean Josh. He said to call him Josh.” I left the kitchen and answered
the door.

Josh stood on the porch.

“Hi,” I said. “Come on in, and welcome to
your new home. Can I help you with your bags?”

“No, I can take care of them. It’s good to
see you again. I thought about you and Lucy last night, and I think I’m going
to like it here.”

“I certainly hope so. We have another
boarder I’m sure you’ll like, too. Her name is Sharon, and you’ll meet her at
lunch. Which reminds me, lunch will be served at noon.”

“Fine. I’ll put my belongings away, and if
you don’t mind I’ll roam around and familiarize myself with the layout of the
house.”

“Make yourself at home. After all, this is
home now. I’ll have a key to the front door ready for you at lunch time.”

He smiled and headed upstairs.

Returning to the kitchen, I was just
sitting down when the telephone rang. My ad had started running in the paper,
so I hoped this was a potential boarder.

“Hello, Holt House. May I help you?”

Sharon snickered and I gave her a dirty
look.

A man’s voice said, “Yes, I’m calling
about your ad in the paper. I’d like to make an appointment to come out and
take a look at the place.” The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t
quite place it.

“Would one o’clock be convenient?” I
asked.

“That’s perfect. I’ll see you then.” He
hung up before I could get his name.

I tapped my appointment book with my
fingertip and glanced at Sharon. “This guy’s voice sounded familiar, but I
don’t know who it could have been.”

Chapter
Eleven

It was about half an hour before the
telephone rang again. I picked up the receiver and heard a woman’s voice. Her
name was Ruth Bell, and she’d be out at one-thirty to see the rooms. She
sounded quite timid or shy over the phone.

I was happy that I’d received two calls so
early. It made me feel that people were interested in the ad. Maybe I should
have taken up writing for a living.

“Lucy, how would you like to officially
begin work today?” I asked. “I figured it would be a couple of weeks before
everyone started moving in, but I guess I was wrong.”

“I’ve been wondering when you’d ask. I
started this morning. You just didn’t know it.”

“Okay, you’re on salary. And thanks!”

The telephone rang again.

“I don’t believe this.” I was having fun
and smiling from ear to ear.

By the time I hung up I had James Thomas
coming out at two o’clock. He sounded very cheerful. Funny how you develop
opinions about people just from hearing their voices. I had a feeling I’d like
this guy. I was doing exactly what I’d chastised Lucy about; making snap
judgments.

I received two more calls that morning.
Marion Webster and Richard English would be over on Sunday to have a look
around. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

“Uh oh,” Lucy said, jumping up. “It’s
almost eleven-thirty. I’d better get lunch started.”

“Need any help?” I asked.

“No, I can handle it. We’ll do soup and
sandwiches today.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll get out of your hair.
Come on Sharon. I’ll fill you in on a couple of my latest ideas.”

We left the kitchen, heading out toward
the garden.

“I’m going to have a gazebo built in the
center of the garden.” I pointed at the bare spot.

“That’s great idea. I’d almost be willing
to bet that’s what was planned for the space anyway. It would be perfect with
the garden surrounding it. In fact, why don’t you see if you can have music
piped in? That would really make it pleasant.” She was getting into the spirit
of the project.

“What would I do without you? That’s a
terrific idea. I’ll talk to Mike and see if he can do the music, too. What the
heck, if I’m going to do this, I might as well do it right.”

We headed for the house, ran into Josh
sitting at the patio table, and after the introductions we decided to wander
around the property some more. I wasn’t sure if it was mere chance or not, but before
I knew it we had wandered right into David.

“I’ll pick up the lumber on Monday and get
started on that fence,” he said, looking at Sharon instead of me. “It’ll be a
simple job.”

“Good. If you have any other suggestions,
let me know and I’ll see what we can do,” I said, trying to get his attention.

I prayed I’d fill the house with people
fast, at least before I ran out of money. I was spending like a drunken sailor.

Sharon glanced at her watch. “It’s time
for lunch.”

“I guess we’d better go eat,” I said.

The three of us walked companionably back
to the house where we found Lucy putting the food out for us.

Lucy and David ate in the kitchen, while
the rest of us ate in the dining room. Lunch was what I would call polite. We
didn’t know Josh, and the three of us were a little subdued at first. He was
congenial though, so it wasn’t uncomfortable, just polite. We finished eating
and Josh retired back to the patio with a book, while Sharon said she wanted to
write a letter to her parents, who’d moved back to Texas around the time my
parents moved to Florida.

It was almost one o’clock. I sat down to
wait the for the mystery man who’d failed to give me his name. At five minutes
after one, the doorbell
bonged
.

I opened the door and was surprised to
find Mike standing there. It suddenly dawned on me why the voice on the phone
sounded familiar.

“Is this a joke?” I asked, smiling. “That
is, you are here about the room, aren’t you?” I hoped I hadn’t jumped to the
wrong conclusion.

“No, it’s no joke. I told you I knew a guy
who wanted to move out of town. I just didn’t mention it was me.”

“You can have any room you want. At least
that way I’ll know you’re going to be here for work every day. Which room do
you want?”

He smiled at my little joke. “Second
floor, front. I start work early, so I won’t bother the other boarders too much
if I’m right by the stairs.” He’d taken the room next to Josh.

“Good thinking. When do you want to move
in?”

Mike looked down his nose at me. “Would
you mind inviting me inside?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, embarrassed that I’d
left him standing on the porch while we talked. “Come on in.”

“I thought I’d bring my things with me on
Monday morning before we start work,” he said, answering my question.

“You’ll love living here,” I said. “All
you’ll have to do is walk out the door and you’ll be at work.”

“Which is exactly why I want the room.”

“Oh. You only want it until you’re done
with this job?”

“No, I’ll still be here when the work is
done. This place is centrally located for me. I can get to all of the
surrounding towns with less traveling.”

“By the way, Mike, I’ll need to have the
handyman check your door. I keep closing it and when I go back, it’s standing
open again. The latch must not be catching or something. Anyway, I’ll have him
take care of it.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll check it
myself.”

“Okay.” I decided not to argue the point,
hoping he was going to be this agreeable about everything.

“Where’s Lucy?” he asked. “I’d like to
talk to her while I’m here.”

“She’s in the kitchen.”

He left my side and headed for the kitchen
while I climbed the stairs to check his room to see what it might need. By the
time I finished, Mike was gone.

Ruth Bell showed up right on time. When I answered
the door I realized immediately that my assumptions about her had been right.
She was a timid little woman. She was small and thin, with mousy brown hair,
huge brown eyes, and she looked at the floor a lot. With those big eyes, she
looked fearful. Maybe she really was frightened. It did seem difficult for her
to talk to me. I had to practically lead her by the hand during our
conversation.

“You must be Miss Bell,” I said,
encouragingly.

“Yes,” she answered quietly, looking
everywhere except at me. She simply would not make eye contact.

“Please come in. I’m Kelly Sanders.”

She even walked timidly – slowly and like
she was walking on eggs. I didn’t know her and yet her attitude and shyness
tugged at my heart. I felt like I wanted to hold her hand and tell her she’d be
okay, which was ridiculous. She was only a potential boarder and she was an
adult who could handle things any way she liked.

I pointed at a chair. “Have a seat and
I’ll tell you about what Holt House has to offer.”

She sat down with her hands in her lap,
her knees held close together, and she stayed on the edge of the seat with her
back hunched. I thought if she practiced good posture and did something with
her hair, she might not be half bad. Well, a little make-up wouldn’t hurt
either, but it really wasn’t any of my business.

I told her about Holt House – she flinched
when I mentioned the community bathrooms – and then told her of the additions I
was planning. She nodded her head, but never said a word.

“Would you like to see what the rooms look
like?” I finished my sales pitch and stood.

She mumbled something so softly that I had
to ask her to repeat herself. “Pardon me?”

“Yes, please,” she said, ever so quietly.

We climbed the stairs slowly and I showed
her Mike’s room.

“They all look pretty much like this one,”
I explained. “Do you think you might be interested in living here?”

“Yes, ma’am, I am. Could we please talk
about the cost?” She sounded almost apologetic for asking.

“Certainly.”

After a one-sided discussion she said
she’d like to take a room, and when I asked her which room she’d like, I had to
tough it out while she made up her mind. She studied each closed door, then
methodically opened each one and peeked inside. Then she studied the closed
doors a second time. I just couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She ended up
deciding on the room across from Josh.