Mysteries of Holt House - A Mystery Read Online Free PDF

going to charge you for a room.” I suddenly felt very
generous.
    “Yes, you will. You can’t make any money
if you give rooms away. A discount is fine with me though, and will be greatly
appreciated.”
    “We’ll talk about it later,” I said,
feeling my spirits lift.
    The next week passed slowly. I was anxious
to get the auction over which made the time drag. I called Jasper when it
struck me that I’d seen telephone lines going out to the house, but nothing
resembling power lines.
    “There are power lines close enough to run
out to the house,” he explained. “In the past, generators were used.”
    I was surprised that the Holts had been
such pioneers. Thanks to them, if the electricity went out, the generators were
still there. Propane was used for heat and was trucked in, and there were wells
on the property for water. That was fine with me. A small price to pay to live
out in the country.
    “By the way, did you ask your supervisor
about the books Mrs. Holt kept?”
    “Yes, he said you can have the household
books.” Jasper also told me no one else had shown interest in the house yet –
music to my ears.
    I found myself spending many spare moments
during that week studying the portrait of Mrs. Holt. To say she fascinated me
was an understatement. I still couldn’t get past our resemblance to each other.
I even called my mother and asked her if she was keeping anything from me.
    My mother laughed. “It really is just a
coincidence, sweetheart. I saw Mrs. Holt in town a few times, and in person the
resemblance isn’t so strong.”
    “Thanks for setting my mind at ease, Mom.”
    We hung up and I turned to the painting.
“I sure wish I could figure you out. I wish you could open your mouth and
answer some questions. Oh, well...”
    The auction finally rolled around and
there was only one other bid besides mine. To my delight, I was able to outbid
the other person. The house cost less because of being sold through auction and
I would be buying it outright. It would be mine as soon as all the red tape was
cleared away. It didn’t take too long to process the paperwork, and in a month
I was able to move in.
    I took my high back rocker, personal
possessions and a few of my “yard sale specials” with me, and had a yard sale
of my own to dispose of my other furniture. My rocker was the only thing I
absolutely refused to part with.
    I didn’t have much work to do when I
arrived at the house. It was a little disconcerting, but someone had come in
and cleaned the entire place for me, and after checking I found it wasn’t the
agent or his people. The furniture was even rearranged so that it enhanced the
appearance of the house. I hung the portrait of Mrs. Holt over the fireplace in
the formal living room and everything looked complete. I did some unnecessary
dusting, put my personal effects away and made up my bed. I’d bought more
bedding and sheets, and purchased all new bedspreads for the bedrooms. I
wouldn’t make up the other beds until I had guests.
    I thought it over and decided that I
didn’t want my room to be on the same floor as the guests’ rooms, so I took
possession of the largest of the servants’ rooms. I put my rocker by the
window. The room was set off from the others, so I’d still have my privacy.
    It was such a large house. I couldn’t help
but wonder why the Holts had bought it since there were only the two of them
and they never entertained. Living in an old house meant I had to put up with
some creaking and occasional groaning, but that was okay once I realized no one
was sneaking around upstairs. It was mine.
    After settling in and fixing myself soup
and a sandwich, I realized I was exhausted. So much had happened, and it was
finally catching up to me. I slept well the first night in my new home. The
peace was glorious. Even the sound of the crickets didn’t bother me. Their
chirping was like a lullaby.
    What did it matter that I was all alone in
a big, very old and creaky,