Wilmington, NC 04 - Murder At Wrightsville Beach

maintained, Jon and I had a lot of work to do.
    But the front lawn was mowed and the shrubbery pruned so evidently a lawn maintenance service was employed to care for the yard. Kelly verified this as she led the way across the sidewalk. "Mom and Dad keep the old place up, after a fashion. Dad sometimes uses Screen Gem Studios to produce his agency's ads so Mom and Dad stay in the old homeplace when they're in town. Right now they're traveling in Europe so this is a good time to begin the restoration."
    I followed her up the sidewalk to the front door.
    "A cleaning service comes in when Mom and Dad are in town to banish dust and cobwebs," Kelly explained as she inserted a large key in the paneled door.
    A slight musty odor greeted our nostrils as we stepped inside a formal center hall. The house was hot and stuffy. Ambient daylight filtered through the sidelights and the fanlight over the door, revealing red oak flooring, a worn oriental area rug, and a marred console table.
    The finish carpentry was excellent with fine dado below the chair rail. The deep cornice crown molding had been routed into the dentil pattern. But the wallpaper above the chair rail had faded so that the colors were no longer distinguishable and all of the woodwork needed painting.
    I was puzzled why, with all their money, Babe and Ted had not taken the trouble to restore the house until Kelly had insisted upon this course of action. My curiosity must have shown on my face because Kelly remarked, "She'd never admit it to strangers but Mother doesn't really like this place."
    "She doesn't?" So Babe didn't like the house and J.C. wanted to level it. I couldn't imagine anyone not liking the graceful residence, but then old houses are my passion. I let the matter drop; any further questions would have been impolite. At the same time I caught our reflections in a pitted mirror. Kelly was so golden that an aura seemed to emanate from her very being.
    "Help me open the shades," she said, breaking the spell.
    On the left, double pocket doors opened into the living room and we moved to the windows there, pulling on the cords of wooden venetian blinds. Blinds like those had made a come back and were very popular today, but these were original, eighty years old. Some of the slats wouldn't turn, the ropes were frayed, but we managed to let in a fair amount of sunlight. And light flowed in from the adjoining sunroom that I'd noted from my van.
    "We'll send these blinds out for repairs," I said.
    "Oh, why bother? Can't we just replace them?" Kelly asked. She looked around at the overcrowded room with its threadbare rugs and dingy upholstery. "I'd like to get rid of all of this stuff and replace it with reproductions."
    I appraised the furniture critically. "You don't want to do that, Kelly. This furniture is authentic, the real thing. These pieces may look bad now but after they've been refinished and reupholstered, you'll be pleased. You've got real treasures here."
    "Treasures? What kind of treasures?" Kelly looked doubtful. Was I forever to be regarded as Melanie's little sister? My word and authority disputed because I was once an eight year old tagging along behind sixteen year olds?
    "You've got art deco pieces here," I said firmly.
    "Art deco? But that's the style of the furniture Melanie has in her house on Sandpiper Cove. And I love the way she decorated her house." Kelly added, "Now that you've pointed it out, I do see some resemblance."
    "Melanie and I decorated her house right after she bought it, one summer when I was home from Parsons. But her pieces are reproductions."
    "And I love them," Kelly declared. "If you can do something sophisticated like that here, I'd be thrilled." She reached out to give my hand a squeeze. "Melanie was right. You are good."
    I smiled, pleased. Kelly was like a different person when they were no men around. "Did Melanie spend much time here when you two were attending high school together?"
    "Oh, we were in and out. You know how it is when you're a teen."
    "I was just thinking that maybe this is where Melanie developed a taste for art deco and just didn't realize it. You've got a hodge-podge here. Some nicely designed pieces mixed in with what I'd call farm-style furnishings."
    Kelly explained, "I think Grandpa Joe moved a lot of stuff in here from the farm after they sold it."
    I moved through a large open archway into the dining room and pulled out a chair. I'd been carrying a yellow legal pad and I placed it on