Yuletide Peril Read online

  She walked to the pantry, and as the door squeaked open, a sound of thunder nearly deafened her. She heard running steps on the second floor, followed by groaning. The house creaked as if it would collapse around her.

  Janice had had all she could stand. She bolted out of the house, ran off the porch and into the yard. Gasping for breath, she thought her heart would never stop pounding. She leaned against one of the spruce trees and stared at the house. Obviously, since the cup had been moved, somebody had been in the house and perhaps was still there.

  Fifteen minutes later, when she heard Cecil’s ancient truck in the driveway, Janice steeled herself to meet him as if nothing had happened in his absence. When Cecil looked at her suspiciously, she doubted that she’d succeeded. To forestall any questions, she said, “How’d you get along with your orders?”

  Whistling, he stepped out of the truck. “Not bad. They’ll bring some of the windows this afternoon and the others as soon as they come in. There are lots of old houses in this county so these odd-sized windows are still available.” He eyed her with concern. “What have you been up to?”

  “Cleaning out the kitchen cupboards. Not much else I can do without water.”

  Cecil took a battered lunch bucket out of his truck. “I’ll stay here in the shade and eat my dinner. You wanna share my grub?”

  “No, thank you. I’ll go to my apartment and have a sandwich. I’ll bring food with me tomorrow.”

  Janice stepped into her car and drove away, wondering if she could find the nerve to return to Mountjoy. She knew she hadn’t imagined those noises or the cup. It was a continuance of the campaign to drive her away from her inheritance. What was so important about the house that her relatives were determined to have it? According to Santrock, the house wouldn’t bring much on the real estate market, so why was her presence a threat to anyone? The farther she traveled from the house, the more determined she was that she wasn’t going to let her harassers obstruct her plans for the future. Her mother had always said that the Reids had a stubborn streak, and at this moment, she was all Reid.

  When she parked in front of Henrietta’s house, the dog Brooke had befriended, and had named Hungry, sat on his haunches on the sidewalk. Janice stepped inside the apartment and filled a bowl with dog food, drew a pitcher of water and walked to the vacant lot next door. Usually the dog waited until they left before he came to eat, but today he approached Janice cautiously. She kept her eye on him as she poured the dry food into the metal pan that Henrietta had provided. She sloshed water into the big bowl on the ground.

  “Hello,” she said softly as the dog inched his way toward the food. “You don’t have to be afraid. I’m friendly and although it’s against my better judgment, I’ve allowed Brooke to feed you. I know how it feels to be abandoned, and how scary it is for new people to look after you.”

  The dog was lapping the water now and as he took a bite of the food, Janice knelt and reached out a hand to touch him. He dodged away, but as she continued to talk softly to him, he returned to the food and allowed her to put a hand on his head. She felt around his neck for a collar, but there wasn’t one.

  “I don’t know how to find your home, but I’ll look after you as long as I can.”

  Janice felt so safe under Henrietta’s roof that she knew it would be difficult for her to return to Mountjoy. She placed slices of bologna and cheese between two slices of whole wheat bread, peeled an orange, filled a glass with ice cubes and tea that she’d made earlier in the day. She’d almost finished eating when she heard the upstairs door open.

  Henrietta stepped out on the landing. “How’d things go this morning?”

  Janice was tempted to tell Henrietta the details of her disturbing morning, but she couldn’t worry this woman who’d been so good to her. She’d have to bear the suspense alone. She’d even considered calling Miss Caroline and shifting her problems to her former teacher. But her old mentor had new youths to advise now. Janice took the last bite of her sandwich, picked up the tea glass and walked to the foot of the stairs.

  “Cecil ordered the windows and some of them will be delivered this afternoon. I’m going to take down the curtains today.”

  “I wish I was twenty years younger and I could pitch in and help you.”

  “You’re helping me by giving us a place to live and keeping an eye on Brooke. And you’re a great advisor.”

  Although life hadn’t taught her to be demonstrative, Janice climbed the steps, leaned forward and kissed Henrietta’s dry, weathered cheek.

  “You’re like a mother and grandmother all rolled into one. If God hadn’t sent you to help me, I’d probably have left Stanton after the first weekend.”

  “And I’d have missed a great joy in my life. I’ve never been around young folks much—seems like my ministry was to elderly, sick people. It’s like a ray of sunshine to have you and Brooke in the house.”

  For the rest of the week Janice delayed her arrival at Mountjoy until she knew Cecil would be there, and she always left when he did. He replaced the door from the kitchen to the back porch and put new locks on the massive front door. Over the next five days, he repaired or replaced the downstairs windows, intending to rebuild the stairway so he could put in new windows upstairs.

  Excitement about the fall festival took center stage in Stanton during the month of September until an alarming incident rocked the complacency of the little town.

  Cecil relayed the news to Janice when she went to Mountjoy on Monday morning. “Did you hear about the big drug bust?” he said.

  “A drug bust in Stanton?”

  “Yep. Chief Goodman was out patrolling in his personal car about two o’clock this morning. A guy ran a stop sign and the chief pulled him over. Goodman found a lot of illegal drugs in the car. Don’t know if the guy was selling drugs, or if he’d picked them up here in Stanton. Talk on the street is that there are some people in the area producing the drugs.”

  “Oh, I hope not,” Janice said. “I thought I was bringing Brooke to a quiet, stable little town. I’d hate to think she’ll grow up in an environment where drugs are sold on the street.”

  “I wouldn’t worry. Chief Goodman and his brother are on the job.”

  Janice conceded that the chief of police was a competent man, but she didn’t think much of his brother. She hadn’t noticed that he shirked his duties, but she didn’t appreciate his come-hither looks when he met her. She ignored him as much as possible, and she’d concluded that he treated all women like that. His flirting wouldn’t necessarily keep him from being a good officer.

  “Besides, there’s a state police detachment in town,” Cecil continued. “If there’s any drug problem, the state guys will ferret it out.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I brought a Dumpster with me this morning. Before I start on the stairs, I can help you carry out a lot of the old stuff that you want to get rid of.”

  “Cecil, you’re a treasure!” Janice said sincerely. “I want to get rid of the trash so I can clean the kitchen and close it off from the rest of the house to keep out the dirt while you work on the upstairs. Then I can bring Henrietta’s sewing machine and start making draperies for the windows.”

  After they carried bags of trash to the Dumpster, Janice went to the front porch to clean the new windows Cecil had installed. She’d already cleaned the oval window in the front door and the leaded-glass panes looked as good as new. As she sprayed the windows with cleaner and wiped off the grime, she admired the sheen and shine of the new glass. A car with two men in it slowly approached the house. She went inside where Cecil was sawing boards to repair the stairway.

  “We have company coming,” she said. “I don’t know who they are.”

  Groaning a little, Cecil unlimbered his long body and stood. He walked into the living room and peered through a window. Amusement lit his faded eyes when he turned to face Janice. “That’s your kin—Albert Reid and his boy, Bob.”

  Grimacing, Janice said, “My fat
her’s brother! Now I wonder what they want.”

  “No good, I can guarantee that.”

  “Stay with me, Cecil.”

  “You’d better believe it.” He brushed his hands across his pants legs. “Want me to get rid of them?”

  “No. I’ll have to meet them sooner or later.”

  When the older man set his foot on the first step, Janice walked out on the porch. She hoped that the butterflies in her stomach hadn’t sent a message to her face.

  “What can I do for you?” she asked, noting the physical resemblance between this man and her father.

  Her uncle spat a stream of tobacco juice on the grass. “Just thought we’d be neighborly and pay a visit.”

  “I’m not ready for visitors yet. We’re still working to renovate the house.”

  While they’d talked, the younger man had wandered around sizing up the house. He was near the corner, apparently intending to circle the building when Cecil moved to Janice’s side.

  “Looking for something, Bob?”

  Bob stopped suddenly, surprise on his face. Cecil’s truck was parked out of sight behind the house and the Reids must have thought she was alone.

  “No, just looking around.”

  “Janice, this is your kinfolks, Albert Reid, and his son, Bob. They must know who you are.”

  Janice nodded her head to acknowledge the introduction.

  “As long as we’re here,” Albert said, “we might as well look around the old place. I haven’t been here since brother John moved to town.”

  She wondered if he’d emphasized that point to throw her off the scent that he’d been trespassing in her house. Feeling it wasn’t wise to antagonize them, Janice said, “I’d rather you’d made your visit after we had the place looking better, but since you’re here, come on in.”

  Janice didn’t trust the two men and when they stepped inside, Albert turned toward the kitchen, while Bob started to the rear of the house. She looked pointedly at Cecil. He caught her meaning and tagged along behind Bob, whistling a dismal tune.

  “I see you’ve put in new windows,” Albert said.

  “All the windows were broken.”

  He peered around the kitchen, went to the cellar door, lifted it, sniffing. “Funny smell in here—smells like bleach.”

  “I’ve been cleaning with bleach and other cleansers, so there would naturally be several odors. That’s better than the musty smell that was here.”

  “What’s Leroy doing these days?”

  Janice figured he knew that her father was in prison, but she said evasively, “I don’t keep in touch with him.” Starting toward the door, she said, “Is there anything else you want to see?”

  “Oh, I might take a look upstairs. I used to sleep up there when I was a little shaver.”

  “That won’t be possible—the steps have been dismantled.”

  “Why’d you do that?”

  “I didn’t do it. It was that way before I came.”

  With a suspicious glance at Janice, he headed toward the stairwell. When Albert saw the empty space, he looked sharply at Bob, who’d come into the central hall with Cecil tagging at his heels.

  “There’s some kind of hanky-panky goin’ on here, niece. You’d better find another place to live. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you like it did to brother John.”

  Over Albert’s head, Janice exchanged glances with Cecil, and he winked at her.

  “That’s about all there is to see, Albert, so you’d best be on your way,” Cecil said. “Me and Janice have got a lot of work to do today.”

  Bob slanted an angry look toward Cecil, and he said, “Come on, Dad. I don’t want no part of this haunted house anyway.”

  “What was their real reason for coming to Mountjoy?” Janice asked herself as she observed Bob’s reckless speed down the driveway.

  Chapter Ten

  Although school had been in session for several weeks, Janice still wasn’t willing to let Brooke walk home alone. It shortened her working time at Mountjoy, but she considered her sister’s welfare her first priority. As they walked home from school the day the Reids had visited her, Brooke said, “Let’s eat out tonight. Okay?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re getting tired of my cooking already?” Janice said with a grin.

  “No. No,” Brooke stammered. “Taylor told me that they’re having a cheeseburger and French fries special at the diner tonight. I thought it might be fun to go there for our supper.”

  Since it didn’t take much persuasion to avoid cooking, Janice said, “I’ll agree we can’t turn down a special like that.” Thinking that since she’d had a cheese sandwich for her lunch, she’d aim a little higher for her dinner.

  Hungry was waiting for them at the corner of the street, and he bounded ahead of them toward the vacant lot. He looked expectantly at Brooke. “You feed your pet and keep him company for a bit,” Janice said.

  The dog’s appearance had improved greatly since he’d been getting proper food, and Janice didn’t hesitate to let Brooke play with him. Having the dog for a companion was good therapy for her sister. Janice had often wished for a dog when she was a child, but when there was hardly enough food to feed the family, she hadn’t asked for a pet.

  “Are you hungry now? Or do you want to wait a while before we go to the restaurant?”

  “I was thinking about six o’clock,” Brooke said. “There’s a television program I want to watch.”

  “Fine. I’ll do some laundry.”

  “Will that give you time to shower and change into some clean clothes?”

  Janice looked down at her jeans and shirt, which were wrinkled but not dirty. “We’re only going to the diner—not a Broadway show. I think my clothes are appropriate enough.”

  “It’ll make you feel better to take a shower,” Brooke insisted.

  Janice wondered at the unusual ideas in Brooke’s mind. She frowned a little, realizing how inadequate she was to mother an eleven-year-old child. She made a mental note to buy a book on child psychology so she could brush up on what to expect as her sister matured.

  She put the last load of clothes in the dryer at five o’clock. Feeling somewhat disheveled after sorting and folding clothes, Janice decided a shower would be welcome. Brooke was immersed in the television show, but when Janice finished her shower, put a robe on and left the bathroom, Brooke said, “I laid out that new dress you bought last week. Tonight would be a good time to see how you like it.”

  “Maid service ’n’ everything,” Janice said. “Brooke, what are you up to?”

  Brooke wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Nuthin’. I just wanted to help.”

  “I bought that dress to wear to church. I’ll stick out like a sore thumb if I wear it to the diner.”

  “You should dress up more, Janice. Mrs. Smith always dressed up when we went out to eat.”

  “Mrs. Smith is forty years older than I am, too,” Janice retorted.

  But Brooke was insistent, and she handed Janice a bottle of perfume. “Put some of this on. I like to smell it.”

  Still baffled about Brooke’s behavior, Janice took the bottle of spicy Parisian Night perfume that her supervisor at the store had given her for Christmas. She sprayed a soft mist on her wrists and behind her ears, thinking she definitely needed some advice on how to handle her sister. Who could she ask? Being childless, Henrietta wouldn’t know any more than she did, so Linda Mallory would probably be her best source of information.

  Without any more argument, Janice put on the ivory two-piece dress. With its button-front jacket, princess seams and front slits, double collar and full-length sleeves with gold trim, the polyester poplin dress flattered her brunette features. The knee length elasticized-waist skirt had a kick pleat in the back. Getting into the spirit of the occasion, Janice put on a gold choker necklace and small gold-plated earrings. She slipped her feet into a pair of ivory and brown sandals.

  Brooke turned off the television, although the program wasn’t finishe
d yet. “Are you ready to go?”

  Janice pirouetted before her sister. “I guess so, if you’re sure my appearance suits you.”

  Giggling, Brooke answered, “You look good enough to go on a date.”

  Picking up her purse, Janice said, “Run upstairs and tell Henrietta we’re going out. We might as well walk to the diner—no need to take the car for three blocks.”

  The cheeseburger special had apparently enticed many people, for the parking lot was crowded and a long queue of people waited to place their orders. Taking Janice’s hand, Brooke tugged her past the ordering line toward the far corner of the restaurant.

  “Well, look who’s here,” Taylor Mallory said, and Janice saw Taylor and Lance sitting at a booth. Taylor stood up and waved, “Come and sit with us. You won’t mind will you, Uncle Lance.”

  “Well, no…” he said, and the surprised look on his face mirrored Janice’s amazement. He moved over and Taylor motioned Janice to sit down beside him. Her amazement shifted to anger, which increased when Brooke and Taylor starting giggling and made no move to sit down.

  With a wave of her hand, Taylor started out of the restaurant, and Brooke said, “Have fun. Don’t stay out too late.”

  Lance was stunned into speechlessness, but he finally muttered, “Do you have the feeling that we’ve been set up?”

  Without meeting his eyes, Janice said angrily, “I assume that you’re as surprised as I am about this little escapade.”

  “Why, of course. Linda had a dinner meeting at the church and Taylor suggested that we could eat out tonight.” He laughed. “Their little scheme worked, although I don’t care much for their choice of restaurants. What are we going to do about it?”

  Scooting out of the booth, Janice said, “I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I intend to find my sister. If Linda isn’t at home, those kids are prowling around alone and I don’t like it.”