The Inn at Holiday Bay: Letters in the Library

by Kathi Daley

  “Sure, I remember Ursula,” Willa said after offering us seats at her kitchen table and pouring us each a cup of tea. “She stayed at the resort for an entire summer when I was eleven or twelve. She was a nice woman with sad eyes and what I imagine was a longing in her heart, who used to sit out by the pool late at night after everyone else had gone in for the evening.”

  “Is that how you met her?” Georgia asked. “Did you climb the fence and find her sitting there?”

  Willa nodded. “At first I was afraid she was going to rat me out, but she said she wouldn’t, and I really wanted a swim, so I stayed. We didn’t chat that first night, or any of the next few nights after that. I’d find her sitting by the pool when I climbed over, and she would be sitting there looking up at the stars. I’d wave and she’d wave back. I’d swim and then leave.”

  “But you eventually spoke to her,” I prodded.

  “After a few weeks of maintaining a relationship based on a wave and an occasional hello, I arrived for my nightly swim to find her crying. I almost ignored her altogether, but I guess I had a tender heart even back then, so I approached her and asked if there was anything I could do. She said that she had a problem she needed to work out but that there wasn’t anything I could do to help, so I went ahead and had my swim and left. After that evening, however, when I’d first arrive at the pool, I’d take a minute to sit with Ursula and ask her about her day. At some point, after we had been chatting for a few weeks, she told me that she had a secret that she hadn’t shared with anyone. I told her I was good at keeping secrets, and she told me that she was pregnant.”

  “The gift,” Georgia said.

  Willa raised a brow.

  “In the letters, Ursula talks about a gift that she had received from Victor. The letters are vague, and at first I thought the gift was something like a valuable piece of jewelry, but after a while I began to suspect that the gift was a baby.”

  “From what I knew, I would be willing to bet that you are right. I don’t know everything that happened. I was just a child. But Ursula told me that she was pregnant and very scared. I asked about the baby’s father, and she told me he was in the military and stationed overseas. I didn’t ask for details and she didn’t provide any. By the time I went back to school in September she was gone, and I didn’t see her again until the following summer.”

  “And the baby?” Georgia asked.

  “Ursula told me that the baby’s father was killed overseas, and she arranged for the baby to be raised by a family. I don’t know who she gave the baby to, but she said the family lived right here in Holiday Bay, the place, she confessed, that would forever hold her heart.”

  “That is so sad,” Georgia said.

  “Do you know the baby’s name or the name of the family who adopted the baby?” I asked.

  Willa shook her head. “Ursula never said. I was young and didn’t really wonder, so I never pushed for an answer. She did give me something during the last summer she stayed here that might provide a clue if you are really interested.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Hang on.” Willa got up and went down the hallway. When she returned, she showed us a photo of a child of about three or four standing in front of a white picket fence. She had brown curly hair, big brown eyes, and the biggest smile I had ever seen.

  “Is this Ursula’s daughter?”

  “It is. The last summer Ursula came to Holiday Bay was when I was fifteen. She was thin and pale and looked awful. I asked her about it and she told me she was sick. She said she probably shouldn’t have made the trip, but she had wanted to see her daughter one last time. She showed me the photo, and while she still didn’t tell me her name, she confirmed that the child was her daughter. After she left, Mrs. Jasper from the spa gave me an envelope and told me that one of her guests had left it for me. The photo was inside.”

  “And Ursula?” Georgia swiped at a tear at the corner of her eye.

  Willa shrugged. “I never saw her again. I guess she might have died. She must have been awful sick when she was here.”

  I took another look at the photo. “Do you know about how old the child in this photo is?”

  “I guess she must have been born in 1949, so I suppose that at the time the photo was taken she was three.”

  “Do you have any idea where this fence was located?” I asked.

  Willa shook her head. “It was just a fence.”

  “I wonder what happened to the baby,” Georgia mused.

  There didn’t seem to be a way to find out, but I wondered the same thing. Willa allowed us to make a copy of the photo, then we thanked her and left.

  “The little girl would be around seventy now,” Georgia said after we had returned to my car. “I wonder if she still lives in Holiday Bay.”

  “It would be unlikely but not impossible. I suppose we could poke around a bit. Try to figure out who in town who is currently seventyish and might have been adopted.”

  “It’s not a subject that will come up easily in general conversation.”

  “No,” I admitted, “but we can talk to people we know who are close to that age. Charlee and Velma are a bit younger but have been here for a long time. They might recognize either the child or the fence.”

  Georgia shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask. I am curious to see how this very sad story ended for the child.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I said. “It sounds like the story of Ursula and Victor was more of a tragedy than a love story.”

  “I wonder who Harriet was and why they didn’t want her to find out about the baby.”

  “We suspected that she was his wife, and even though he had gotten Ursula pregnant and was most likely overseas at the time the letters were written, Victor could still have been married to Harriet.”

  “I suppose.” Georgia turned slightly so she was facing me. “I’m hungry. Do you want to stop in to show the photo to Velma? We can grab some soup or a sandwich while we are there.”

  “I could eat.” I pulled the car over, executed a U-turn, and headed back toward town.

  ******

  By the time we arrived, the lunch crowd was beginning to clear out and Velma was at the counter with a line of people waiting to pay their bills. She waved at us to grab a seat wherever, so we chose a booth by the window. As long as we were having a sunny day, I intended to enjoy it. I knew after living in Maine for only a few months that sunshine in winter was something that should not be taken for granted.

  “Afternoon, girls. What can I get you?” Velma asked when she’d freed herself up.

  “What is your soup and sandwich special?” I asked.

  “Tomato soup and a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich.”

  “I’ll have that,” I said.

  “Ditto,” Georgia agreed.

  “Coffee?” Velma asked.

  We both replied that we would like coffee as well.

  Once Velma had left to pass our order on to her cook, I pulled out my phone to check for messages. I didn’t want to miss an update from Colt should he call or text with one. I was still interested in finding out whether Mark’s and Karen’s deaths were related, even if they had nothing to do with Ben’s, and how Ben’s trip to see Mark might be connected to them. I’d gone through Ben’s desk calendar and organizer in great detail the previous day but hadn’t found anything that shouted out that it was a clue.

  “Still nothing?” Georgia asked.

  “Not so far.”

  “I suppose these kinds of investigations take time. And Colt did have those burglaries to investigate as well.”

  I sighed. “Yeah. I know. I guess I just want to have everything wrapped up. The fact that Ben seemed to be involved has opened wounds that were finally beginning to heal.”

  Georgia put her hand over mine. “I get that. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, hasn’t it?”

  Velma set our food on the table, then pulled up a chair at the end of the booth. “So, what have the two of you been up to?�
��

  I wondered where to start but decided to go with the child in the photo. I pulled up the photo I had taken with my phone and passed it to Velma. “I don’t suppose you know who this child might be? The photo would have been taken in around 1952.”

  “That’s some time ago.” Velma frowned. “Where did you get this?”

  “From Willa Baker.”

  Velma looked up. “Perhaps you’d better back up a bit.”

  I turned the floor over to Georgia; this particular mystery felt more like hers than mine. She was more connected emotionally than I was, or at least she had been. Now that I knew that both the mother and the father of the child seemed to have died early deaths, I felt a tugging at my heartstrings as well. I listened as Georgia spun the tale that began with the discovery of the letters in the wall, segued into her reading them and the connection she felt with them, and ended with our conversation with Willa and the details of Ursula’s life that she’d shared.

  “That is some story.” Velma looked at the photo again. “I can’t say that I know who this child is, but I do recognize the white picket fence.”

  Georgia’s face brightened. “You do?”

  “You know that big house up on the bluff that belongs to the Hamilton family?”

  “Sure,” Georgia answered.

  “There is a fence with these little spade things on the top just like the ones in this photo around the rose garden in the back. I won’t go so far as to say that it is the only fence ever built with this particular design, but it is pretty unique.”

  It was a unique design, I realized. “Do you think that Ursula gave her baby to a Hamilton?”

  Velma paused to think about it. “The Hamilton house that stands now was built by Havilland Hamilton back in the 1930s. He raised his three sons in it, and it was eventually passed down to Jasper Hamilton, who recently left it to his son Wesley.”

  “I just occurred to me that Jasper Hamilton, the man who founded the local bank, had the same first name as the man who owned the house when it was a resort,” I said.

  “It was a fairly common name back then,” Velma informed us. “Anyway, I think that Jasper was around sixty when he passed, so if Ursula gave the baby to Havilland Hamilton, she would have been older than his oldest biological child.”

  “Do you remember there being an older child?” I asked.

  Velma shook her head. “No. And just because the photo was taken in front of the fence does not mean that she lived in the home. She could have been the child of one of the household workers, or even of a neighbor or friend.”

  “I know that Jasper Hamilton is dead, but his wife, Patrice, is still alive,” I said. “I wonder if she knows who the child is.”

  “I guess you could ask her. Wesley inherited both the bank and the house when his father passed, but Patrice still lives in the house. If you’d like, I can arrange for you to speak to her.”

  “Thanks, I’d appreciate that,” Georgia said.

  “Any news on Karen’s death?” Velma asked.

  I wasn’t sure how much to share, but I knew I could trust Velma, so I eventually started at the beginning and brought her up-to-date.

  “My, you have been busy,” she said. “I can’t believe you went all the way to San Francisco for just a few hours.”

  “It was a long day, but it worked out fine. I’m not sure anything we brought back will end up helping us solve this mystery, but we can hope.”

  Velma’s expression softened. “This must be hard on you, going through everything all over again.”

  I nodded. “It has been hard. But if it helps, it will be worth it. I know how much I want justice for Ben and Johnathan, and I’m sure there are people who want the same thing for Mark and Karen.”

  “I know I would like to see justice served,” Velma said, patting my hand. “If there is anything I can do to help out, you just let me know.”

  “I will.” I glanced at Georgia. “I depend on you both to keep me sane, so the chances are better than average that I will come calling for help at some point. I don’t know what I’d do without the family I have found here in Holiday Bay.”

  “We love you too, sweetie. Any more word from your sister?”

  “Not so far. It has been a while since I have sent her one of my chatty emails. Maybe I will write another one this evening. I know it is up to me to try to pry a door open for us to rebuild our relationship, which is only fair because our estrangement was mostly my fault to begin with.”

  I couldn’t help but notice the thoughtful expression that crossed Velma’s face. Maybe she would be willing to walk through the door to her own reconciliation with her sister if Georgia and I were successful in finding it for her.

  Chapter 14

  In the end, Georgia and I made a last-minute decision to attend the Valentine’s Ball as volunteers. I had a red dress that I had lugged all the way out from San Francisco but hadn’t worn since I’d been living in Holiday Bay, and Georgia had found a darling pink strapless at a secondhand store in an after Christmas sale and had purchased for just this occasion. Because neither of us had been able to guarantee our attendance much in advance, we’d ended up assigned to cleanup at the end of the event. In the meantime, we were free to dance and mingle.

  “Wow, the place is packed,” I said to Georgia after we checked our coats.

  “It does look like almost everyone in town has made it here. That is one of the things I love best about Holiday Bay: Everyone really commits.”

  Georgia had a point. Pretty much every resident I had met since moving here participated in the town-sponsored monthly events.

  I waved to Lonnie and Lacy as they waltzed past. They looked so happy and so very much in love. I couldn’t help getting choke up a bit when I noticed the look of complete contentment on Lonnie’s face as he stared into the eyes of his wife.

  “Champagne?” Tanner walked up with glasses for both Georgia and me.

  “Thank you, kind sir.” Georgia beamed.

  I accepted the glass of bubbly and took a sip. It was actually very good. I wasn’t expecting much, given that the champagne was included in the price of the ticket.

  “Are you here with anyone?” Georgia asked.

  “Nikki.” Tanner looked around the room. “Of course, she dumped me the minute we walked through the door, so I was happy to see the two of you standing over here. I don’t usually attend this dance, but Nikki badgered me into it.”

  “Well, I for one am glad she did.” Georgia tipped her glass toward his.

  Suddenly, I felt like a third wheel, so I made my excuses and hightailed it to a table where I saw Velma sitting with Charlee. I was happy to help out with the dance because it was an important fund-raiser for the town, but after everything that had gone on this past week, my nerves were much too raw for anything even remotely approaching romance.

  “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.” Velma pulled out a chair and indicated I should have a seat next to her.

  “I wasn’t sure either. In fact, Georgia and I didn’t decide to come until this morning. We both think it is important to be an involved part of the community, and volunteering at these sorts of events is part of being involved.”

  Velma nodded toward the dance floor, where Georgia and Tanner were dancing cheek to cheek. “It looks like your roommate is making the most of her volunteer duty.”

  I smiled. It was good to see her having fun. “We are on the cleanup committee, so our volunteer duty hasn’t even begun, but I agree that it is nice to see Georgia happy.” I glanced back toward Velma. “And where, might I ask, is your date?”

  “Right here.” Charlee chuckled as she raised her hand.

  I smiled in return. “I guess that works. I’m sure there are unattached men to dance with if you feel the urge.”

  “After being on my feet all day, sitting here chatting with Charlee is more my speed,” Velma assured me.

  “I think Colt plans to be here later if you feel the desire to take a twir
l,” Charlee offered.

  I held up my champagne glass. “Thanks, but I’m good. Although I do have a few things I need to discuss with him. Did he say when he’d be here?”

  “When I saw him earlier he said he needed to finish up his paperwork on the store burglaries and then he’d be by,” Velma informed me.

  “Did he catch whoever was doing it?” I asked.

  Velma nodded her head. “He did. Although I don’t think arresting the guy gave him the satisfaction that you’d think.”

  “And why is that?” I asked.

  “The thief turned out to be a man with three young children who rolled into town on fumes and needed money to buy gas and provide food and shelter for them. I’m not suggesting that it was okay for him to steal from folks, but I do feel for him. In fact, if he had explained his situation to me, I would have given him the four hundred dollars and change he stole from me, saving him the trouble of breaking in.”

  I frowned. “I thought the thief was a professional burglar.”

  “Oh, he was. It seems the guy used to break into safes as a regular means of making a living, but then he met the mother of his children and decided to go straight. He got a job and lived as an upstanding citizen for almost ten years; then his wife got sick and the medical bills started piling up. After his wife died, he packed up his kids and headed out in his van. I think he had plans to find a place to settle, but he ran out of money, so he ended up reverting to his old ways.”

  I put my hand on my heart. “And what is going to happen to the kids?”

  Velma shrugged. “Don’t know. Colt called social services, and they’re looking out for them while things get straightened out. I told Colt that knowing the man’s story, I was not inclined to press charges, but five businesses in all were hit and there is no guarantee that all the folks robbed will feel that way. Even if all the victims of the burglaries agree not to press charges, Colt seems to think the guy will do time.”