by Kathi Daley
Lacy laughed. “Welcome to autumn in Maine.”
I took in a deep breath of the sea air. “I love it here. The trees are breathtaking, and even with the crazy ups and downs, the weather somehow feels just right. I never celebrated Halloween when I lived in California. Not that the state as a whole doesn’t celebrate—my friends and neighbors certainly did—but I was always busy with other things and not really into it. This year, I’m into the whole package. The pumpkins, the scarecrows, the costumes, the candy, even the spooky movies. I’m even planning to attend the Halloween Ball in town.”
“You’ll enjoy it. Lonnie and I go every year. You’ll need a costume, though.”
“I’m sure I can come up with something. I thought I might purchase some extra tickets to have on hand in case some of our guests want to attend. I figure it will be the little touches like that that will stick in people’s minds and hopefully will convince the ones who stay with us to return year after year.”
“I’d return to this inn year after year,” Lacy said. “If I didn’t live here, and if I could afford to stay here.”
“You can stay here as my guests whenever I have an opening. Maybe you can get your parents to watch the kids for a couple of nights and have a romantic getaway.”
“I’d like that.”
“I know we are booked weekends in October, although we do have some weekday openings. Beyond that, you’ll need to check with Georgia. Really, any time you and Lonnie feel the need for a night or two away, if we have a room, it’s yours. I can never thank the two of you enough for doing everything you have to make this dream a reality.”
“It’s us who should be thanking you for keeping Lonnie employed all winter, but I’ll definitely take you up on the offer of a room. Maybe after the new year, when things settle down a bit.”
“Just let me know, and I’ll have Georgia book it. We’re mostly full on the weekends through December, but I have a feeling the winter months may be slow until we build a reputation.”
“The town as a whole tends to empty out in January. Maybe the winter months will be a good time to try some special events not associated with specific holidays.”
“At this point, I just want to get through December and then stop for a moment to take a breath and evaluate how our first holiday season went. When Georgia and I came up with the idea of offering all these theme weekends, I’m not sure we really understood how much extra work they would be.”
“It is a lot of work, but the weekends will help the inn stand out. People in town are already talking about the impact the inn will have on Holiday Bay as a whole. You’re doing a good thing. The secret will be to charge enough so you can hire the extra help you need; otherwise, you and Georgia will run yourselves ragged.” Lacy paused and looked around. “I noticed that your guests seem to feel right at home.”
“We have a wonderful group right now. Have you met them?”
“I met the woman and her daughter who are looking for long-lost family members. Her story is heartbreaking. I can’t imagine being in a situation where I was forced to give up my children.”
“It is a sad story.”
“And confusing too. I can’t help but wonder why she didn’t try to place them all together, although I suppose finding an adoptive home for four children aged four and under together would be difficult.” Lacy waved at her daughter, Mary, who was standing in the middle of the lawn holding a small pumpkin. “I should go corral my own clan. I’ll have the kids choose pumpkins and then ask Lonnie to put them in the car so we don’t forget them.”
After Lacy walked away, I headed to where Velma was chatting with Tanner. I’d been by the diner a few times in the past couple of weeks, but she’d been busy, so I hadn’t had the opportunity to talk with her. Velma was one of the first people I’d met after moving to Holiday Bay. She was the person responsible for getting Georgia and me together, and the one who probably had the most influence on my decision to make a place in my life for Rufus. I owed her a lot.
“I’m so glad you could make it.” I hugged the woman. “Both of you,” I added, including Tanner.
“Tanner here was just telling me about an encounter he had with Donny Sinclair’s unusual tenant.”
I glanced at Tanner. “I’m afraid I don’t know Donny Sinclair.”
“He’s an old sea captain who lost his boat in a poker game, so now he works down at the marina from April through October,” Tanner explained. “I guess he figured he’d need some income over the winter, so he rented out the extra bedrooms in his home. He knows two of the three men who rented rooms from him from his days on the water, but the third tenant is new to the area.”
“And he’s odd in some way?”
Tanner nodded. “I’m not one to judge, and I know that everyone has their own set of circumstances that contribute to their behavior. I don’t know the man, so I can’t speak to his personal history. What I can say is that he makes many of the people he encounters uncomfortable.
“Uncomfortable how?”
“For one thing, he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of personal space. I was at the hardware store earlier today, trying to decide which size nails I needed, and this guy walked up behind me and started running his hand through my hair. I was so startled, I jumped back and almost fall on my backside in the process. I whirled around and asked him what in the heck he was doing. He looked down at his hand. Pinched between his thumb and forefinger, he held a tiny shard of wood. He looked at it and then looked at me and made a comment about finding it in my hair. I explained that I’d been repairing dog kennels and hadn’t stopped to clean up when I realized I’d run out of the nails I’d need to finish the job, which was why I was in the hardware store. He said something about dirty boys and sinful ways and then walked away with a look that clearly communicated his total disgust at my decision to come into town with sawdust in my hair.”
“Wow. I see what you mean by odd.”
“The really odd thing,” Velma said, jumping in, “is that he is not at all clean himself. He came into the diner a while back and was so filthy-looking that I found myself suggesting that perhaps he’d be more comfortable dining on the patio, even though it was a cold and overcast day. I’m not sure what I would have done if he hadn’t agreed to my suggestion, and initially, it looked as if he might refuse, but then he noticed the pile of dirty dishes I had just stacked on my bus cart, made a face, and said that perhaps it would be best to eat outdoors, where it was cleaner. Well, that didn’t work out well either because he made me wipe down every surface on the patio before he would be seated. Every surface,” Velma emphasized. “Not just the table at which he chose to sit. It took me a good fifteen minutes to do it, and I had other customers waiting for their food, but I didn’t feel like I could refuse because I was the one who suggested he eat outside in the first place.”
“After I got over the shock of having this guy I didn’t know pick wood out of my hair, I actually felt sorry for the guy,” Tanner added. “I’m not sure if he has some sort of brain damage or if he is just emotionally damaged, but I can’t imagine it’s easy to walk in his shoes. The world is an imperfect place. If he equates dirt and sin, he must be in a state of anxiety pretty much all the time.”
“The part of this story that doesn’t fit for me is that his aversion to things being dirty doesn’t apply to his own personal grooming. I would expect someone with that kind of problem to be the sort to shower ten times a day, but from what Velma just said, it seems the opposite is true.”
“Yeah.” Tanner nodded. “I’m not sure what his problem is. The guy didn’t stink or anything when I ran in to him today, but he looked as if he’d slept in his clothes, and it didn’t appear as if he’d shaved in days. He might be trying to grow out a beard, but that wasn’t the vibe I picked up. It almost looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. Maybe he’s an insomniac. A lack of sleep can definitely mess with your mind.”
“Speaking of men who don’t sleep, it looks like Col
t might be part of that particular club.” Velma nodded toward the police chief. He was well groomed, but she was right, he did look tired.
“I suppose it might be the Wesley Hamilton murder case that is keeping him up at night,” I suggested.
“We spoke about the fact that there are a lot of eyes on this one,” Tanner said.
“Has the second body been identified?” Velma asked.
“Not as of the last time I spoke to him,” I answered.
I chatted with Tanner and Velma for a while longer, but when Velma went inside to find Georgia and Tanner went to chat with Colt, I headed toward the patio table where Dixie, Holly, Ryan, and Jeremy were sitting. I was sorry that Gaylord was out of town tonight. He seemed the sort who would enjoy a gathering like this.
“How’d the interview go?” I asked Ryan.
“Fantastic! The board needs to meet to discuss some things, but I’m feeling fairly confident that a move to Holiday Bay is in my future.”
“That’s wonderful news. I’ve enjoyed living here, so I’m sure you will as well.” I turned to Jeremy. “Any luck with your job hunt?”
“Not really, though I’ve spoken to a lot of folks and I’m feeling good about my chances. I guess my next step is to look at rentals so I can work out a budget. I’ll need to know how much I’ll need to make to get by before I get too far into my job search.”
“That’s a good idea. There is no use pursuing jobs that won’t pay enough to live on.” Then I turned to Dixie. “How did things go with Lily?”
“Much better than I could have any right to expect. It turned out that Lily did know she’d been adopted, so bringing up that part of my story wasn’t a problem. She wasn’t aware that she had siblings, but when we saw each other, we both just knew we were related even before I told her about the letter and the journal.”
“That’s fantastic. I’m so happy it worked out.”
“As am I. We are going to work together to try to find Heather and Hannah. Lily works during the week, so Holly and I will do the heavy lifting for the time being, but we are going to talk every day and come the weekend, she’ll be helping out. I wasn’t sure how this journey would end up, but even if Lily is the only sister I find, it will have been well worth it.”
“I think this trip has been wonderful on so many levels,” Holly added. “Your inn is beautiful, and the sea has been lovely. It’s so quiet and peaceful. In fact, other than the rattling in the hallway at night, the crashing of waves on the bluff is the only sound I hear as I drift off to sleep.”
“You’ve heard the rattling too?”
Holly nodded. “I suspect you might have a ghost. Not that I’ve ever seen one, but the rattling late at night has been consistent since we’ve been here, and the first time I got up to see if I saw anything, I found the display you have set out on the table at the end of the hallway on the floor.”
“The decorations in the hall were all askew on the third floor as well,” Jeremy added. “If you do have a ghost, any idea who it might be?”
“No idea at all,” I answered.
“Has anyone ever died in the inn?” Dixie asked.
“Not that I know of, although the wife of the man who built the house died shortly after they moved in, so I suppose it is possible she may have died in it. I guess I could check on that, but it seems unlikely that Abagail Westminster would be haunting the house. And I’ve never sensed a presence.”
“Maybe there is something specific that has aroused the ghost for the first time,” Holly suggested.
It was late by the time everyone left, so I helped Georgia with the cleanup. “It was really nice to have our friends and our guests gathered together this evening,” I said as I stacked the plates in the cupboard.
“It was. I felt like we created a family tonight. I’ll miss Ryan when he leaves tomorrow, but I suppose now that he is most likely going to get the job at the bank, we’ll run in to him from time to time. I hope Jeremy is able to find a job in Holiday Bay so he and Annabelle can stay here too.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that. We’ve discussed hiring someone to take care of the yardwork, snow removal, repairs, and heavy lifting. What do you think about talking to Jeremy about that job?”
Georgia paused before answering. “I like that idea, but I’m not sure we could pay him enough for him to support himself and Annabelle.”
“The basement is still unfinished and unused. I’m thinking we could have Lonnie go ahead and finish the space. There should be room for a couple of bedrooms, a seating area, a bath, and a small kitchen. If Jeremy and Annabelle don’t mind the limited view down there, and he is willing to accept room and board as part of his salary, the arrangement might work out just fine. Jeremy not only has experience with a landscape company, but he has lodging experience, and he says he can cook. I figure he can fill in for you when you need a day off or if we are busy planning an event. I’m hoping that the events at the inn are going to turn into a whole source of revenue of its own.”
Georgia smiled. “I do like your idea, and we have discussed the need for someone to fill in for me when I’m unavailable to do the cooking and other things. Maybe we should have Jeremy prepare an audition meal. He probably can cook, but so far, all we have is his word on it. And of course we’ll want to have him fill out an application and check his references, but if he’s game to continue the conversation, I am too.”
“Let’s talk to him tomorrow. Right now, I have a few emails to return before I turn in, so I’ll head back to the cottage.” I looked around the room. “Have you seen where Rufus went off to?”
“He was sleeping on the sofa in the living room last time I looked. If he isn’t there now, you might check the dining room. He seems to be determined to capture and kill the centerpiece I set out earlier today.”
Chapter 8
By the time Friday rolled around, Jeremy had tentatively accepted the job Georgia and I had discussed, pending a review of his application, a background check, and a satisfactory audition dinner, which he planned to serve Georgia and me, and our guests that evening. Lonnie and I had discussed the concept of turning the basement into an apartment for Jeremy and Annabelle, and he was working on a set of plans.
Dixie still hadn’t tracked down Hannah or Heather, but she’d spent quite a bit of time with Lily, who planned to come to town for the weekend and take over Holly’s room while Dixie’s daughter shared her mother’s. They’d asked Georgia about having Lily stay in the room they were already paying for, and while her presence would mean an extra mouth to feed, we were so happy that Dixie and Lily had found each other that we’d informed them that we didn’t mind if she shared their space in the least.
Gaylord was back from his overnighter, Ryan had left but had plans to move to Holiday Bay in two weeks, a lovely couple named Keith and Justine Goodman had checked into unit one, and a couple whose names I didn’t know yet would be checking into unit four this afternoon. Another full house and another chance to make new friends.
As of last night, Colt still hadn’t identified the second body in the grave or narrowed down the list of suspects who had a motive to kill Wesley. He’d shared with me that every time he eliminated one name, another popped up that he hadn’t yet considered.
As for the cold case involving the murder of Steven Walker that Ben had been looking in to before his death, Colt had, as promised, reached out to his FBI buddy, and he had agreed to do some quiet digging. In the meantime, I was leaving it alone, as I told Colt I would.
“What are you doing?” I asked Georgia, who was standing on a stool in the hallway looking into one of the heater vents.
“Checking for signs of rodents.”
“Rodents?”
“I figured that it might be mice behind the noise everyone is hearing at night.”
I frowned. “I think I’d be happier to find out that we have a ghost than I will be to find that we have mice.”
“I haven’t found any evidence of mice, so I think w
e’re safe on that front, but someone has heard something in one of the hallways pretty much every night. Gaylord thought he saw something too, but it turned that someone had left the window at the end of the hallway open and the breeze from the sea was blowing around the arms and legs of a skeleton.”
“I wonder if open windows aren’t what’s responsible for a lot of the noise our guests have heard. Maybe we should add a walk-through of the hallways to our nightly routine.”
“That’s a good idea. At least on the nights it is warm enough during the day that someone might open a window to create a cross breeze.”
“Has everyone checked in?” I asked as I topped off my glass of iced tea.
“The couple in unit four hasn’t arrived yet. I expect them at around three. Dixie and Holly are off chasing another clue. Lily will be joining them for the weekend at around dinnertime. Jeremy and Annabelle are in the kitchen doing the prep work for his audition meal, and the couple who checked in to unit one is in town taking in the sights.”
“Is everything set for Harvest on the Lawn tomorrow?”
Georgia nodded. “I think it is. The event will run from noon to eight, so we have time to make final preparations in the morning. The only possible glitch I know of so far is that the woman who is supposed to do the face painting woke up with a scratchy throat this morning, so she called to let me know that the possibility exists that she might not be able to make it. She’ll wait to see how she feels tomorrow morning, but even if she can’t come, we have a lot of other things going on, so we should be fine.”
“Okay.” I stood up. “It sounds like you have everything under control. I need to run into town to do a few errands, but I’ll be back in plenty of time for Jeremy’s audition dinner. If it turns out that he really can cook, I think we’re in business. His references were good, and Colt did a cursory background check. Nothing popped, so we should be fine with moving forward.”
