What Are the Odds

by Marja McGraw

  I heard Pete groan behind me. “I thought you were going to save the sappy talk for private moments.”

  Felicity laughed. “We’ve decided to come out of the closet. We’re just sappy at heart.”

  Back in the kitchen, I saw someone had tried to pry up the ceramic tiles on the sink top. Apparently it was too big of a job and they’d given up. Thankfully, the thieves left the tiles they’d managed to pull up on the sink or my mother would have to buy all new ones. The sink was there, but the faucets were gone.

  On to a family room which was behind the living room. There was another fireplace. The two sat back to back. A bright blue ceiling fan hung at an odd angle. I could see why the thieves hadn’t taken it.

  “If this tragedy occurred around twenty years ago, shouldn’t the house be in even worse shape than it is?” It needed a lot of work, but so much of it seemed to be cosmetic.

  “There was a caretaker out here for a long time,” Frank said. “I think he might have been a cousin or something like that. He only lived in one part of the house, a little apartment we’ll get to later. Anyway, he couldn’t keep it up and the bank finally took it over. It’s only been completely empty for a couple of years.”

  “I see.”

  There were three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the main floor. They were just ordinary bedrooms, but I noticed someone had removed all of the rods for hanging your clothes on out of the closets. Odd.

  We continued through the house. Climbing up a short flight of stairs, we found two bedrooms and a bathroom. One of the bedrooms was quite large, obviously meant to be the master bedroom. With no electricity, we couldn’t see much in the main bathroom, but it looked like there was a nice large shower. There was no toilet. Some people will steal anything.

  Pete stood next to Frank. “When was this house built?”

  “In the sixties. We’re going to leave it as close to original as possible, with just a few alterations.”

  “Come on, we’re wasting daylight,” my mother said. “It’s getting late and I want you to see as much as possible.” She waved her hand in a come hither movement.

  I smiled at her. “We’re coming.”

  We descended the stairs to the mail level, but instead of staying on the main floor, my mother opened a creaky door and I saw another set of stairs leading down to… Ah, the third level.

  The lower level was a small apartment. It had another kitchen, a living room, two more bathrooms, three bedrooms, and a smaller walk-in pantry.

  Bubba woofed from upstairs and I soon heard him padding down the stairs. He headed straight for the pantry.

  I did a mental count. “Okay, so there are eight bedrooms. I know you wouldn’t want anyone to stay on the upper level in the bedroom next to yours, so you’ll have six rooms you can use for the bed and breakfast. Right?”

  Mother nodded. “Yes. I’m going to turn the bedroom next to ours into an office.”

  There was a sliding glass door off of the living room. I peeked outside. It led to a huge swimming pool and an outdoor kitchen. I felt someone behind me and looked over my shoulder. Pete, Stanley and Felicity were looking past me.

  “Amazing,” Stanley said.

  Felicity nodded. “The place needs a lot of work though.”

  Pete sighed.

  I turned to my mother. “This is going to be a showplace when you’re done fixing it up.”

  My mother beamed. “You don’t think we made a mistake?”

  Frank put his arm around my mother’s shoulders and gave her a slight squeeze.

  “It’s going to cost a lot of money to get it up and running.” I sounded like her conscience warning her.

  “We sold some property Frank owned back in Chicago and our home in Bullhead City. Plus we have a pretty hefty savings, thanks partly to my inheritance and partly to Frank’s investments.” Mother had inherited a tidy sum a few years earlier. Frank had been an investment counselor and took his own advice, investing wisely and getting out when the getting was good.

  “I could get lost in this place,” I said. In addition to everything else, there were built in nooks and crannies all over the house. The short flights of stairs seemed out of place. There was no single staircase, and the stairs seemed to be located in the middle of the house.

  “I did.” My mother touched my arm.

  “You did what?” I asked.

  “I got sort of lost the first time we came out here. A black widow scared me and I lost track of my surroundings.”

  I heard boards creaking upstairs and did a quick count to see who was missing. Everyone was accounted for.

  Bubba ran out from the pantry and sat, looking up at the ceiling, obviously listening.

  “Who’s there?” Frank called up the stairs.

  There was no answer.

  I nodded my head while I said, “It’s just the house settling.”

  Stanley stood next to my big lug of a dog and stared at the ceiling. Bubba believed in ghosts, and so did Stanley, if I could go by past behavior.

  I didn’t.

  The noisy boards continued to creak.

  Chapter Six

  I let out my breath when a voice coming from upstairs hollered, “Hello? Anybody here?”

  Bubba stopped watching the ceiling and raced up the stairs.

  “Told ya,” I said, poking Stanley’s arm. “No ghosts.”

  “We’ll be right up,” my mother yelled.

  Felicity took her new husband’s arm. “Safety in numbers. No one would dare confront our little group.”

  He didn’t look convinced, but followed along anyway.

  We didn’t see anyone at the top of the stairs and headed for the living room, where we found a young man standing very still and holding his hand out to Bubba. I watched as he slowly took a step forward and let my mangy mutt sniff. About six feet tall with dark hair and glasses, he was a good looking man. He wore jeans and a light blue shirt, and his work shoes were covered with dirt.

  He looked up once Bubba finished sniffing. “Hi. I’m your neighbor, Tyler Hansen. My wife and I live on the little farm across the road and down a ways. I’ve seen you here before, and when all the cars pulled in I thought I’d come introduce myself.” He smiled. “I heard the place had finally sold.”

  He held his hand out to Frank and they shook.

  “Well, it’s so nice to meet you.” Mother looked around the room. “Where’s your wife?”

  “Racheal will be along shortly. We know what a wreck this old place is and… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” He looked embarrassed.

  Mother smiled at him, trying to set him at ease. “It is a wreck, but it won’t be by the time we’re finished with cleaning, repairing and renovating. We have big plans for this house.”

  He glanced around. “I haven’t been in this place since I was a kid, before the, uh, incident happened. You know about that, right?”

  “We know. A neighbor from down the street told us.” Frank stood with his arms folded across his chest. He looked like he was sizing Tyler up, and he finally dropped his arms to his side.

  I stepped forward and waved my arm, taking in the small group. “We all came along to help get the work started. Maybe while we’re here you can tell us what really happened. All we’ve heard is what the neighbor told my mother.”

  “Ah, you must have talked to Brad. He’s the neighborhood… Uh, he’s a character. Barbara and her father, Harry, didn’t deserve… We’ll talk later.” He glanced out the window. “Here comes Racheal now.”

  I followed his gaze and saw a young woman with long sandy blonde hair walking toward the house, carrying a large paper bag. She wore jeans and a plaid shirt, and I could see boots on her feet. She was a small woman, but not tiny like my mother and Felicity.

  “So you two have a farm here?” I asked.

  “We do. Actually, I have a job that allows me to work at home, so between that and the critters, we keep busy.”

  Pete stepped forward and introd
uced himself, holding his hand out for a shake. “What kind of critters do you have?”

  “Cows, chickens, and a couple of goats. We grow a lot of produce, too.”

  Mother watched Tyler with interest. “How rude of me. Let’s wait until your wife gets here and I’ll introduce you to everyone. Where are my manners? You say you grow vegetables?” It sounded, if I knew her well and I did, like she was already thinking of him as a food source for the bed and breakfast. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

  “Hello?” Racheal stepped into the house and her gaze settled on her husband for a moment. “Ah, there you are.”

  She set her paper sack down next to the front door and walked straight over to Bubba, giving him a scratch on the head. He immediately turned to putty in her hands, throwing himself on the floor and rolling over on his back, waiting for a belly rub.

  True to her word, mother introduced everyone. She kept glancing at the bag and I knew her curiosity was getting the best of her.

  Apparently Racheal noticed it, too. She smiled and retrieved the bag, handing it to my mother.

  “Livvie, I brought you some goodies from our garden. I saw you move the motorhome onto the property a few days ago and figured you were going to be staying out here. When I saw the other cars follow you in today, I thought maybe you could use some extra food.”

  She followed Mother out to the kitchen and they set everything on the counter. Felicity and I followed while the men talked in the living room. Bubba was front and center, hoping there was something he could eat.

  My mother made a shooing motion with her hand.

  He ignored her.

  “This is so nice of you.” Mom gave Racheal’s shoulders a little squeeze. “I can tell we’re going to enjoy our new neighbors.”

  While the two women talked, Felicity and I decided to do a little exploring. We opened a door off the kitchen and found a laundry room with another bathroom off of it. Past that was a screened in room. My mother and Frank had swept it out and stored more of their belongings there. A door led outside to the patio, and another door, when I opened it, led back to the garage. We’d come full circle.

  “I love this place,” Felicity said. “It’s got so much potential. I wish Stanley and I had found it.” There was wonder in her voice. “It’s going to take a lot of work though.”

  A door slammed somewhere in the vicinity of the garage.

  “It must be one of the boys,” I said.

  “Of course.”

  A scraping noise reached our ears. Not one to let things pass while I ignored them, I threw open the door to the garage and looked into every corner. It was beginning to turn dark, and I couldn’t see much. I didn’t have a flashlight, of course.

  “Let’s go back inside.” Felicity was no Chicken Little either, but the prudent thing at the moment seemed to be spending time with the group. Besides, we could see if anyone had gone outside or to the garage.

  Back inside the house, everyone was where we’d left them. Felicity and I glanced at each other.

  “I’m sure it was nothing,” she said.

  “Probably just the wind blowing a door shut.” I glanced out the front window, unconvinced. There wasn’t any wind.

  “It’s not a big deal. Just don’t say anything to Stan. You know how jumpy he can be.”

  “Not a word,” I said.

  Pete left the men talking and came to stand beside me. “What are you two whispering about?”

  “We found another room,” I said. “While we were out there we heard a door slam in the garage. But you’re all in here, so I don’t know who it could have been.”

  “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”

  “Sure there is. And there’s a logical explanation for the scraping sound we heard, too.”

  “I’ll go take a look. Show me where this room is.”

  He followed me through the house and out to the screened in room, limping just enough to tell me he was tired. I pointed at the door leading to the garage.

  “This is called an Arizona room,” he said. “Frank told me about it. Kind of like an indoor patio, huh?”

  “Okay. Now what about the garage?”

  Pete pushed the door open and stepped into the garage.

  I grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and followed him. “You know, if this house didn’t have a reputation for being haunted, I never would have given the sounds a second thought.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Even though I don’t believe in ghosts, someone was out here. I know it could have been an animal, or maybe another neighbor, but something… I mean, someone, was out here.”

  “This isn’t like you, babe. Don’t let it bother you.”

  “Maybe it’s because we’re so far from town. You know, no police, no fire department, no nothing. It’s just us and the neighbors. And remember, the neighbor told my mother that everyone around here believes the house is haunted.”

  “I’ll ask Tyler about that.”

  I don’t believe in ghosts, I’ve never believed in ghosts, and I wasn’t going to start now. But I had a feeling something was going on at this house. Strange. Maybe it was because of the face I thought I’d seen at the window.

  I’d get to the bottom of it no matter what it took. If my mother and Frank were going to live here, I wanted to make sure they were safe.

  Chapter Seven

  “See anything?” I asked.

  “It’s too dark and there are too many shadows. Why don’t you go inside and ask Frank for a flashlight?”

  Before I could do so we heard voices coming from the front of the house. My mother stepped into the garage. “What’re you two doing in here? A little newlywed tryst?”

  I rolled my eyes at her even though she probably couldn’t see what I was doing. “We could use a little privacy while we’re here.”

  “You’ll have it. I’m putting you two in the master bedroom.”

  “Oh, great. Us and all the bug bodies.”

  Pete chuckled over that one.

  “I’ll put Felicity and Stan in the little apartment on the lower level. They’ll need some privacy, too.”

  Frank joined us. “Come on, you two. Let’s get these cars unloaded. It’s getting dark and we need to get you set up.”

  Mother put her arm around Frank’s waist. “Sweetie? Why don’t you go get that cordless vacuum so we can get rid of the bugs in the two bedrooms everyone will be using?”

  He nodded. “I charged it before we left home. It should last long enough to do that.”

  We walked out to the yard and found Tyler and Racheal looking around and waiting to say their good-byes. “If you need anything while you’re here, just let us know.” He pointed toward a small farmhouse. “If I’ve got time, I’ll be over tomorrow to see if I can do anything to help y’all. There are so few of us in this valley that we help each other whenever we can.”

  “If you need to put a few things in my refrigerator, let me know. I’ve got a little extra room.” Racheal seemed like such a sweet person.

  “My brother and his wife are coming out tomorrow for the week. I’m sure they’d be happy to help, too.” Tyler took hold of his wife’s hand and waved with the other one as they left.

  Frank carried an oil lamp and the cordless vacuum into the house while we began unloading the cars.

  We took cases of water to the garage while my mother stored our food in the motorhome. Pete unloaded two suitcases, two sleeping bags (they could be combined into one) and a couple of pillows. I helped him carry them in.

  Felicity and Stanley stood ready to carry their things to the little apartment. “Too bad we don’t have running water,” she said.

  I nodded and returned to the car to see if we’d missed anything.

  Mother brought two more oil lamps from the motorhome, passing them out to Stanley and Pete. “I’m afraid this is as good as it gets for now. I have an electrician coming out tomorrow to start restoring the wiring. Maybe by tomorro
w night we’ll have some light. A plumber is coming out, too. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for running water.”

  Frank returned and after we took our things upstairs, he and Pete set up a picnic table. Mother put out cold chicken, potato salad and cold barbeque beans. A bag of potato chips rounded out the meal. Dinner was served.

  Cold or not, it tasted wonderful. As I once heard a friend say, hunger is the best sauce, after all.

  “This is going to be quite an adventure,” Stanley said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “I’m sure it won’t be like your stay at the ghost town, but still, it’s going to be fun.”

  I wondered if he realized how much work we’d be doing. Fun? I guess it was all a matter of perspective.

  While I listened to everyone talking over dinner, I decided maybe he was right. It could be an adventure, if we’d only look at it in that light. I smiled to myself and took another bite of potato salad.

  Bubba was so good about not begging while we ate that I gave him a little more kibble than I normally would and dropped some shredded chicken on top. He gobbled it down and threw himself on the ground.

  “Sandi, you might want to get him up. This place is overrun with big black ants. I’m going to spray tomorrow.” Frank reached over and pulled on Bubba’s collar. “And keep him with you for now. Don’t forget about the rattlesnake we killed.”

  “He can stay with us,” Stanley said, sounding hopeful. “You know he can be very protective.”

  Felicity patted his knee. “So can I, love muffin.”

  Pete groaned and reached for my hand, giving the Hawks a taste of their own medicine. “Come on, sugar lump. It’s been a long day and we need to get things set up inside.”

  Felicity’s little tinkle of laughter followed us to the porch.

  After we set up our room, not a lot of work, we walked down to the little apartment to see how Felicity and Stanley were doing.

  She turned in a circle with her arms extended, taking in the empty living room. “Who needs a five-star hotel for a honeymoon when we’ve got all of this?”