CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The afternoon came quickly, and Ellie was pleased to discover that Jeffrey was a quick study. Plus he was great with the customers, especially the ladies, who seemed to be drawn to his easy laugh and quick wit. Ellie would look at him through the corner of her eye as they worked, and she could see how he had been quite the charmer when he was younger. His age had not affected his ability to flirt in the slightest. The tip jar was fuller than Ellie remembered it being in quite a while.
“I think you’ve got the hang of it, Jeffrey,” she said to him wryly after another dollar bill was slipped into the tip jar.
“You are too kind, Ms. Ellie,” he replied. “I am here to offer the most pleasurable experience possible. I am happy when the customers are happy.”
“No need to add the Ms. Please call me Ellie,” she said and held out her hand.
He paused and then took it. “As you wish, Ellie.”
She grinned at him and then saw Kevin standing behind Jeffrey with a disgruntled look on his face. She laughed and went over to him, giving him a big hug. “C’mon, Kevin. You know that no one can replace your dashing good looks and charm around here.”
Jeffrey made busy work wiping a rag across the counter, clearly giving Ellie and Kevin some space. She wondered if he had perfected that in the restaurant he worked in or doing the odd favor for Linda.
“I’ve never had competition around here,” Kevin sniffed. “That’s why I always chose to work in female-dominated work places. Plus female bosses are by far the best.” He nudged Ellie’s arm.
“In that I do agree with you, Kevin,” Jeffrey said, his pretense apparently over. Ellie noticed there was no “Mr.” in front of Kevin’s name. She saw just the slightest tightness around his eyes and wondered how an old-fashioned man like Jeffrey was dealing with the fact that Kevin was gay. It was something he’d have to work out, she finally decided. Kevin wasn’t going anywhere, and as long as he believed this was what Linda wanted, she knew Jeffrey wasn’t either.
In her concentration, she failed to notice the man standing at the counter, and apparently Jeffrey and Kevin had been equally in thought, because they hadn’t either.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ellie said, stepping to the counter. “What can I get for you?”
She saw that the man was dressed in biker attire and had a thick envelope in his hands.
“I’m looking for Elizabeth Coulter,” the man said.
“That’s me,” she said. She realized that this was the courier that Randall had promised. A clipboard was shoved under her nose, and she signed next to her name. Once the envelope was in her hands, the man turned and left without another word.
“A rather rude young man,” Jeffrey noted from behind her as the door closed behind the courier.
Ellie studied the envelope. Her name was written on it in Linda’s elegant penmanship.
“So the keys have arrived,” Kevin said as if holding his breath.
Ellie shook the envelope slightly and heard the jingle of metal. “Apparently so.”
“Are you going open it or what?” Kevin asked impatiently.
“I will later. It’s not like I can go over there now or anything. Plus Randall said something about documents that I might need, so I want to look everything over when I have a minute to breathe.”
As Kevin opened his mouth to argue, three customers walked through the door. Then four more. Then two more after that. There wasn’t any more time to talk about abrupt leave-takings, rude couriers, or mysterious envelopes and Ellie was grateful.
That evening Ellie approached Linda’s house cautiously with Skipper at her side and the keys dangling in her gloved hand. She gave a yelp as a dark shadow jumped out from behind a tree next to the sidewalk.
“Hey, gorgeous!” Kevin said with a smirk on his face.
“Kevin! You scared the crap out of me!” she said, holding her throat and silently willing her heartbeat to slow down. She wondered how long he had been waiting for her.
“Sorry. Seriously, I didn’t mean to do that.” Kevin looked abashed. He looked pointedly at Skipper. “Some watchdog you are.” Skipper sat and cocked his head at Kevin.
“I’ve taught him not to bark at people while we are out on walks since the lake is always so busy,” Ellie explained. “What are you doing here, Kevin?”
“Did you think I’d let you explore this lovely mansion all by yourself? Not a chance.” Kevin crossed his arms.
“Linda asked me to watch the house, Kevin. There was no joint effort mentioned. Plus it’s not like I’m going to go rummaging through all of her things,” Ellie said, rolling her eyes. She and Kevin had had this same conversation probably twenty times that day.
“Hey, I didn’t say anything about helping you out. I just want to see the inside of this baby.” Kevin shrugged.
Ellie realized that he wasn’t going to budge until he got what he wanted. “Fine, fine, fine!” she said irritably. “I’m tired of arguing with you about this.”
“You’re finally making some sense now.” Kevin stroked her arm and she glared at him. He appeared completely unfazed by her outburst. “So are we going to go in or stand out here freezing our butts off?”
Ellie turned without a word and continued up the driveway with Skipper at her side. Kevin dashed ahead and ran up the concrete steps. At the top he made a small turn on the patio with his arms outstretched. If he’d had a cap, Ellie thought he might have done a Mary Tyler Moore impression. Then he stood tapping his foot impatiently at the door as she climbed the steps onto the patio. She looked up and down length of it, taking in the empty dark windows.
“Seems so different from the other night,” she remarked.
“No one’s home this time,” Kevin said, stating the obvious. Ellie kicked his shin and he cried out. “Hey, that’s not nice!”
“Get over it,” Ellie said under her breath. She was suddenly in no mood for company, although Kevin’s presence was still comforting at some level. She was sure that was because she was about to enter someone else’s house, and would have to start evaluating how to make it feel like her own for the time being. She had to admit, though, that living inside such a beautiful place, if even for a short time, made her feel almost like royalty.
Kevin sulked and looked out at the lake as she fumbled for the right key. She tried two of them before finding the one that answered the call with a small click. She swung the heavy French doors open and stepped inside, flipping the light switch next to the door. Kevin was right on her heels. She stopped suddenly and Kevin ran into her back.
“Hey, what’s up?’ he asked.
Ellie looked down at Skipper, who had also followed them in. “I think I may leave Skipper out on the patio while we do a first pass around the house. Keep him out of trouble. I’d also hate for him to have an accident.”
Kevin shrugged in agreement. She guided Skipper back onto the porch and over to one of the wrought iron chairs that was sitting to the left of the front door. She slid the end of his leash around the chair leg, and then contemplated if that would hold him if he decided to run. Skipper sat obediently on the porch and looked at her as if in reassurance.
“Okay, we’ll try this. Just hang out for a few minutes, okay?” Ellie said to him. In response, Skipper lay down with his head between his front paws. It was good enough for Ellie, knowing she wouldn’t be gone long. She joined Kevin in the front foyer again. “The beast has been taken care of for the moment.”
“Can we get on with this now?’ Kevin pleaded like a little kid.
“Yes,” Ellie finally agreed. She removed her gloves and was surprised at how cool the air was. “They must have turned the furnace down before they left. It’s pretty chilly in here.”
“I’m sure the heating bills for this place are monstrous,” Kevin commented, looking around and then up at the chandelier hanging above them. Ellie remembered she had been entranced with it the night of the party.
Ellie saw a thermostat on a wall to the right of the sta
ircase and walked over to inspect it. “Fifty degrees, no wonder,” she said softly. “How far do you think I should turn this up?” she asked Kevin.
“No idea,” he said, looking over her shoulder. “Maybe you could set it at like sixty-eight degrees, and then shut the vents in the rooms that aren’t being used. That should help conserve something.”
“That’s a good idea, Kevin.” She smiled at him. “Then I won’t feel so bad about the heating bill if it is a bit more expensive. I’m going to feel silly anyway puttering around in this huge house by myself.”
“I know of two fabulous gentlemen who would be delighted to join you anytime for a hot toddy in front of the fireplace in the library,” Kevin said with a mock old-fashioned accent.
Ellie laughed. “I do appreciate that, Kevin. You and Eric are going to be welcome over here anytime,” she said, giving him a quick squeeze on the arm. Her mood was finally lightening. “Let’s go check the rest of the place out.”
“Goody!” Kevin squealed. They ran like kids around the bottom floor of the house, flipping on lights and yelling back and forth to each other checking off an imaginary list.
“Kitchen!” Ellie heard Kevin’s muffled voice from the back of the house.
“Library!” she yelled back, standing in front of the fireplace where they had all stood just two nights before. It seemed like a long time ago.
“Dining room!” was Kevin’s response.
Ellie spotted a set of pocket doors at the front of the library and rushed over, pushing them open. She was in the front room overlooking the lake, and she could see Skipper patiently waiting outside. In the center of the room was a large mahogany desk.
“Office!” she called out.
“Sitting room!” Kevin’s voice was louder this time.
Ellie turned to her left and opened the solid mahogany door there. She was in the front entryway again and Kevin was standing in the doorway directly across the hall, his hands still on the matching pocket doors.
“So that makes what—five rooms downstairs?” Ellie asked.
“Not counting the breezeway to the garage and a fantastic-looking solarium, I think so. There was a small hallway off the kitchen as well that looked like it went back to a pantry,” Kevin replied. “I can picture you now having your morning coffee on the front patio looking out at the lake. I’m sure there’s a door to the basement around here somewhere too.”
Ellie wrinkled her nose. “I’m completely fine if I don’t have to go into the basement the entire time I stay here.”
“Okay,” Kevin said. He shifted his eyes to the staircase. “Upstairs?”
Ellie gave a small grin, and they both took off running at the same time, jostling each other as they climbed the stairs, each one wanting to arrive at the top first. As they reached the landing, Ellie ran up the right side and Kevin the left side, and they were again facing each other, although this time they were separated by the wide opening to the first floor. The second floor wrapped around three sides of the foyer, and they were looking directly at the chandelier. There was another staircase against the back that climbed to the third level.
Kevin started counting. “One, two, three, four , five, six doors.”
“You can count,” Ellie said dryly.
“Cut it out,” he said. He pointed at the other staircase. “I think we should go all the way up and then come back down.”
“Why?” Ellie asked.
Kevin shrugged. “Why not?”
Since Ellie had no response, Kevin took it for agreement and started up the stairs, which were on his side. Ellie crossed back over the landing and followed. At the top of the stairs they passed a small door and then turned, and Ellie gasped. They were facing a large span of windows at the front of the house, and the view of the lake at this height was stunning.
“Whoa, that is some view,” Kevin said after a moment. “I think we should check out the door on the right.”
“Why there?” Ellie dragged her glance away from the lake and looked questioningly at him.
“Because that’s the one that has the sign that says ‘Ellie’s room’ on it,” Kevin replied, pointing at the door. “Guess they didn’t want you sleeping in their bed.” He gave her a lurid wink.
“That’s just disgusting to even think about, Kevin.” Ellie pushed him aside and headed for the door. She paused just a moment with her hand on the doorknob. Her name was written in Linda’s distinctive hand. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.
Her hand found the light switch next to the door, and she flipped it. She and Kevin gasped together. The room was huge and decorated in a style that Ellie could only classify as old-fashioned romantic. A king-size canopy bed was the room’s centerpiece, and the white furniture that accented it had just the softest tinge of pink. The walls were wallpapered in a striped pattern of alternating pinks with white and gold accents. The stripes stopped at a border underneath the crown molding, where delicate flowers seemed to be alive. The bed itself was draped in white lace and the bedspread and shams had the same soft pink tinge as the furniture. A heavy white rug covered the wood floor and promised warm toes in the morning when Ellie would slip out of bed.
Ellie went over and sat in the chair facing the oval mirror on the make-up stand. She ran her hands across the surface and then looked at her face. There were wrinkles there that she didn’t remember. “I look old,” she said as she touched the corners of her eyes.
“No, you don’t. You’re not even thirty-five yet. You are in your prime,” Kevin admonished.
Ellie hadn’t realized that she had spoken those words out loud. She turned in the chair and then rose. She went over the chaise lounge sitting under the double-wide windows that faced the lake. The moon was just starting to rise and she could see herself sitting there watching the water. A delicate crocheted blanket covered the back of the chaise, and Ellie ran her hand absently across it.
“This is like out of a dream,” she said finally.
“Now we just need to organize your debutante ball and find you a husband,” Kevin joked.
Ellie looked at him. “Linda didn’t have any kids, right?”
“You know that as well as I do, especially after that drama the other night,” Kevin said.
“Have you ever heard Randall mention having children?” Ellie asked.
Kevin rolled his eyes in response. “Could you imagine having Randall for a father? Gross.”
“This just seems too fancy for a guest room. This room feels like it has a purpose; like it belonged to someone.”
Kevin shrugged his shoulders. “As of today it belongs to you.”
Ellie wasn’t sure why, but his comment gave her an unsettled feeling in her stomach. “Let’s go look at the rest of the place,” she said.
She led Kevin out of the room and closed the door behind her, feeling relieved. They crossed the hallway and stood in front of the opaque French doors across from her room.
“Okay, here goes,” Ellie said, and she swung the doors open. The room was pitch black. She fumbled on the wall next to the doors and finally found the light switch. She flipped it, and she and Kevin were greeted by a huge empty room. The room was even larger than Ellie’s. Heavy dark drapes covered the windows, completely blocking out any natural light.
“What in the hell? Isn’t this the master bedroom?” Kevin said, turning and looking back over his shoulder at the hallway.
“Why would Linda keep this room empty?” Ellie asked. She walked over to the window and pushed the curtains open. The view of the lake was even better here than it was in her room.
Kevin stroked his chin as he moved to the center of the room. “It just doesn’t quite have the same homey feel when it’s a big empty cavern, does it?”
“This is all so weird, Kevin,” Ellie finally said. “Why isn’t there any furniture in here? Do you think Linda uses a different room down on the second level? This whole situation is getting stranger and stranger. You don’t think anything hap
pened in here, do you, Kevin?”
Kevin sighed and rolled his eyes again. “Oh well, so it’s an empty room. Big deal. Maybe Linda moved downstairs after Lloyd passed away because she didn’t want to be reminded of him or something. I’m sure there are a million different explanations, Ellie, none of which are the slightest bit strange.”
“You’re right, Kevin.” Ellie felt embarrassed now. “I’m jumping to stupid conclusions. I just remember Melanie making the silly comment that maybe Randall did something to her since I didn't actually talk to her. You’re right, I’m sure there is a very logical explanation.”
Kevin came to her side and put his arm around her. “That’s right. We are all getting a little carried away with stories lately. Linda’s in Paris living her life and having a fantastic time. And we should do the same. Let’s go check out the rest of the rooms.”
As they pulled the doors closed on the master bedroom, Ellie pointed to the door they had passed next to the staircase. “What’s that?” she said, pointing.
“Let’s go find out!” Kevin said. He went over to the door and threw it open, peering inside. “Okay, this is creepy.”
Ellie looked over his shoulder. They were at the top of a metal staircase that curled downwards into a deep gloom. It had a musty smell that reminded Ellie of something that she’d rather forget. It smelled like the basement of Jake’s house. Kevin looked at Ellie and she shook her head. “No, thanks. That is one secret that can stay that way for now.”
“Ah, come on, Ellie. Where’s your sense of adventure? We may come out behind some big clock downstairs or something,” Kevin joked.
“Or maybe we’ll find a dead body.” Ellie wrinkled her nose. “Uh-uh. I’m no Nancy Drew. I’m sticking with the regular staircase.”
Kevin shrugged as if to say her loss, but he didn’t argue any further. He followed her back down to the second level.
They quickly looked through the rest of the rooms that lined either side of the landing. Closer inspection revealed four bedrooms that were tastefully decorated, but had no real personality. There was a bathroom on either side as well. None of the rooms felt like they were being used.
Their inspection was cut short as they heard a commotion downstairs, and then Skipper barking furiously. “I bet he saw something and knocked that chair over!” Ellie headed down the stairs as quickly as she could; she flew out onto the front patio with Kevin right behind her.
Skipper stopped barking as soon as he saw her, but her assumption had been correct. He had managed to knock over the chair and was standing in the middle of the patio, apparently barking at the front door.
Ellie bent down and patted his head. “I’m sorry, buddy. I didn’t mean to leave you out here so long. You were a good boy, though. You stayed right here and didn’t run off. I’m proud of you.”
Kevin had his hand on his chest. “That dog just scared the crap out of me and you’re proud of him? Whatever.”
Ellie readjusted the chair with Skipper’s leash under the chair leg once again. “I’m done here for the evening. We just need to go turn off the lights and then I want to head home.”
“You aren’t staying here tonight?” Kevin asked.
“No, I didn’t bring any of my stuff over anyway. I wanted to check the place out so I knew what I needed to bring with me.” Ellie sniffed. What was that she smelled? She followed her nose back into the house and stopped in the foyer. On the beautiful antique bureau just to the left of the doorway there was a vase of blooming red roses with a note next to them.
“Wow, those smell terrific!” Kevin said, pushing Ellie aside. He stuck his nose into the very center of the bouquet and breathed deeply.
“Kevin, did you see those when we first came in?” Ellie asked.
“Nope, otherwise I would have had one stuck behind my ear the whole time,” Kevin said with a devilish grin.
Ellie was confused. She looked around at the room. The monstrous front doors, when opened, would have partially blocked the bureau from view as they entered. Still, it seemed odd to Ellie that she hadn’t smelled the flowers before given how fragrant they seemed to be.
Ellie picked up the note that was sitting next to the vase and opened it. “Our regards to our dear friend. Thank you again for being there in our time of need. Love, Randall and Linda,” she read out loud
“They sure like you,” Kevin said sarcastically.
“Never mind that. I’m still surprised we didn’t see these before.” Ellie pointed at the vase again.
“Oww. Magically appearing red roses. How freaky is that, I ask you?” Kevin said, wiggling his fingers in the air in the imitation of a ghost.
“Cut it out, Kevin. I’m serious,” she said.
“Ellie,” he said plaintively. “There is no mystery here. We just didn’t see them when we walked in because we were so distracted by wanting to take a look around the ole place. You are letting that agent’s silly story mess with you. Let’s get you out of here. I think you need some rest.”
They quickly turned off the lights around the house and when they stood in the foyer again, Kevin pointed at the flowers. “Are you going to take those?”
“No, you can have them,” she said.
“Eric will be so happy!” Kevin was delighted. “I won’t tell him that I didn’t actually buy them so you can’t tell him either.”
Ellie pulled the door closed behind them and locked the door. She pulled Skipper’s leash from beneath the chair leg and then the three of them headed down the sidewalk to the street.
Ellie turned and looked back at the house. In the darkness it felt like it was watching her. She shivered.