The Mystery at Lilac Inn - Carolyn Keene [37]
“You seem to like flowers, Jean,” Nancy observed. “That’s a pretty combination: iris and ‘blue pipes.’ ”
“ ‘Blue pipes’?” Jean echoed. “What made you use that expression?”
“It’s different,” Nancy said nonchalantly.
Did the waitress seem suddenly ill at ease, or was it Nancy’s imagination? Before the young sleuth could decide, there was a loud clap of thunder, followed by the banging of several shutters. As Jean and Mr. Daly hurried to shut the dining-room windows, Nancy saw John and Dick dash across the side lawn toward the inn.
Rain came pouring down in silvery sheets. There was another resounding thunderclap, then a vivid flash of lightning. A splintering, crashing sound followed.
“Oh!” Jean shrieked. “The inn’s been struck!”
CHAPTER XVI
A Letter
THE crash had come from the front of the inn. Everyone raced through the lobby to peer outside.
“Oh!” Nancy cried. “The historic lilac tree is down.”
The lovely “tree of good fortune” had fallen onto the lawn, splintered and charred.
“More bad luck!” Emily said mournfully.
Suddenly Maud burst out, “This is the last straw! I’m fed up with a place full of thieves, weird noises, bombs, a trembling building—I quit.”
She turned a scathing look on Mrs. Willoughby. “You got me into this. Thanks for nothing! I’ve found a better job on my own!”
Emily’s face was expressionless as Maud snapped open her purse and fumbled through its contents. She drew out a letter and flourished it.
“This is an offer of a position I received today from the Hotel Claymore in River Heights. I’ve already accepted it,” Maud stated. “Emily, I didn’t go to the employment agency just to find you a waitress, but to find a decent job for myself. But I asked the manager not to say I had been there.”
With dignity Emily said, “Maud, Dick will write a check for whatever salary we owe you.”
With a triumphant air Maud marched upstairs. Emily looked around anxiously. The waitresses and cooks had gathered in a corner of the hall. Obviously they had not missed a word of what had been said.
Nancy sensed what her friend was thinking: that the employees were probably suspicious about the fire. Now that Maud had mentioned the bomb, all of them might become alarmed enough to give notice. Prospects for Lilac Inn’s success would indeed be dim.
“I must help Em and Dick before it’s too late,” Nancy told herself determinedly.
As the rain abated and the sky began to brighten, the men went outside to examine the fallen lilac. Nancy now turned to Mrs. Willoughby, who seemed almost in a daze. “Perhaps you’d better sit down and rest,” she said kindly.
Emily’s aunt gave a great sigh. “I will. Please come with me to Emily’s office,” she asked the three girls.
When they were seated, Emily said, “Aunt Hazel, was Maud Potter threatening you in some way?”
“I’m afraid so,” Mrs. Willoughby replied wearily. “Actually I believe she wouldn’t have carried it out. But I couldn’t be sure—”
To the girls’ dismay, the woman broke down and sobbed. Nancy patted her shoulder. “Won’t you tell us about it?”
Regaining composure, Mrs. Willoughby nodded. “I feel terrible. When I brought Maud here, I thought I was helping Emily and Dick. But it’s turned out just the opposite.
“Anyhow,” she went on, “I met Maud a year ago at a party in River Heights. We became friendly—attended the theater and so forth. Maud seemed very pleasant and good company at the time. And I also felt sorry for her.”
“Sorry?” Helen echoed.
Mrs. Willoughby explained that Maud’s husband had died several years before, leaving her penniless. Since then, she had worked at various resorts, but not very long at any one.
“When Maud heard about Lilac Inn, she persuaded me that, with her experience, she’d be ideal as social director. But soon after her arrival here, she asked me to lend her a large sum of money—claimed to have a lot of unpaid bills which her salary wouldn’t cover. Maud became angry when I refused, but she continued her demands for money.”
Emily interrupted, “Aunt Hazel, why didn’t you tell us she was bothering