Free Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines by Diane Greenwood Muir

basement. He wants to know what kind of wood it is and if he should spend time refinishing it.”
    “He’s not asking you to do the work?”
    “I hope not,” Henry said. “The man has more free time than I do and infinitely more patience than me when it comes to that. As much as I love antiques, I prefer building furniture from scratch.”
    “What kind of furniture does he want you to look at?”
    “I don’t know. He’s being kind of cagey about the whole thing. I can’t tell if he’s doing something for Andy or what.”
    “That’s what I wondered,” Polly said. “They’re so cute together.”
    “Both of them would strangle you if they heard you say that.”
    Polly watched Jeff Lyndsay run into Sycamore House from the parking lot. He dashed past her inside window and ran into the office, coming to a stop in her doorway.
    “I’m sorry I’m late this morning! I got caught up at Iowa State’s costume shop. They’ve got great stuff and have already heard from some people in Bellingwood. Isn’t that awesome?”
    “It’s great, Jeff. I didn’t expect to see you until later. Isn’t it supposed to be your morning off?” Polly asked.
    “There’s so much to do to get ready for the Black Masque that I didn’t want to sit around my house twiddling my thumbs. That thing is less than two weeks away!”
    He took a breath, then said, “Do you know anything more about who might have murdered Thomas Zeller? And how long until we’re able to get in there and clean that room?”
    “I don’t know anything more,” Polly said. “And I don’t know when we can get in there.” She frowned. “I guess I don’t know much of anything.”
    “Well, I got a good lead on masks. I figure we need to have extras here that evening. By the way, did you get the email I sent with the gorgeous mask for a horse? Wouldn’t it be smashing to have you and Demi out front, welcoming people to the Ball?”
    “I got it. I haven’t talked to Eliseo about it, but I’ll ask.”
    “At least I didn’t send you the image of a black horse with a skeleton painted in white on it.”
    “At least you didn’t,” she acknowledged.
    He left her office and Henry laughed. “He loves a party, doesn’t he?”
    “I’m so glad he does. I’d just stick food in front of people and let things be boring after they ate.”
    “No you wouldn’t. Lydia and her crew would never hear of that. As long as they’re around, you’ll have great parties.”
    “I suppose. I think Lydia and Beryl have huge plans for Beggar’s Night here. She’s talking about transforming the foyer into a haunted house.”
    Henry cocked his head and looked at her in surprise. “Lydia? Lydia who runs all of the church events and is the Sheriff’s wife? Sweet Lydia?”
    Polly snorted with laughter. “Oh, she’d hate you for labeling her that way. Yes. Sweet Lydia. I gave them a budget, figuring we could just begin with a little bit of decorating to give the kids something fun and she’s managed to come up with some great ideas. Has she talked to you yet?”
    “Nope,” he said, shifting his eyes back and forth. “What should I be expecting?”
    “I think you’re going to build a coffin for the vampire …”
    “Oh, that’s easy. In fact, that would be fun.”
    “You should stick around for this meeting. They’ll be here in a bit.”
    Henry’s entire body shivered. “Do I have to?”
    “No, you don’t have to.” Polly laughed out loud. “But, I can’t promise they won’t assign extra tasks to you.”
    “You won’t protect me?”
    “I can try. Would you believe she talked Aaron into being Frankenstein’s monster?”
    Henry had started to stand up again and sat back down, a look of incredulity on his face. “I actually don’t believe that. How in the world did she make that happen?”
    “Feminine wiles, I suppose. She asked Eliseo to bring Nan up and be the headless horseman. Jason is going to be draped over Nat as the horseman’s latest