The Mystery at Lilac Inn - Carolyn Keene [3]
“When I asked her why she was dissatisfied, she said it was because the inn was—was haunted!”
“What did she mean?” Nancy asked.
Emily said she had not taken the statement seriously. “At the time I was sure the waitress, Mary Mason, was just making up an excuse for leaving. She packed and left on the bus to River Heights that day. Now I’m not so sure she hadn’t seen something strange.
“Sunday morning Gil Gary reported that our finest lilac tree near the front entrance had been stolen. No ghost did that!”
“What a shame!” Helen exclaimed.
“Mr. Daly was heartbroken,” Emily said unhappily. “Several years ago he rooted this lilac—the Lucie Baltet variety with a lovely pinkish flower. It was just beginning to blossom abundantly.
“The third strange occurrence,” Emily continued, “was around twelve o’clock last night. I was awakened by the sound of music and traced it to our record player in the recreation room. No one was there.”
“Perhaps someone at the inn was playing a joke,” Nancy suggested.
“No. Everyone denied this,” Emily answered. “A window in the recreation room was partially open. It looked as though it had been forced. And I know all the windows had been closed earlier.”
There was a thoughtful silence for several seconds, then Emily linked arms with her chums. “I won’t worry you with any more mysteries,” she said. “Let’s have lunch and later concentrate on wedding plans.”
Near the dining-room door Emily stopped to introduce her friends to a kind-faced, white-haired man. “This is Mr. Daly, the former owner, whom I told you about. I just couldn’t get along without him. I’m so glad he decided to stay awhile, even though he wants to retire.”
“How do you do?” Nancy and Helen smiled and shook hands, then went to a corner table near an old hutch cabinet.
Nancy’s mind was still on the series of events Emily had just related. It did sound as if something peculiar was going on at Lilac Inn!
Nancy had learned from her lawyer father, Carson Drew, that a seemingly unrelated chain of events often became a single baffling mystery. The young sleuth had found proof of this in solving several cases herself—her first being The Secret of the Old Clock, and more recently, The Bungalow Mystery.
Mrs. Willoughby and John McBride joined the girls. Emily asked them where Maud was.
“I believe she’s sun-bathing on the dock,” Mrs. Willoughby replied. “She ate an early lunch.”
There was a tense note in the woman’s voice which Nancy quickly detected. The girl detective recalled the conversation she and Helen had overheard that morning. Had further trouble developed ?
When Anna, the waitress, brought the first course of beef broth, Emily changed the subject abruptly. “Lilac Inn is really a fascinating place,” she said. “The original floors are still intact, and it’s rumored that George Washington ate here in the stagecoach days.”
John smiled. “According to reports, our first president must have eaten at every dining place in this country!”
During the luncheon of creamed chicken on toast, peas, salad, and iced tea, Helen asked whether Emily had a neighbor who wore his hair in a crew cut. She explained about the man who had rowed off, instead of coming to the girls’ rescue, when their canoe capsized. Emily and her aunt shook their heads.
“Not a very gallant guy,” John remarked. He asked several questions about the man with the crew cut and seemed very much disappointed when Helen could add nothing more to the description.
Later, Nancy said to John, “Your career in the Army must be interesting. Do you have a special assignment?”
“Wish I could tell you, Nancy. But it’s classified, or confidential, to civilians.”
“I understand.” Nancy smiled. Presently she turned to Emily. “I saw Doris Drake on the way here. Her house isn’t far away, is it?”
“About a mile up the road,” Emily answered.
After luncheon Emily offered to show Nancy and Helen around the inn and take them on a tour of the extensive grounds.
“I’ll get the jeep for that trip,” John offered.