Here's the promised Chapter 48.
Thanks for reading this storyand leaving wonderful comments.
I'll be away for four days next weekend, so I probably won't post Chapter 49 until Monday or Tuesday evening.
Chapter 48. New and Old Houses
The next morning, Cameron was surprised to find House awake before her. He was sitting up in bed, reading the latest articles on kidney function tests. As she shifted under the blankets, he removed his glasses and looked at her.
"What time is it?" She reached for her watch.
"Relax. It's only seven. I couldn't sleep."
"Too wound up?" She grinned. "I'm off to the shower. Wanna join me? I could...relax you."
"I don't usually turn down an offer like that, especially from you." He wiggled his brows. "However, I'll take a rain check."
"Suit yourself." She slipped out of bed and walked the few steps to the bathroom.
House took a last glance at the pages in his lap, harrumphed, and then followed her.
When they ascended the stairs an hour later, Mrs. McClelland was waiting for them in the kitchen. "Would you like some breakfast before we head out to get Anna?"
They gladly accepted. She made them her special: fried eggs and tomatoes, bangers, and potatoes. They washed the food down with cup after cup of coffee. As they were finishing, Edna's phone rang.
"Hello, Anna." She smiled at them and held her hand out with the thumb up. "Yes, we're almost done here. We should be there in less than fifteen minutes."
House gulped down the last of his coffee and wiped his mouth. Cameron carried the plates to the dishwasher, and they were out the door.
Anna was waiting for them when they drove up. "Oh, this is going to be so exciting."
They rode out to the house site and parked on the path. Exiting the car, they examined what Will and his crew had accomplished so far. It looked like the foundation was in and the framework for the house, but it was impossible to tell how the rooms would be divided or how many there would be.
"Where did you find poor Pamela?" Mrs. McClelland stepped gingerly around the debris left by the construction workers. She was wearing sneakers, what she still called plimsoles, but still had to be careful to avoid nails and scraps of wood.
Cameron pointed. "Over in those trees. It still gives me the shivers."
"Pamela's completely recovered now, and as ornery as ever." Anna chuckled. "I saw her yesterday evening at the last council meeting before the election. She made sure everyone knew she wouldn't step down from her seat, but she gave no indication of which candidates she would support."
"I never thought she would." House picked up a discarded roll of tape and pocketed it.
Cameron noticed. "What are you planning to do with that?"
He shrugged. "I paid for it. No reason to let it go to waste. I'm sure I'll find a good way to use it."
Cameron narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything further. Instead, she walked around the house to get a feel for how big it really was. This was going to be their home, she thought with a grin.
"How many rooms will there be?" Anna asked.
"The plan we agreed to had four bedrooms, but we'll use two for offices," House replied. "The usual other rooms, two full bathrooms."
"And all on one floor." Edna sighed. "As I get older I wish my house was, too."
"How could you tell it was going to be a ranch house?" Cameron asked.
Edna shrugged. "I guess I assumed."
There wasn't that much to see. Soon they were back in the car, speeding toward town and Phyllis' mansion. Despite the fact that someone was now living in it, the house didn't look different from the way it had when House and Cameron were there before.
"I haven't been by this way for a while." Anna grimaced. "How did it get so rundown?"
"This was how it looked before Iris came to town." Cameron stood beside her on the walk, looking at the house and front yard. "I suppose Ian wasn't into home maintenance."
Enid shook her head. "Phyllis would have been appalled at the way the weeds have taken over her flower beds." She compressed her lips. "Well, let's see how bad the inside is, shall we?" She led the way up the three wide steps to the wraparound porch.
As expected, the door was locked. House whipped out his wallet and extracted a credit card, then used it to open it.
"I suppose you've done this before." Anna smirked at him.
"I hope you won't tell the constable."
"I assume you mean Police Chief Anderson. I won't tell him if you don't." Anna entered the vestibule and looked around. "Nothing's changed here, except that Phyllis used to leave her keys in a Chinese bowl on this table."
The table she indicated was bare.
"Perhaps Ian or Iris moved the bowl." Cameron continued to the kitchen behind the curved staircase that led to the upper floor. It was comfortably cool inside the house, thanks to central air conditioning that hummed in the background.
A single plate, knife and fork sat in the dishdrainer next to the sink. Otherwise, the room was spotless. Edna opened a few cupboards, then closed them again.
"I'll take the upper floor," Cameron volunteered.
Anna started for the stairs. "I'll go with you. There were a few things in Phyllis' bedroom I'd like to look for."
"Dr. House and I will explore down here." Edna went through a door to the right of the kitchen.
House returned to the front hall, then poked his nose into the rooms to the right and left of it. The first, filled with overstuffed, yet comfortable looking chairs and couches, had to be the living room. Paintings hung on two of the walls. Windows to the front of the house were covered in heavy drapes that matched the couch. The casual tables and a china cabinet held all sorts of decorative items, but no Chinese bowl.
The other room off the hall was a dining room. A huge mahogany table with curved Queen Anne legs and eight matching chairs dominated the room. The table was bare except for a film of dust. Pictures were mounted above the chair rail, framed prints depicted various herbs. A crystal chandelier looked like it hadn't been dusted in months. Cobwebs dripped from the arms, as if someone had TPed it.
House returned to the kitchen and took a seat to wait for the others to return from their explorations.
Edna was the first to rejoin him. "Did you find anything amiss in the living room and dining room?"
House shook his head. "Although, I don't know what they looked like before. Both seem to be completely unused. The dining room hadn't been cleaned in a while."
She nodded. "Same in the library."
"There's a library?" House's ears perked up.
Edna chuckled. "I'm sure no one would noticed if you borrowed a volume or two. It's that way." She pointed back the way she'd come."
"I'll pass for now. What else did you find?"
"The door to the basement is locked. But that's how Phyllis always kept it. She was afraid of falling down the stairs."
Cameron and Anna were chatting excitedly as they entered the kitchen. "It's obvious that Iris is now using Phyllis' bedroom." Cameron chuckled. "She's not very neat."
Edna nodded. "I certainly wouldn't hire her to clean my house."
"I don't think there's anything missing," Anna said. "But there are still no signs of an artist living in this house."
"I wonder if Iris has given that up entirely." Edna began to put away the dish in the drainer until House stopped her.
"We don't want her to know anyone was here."
"Oh, right." She closed the cabinet and returned the plate to where she found it.
"Any signs of Ian?" House asked.
"There was a pack of cigarettes in one of the guest bedrooms," Cameron replied. "And a pair of men's slippers under the bed."
"But no clothing in the closet, not even a suitcase," Anna added.
Cameron nodded. "And the only items in the upstairs bathroom are feminine, either toiletries Phyllis left, or ones Iris is using."
House hesitated, then told Edna. "Show me this locked basement door."
She exchanged a wary look with the other two women, then strode back to the area of the house she'd explored. The rest followed her, but it was House who tried the knob. He leaned over and put his eye to the keyhole.
"It's dark as a tomb in there."
"I hope it's not. A tomb I mean," Cameron shivered. "Can you work your magic on that lock?"
House tried a credit card, but it wasn't the kind of lock that would work on. "Anyone have a hairpin?" He held out his hand.
Edna promptly produced one for him.
He fiddled with the lock. There was a distinct click. He smiled and turned the knob, swinging the door open. "I don't think ladies first this time." He found a wall switch. The light was dim but they were able to make out the stairs.
"Are you sure you want to go down there?" Anna asked.
To answer her, he took a step, and then another. Slowly he descended with Cameron not far behind.
The basement was dank and colder than the house. Aside from a water heater, some plumbing pipes, and an old-fashioned washtub, the basement was empty.
"I guess Phyllis didn't store anything down here." House made a tour in the light afforded by two clerestory windows. The basement didn't extend under the entire house.
"What did you expect to find?" Cameron asked. "A body?"
He shrugged. "Perhaps some of the spare inventory from the shop, or even Iris' missing art supplies."
They returned to the first floor and the two older women.
"Well?" Anna asked. "What's down there?"
"Nothing," House reported. "The basement is empty."
Edna's brows knitted. "Phyllis used to keep all sorts of things down there. Where could it all be?"
"Is there an attic?" Cameron asked.
"Yes, I think it's accessible from one of the bedroom closets upstairs." Anna led them up to the second floor and into one of the many bedrooms. Sure enough, in a closet, a panel in the ceiling was removable, but there was no ladder to allow them to move it or to climb into the attic.
"I can imagine what's up there." House walked out into the hallway and looked around. "You checked all of the rooms on this floor?"
Cameron nodded.
He still poked his nose into a couple. "Why is Iris using the bathroom out here? Isn't there a master bathroom?"
"After her husband died, Phyllis stopped using it," Edna said.
"He died in the tub," Anna added.
House's eyes lit up. "Let's take a look."
The master bedroom was as messy and musty as Cameron and Anna said. Two doors led off it. The open one led to a walk-in closet, but the other was closed. House turned the knob and opened it.
The smell hit them first. Someone had died in there, someone besides Phyllis' husband.
