by Kathi Daley
“She said she had just turned four when she went to her new home, and she really hadn’t remembered a thing about her life before that until she received the package with the journal. But since then, small snippets have come to her. She is pretty sure her mother had dark hair, and she thinks they lived in a forested area. She doesn’t remember having a father, but she does remember the twins and the baby. She told me that her memories are really disjoined and she isn’t even certain if what she thinks she remembers is an actual memory or simply a fake memory born in her imagination.”
I picked up a cookie and took a bite. “I get that. I sometimes have memories that feel very real to me, but my sister insists that the events I swear I remember from our childhood, never happened. I remember living in a house with a grand entry, but Annie and I went through every house we ever lived in as children, and none of them had a grand entry.”
“I suppose the remnants of dreams and fantasies exist in our minds the same way memories of actual events do. Once the image is planted, I can see how the two might get mixed up.”
I took a sip of my tea. “I will admit that Dixie’s story has caught my attention. I’ll have to make a point of introducing myself at breakfast. Did Dixie indicate whether the journal mentioned why their mother put them up for adoption?”
“According to the journal, her mother became ill and thought she was going to die. She was no longer able to care for her children on her own, and the father of her children had taken off when he’d found out she was pregnant with baby number four, so she decided that adopting them out was her only option. Since R indicated in the letter she sent that Dixie’s mother had recently died, I guess we can assume she must not have died from the illness which caused her to give up her children. Of course, she never sought them out, so I guess she must have assumed they were better off in their new homes.”
“I can’t imagine being faced with that choice. I wonder if Dixie’s mother had any family she could have gone to.”
“It seems that she must not have or perhaps her family was unwilling to take on four little girls. It’s hard to understand why the mother made the choice she did without having all of the pieces to the puzzle.”
Rufus jumped down off my lap and joined the dogs by the fire. I supposed I was moving around too much for his liking. It was just as well. It was tricky to balance hot tea and cookies with a twenty-five pound cat in your lap. “So did the man who planned to check into suite four arrive?” I asked, changing the subject back to a review of the day.
“He did. He is in the area for a job interview, so he only plans to stay three nights, but we have a young couple checking into that room for the weekend, so the suite will only be vacant two nights. A man and his niece checked into suite five today. I didn’t have a chance to speak with them at length, but I sense there is a story there as well. And, of course, Gaylord is still in the attic suite.”
Gaylord Godfry was a retired history professor who’d checked into the inn three weeks ago. He’d told us that he planned to use his time in Maine to write the great American novel. I had no idea if he was a talented writer, but he did seem to be putting in the time required to write a novel. His reservation was open-ended, which worked out good for us, and we were happy to have him.
“Did Gaylord decide if he wanted to participate in the murder mystery dinner party? It’s just two weeks away, and the company that puts on the event wants to get a final headcount.”
“I’ll ask him tomorrow,” Georgia said. “We have all six suites booked for that weekend, and the guests from the other five suites have confirmed their reservation to attend the party. We also have about twenty people from town who have reserved spots. If Gaylord decides to join us, we should have an even thirty, which puts us at capacity. The thirty is not counting you and me, or Nikki, but I figured we’d all be working the event and wouldn’t join in.”
Nikki Peyton lived with her brother, Tanner Peyton, on the estate to the north of us. Tanner trained dogs for service organizations, and Nikki, his much younger half-sister, helped Georgia with cleaning and laundry at the inn.
“And the pumpkins for the pumpkin patch?”
“They will arrive on Friday of this week. We will need to get them placed on the lawn once they show up. I’ve been advertising for weeks that we will have music on the lawn, crafts for sale from local craftsmen, and pumpkins and face painting for the kids both Saturday and Sunday. The inn looks fantastic, and I think this is a good opportunity to show off what we have accomplished and what we have to offer.”
“I agreed. I’m looking forward to the entire month. Did Lonnie come by and help you hang the skeletons in the hallways?”
Georgia nodded. Lonnie Parker had been hired to oversee the renovation of the inn, and even though his job was now complete, we could always count on him to come by when we needed some muscle or some height since Georgia and I were both petite.
“While he was here, he mentioned that he would be by this week to check out the flicker we seem to be having with the lights in the gazebo.”
I smiled. “The flicker that Gaylord is certain is linked to the strange noises he’s been hearing in the hallways at night?”
Georgia’s face grew serious. “I realize that Gaylord’s assertion that we have spooks living in the house is sort of out there, but he’s not the only guest to mention the rattling in the hallway. The couple who checked out of suite two a few days ago swore they heard a pitter-patter overhead, and the man who stayed in suite three, said he felt a presence when he got up to grab a snack in the middle of the night.”
“It’s probably just the very realistic decorations you’ve put out. We wanted to create the feel of a haunted inn, and apparently, we’ve done just that.”
“What about the flickering lights in the gazebo?” Georgia asked.
“I’m sure it is just a short in the wiring system. The lights inside the house haven’t been flickering have they?”
“Not that I know of.” Georgia got up and walked to the window. It was still pouring rain. “I guess I should go and do our nighttime lockdown.” She pulled on a rain slicker. “Hopefully, if we do have a ghost, it will behave itself tonight.”
The inn was a twenty-four hour a day undertaking. Georgia and I had established a routine of locking all the doors and making sure all the overhead lights on the main floor were off at ten. There were dim nightlights for guests who might get up for a drink or a snack after ten, and all the suite keys also opened the back door leading from the kitchen out to the drive between the house and cottage should one of the guests return from town after lockup. At this point, Georgia was working seven days a week with Nikki’s help, but eventually, we planned to employ someone to cover the daily operations at least one day a week so Georgia could have some time off. Of course, we’d only just begun booking rooms two months ago, so in the short term, Georgia seemed fine with the way things were. She provided a hot breakfast and dinner, but the guests were on their own for lunch. Nikki helped with the cleaning and laundry, which freed Georgia up to focus on marketing, reservations, and the food.
I picked up my teacup and cookie plate and set them in the sink, and then began emptying the dishwasher. During the day, Georgia handled the inn while I focused on my writing, and we generally shared the chores associated with the cottage we shared, but now Georgia had a full-time job the same as me. Now that my writing career had taken off and the inn was open, Georgia and I were both busier than we first imagined we would be. It was fine, though. I could see that Georgia was in her element with meals to prepare and guests to see to, and I was happy to be back in the saddle in the publishing industry. I’d started off slowly, uncertain of my readiness to be back in the public eye, but I had a book signing tomorrow at the local bookstore, and my newest novel would be released next month.
I reached up to place a pair of wine glasses on the overhead rack when I noticed that I had a call. It was Colt, so I picked up. “Hey. So what’s going on? Did the body
we found belong to Wesley Hamilton?”
“It did. At least the first one.”
“First one?”
“Once the crime scene guys got here and excavated Wesley’s body, we found another body beneath his.”
“You’re kidding?”
“I’m afraid not. The body beneath Wesley’s is fully decayed, so at this point, I don’t know who it belonged to or how long it’s been there. What I do know is that whoever killed Wesley was not the first one to have the idea to bury their kill in the Hamilton family plot.”
Books by Kathi Daley
Come for the murder, stay for the romance.
Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:
Halloween Hijinks
The Trouble With Turkeys
Christmas Crazy
Cupid’s Curse
Big Bunny Bump-off
Beach Blanket Barbie
Maui Madness
Derby Divas
Haunted Hamlet
Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies
Christmas Cozy
Alaskan Alliance
Matrimony Meltdown
Soul Surrender
Heavenly Honeymoon
Hopscotch Homicide
Ghostly Graveyard
Santa Sleuth
Shamrock Shenanigans
Kitten Kaboodle
Costume Catastrophe
Candy Cane Caper
Holiday Hangover
Easter Escapade
Camp Carter
Trick or Treason
Reindeer Roundup
Hippity Hoppity Homicide
Firework Fiasco
Henderson House
Holiday Hostage
Lunacy Lake
Celtic Christmas – December 2019
Zimmerman Academy The New Normal
Zimmerman Academy New Beginnings
Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook
Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery:
Pumpkins in Paradise
Snowmen in Paradise
Bikinis in Paradise
Christmas in Paradise
Puppies in Paradise
Halloween in Paradise
Treasure in Paradise
Fireworks in Paradise
Beaches in Paradise
Thanksgiving in Paradise – October 2019
Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:
Romeow and Juliet
The Mad Catter
Grimm’s Furry Tail
Much Ado About Felines
Legend of Tabby Hollow
Cat of Christmas Past
A Tale of Two Tabbies
The Great Catsby
Count Catula
The Cat of Christmas Present
A Winter’s Tail
The Taming of the Tabby
Frankencat
The Cat of Christmas Future
Farewell to Felines
A Whisker in Time
The Catsgiving Feast
A Whale of a Tail
The Catnap Before Christmas – December 2019
Writers’ Retreat Mystery:
First Case
Second Look
Third Strike
Fourth Victim
Fifth Night
Sixth Cabin
Seventh Chapter
Eighth Witness
Ninth Grave
Rescue Alaska Mystery:
Finding Justice
Finding Answers
Finding Courage
Finding Christmas
Finding Shelter – Early 2020
A Tess and Tilly Mystery:
The Christmas Letter
The Valentine Mystery
The Mother’s Day Mishap
The Halloween House
The Thanksgiving Trip
The Saint Paddy’s Promise
The Halloween Haunting – September 2019
The Inn at Holiday Bay:
Boxes in the Basement
Letters in the Library
Message in the Mantel
Answers in the Attic
Haunting in the Hallway – August 2019
Pilgrim in the Parlor – October 2019
Note in the Nutcracker – December 2019
The Hathaway Sisters:
Harper
Harlow
Hayden – Early 2020
Haunting by the Sea:
Homecoming by the Sea
Secrets by the Sea
Missing by the Sea
Betrayal by the Sea
Christmas by the Sea – Fall 2019
Thanksgiving by the Sea – Fall 2020
Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:
Murder at Dolphin Bay
Murder at Sunrise Beach
Murder at the Witching Hour
Murder at Christmas
Murder at Turtle Cove
Murder at Water’s Edge
Murder at Midnight
Murder at Pope Investigations
Murder at Shell Beach - Early 2020
A Cat in the Attic Mystery:
The Curse of Hollister House – September 3, 2019
The Mystery Before Christmas – November 2019
Seacliff High Mystery:
The Secret
The Curse
The Relic
The Conspiracy
The Grudge
The Shadow
The Haunting
Road to Christmas Romance:
Road to Christmas Past
USA Today best-selling author Kathi Daley lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken. When she isn’t writing, she likes spending time hiking the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home. She has authored more than a hundred books in eleven series, including Zoe Donovan Cozy Mysteries, Whales and Tails Island Mysteries, Tess and Tilly Cozy Mysteries, Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries, Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Series, Inn at Holiday Bay Cozy Mysteries, Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mysteries, Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mysteries, Haunting by the Sea Paranormal Mysteries, Family Ties Mystery Romances, and Seacliff High Teen Mysteries. Find out more about her books at www.kathidaley.com
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