The Locked Room

by Marti Talbott

  “Welcome to Phillips, Phillips, and Phillips. I’m Sharon, how may I help you?”

  “I know who you are, Sharon.”

  “I know,” she whispered, “but Mr. Phillips likes me to sound professional. How may I help you?”

  “Check your book. I think you’ll find my name in it somewhere.”

  Sharon didn’t bother to look at the scantily filled in appointment book. “Oh yes, I see it now. If you’ll take a seat, I’ll tell him you’re here.” She picked up her phone, punched a button and then whispered, “Miss Bouchard is here.

  Colette did as she was told and looked around. The large painting on the law office wall was of Mt. Lankton in Winter instead of the spring setting in the one her father had. She guessed the one at home was her picture now and that was one of the first things she intended to throw away. Mr. Phillips’ inner office door had a milky glass one was not supposed to be able to see through, but could. she watched as he opened some sort of cupboard door, and appeared to be looking in a mirror. He smoothed his hair, looked at one side of his face, at the other side, and then straightened his tie. Finished, he went back and sat down.

  When the buzzer rang on her desk phone, Sharon smiled. “He will see you now.”

  “See me do what?” Colette muttered. She didn’t wait for an answer as she got up, walked into his office and left the door open behind her.

  Phillips instantly stood up and started around his desk. “You poor dear, how are you?”

  “Poor,” she admitted. “I have a lot to do, so if you could...” He started to close the door. “Please leave it open.”

  He looked a little perturbed, but did as she requested. He motioned for her to sit and then went back around his desk and sat in his plush swivel chair. “First, allow me to offer my condolences.”

  “For what exactly?”

  He frowned. “You are not going to make this easy for me, are you.”

  “Make what easy? Can you not just get to the point?”

  Phillips looked her straight in the eye. “I am afraid your father left no will.”

  “Which means exactly?”

  “It means there is no will to probate, so you need a lawyer who can transfer everything into your name, thereby enabling you to sell it.”

  “And you just happen to be that lawyer.”

  “Your choices are rather limited. Of course you could go to any one of the other towns nearby. Glenwood Springs has...Miss Bouchard, what I mean is, I can eliminate most of your problems if you will just agree to sell the house and the business to me.”

  Colette was speechless. “You want it all?”

  “Well, you need the truck. I checked and it is still in your father’s name, but I can get that changed.”

  Something just didn’t seem right. Why was Phillips in such a hurry to own everything her father...she had? At length, she asked, “How much?”

  “I think a hundred grand is a fair price?”

  “I bet you do. Dad said the house next door sold for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars last year, and that was just a house.”

  “Come now, you don’t expect to get rich. Besides, you don’t have a lot of choices. I’m sure you want to clear things up quickly and leave town.”

  “Where did you hear that?”

  “I didn’t exactly hear it, I assumed you would want to. You were in quite a rush to leave town before and I can’t think why you would want to stay now that your father is gone.”

  Colette took a moment to consider his offer.

  Before she had a chance to say anything, he continued, “Like I said, I can take care of everything for you. Tell you what, I’ll up the price to one hundred fifty thousand. What do you say?”

  Colette stood up. “I say I need time to think about it.”

  Phillips clearly looked disappointed. “Well, don’t take too long. I won’t be keeping the offer open forever. You just never know when someone else will tempt me to buy their property.”

  She marched into the outer office, gave the receptionist a quick glance and said, “Goodbye, Sharon how may I help you.” Colette was out the door before she could see the smile on Sharon’s face.

  “Great,” Colette muttered as she went back to her truck. “No will, no money, no keys to the file cabinet or the locked bedroom, and Phillips wants to flat out cheat me.”

  There was one more place to look for money and keys. She was downtown anyway, so she left the truck parked where it was and walked to Dave’s Restaurant. She had a key to the restaurant and even knew the combination to the old, totally out of date safe, although he didn’t give the combination to her. She watched him turn the dial one time and memorized the numbers. With any luck at all...but then, why would he leave money in the safe?

  On her way there, several people stopped to say how sorry they were and others just looked sad when they saw her. Attention was something Colette never desired, and this kind of attention seemed hollow and merciless. As always, she tried to think of other things. Finally, she approached Dave’s Restaurant with its large windows and a sign hanging inside the door that said, “CLOSED.”

  “A Frenchman who sold hotdogs and hamburgers,” she whispered as she stuck the key in the door. “No one could ever figure that one out.”

  She opened the door and just as it always did, the place smelled of barbeque sauce. Another thing her father always said – if you can’t smell anything cooking, don’t eat at that restaurant. Smell or no smell, there was certainly nothing cooking now. She flipped on the light and was relieved that the power had not been turned off. Colette set her purse on a table, went to the cash register on the counter, turned it on and pushed the button. Inside the drawer were four more one dollar bills.

  She scooped the bills out, laid them on the counter and then sunk to her knees so she could open the small safe underneath. She turned the combination lock right, left, and then right again until it clicked and the door opened. Inside lay another four one dollar bills. “What?” she murmured.

  “He liked doing that,” a voice behind her said.

  Colette nearly hit her head on the counter getting up. “Emma Rose, I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I go to your house and you’re gone, I come here and...well, now I have found you.”

  Colette always hated how pretty Emma Rose was, with her perfect figure, dark hair, and green eyes that always made her feel Emma Rose knew something she didn’t. “What did Dad like doing?”

  “Leaving just four dollars. He liked to say no thief was worth five bucks, but if he made it into the safe, the thief would think that’s all there was.”

  “As far as I can tell, that’s all there is too.” Colette took a deep breath and started into the kitchen. She doubted it, but maybe there was some food in the freezer. “Why are you trying to find me?” she asked when Emma Rose followed her.

  “I need my job back?”

  “You want to work for me? You hate me.”

  “Oh, I still hate you, but I need a job and you’ve got the only one in town.”

  Colette couldn’t help but smile. If there was anything she knew for sure about Emma Rose, it was that she was bluntly honest. “Can you make anything other than hotdogs, hamburgers and barbeque sauce?” She yanked open the freezer door and then quickly closed it. It smelled awful, just the way turned off freezers always smelled. Besides, it was completely empty. The kitchen was, however, spotless except for a small amount of dust on the aluminum fixtures.

  “Why did he close it?” Colette asked as she led the way back to the table where she left her purse. She was now rich. She had all of eight dollars.

  “He just came in one day, paid us two week’s severance and said he was getting too old to run it. We tried to talk him out of it and even offered to do everything for him, but he said no. Colette, I swear he was about to cry when he sent us away. I’d never seen him like that before.”

  “I’ve never seen him like that ever.”
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  When Colette pulled a chair out and sat down, so did Emma Rose before she said, “As soon as he closed the place, he went on another of his mysterious trips and didn’t come back for a week. Did he go to see you?”

  “No, but I’m not surprised. His little trips were another thing he never explained, but he always brought gifts back for me.”

  “Like that lava lamp?”

  Colette smiled. “I loved that thing...still do.”

  “Me too. How about a bakery? My family says I’m the best baker in town.”

  “All thirty of them?”

  “Thirty-one, now. Marcel’s wife had a baby boy last week.”

  “Well, that’s the best endorsement I’ve ever heard. “Thing is, I’m flat broke. If I wanted to stay, which I don’t, I can’t even buy five pounds of sugar to get you started.”

  Emma Rose folded her arms and leaned back “I already make scones for the lodge and a bed and breakfast, but that doesn’t pay enough to keep me in free movies. Suppose I work for a percent of the profits?”

  Colette considered that. “How big a percent?”

  “Fifty.”

  “Sounds okay to me.”

  “Well, fifty percent of nothing is still nothing if people won’t come here to buy what I bake.”

  Colette was hesitant. “I like your idea, but...”

  “Look, this place is on the way to everywhere, the lodge, hiking, horseback riding, and the waterfall at Mt. Lankton. Anybody who comes to Lost Bell has to pass through town. The trick is to make sure people can smell cinnamon rolls outside.”

  Colette giggled. “How do you propose we get rid of the barbeque smell?”

  “Yeah, that might be a problem. A new coat of paint, maybe?”

  Colette moaned, “Paint.” She folded her arms on the table and laid her head on them.

  “Guess I asked too soon. I haven’t even given you time to take it all in.” Emma Rose waited for a minute before she added, “There was a witness.”

  Colette lifted her head. “To the accident?”

  “Yeah, some guy that spent the weekend at the lodge was on his way up the mountain too. I don’t know his name but I could get it for you.”

  “It doesn’t matter. What did he see?”

  “Your father was going up, two kids in a Mercedes came flying down, broadsided him and pushed him over the cliff. They managed to keep themselves from going over with him, and didn’t even stop.”

  Colette dreaded the thought, but it was a relief to know for sure he didn’t commit suicide. “Thank you. The sheriff didn’t mention that part.”

  “If I could, I’d buy the place from you outright.”

  “Maybe your family might chip in. I hear it’s going cheap.”

  “My family?” Emma Rose asked. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s not to borrow money from my family. They like to camp out on your doorstep until you pay it back.”

  “How’s your credit at the bank?”

  Emma Rose rolled her eyes. “The only thing Ronnie left me is bad credit.”

  “You’re not still married?”

  “Legally I am, but I won’t be as soon as I can afford to file the papers.”

  Colette lifted her long hair off her neck. It was going to be a warm day, and she couldn’t wait to go home and pin it up. “About an hour ago, Mr. Phillips offered to buy both the house and the restaurant.”

  “That weasel? You didn’t take him up on it, did you?”

  “Not yet, but I am tempted.”

  “It’s none of my business, but how much did he offer you?”

  “A hundred thousand at first and then he upped it to a hundred fifty thousand. He said Dad didn’t leave a will, and there are lots of legal things to take care of, which he is willing to do for me.”

  “I’ll bet he is. Are you sure Dave didn’t leave a will?”

  “I haven’t found one and Mr. Phillips said he was certain Dad didn’t.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Dave. He was so meticulous about everything...”

  “I know – I can’t figure it out either. Of course, Dad wasn’t planning to die just now. Maybe he never got around to it. Does the whole town know he had cancer?”

  “Cancer?” a shocked Emma Rose asked. “I’ve never heard a word about that and you know if he had it, we would all know.”

  “Walt said Dad paid for his funeral in advance after he found out he had cancer, but that was like years ago. I was little at the time.”

  Emma Rose said, “I’ll ask around if you want me to.”

  “Don’t bother, it doesn’t matter now anyway. It’s just one more thing he didn’t tell me. Maybe it was in remission and he didn’t think I needed to worry.”

  “Probably. I’ve never known him to be sick a day and I worked for him for two years.” Emma Rose was again quiet for a time. “Well, if I don’t have any credit, and you don’t have any money, that puts us both in a bind. Just don’t sell the restaurant to Phillips until I find out what he’s up to.”

  “Emma Rose, I meant what I said. I’m flat broke. I’ll be lucky to eat while you find out.”

  “Well, that’s easy. Have a yard sale. I’ll even help. There must be some things you’d like to sell. Come to think of it, so do I. We could do one together.” Emma Rose stood up and walked to the door. First, the funeral and then the yard sale.”

  “The funeral is tomorrow at....”

  “Oh, I already know.”

  “Of course you do,” Colette whispered as she watched the door swing closed. Suddenly, she had a friend and the most unlikely friend in the world. She had to admit she missed Emma Rose and still couldn’t imagine her married to Ronnie Hopper.

  As far as Colette was concerned, going to a school play with Ben was not the worst she could have done, but Emma Rose thought so. She apologized, at least Colette thought she did, and later tried to make up for it by campaigning for Emma Rose for homecoming queen. She got the 'queenship’, and with her looks, Emma Rose deserved it, but that didn’t get Colette back in her good graces.

  Now, Emma Rose wanted to work with and even for her? Talk about irony. Colette glanced around, decided there was nothing left to see in the restaurant, and locked the door behind her.

  BACK HOME AT LAST, Colette was impressed with the work the painters had already accomplished. The light fixture, door trim and the windows were masked off, and they were beginning to use rollers and brushes to paint the slatted siding. She was very pleased indeed and gave them both a thumbs up.

  She went inside, made a noodle lunch, grabbed a fork and carried the bowl to the dining room table. Already she was overwhelmed and she hadn’t even been home for twenty-four hours. She needed to get into her father’s computer. If he did indeed make out a will, that might be where it was.

  The closed off front windows made the house decidedly hotter, which made her wish there were ten painters instead of just two. “Why, oh why, did you paint the house red?” she moaned.

  She finished her noodles, set her dish in the sink and then went to see if she had anything to wear to the funeral. She settled on a black dress she hadn’t worn in ages and decided she should wash it. She gathered up a few more things and took them to the laundry room.

  It was in that room she discovered something even more shocking. Her father’s suitcases sat on the side by side washer and dryer. Both were open and both contained his neatly packed clothes.

  “A trip,” she wondered aloud, “to where...and without clothes?”

  Colette was about to shut them when she realized he might have meant to take the key to the locked room with him, so she started to search. She moved his clothes this way and that, felt for wads of cash, checkbooks, and even his credit card. Nothing. She was not surprised, closed the suitcases and moved them out of the way. Next, she started the washer, added soap and then dumped the clothes from her laundry basket in. That done, she set the buzzer to tell her when the rinse cycle started and closed the lid.

  “He never misse
d the news.” She muttered. Colette had an idea and headed back to his computer. She entered the name of his favorite newscaster and slumped when that didn’t work either. “Stupid computer.” The hundred and fifty thousand Phillips offered her was sounding better and better even if he was trying to cheat her – which of course he was. Her phone rang again and this time she recognized the number. “Hello Sherriff.”

  “We found the car that ran your Dad off the road. The boys abandoned it in the middle of Simonson’s vineyard. He’s plenty mad about it too. The boys were gone and it looks like they wiped the Mercedes clean before they left. I ran the plates and it was stolen from a car lot in Idaho.” He paused for a moment. “You still there?”

  “Yes. Thanks for letting me know.”

  “Colette, you shouldn’t be alone at a time like this.”

  “I’m fine, really I am. Sheriff, do you know why Mr. Phillips wants to buy the house and the restaurant?”

  “That’s the first I’ve heard of it.” He paused again as though he was trying to think. “No sir, I don’t know why he would want it unless he wants to build something downtown. Buying the house too doesn’t make much sense, but he loves a good profit. We’re a growing little community these days. In fact, we had a developer in here the other day wanting to build a shopping center.”

  “That’s exciting.”

  “Yes, it is. Well, I’ll let you know if I find the boys, although I suspect they are long gone by now.”

  “By the way, did you hire a couple of guys to paint the house?”

  The sheriff answered, “I hope you don’t mind, but...red? I don’t know what your father was thinking.”

  “Neither do I. Thank you, Sheriff.” She hung up just in time to hear the knock on the door and then the washer buzzer. Through the screen, she could see Ben, motioned him in and then hurried to the laundry room. She added softener to the rinse cycle and then went back to the living room to see what Ben wanted. By then, he was sprawled out on the sofa.