by Marja McGraw
He sat, but just barely. He wanted to explore, too.
Taking a flashlight, I took the stairs down to the basement and approached the stained wall that had my mother so concerned. I knew Frank wouldn’t want to tear down any blocks to find out what was behind them, so I took a different approach.
I shined the flashlight high and low, considering what might have caused the stains. Leaning forward, I sniffed the wall. If anyone had seen me, they would have thought I was nuts. But if they were anything other than water stains, there might have been an odor, even after all this time. There wasn’t.
I ran my hand down the blocks. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. My curiosity got the best of me and I began knocking on blocks to see if there was a difference in the sound. Maybe there was a hollow spot behind them. There wasn’t.
Unable to resist the sound of the knocking, Bubba ran downstairs.
Momentarily distracted, I scratched his head, but I had a purpose for being in the basement.
Keeping track of where the block wall was, I returned to the main floor to see what was overhead.
“Got ya,” I said, finally figuring out at least part of the mystery. The wall was directly under the fireplaces in the living room and family room. “They must have used the block wall as a support for the fireplaces. I’ll bet something happened with a fire and they threw water on it. The water found its way down to the basement. That’s it.
Bubba nudged my leg.
“And stop talking to yourself,” I said to myself.
“Yeah, stop doing that.”
I whirled around to find Pete standing in the kitchen. He walked over and gave me the big bear hug I’d been waiting for. I melted in his arms.
Bubba wandered off, apparently bored with us.
“I knew if anyone could figure out the block wall, it would be you,” he said. “Well, Frank or I could have figured it out, too, but we haven’t had time to think about it.”
Opening my mouth to answer him, he put his index finger against my lips to stop me. I closed my mouth and just enjoyed the time I spent in his arms.
He leaned down and kissed me. “We need some alone time.”
“We do.” I initiated the next kiss.
“Pete! We need you out at the stables.” Frank’s voice could be heard at the back door to the kitchen, inside the Arizona room.
Pete sighed and gave me one last hug, accompanied by a brief kiss.
“Coming,” he yelled.
I stepped away from the loud voice.
He winked at me. “Later.”
He headed for the Arizona room and I tramped back downstairs to the apartment, ready to share my conclusions with my mother. She and Felicity were sitting on the floor, chatting.
“Oh, there you are, Sandi.” Mom stood and turned to me. “We’re done, so you can finish those shelves now. It didn’t take us very long with the rollers, and we’ve already touched up the corners with the regular paint brush. It’s a good thing we brought in a ladder from the garage.”
“I thought you’d like to know what I found,” I said, and I explained about the block wall.
“Okay, I guess that makes sense. Although,” she said thoughtfully and slowly, “if you’re building a fire in a fireplace, I would think there wouldn’t be any openings where the water could have run through to the basement.”
“I’ll tell you what,” I said. “Later, when we’ve got the time, we’ll pour some water down the back wall of the fireplace and see what happens.”
“That’s a great idea. I knew I could count on my private eye daughter.” She grinned at me with pride showing on her face. “And if there is some kind of an opening there, we’ll have to close it up.”
It wasn’t that big of a deal. If I was able, I’d usually test conclusions as I came to them. However, she made me feel pretty good.
After I finished the shelving we decided to get started on the bedroom Felicity and Stanley were staying in. We could open the windows to air out the room so it would be ready for them later in the evening.
The first thing I did was open the window, but I immediately closed it again. The rain was torrential. It was raining so hard it was difficult to see more than a couple of feet into the yard.
While we painted, we heard the boys come inside and stopped for a few minutes to go upstairs to see what they were up to.
“Go to the garage and look outside,” Frank said. “You’re not going to believe what’s going on out there.”
The three of us turned and walked through the Arizona room to see what he was talking about. The men followed us. I glanced back at them and noticed their legs were soaking wet, almost to their knees. Their shoes were gone so they must have taken them off because of the mud.
Pete saw me looking and his face was grim.
It was raining so hard that the yard between the house and the stable looked like a river. What I’d seen out the apartment window was nothing compared to this. It was a good thing the house and other buildings were on a slightly higher level than the yard, or dirt driveway, or flooding would be a problem.
My mother turned to Frank. “What are we going to do?”
“When the water runs off and things begin to dry we’ll dig a trench. I’ll figure something out from there.
“Here’s the other thing, Livvie. We’d better sleep inside tonight, too, because I’m concerned about the stability of the motorhome. I’d hate to have it tip over while we’re inside.”
My mother sighed and put her hand on his arm. “You’re probably right, honey.”
“We’ll bring some food in from the motorhome along with Pete’s cook stove. I’ll bring some clothes, too. Now we’re going to work on the fireplaces.”
We women returned to the apartment and began painting again.
“At least we have electricity and water in the apartment. There’s no fireplace, but we’ll all be upstairs anyway.”
“Think of it as a coed sleepover,” I said. “Does the heater work yet?
“I don’t know if it works or not,” Mom said. “It hasn’t been used in years. I don’t think we should take a chance. The electrician needs to look at it.”
She was right.
Three couples and two fireplaces, and one fireplace might have an opening down to the basement. It might be cozy, but it sure wouldn’t be romantic. And it might not be safe.
“We have a couple of space heaters in the garage.” Mother looked over her shoulder at us. “I guess I should have brought them in earlier, but who knew it was going to be so cold? Felicity and Stan can use them in the apartment.”
I rolled my eyes at her.
“We’ll stay upstairs with you,” Felicity said.
“We don’t have electricity upstairs yet,” I said. “You’ll only have the fireplace for heat.”
“That’s fine,” she replied. “It’ll be cozier and more romantic.”
“Yep. Cozier and more romantic while you sleep on the floor.” I don’t think my sarcasm was lost on her.
~ * ~
By the end of the day we were all exhausted. I figured I’d lost at least a couple of pounds with all the work I’d been doing – with any luck.
The fireplaces and flues were cleaned and the boys brought in some wood Frank had stacked in the garage. Good thing it was such a large garage. Three cars could have easily fit inside. I found some foil and lined the back of the fireplaces, making sure sparks wouldn’t fall through to the basement.
I wondered if the blonde would show up with all of us in the house.
We’d be too busy staying warm and watching for sparks to worry about her, anyway.
Chapter Twenty-two
Frank proudly put some fireplace screens he’d saved from his original home in Chicago in front of both fireplaces. They weren’t really big enough for these fireplaces, but they were close enough.
My mother had moved from California to Chicago to live near her sister, Martha, for a few years before getting married and moving to Ar
izona with Frank. She met him in Illinois and they hit it off after knowing each other for a year or two. He’d been her financial advisor.
Time to think about dinner. We heated canned stew and had bread and butter with it for dinner.
“Next time you eat stew here it’ll be homemade,” my mother said, taking the last bite of her food.
No one replied, but we all nodded.
Bubba ate his kibble and settled near the fireplace.
Felicity and Stanley brought their sleeping bags upstairs and settled into the family room.
Since there was nothing but block and cement in the basement, under the fireplaces, Frank didn’t think the fireplaces would be an issue.
I hoped he was right.
It wasn’t east coast type cold, but the storm and wind had really cooled things down. And it may not have been a romantic evening, but it was definitely cozy in front of the fire.
Thankfully, the blonde never showed up. On the other side of the coin, before I went to sleep I found myself wishing someone else had seen her.
~ * ~
I awoke to the smell of coffee. Looking around I saw that my mother and Frank were gone. I figured the aroma must be floating up the stairs from the kitchen in the apartment.
Bubba was gone, too. One of them must have taken him outside to do his business.
I reached over and shook Pete’s shoulder. “Time to get up, sweetie.”
“But it’s still dark outside.”
“It might just be more clouds. Besides, I smell coffee.”
He propped himself up and sniffed the air. “Your parents sure get up early.”
“Normally, so do we. There’s always something for us gutsy ol’ private eyes to do, and unfortunately it’s often in the morning.”
“Yeah.” He stood up and, after pulling on his jeans, headed for the stairs and the apartment. I felt bad watching him because he was limping. The work he was doing seemed to be bothering his leg more than I realized. We’d have to have a serious talk about it.
I peeked around the corner and saw that Felicity and Stanley were still sound asleep, so I pulled on my jeans and a sweatshirt and followed Pete’s lead, running my fingers through my hair while I climbed the stairs.
By the time I reached the kitchen downstairs, the sun had come out. I opened the sliding glass doors and stepped outside, taking a deep breath. Glancing up at the sky I saw the last of the clouds drifting away. The sun was bright, and it was warming me already.
I thought I remembered my mother saying the property was about thirty-five acres in size, or maybe it was forty acres. As a P.I., I should remember details. However, I was on vacation, sort of, and I didn’t care about details at the moment. I walked back to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee.
Bubba pranced around me, but I knew he wasn’t begging for coffee. Yeah, like he’d ever want that.
“I wonder what the roads are like today. I mean, it’s a dirt road that leads back here. I’ll bet it’s a mess,” I said.
“Good morning, to you, too.” My mother smiled in my direction.
I smiled back and gave her a hug. “Sorry. Good morning.” I took my mother, Frank and Pete in with a sweeping gaze.
Bubba looked up at me as though he thought I could read his mind.
“I know, pal, you’re ready for breakfast.” I filled his bowl from a bag of dog food Pete had moved from the garage to the walk-in pantry the night before.
“What’s on the agenda for today?” Pete took a sip of hot coffee. “Digging a trench for rainwater runoff?”
Frank set his coffee mug on the sink and stretched before replying. “No, it’s too muddy. Maybe tomorrow. Today I’m thinking we might set up my workshop so I have a place to work on things.”
“Workshop?”
“Did you see that metal building just past the stables? I’m going to make that a workshop.”
Pete nodded and took another swallow of coffee.
Bubba finished eating and paced around the living room of the apartment.
I ignored him and turned to my mother. “What about moving your refrigerator and stove inside? It would make life a lot easier.”
“We can bring the refrigerator in, but we’re going to have to buy another stove, both for down here and for upstairs. Ours is a gas range and it’s all electric out here. There aren’t any gas lines.”
“Makes sense to me.”
Pete and Frank were listening.
“Okay, we’ll bring the refrigerator in this morning before we start on anything else.” Frank was being very cooperative. I liked that in a man.
Walking back to the sliding glass doors, I glanced around the property. “The rain must have made some weeds come up. I can see dark colors across the back of the property.”
Frank and Bubba joined me at the window. “You could be right, but I’d swear the weeds are moving. Must be the wind.”
“Is it my imagination or does Bubba seem a little antsy this morning?” Pete asked.
“I noticed the same thing.” I patted the dog’s head, but he pulled away from me and ran upstairs.
“Good morning,” Felicity said, descending the stairs. “Stan and I smelled the coffee.”
Mother grabbed two mugs and filled them for her and Stanley.
His hair, as thin as it was, was standing on end. He saw us studying it, grinned and ran his hands through it. “A shower will help.”
The men went outside to make sure the motorhome was still standing while I fixed scrambled eggs and bacon on the small camp stove which I’d outside the sliding glass doors. It turned out to be easier to use than I’d expected.
I glanced out across the property and it seemed like the weeds were closer. I figured it was the angle of sight from where I was standing.
The men came back and we ate breakfast before scattering to take showers before starting our day. Stanley and Felicity took the first shift while I cleaned up the breakfast mess which consisted of paper plates and plastic silverware. My mother brought me some dish soap and I washed out the coffee mugs.
She stood in front of the sink and watched out the window. “What is that black stuff? I’d swear it’s closer than it was. I mean, there’s not a lot of it, but there’s enough to know it wasn’t there yesterday.”
“I don’t know what it is. Let’s go take a look after I take my shower.” I laughed. “At least we know it’s not snakes. They wouldn’t look like that. They’d fit in more with the desert terrain.”
“No, not snakes.”
Fel and Stan came out looking refreshed.
“My turn,” I said. “After I take out the trash.” I picked up a plastic bag.
Stanley took it out of my hands. “I’ll take that out for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Where are Frank and Pete?” he asked.
“They’re out looking at Frank’s future workshop,” Mother replied. “I think the three of you are going to work on that today. I know Frank wanted to go into town and get some supplies for the stable, but the roads are too muddy. Maybe he can do that tomorrow.”
He set the trash bag down on the floor. “I’m going to put on some boots I brought with me before I take the bag out. Then I’m going to take a look at the workshop.”
Felicity stood at the sliding glass doors, watching. Her face looked like she was a hundred miles away.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Stanley said.
“I was just wondering what that dark stuff is out there. I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a sci-fi movie. It seems like it’s moving.”
Stanley followed her gaze. “I’ll take a walk outside and look around after I take care of a couple of things.”
“At least we can tell you it’s not snakes,” my mother said. “They’d blend in with the scenery, and I doubt they’d be so dark.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pete returned to the house, stopping to talk to my mother. “Frank said he’s going to take his shower in the motorhome.
He asked if I’d tell you to come on out there.”
She nodded and headed to the motorhome.
Bubba came flying down the stairs and whined at me. I knew he didn’t need to go outside to do his doggy business. This was something different. Contrary to what some people think, dogs can often express their feelings through a look. Bubba looked frantic. I narrowed my eyes at him trying to figure out what was going on.
He turned to Pete and whined at him.
“What’s up with you this morning, you mangy mutt?”
Bubba ran back up the stairs.
“Maybe he saw the blonde.”
“Very funny,” I said. “I know there’s something wrong with him, but I can’t read his mind, so let’s take our showers and we can get to work. I’m sure he’ll calm down. We’re getting a late start this morning.”
Pete headed for the bathroom and a shower while I climbed the stairs to find fresh, clean clothes.
Carrying them back to the apartment, I took Pete’s clothes to the bathroom and left them on the sink. “Leave enough hot water for me,” I said.
“Sure.”
Remembering I’d left my brush and comb upstairs, I headed back to our room, passing Stanley on the stairs.
“I’m going to take the trash out now and investigate the black stuff.”
“Okay. It’s not solid black, and it’s probably the wind blowing weeds, but be careful.”
“I will.”
“Where’s Felicity?” I asked.
“She went to the Arizona room to see what other colors your mother picked out for the house.”
I nodded and continued upstairs.
Bubba was pacing again. All of a sudden the hair on his back did a salute and his back hunched. I know Bubba well, and I knew something was wrong – very wrong.
“Bubba? What’s going on? You’re kind of scaring me.”
He growled.
That’s when I heard a woman scream. My mind’s eye saw someone with long blonde hair flailing around in terror. The sound seemed to be coming from the direction of the apartment.
I ran down the stairs with Bubba right behind me. I almost ran into Pete at the bottom of the staircase and he was dressed in nothing but a towel. We glanced at each other for a moment before we heard another scream. The dog sidestepped both of us.