Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  The writing was barely legible, worse than what had been on the pads, but she quietly read what he had written.

  “Last Will and Testament.

  I soon shall die.

  My breaths are numbered

  And sleep draws nigh.

  I killed the man

  My young self shot him

  And then I ran.

  I am tormented

  Lives have I ruined

  A man is dead.

  The girl named Nell

  Who hid her heart from him

  Needs me to tell.

  She did no wrong

  Her innocence true

  Her wait too long.

  Thomas, now killed

  At least ‘twas not me

  Look close afield.

  All that I have

  I give to charity

  My soul to save.”

  There were words and letters scratched all over the page as Grey Linder attempted to work out rhymes. If these were his last words, at least they were coherent and he made sure to speak of Genie Campbell’s innocence. Polly carried the laundry down to the washing machine. Did he know who the killer was? It read like he was telling them to look at someone close to Thomas.

  She put her gloves back on and sorted the clothes, running the first load through on hot, then went back upstairs to her apartment and called Aaron Merritt one more time.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Aaron, but I found a piece of paper in Grey Linder’s robe.”

  “He just died, Polly.”

  “Wow. Well, this makes it even more important. He wrote a poem as his last will and testament.” She read the piece out loud to him.

  “Okay,” he said. “I need to pick that up. You’ve certainly cleared Genie Campbell. She shouldn’t have run, but his confession tells me that she was innocent. We’ll take it from here.”

  “Thank you, Aaron. I’m washing his clothes now. I don’t know what you’ll do with them, but at least they will be clean. We’ve packed the rest of his room, too.”

  “We’ll deal with it. Thanks, Polly.”

  She sat back on the sofa, not wanting to talk to anyone else. The man’s life had dwindled to nothing in his last days. He had ruined so many lives along the way. Polly felt terrible pity for him, dying alone with no one to care, yet she felt sick at what he had done. She pulled her knees up to her chin and sank back into the corner, unsure as to whether or not to cry.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  “Too far! Stop!” Sal and Polly were in the bedroom giggling like little girls while dressing for the Masquerade Ball. “You’re killing me here,” Sal cried, as Polly attempted to cinch the corset.

  Sal’s plane had come into Des Moines earlier that afternoon and she had driven up to Bellingwood. She told Polly that she didn’t want to put anyone out, but after some of their deep conversations, Polly realized that Sal was still afraid Mark wouldn’t be happy to see her. The girl wanted the option to make a break for it, if necessary.

  Polly, on the other hand, knew that Mark was head over heels for her friend. Even though he didn’t know she was showing up for tonight’s gala, he was already planning his Christmas so that she would be comfortable while meeting his family. She had promised to come for the holiday week as long as his family didn’t think they were meeting his future bride. Sal had never made this type of a commitment to a man in her life. Although she wasn’t ready to give up her job and family back in Boston, the fact that she was coming to the middle of Iowa so often told Polly her heart was finding its way to Bellingwood.

  “One more time,” Polly waited for Sal to take a breath. She quickly pulled the corset into place and laced it together. They were on their fifth attempt and Polly was worried they’d never figure this out before someone wet their pants from laughing so hard. “Are you okay?”

  “They did this every day?” Sal asked, spinning around on her left foot to face Polly. “Here. Tug on this. I think you got it this time.”

  “Are you going to wear the hoop with this dress?” Polly held up her friend’s deep, red gown. She’d had it shipped to Bellingwood rather than Boston and it had been hanging in the back of Polly’s closet. The red velvet skirt was immense. It was unbelievable that so much material had gone into one dress.

  “A corset and a hoop,” Sal complained. “And people think my spike heels are uncomfortable. At least I can slip those off under my desk and the rest of my body gets to breathe during the day. This is awful!”

  “But you’re going to be beautiful.”

  Sal pranced over to the dresser and pulled out a set of fake vampire fangs. “Beautiful? I was kind of looking for deadly.”

  “In this dress, you’re going to be a bit of a shock. No more deadly this week, though, okay?”

  “No more deadly.” Sal reached over and touched Polly’s arm. “I’ve been so excited about tonight, I haven’t taken the time to talk to you about yesterday. How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” Polly said. “I know Grey Linder wasn’t a friend, or even a particularly friendly person, but what a miserable way for his life to end. To be all alone in a strange place, drunk and waiting to die. He had no friends or anyone who cared about him. At least Genie Campbell figured out how to make a life for herself. And she had a wonderful son that she raised.”

  “And Thomas Zeller had you there when he died. And he knew that his love was near. He got the opportunity to see that she had a full life.”

  “It still bothers me that he didn’t get a chance to meet her so they could finally voice their love out loud.”

  Sal sat down on the bed, the corset holding her body upright. She chuckled as she shifted around in it. “You know, Polly, there’s no guarantee that they would have even liked each other after all these years. It may have worked out for the best. Sometimes a love that never finds fulfillment is better than discovering it never would have worked.”

  “I guess that’s all she will know. He did love her, though. You know he made sure in his last will that they had everything.”

  “That has to have made someone pretty angry. Who do you suppose stood to lose everything?”

  “I haven’t seen the original will yet. Ben Seafold was going to make sure Aaron got it so he would be able to either discover or eliminate money as a motive.”

  Sal watched Polly shimmy into her petticoat. “I want to wear what you’re wearing. You aren’t going to work nearly as hard at your costume as I am.”

  Polly just laughed at her friend. Sal would be glorious tonight. Her pale skin and dark hair were a wonderful complement to the red dress and would accentuate her role as a vampire. Polly always felt like Cinderella’s stepsister next to the tall beauty, no matter what she wore.

  She’d found a deep, midnight blue gown. The low-cut bodice was velvet, with long sleeves, while the satin skirt flowed with yards of material. Eight inches of lace trimmed the bottom of the dress and the first time Polly tried it on, she’d gone into the front room to spin around and watch the skirt billow around her. There was a large satin bow in the back and she’d found a pretty cameo to wear on a velvet choker around her neck. This was the second time in a week that she’d felt elegant in the dress she wore and hated that these were costumes and not something she would ever wear again. She and Henry needed more opportunities to dress up in Victorian garb.

  Polly did a small spin in her bedroom and Sal smiled. “You really are beautiful, Polly.”

  “Next to you I’m a junior high moppet,” Polly complained.

  “Don’t ever think that and you’ve gotten even more beautiful since you moved back here. It’s that smile of yours that shows up no matter what’s going on. You should wear something wild on your lips tonight.”

  “I’m not wearing bright red lipstick! You can pull it off, I can’t.”

  Sal dug through her travel case. “Then try this one.” She handed a tube of lipstick to Polly. “It should be perfect.”

  Polly took it into the bathroom and read
the bottom. Dusty Rose wouldn’t be too bad. She applied the lipstick and rubbed her lips together. Sal was right. While she was there, she put on a little more mascara and brushed at the makeup on her eyes. Her mask was on the counter and she pulled it over her head, adjusting the strap. She fluffed her hair into its curls and let it hang loose. She was no Sal Kahane, but she’d do for a simple girl from Iowa.

  She looked up when Sal came in, fully dressed, and wearing her mask. Sal smiled and then all of a sudden, her fangs dropped down. While Polly stared, the fangs retracted.

  “How did you do that?” she gasped.

  Sal handed her the package. “I ordered these a couple of weeks ago and even though I had to spend some time making them fit my mouth this week, I thought they’d be fabulous. Aren’t they fabulous?” She dropped them and retracted them a few more times. “Am I deadly yet?”

  “You will certainly draw every man’s attention and if their wives get nervous, deadly might be in the cards,” Polly said. “Sheesh. You’re glorious.”

  “Whatever,” Sal waved her off. “So we’re on the same page. You don’t know me until after Mark has figured out that I’m here. I’m staying away from you, okay?”

  “Got it. You’re a mysterious guest who came for a Masquerade Ball. Maybe we should make up some crazy story about how you are a wealthy New England financier, in town to open a school that will teach Physicks, with a ‘k’ because it’s steampunky, and Engineering to the young women who aren’t allowed at University. You’ve made your money developing longer lasting wicks for the street lamps.” Polly laughed.

  “Or I won my great wealth as the first female airship captain and my steam-powered horseless carriage was offloaded from my fantastically opulent airship earlier today and yes, I’m here to look for land and a contractor to build this school. So, who are you?”

  “I’m the local school mistress, Miss Pollyanna Percival. My father believed that education was important for all children and he bought this building for me. We have dormitories off to the side for the young people to live on-campus while they learn. It’s quite progressive for this newly established state of Iowa.”

  Sal hugged Polly and they giggled again. Polly loved having her friend around. She held on for a moment. Sal was the one person who had known Polly through the roughest parts of her life and Sal was the one person who had also known Polly’s dad and had met Mary and Sylvester Shore. It was so good to have her in town after the emotional ups and downs of the last two weeks.

  “Shall we make a grand entrance?” Sal asked, when they finally let go of each other.

  “You should go down the back way and slip in, just in case Mark is already here. I need to go through the front doors.”

  “That sounds great. Don’t forget, you’re beautiful. Hold that head up high and walk like you own this place.”

  “You nut,” Polly laughed. “You are beautiful too. Thanks for being here.”

  She waited while Sal walked out and then went down the front steps to the large foyer and into the auditorium. The main lights were dimmed and the white lights streaming from the center of the ceiling gave the room a festive atmosphere.

  Jeff looked up when she approached. Two baskets of colorful masks were on the table beside him in case party goers hadn’t realized that the invitation was serious.

  “Are you ready for a fun evening?” he asked. He was dressed in a long coat with a bright blue vest and black cravat. He had round wire glasses and was holding a gold-tipped cane. His wide rimmed top hat sat on the table beside him.

  “You look great,” she smiled. “And I’m ready for just about anything.”

  The string ensemble was playing on stage and Polly smiled to see that they had dressed the part. Rather than formal tuxedos, the men were in brightly colored vests and white shirts with sleeve garters, and the women were wearing extravagant gowns. “Even the orchestra dressed for tonight?”

  “Some of them are part of the Iowa Steampunk society. They were looking forward to this,” he said. “We actually have a few people from that group who are joining us tonight. The masks are new for them, but the costumes are their own.”

  “I think Anita Banks is coming in her costume,” Polly said. “Have you seen Doug or Billy or anyone else yet?”

  Jeff pointed at a table along the far wall. “Your friends are over there. I believe Lydia already has Aaron on the dance floor.”

  Polly felt a tap on her shoulder and then a deep voice spoke. “Would this beautiful woman offer me the privilege of a dance?”

  She spun around and recognized Ben Seafold in a brown tweed coat, carrying an empty pipe in his hand. Polly took a deep breath and drew in the scent of pipe smoke on him. It was a scent she adored. She wasn’t sure why, since her father never smoked, but for some reason, the smell made her want to bury her face in his jacket. She restrained herself and said, “Thank you.”

  He escorted her to the dance floor and she smiled at Aaron and Lydia. Lydia had a huge bustle at the back of her dark green gown. There were quite a few people she didn’t immediately recognize because of their masks and she realized how happy she was that so many had gotten into the spirit of the evening.

  Sal was lingering around the outskirts, flirting and chatting, trying not to be obvious about looking for Mark.

  Sylvie came out of the kitchen, leading a group of kids wearing harlequin masks. Polly was always surprised at her creativity. They had set up a buffet along the south wall and Sylvie had decorated the tables with gears, old clocks, dark amber bottles and skeleton keys. There were even a few pairs of goggles scattered around. She was dressed in a simple white blouse with a long black skirt. A pair of goggles was propped up on top of her head and as busy as she was, no one was going to give her trouble about not having her mask on.

  “You’re a million miles away, Miss Giller,” Ben said to her.

  “It’s fun to see everyone’s costumes and try to figure out who is who with their masks on.”

  He swept her across the floor toward the orchestra, and they danced a while longer in silence. As the song came to a close, he said, “I probably won’t have another opportunity to dance with you this evening, but I want you to know what a gift you’ve given me this week. Thomas Zeller was my friend and I thought that I’d lost everything when he died. But you found me and allowed me to be here and meet his family. Thank you very much.”

  Polly smiled up at him, wishing she could hug him, but he had her waist and her right arm, controlling the dance. “I’ve enjoyed having you here. You are always welcome at Sycamore House.”

  The room was filling and Polly found it more and more difficult to pick out people she knew. Ben stepped away and approached a table where Kevin and Genie Campbell were sitting. She smiled and waved on her way to the front door.

  “Have you seen Henry or Mark yet tonight?” she asked Jeff.

  He nodded. “They’re both here.”

  “What?” Polly was surprised. “How long has Mark been here?”

  “He came in while you were dancing with Ben.”

  “What is his costume?”

  “Oh, I’m not telling you that. It’s part of my job as doorkeeper to keep all of the secrets of our guests.”

  “Well, that’s not fair.”

  “Fair, shmair, boss-lady. That’s half the fun of a masquerade ball, finding your friends when you can’t see who they are. By the way, you look beautiful tonight.”

  Polly gave him a sideways glance, “That won’t get you out of trouble with me, buddy.”

  “I guess I’ll have to live with that.” He stepped forward to greet a couple entering the auditorium and shot her a smirk while introducing himself.

  She waited for him to return. “How about Doug?”

  “He’s here too. I think he was looking for you. He went thataway.” He pointed to where Lydia and Aaron were seated.

  Polly went to their table and glanced around, looking for Sal. She was with two young men that looked nothing like Hen
ry or Mark. One of them was dressed in a red vest and black cape.

  Aaron stood and pulled out a chair for Polly. “Thank you,” she said. “Have you seen Anita yet?”

  “I think she’s over there in the tight leather,” Lydia whispered, “but I can’t be sure.”

  The young girl was standing by herself, dressed in tight brown leather pants with high-heeled boots that came up to her knees. She wore fitted a leather jacket that was covered in pockets, straps and buckles and a white scarf was flung around her neck. On top of her head, she had on an aviator’s cap and instead of a mask, she wore goggles.

  “Anita?” Polly asked when she got close.

  “Polly? I love your gown!”

  “Would the lovely Miss Astlebury be interested in meeting her date for the evening? He’s sitting with your boss.”

  Anita peeked around Polly. “He’s kind of cute. Does he know that he’s meeting me tonight?”

  “He’s nervous, but he’s here and that’s a good sign. Come on.”

  Doug and Aaron both stood when they approached the table. “Doug Randall, I’d like you to meet Anita Banks, aka Claire Astlebury of the East Coast Astleburys,” Polly gestured to Anita and said, “I hope you have a wonderful evening tonight.”

  Anita held her hand out and Aaron Merritt took it before Doug could make sense of the moment. “Mr. Randall,” he said, “I expect you to treat my employee with the utmost respect and to remember that you have me to answer to should anything untoward happen to her.”

  Doug stood there, completely flabbergasted. Anita took her hand back from Aaron and said to Doug, “I’m perfectly delighted to meet you, Mr. Randall. Could I ask you to take me to the punch bowl?” The poor boy hadn’t yet made the connection between the reality of the moment and the play-acting that was happening in front of him. He finally nodded and turned away from the table. Anita took his arm and led him away.