Ian had tea waiting for me when I arrived at his place an hour before my dad was due to show up.
“Did you find any lock that might fit that key?” I asked, savoring the hot brew since I was chilled from the walk over here, it being the perfect chilly autumn day for a trek through the woods.
“We both know each other well. You knew when you sent me those pictures of the key, I wouldn’t be able to resist searching for keyholes that might fit it.”
“I had to keep myself from running over here to help you look,” I admitted.
“My door is open to you anytime, Pep, and a call isn’t necessary. Though a key might be, since I’ve decided to keep my flat locked after what happened last night.”
I was savvy enough to know that flat translated meant apartment, but I wasn’t savvy enough to know if he was offering me a key. Thankfully, he supplied an answer.
“I’ll have a key made for you before tonight.”
Was this where I was supposed to offer him a key to my place, something I wasn’t ready to do yet. At least not until after this murder case was solved or else my dad and brothers would go ballistic. Not that that should matter, but I wouldn’t disrespect my dad that way. And even then, I’d have to give it thought. It was too early to tell where this thing was going with Ian, and I didn’t want to rush it and make a foolish mistake.
I hadn’t realized how deep in thought I’d been until I felt Ian’s hand on mine. I looked at him and felt as if I melted. He was so gorgeous and so thoughtful that I feared this all couldn’t be real and that saddened me.
“No worries, Pep. Ah dinnae expect you to offer me a key to your place, at least not yet. There’s time for that. I’m giving you a key because I want you to get as comfortable here as I am at your place.”
He kissed my cheek quick. How could I not love this guy?
“Besides, ah dinnae need a key.” —Ian chuckled— “Mo will let me in.”
I had to laugh since he was right. Mo had grown accustomed to him and had unlocked the door for him numerous times.
This time I segued back to the topic of the key. “The keyholes that fit that key have to be old.”
Ian sprung up. “Why didn’t I think about that?”
“What?” I asked, sharing his excitement.
“Max’s cabinets in his office.
My tea sloshed around in the mug I hurried so fast to set it on the counter and get to my feet. “You didn’t toss them, did you?”
Ian shook his head as he grabbed my hand and headed to the door. “I haven’t touched his office yet.”
We stood in front of a door, a DO NOT ENTER sign on it, on the ground floor at the back of the lodge. Ian held a set of keys he had grabbed from a draw before we left his living quarters and seemed reluctant to unlock the door.
“I was in his office only once and dinnae stay long. I felt as though I was intruding on his privacy. With so much else to be done, I figured I’d see to his office later. Now I think this should have been the first room I went through.”
He inserted the key and opened the door.
Ian went to the two windows encased in shutters, light filtering through some of the broken slots and opened them. Light flooded the room. Dust motes danced like snowflakes in the musky air and one window groaned as Ian forced it open.
I smiled recalling my two or three visits to this room. Aunt Effie was great for bringing gifts to various people from her foreign travels. Most of the things she had brought for Max and Trudy had wound up in his office and he would insist she pick the place where they would look the best.
“This is your dad before you turned his hair white?” Ian asked with a teasing smile as he pointed at a picture among a group of pictures on the one wall.
“Believe me, I’m not the only one responsible for that, my brothers share in it as well.” I looked at the picture and my smile grew. I pointed to the skinny little girl with the wide toothless grin. “That’s me.”
Ian looked closer. “You were adorable, Pep.”
“Bless you for being so kind,” I said with a laugh and my glance fell on another photo that caught my breath.
Ian’s eyes went wide. “That’s you?”
I shook my head. “My Aunt Effie.”
“Wow. I thought it was you. You could be her twin.”
I never thought that, though many had remarked on it as I grew older. Seeing her picture now made me realize how true it was. I did look like my aunt, though I lacked her height.