by Marja McGraw
“What’s for dinner tonight?” Sharon asked.
“I don’t remember.”
“Would you go check? I’m getting hungry.”
“Okay, I’m about ready to get out of the pool anyway. If I stay in much longer I’m going to turn into a prune. It sure felt good to cool off though.”
I stood up and turned around to climb out of the pool, and Mike was standing there watching us.
“Hellooo,” he said. I could hear a note of admiration in his voice and felt unexpectedly embarrassed. He’d never seen me in anything but jeans or slacks before, and now I was standing in all my glory, wearing a bathing suit which was equivalent to almost nothing.
“Hi,” I said, padding over to get the shirt I’d brought out with me.
He followed me. I looked back at Sharon and she was laughing.
“You look, uh, great in a bathing suit,” he said.
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
He laughed. “Why are you embarrassed? You shouldn’t be.”
I wouldn’t look at him so he took hold of my chin and turned my face upward so that my eyes met his. He smiled at me.
“You do look great,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry though, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay.” I could feel my face heating up. “I’m going inside to change my clothes. I’ll see you later.” The more we talked about being embarrassed, the worse I felt. I just wanted him to let it go.
Reaching the house I looked back and saw him and Sharon talking. I smiled to myself. Embarrassment aside, I had to admit I was pleased.
I changed into my jeans and stopped to talk to Lucy. She’d already started dinner and said she didn’t need any help and things were under control, as usual.
Mike walked in, looked at me and grinned. Lucy glanced at him questioningly, but he just shook his head.
“Kelly,” he said, “can I talk to you for a minute? In the other room?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
We walked to the living room where we found Josh and Marion reading. Mike took my hand and led me to the dining room. Ruth was snacking and looked like she wanted to crawl under the rug when she saw us.
“Oh, for crying out loud!” Mike said disgustedly. “Come on.”
Ruth cringed, but continued snacking.
He led me outside, onto the front porch.
“All I want to do is ask you to go into town with me on Saturday night. I don’t think the whole house has to be in on it though.”
“I’d like that. What did you have in mind?”
“I thought we could go out to dinner and a movie. Nothing fancy, just an evening out. Neither one of us has been out since I moved in here, and I think we both need some personal time.”
“I know. I’m always taking care of the house, and you’re always working on your building stuff.”
“My building stuff? You really have a way with words.”
“You know what I mean. Drawing plans, working on projects. You know, stuff.”
“At least you know what I do for a living. You had me worried there for a minute,” he said, laughing.
We sat down on the porch steps and talked about what movie we wanted to see, finally agreeing on one.
“Do you like to bowl?” he asked.
“I’m not very good at it, but yes. I was on a league once. My team liked me because I gave them such a good handicap.”
“Good. We’ll go bowling soon. Work is going to slow down for me during the winter months, so if you want to, we can do things together sometimes. I know there’s not a lot of action in the small towns around here, but we can always find something to do.”
“That sounds nice.” Nice? Couldn’t I have thought of something better than nice?
“Let’s see if dinner is ready yet. I’m starved.” He took my hand and pulled me toward the front door.
“So am I. That swim made me hungry.”
Shortly after dinner I wandered off to my room to write my parents an overdue letter. In my mother’s last note she told me how pleased she was that Holt House was working out for me, although she still wished I would move to Florida to be near her and my dad. Her comments weren’t quite as adamant as they had been in the beginning though. Maybe she was adjusting to me having my own life, or maybe she and dad were having such a good time that she wasn’t thinking about it as much.
I wanted to write and tell her about Mike, but decided not to in case nothing came of it. I had just sat down at the desk when there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I called.
Sharon opened the door and walked in. “So, what happened?”
“He asked me out.”
“You don’t sound all that excited. I thought you’d be thrilled.”
“Well, I am. But I don’t want to get my hopes up. He was very casual about the whole thing. You, of all people, should know I don’t like to count on things before they happen.”
“I know, and you’ve always driven me crazy with your attitude. Just once, I’d like to see you get excited. Good grief! Now look who’s being preachy. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle things in my own way, regardless of what you say, so none of this matters anyway.”
“I’m so glad to find out just how much you value my opinion. Oh, well, let’s go for a walk,” Sharon suggested. “David is working on the plumbing in one of the bathrooms, and Mike told me he was going to work on a design for a room addition.”
“Let’s go.” I slipped on a pair of sandals.
Chapter Fifteen
It was a beautiful night. There was a half moon and the sky was filled with stars. That was one of the perks about living in the country – you could see so many stars. The sky looked like a piece of dark blue velvet sprinkled with rhinestones. It was an amazing color. There was a breeze which helped cool things off, so at least the heat was bearable. I could hear the leaves on the trees rustling, and the crickets sang their repetitious melody. Somewhere in the distance I heard an owl hoot. It was the perfect time for a walk in the country, a time to forget problems and to be at peace.
Sharon didn’t say much while we walked, which was unusual enough to make me take notice.
After studying the frown on her face, I asked, “Is there something on your mind or aren’t you enjoying the walk?”
She didn’t answer right away. I waited patiently.
“I’ve debated whether to say anything to you or not. There’ve been a couple of strange things going on. At first I didn’t think I should say anything, but – ”
“What are you talking about?” The last thing I wanted was trouble at Holt House.
“Well... It’s just that a couple of things have disappeared from my room. I can’t accuse anyone of theft, and I wouldn’t want to anyway. In fact, at first I thought I was just misplacing things. And nothing valuable has disappeared.”
“What’s missing?” I hated to think I might have been right about a thief being in the area a few months back. Maybe I should have taken steps and called the police, but so much time had passed with nothing else happening.
“That’s what’s so odd,” she replied. “Like I said, nothing valuable is gone. They’re things like the hand mirror I use when I brush my hair, a tube of lipstick, and the last letter I got from my parents is gone. But this morning was the strangest.”
“What happened this morning?”
“Now don’t think I’m loco, but I was getting ready for work and I set my address book on top of the dresser while I looked for something in the drawer. I turned away to pick up my blouse, and when I turned back the book was gone and the dresser seemed slightly out of place. In fact, the reason I turned back was because I thought I heard a noise. I don’t know what it was, just a noise. Of course, there was no one in my room. I don’t get it.”
“I wish you’d mentioned this sooner.”
“I didn’t think there was anything to tell you until now.”
“Wait. Let me tell you why I wish you’d told me earlier.” I took a moment to put my thoughts in order.
“What? Have you had something disappear too?”
“Oh, I was beginning to think I’ve been working too hard. I thought my memory was playing tricks on me. Things have been disappearing from my room, too. I was absolutely sure I’d forgotten where I put them. I even started writing myself notes so I won’t forget the smallest things I have to do.”
“What’s missing from your room?” Sharon stopped walking and faced me.
“Nylons, a hair brush, one shoe – not two, but one – and yes, it is strange. There are a couple of other small things missing, too.”
“I wonder if any of the boarders are missing anything.”
“If they are, they haven’t said anything. Although now that I think about it, yesterday I found Lucy searching the kitchen. She said she misplaced her favorite ball point pen and thought maybe she left it in the kitchen. The last time she remembered seeing it, it was in her bedroom. She never did find it.”
“I think – ” Sharon began.
“I think we’d better start keeping an eye on things around here.”
“That’s what I was about to say.”
“Oh, sorry. Do you remember a few months ago when I thought there might have been a burglar in the house? I’d say I was right if it wasn’t for the types of things that are disappearing. What kind of burglar would steal a tube of lipstick?”
“Or one shoe?”
Suddenly the night didn’t seem quite as lovely and inviting to me. The dark seemed more ominous and the hooting of the owl sounded like a warning. I shook my head. Talk about being melodramatic. “I hate problems. Why can’t things just run smoothly?” I was asking an age-old question with no answer.
“I know.” Sharon patted my back. “Maybe we should talk to Lucy and see if anything else is missing.”
“Let’s go.”
We headed back to the house to look for Lucy. She was in the kitchen, already preparing things for the next day.
“I think I’ll just move your bed in here,” I said. “I always know I can find you in the kitchen.”
“What a sense of humor. Ha ha.” Lucy looked tired. “We have a lot of hungry people living in this house.”
“Let’s sit down. Sharon and I want to ask you about something.”
We sat at the table and proceeded to tell Lucy about the discussion we’d had while walking.
“So, are you missing anything besides your pen?” I asked.
“The pen is the only thing that’s come up missing, but what you’re telling me really bothers me,” she said.
“Well, between the three of us, let’s watch things more closely. Although considering what’s been taken, I’m sure it’s probably a prank. Since the house is open during the day, it wouldn’t be that hard for someone to sneak in. I don’t want anything to happen to disturb the boarders though.”
We talked for a few more minutes and I finally excused myself. I had a few things I needed to attend to. I noticed that Sharon and Lucy seemed subdued after our conversation. The last thing I needed was a problem, and I wanted to head one off if I could, with their help.
The thing that kept coming back to me was that Sharon said she heard a noise and the dresser was out of place. I related it to when I thought the dresser in Mike’s room had been moved. I didn’t know if it meant anything or not, but it did seem like more than a coincidence. Heaven only knows why I didn’t tell Lucy about the burglar I’d interrupted in Ruth Bell’s room right before Ruth moved in. At least Sharon knew about the incident.
I didn’t sleep well that night. I was restless, tossing and turning. I dreamed that someone was in my room, searching for something. I didn’t know what he was after, but in the dream I had the impression there was almost a feverishness to his hunt. The dream faded, but soon another one began. There was someone standing over my bed, watching me. I wanted to open my eyes to see who it was, but in the dream my eyelids seemed to weigh a ton. I couldn’t open them, no matter how hard I tried.
It wasn’t until the early morning hours that I finally fell into a dreamless sleep. When I got up that morning I was sluggish and felt mildly depressed. However, it was Friday, and even though I didn’t have an office to go to anymore, Friday still felt like the magical end-of-the-week day. I worked seven days a week now, but that didn’t change the way I felt. I also remembered I had Saturday night with Mike to look forward to.
I wandered out to the kitchen where I found Lucy hard at work, as usual. I stood quietly and watched her for a moment. She felt my gaze and turned around, studying my face.
“Are you sick?” she asked.
I must have really looked bad. “No, but I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Couldn’t get our conversation off your mind, huh?” she asked, not expecting or receiving an answer. “Don’t worry, between the three of us we’ll figure out what’s going on.”
While I was eating breakfast, I had the vague recollection of another dream I’d had. In it the dresser kept moving back and forth, and there was a hole in the wall. I couldn’t remember anything else about it.
Friday was a quiet day. Most of the boarders were at work, with the exceptions of Josh and Marion. They’d become good friends and he gave her a ride into town to run errands.
Lucy, David and I were home alone and we savored the time we had to ourselves. We had lunch together out on the patio. David was more outgoing than usual, and we found ourselves laughing. Lucy had become very fond of David once she realized he and Sharon were a match. She made no bones about the fact that she wanted Mike and me to be another match.
After lunch David returned to his work in the garden. I helped Lucy clean up and then went for a swim. I’d already made up the beds and dusted the rooms, and anything beyond that was left to the boarders to do for themselves. The one exception was Ted, who seemed to think no one could clean his room the way he could – Mr. Fastidious.
After changing into my swimming suit, I strolled outside and swam the length of the pool a few times. I rolled over onto my back and floated, feeling like I didn’t have a care in the world. The exercise pulled me together. I found myself thinking about Mike.
The sound of a window opening brought me out of my reverie. I slowly opened my eyes and glanced at the house. The sound must have been my imagination. The windows were all closed. My gaze moved up to the third floor and I saw I was wrong. The curtains at one of the windows were gently swaying in the breeze. Strange. It was one of the vacant rooms. Had I seen a movement? Was someone in the room?
I could hear Lucy in the kitchen, and David was still in the garden. The boarders weren’t home. Who could be upstairs?
Chapter Sixteen
It took all of two seconds before I decided I’d close the window later. I was too relaxed to get out of the pool and I didn’t care if anyone was upstairs in a vacant room or not – and I didn’t want to think about problems.
I stayed in the pool about another half hour, swam for another five minutes and climbed out. Laying a towel by the side of the pool, I plopped down on it, letting the hot sun dry my skin. After fifteen minutes or so I began to feel too hot, so I picked up my towel and returned to the house.
On my way back I glanced up and saw that the third floor window was still open. I briefly wondered who’d been up there, but didn’t dwell on it, finally beginning to bury my head in the sand.
I was humming to myself as I walked into the kitchen.
“My, my,” Lucy said. “You sure look better than you did this morning.”
“I feel better. Exercise can do wonders.”
“You sound more cheerful, too.”
“Yeah.” I smiled.
“I hear you and Mike are going out tomorrow night. Could that have anything to do with it?”
“And just where did you hear that?” I asked.
“A little birdie told me.”
“Uh huh. Would that
be the well known Red-Throated Sharon Bird who flits in and out of here on a regular basis?”
“No, Mike told me himself.”
“Oh.” I felt guilty for accusing Sharon of blabbing. “I guess Mike could have a little to do with my good mood. But you can certainly butt out now. I can handle my own social life, thank you.”
“I’m sure you can.” Her smug look was back in place.
“Lucy, why don’t you start thinking about getting out and having a social life? You’re still young. You need something to keep you busy, too. If I were a man, I think you’d be a lot of fun to go out with.”
“I’m glad you’re not a man, and don’t worry about my social life, young lady. I’ve got things well in hand,” she said. “You won’t be seeing much of me on my days off next week, because I’ve got social plans.”
“Oh? Anyone I know?”
“Wouldn’t tell you if you did know him. I guess you’ll have to butt out too,” she said, turning back to her work.
“Well, you don’t have to get snippy about it.” I was teasing, and she knew it.
She turned away from me and began humming, like I’d been doing, trying to ignore me. I laughed as I patted her arm and left the room, although I was curious about her date, if she really had one. She could conceivably be trying to shut me up. She hadn’t been going anywhere where she could meet anyone, so I wondered where this mystery man could have come from. Oh well, it wasn’t my business.
After I changed back into my clothes, I wandered aimlessly around the house. I wasn’t used to having so much free time anymore. I finally trudged up the two flights of stairs to take a look at the room where the window was open. I figured it was the second room from the stairs. Ted Fernley occupied the first room.
As I reached the top of the stairs and turned to go down the hall, I noticed Ted’s door was open a crack. I’d have to check that after I looked at the vacant room because I knew he was at work and he always locked his door. He was so particular about his habits, like locking his door. Everything had to be perfect, and he would accept no less.
