Watson Manor Eventually (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 1)

by Ronald S. Craig

  "You love me, you love me," he said, pulling her back.

  "Okay, I was trying to show you something, wasn't I?" She did and the magic continued all the way to the West Coast.

  Chapter 14

  The once distant thought of a resort became a why not "Watson Manor". Charlie knew he would have to sell everything to break ground and secure a large loan to open the doors. It was a busy week for them. Charlie, in addition to his local runs also worked on his house in Long Beach getting it ready for sale. Jenny jumped in with paint brushes and rollers in hand and brought new life to the inside walls.

  Charlie talked with a local realtor and reserved a trailer for their honeymoon north to Marina, Ca. all between trips to the dump. He hadn't noticed before how overgrown his yard had gotten and managed to break the ties with a lot of other "precious" junk. He sold his restored 1963 Corvette, it hurt a little but his bank account needed the help.

  Charlie arrived home after a local run the night before they were leaving for their honeymoon. Jenny had them already packed and as each day passed she had gotten more excited about their trip to Charlie's land, the future site of Watson Manor. She met him in the driveway as he pulled his rig alongside the house.

  "Look," she said, handing him an envelope of photos. "Our wedding was so beautiful. I'm so glad you talked me out of a City Hall marriage. They came out great didn't they?"

  "You deserved more than a civil wedding and I knew you wanted something special. I don't recall it took much persuasion." He opened the envelope to look at the photos. "These really are good."

  "Charlie, one more surprise." She handed him a box.

  He opened it and pulled out a wooden plaque. It was 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide, dark walnut with a gold scroll mounted to it. Inscribed in large old English letters was 'Watson Manor'. Below that 'Proprietors Charles and Jennifer Watson' was inscribed in smaller letters. The third line, 'Established' with room for a date. The final line read, 'May all that enter feel the love that dwells here.'

  "I'm speechless, and can't believe you found time to do this."

  "They refused to put 'Charlie's bed and bar' on it, sorry."

  "That's bar and bed. Charlie's bar and bed, like giving the patrons step by step instructions. Drink up then go sleep it off." He corrected her, laughing.

  "I hope that's not still the kind of place you want?"

  "I sure don't want a bunch of drunks around all of the little Watsons you promised me." He looked over in the front yard and saw the real estate sales sign. "That sign certainly signifies our launch."

  "Oh, Jeff came by today as well. He is so excited they have so few homes with the kind of RV access you have here. Of course, he is a little over the top anyway, but said get ready for a quick sale."

  The following morning they got an early start before the sun rose. They were in Charlie's 2500 GMC crew cab pickup this time, making the 330-mile trip north a lot more comfortable. Jenny busied herself happily in the passenger seat going through everything she had found on the internet related to the city of Marina, and kept the "in range" country radio stations playing which, they learned in this area, wasn't always an easy job.

  They pickup up the travel trailer after a quick lunch in Salinas. Charlie pulled onto his land and they were immediately pleased with the possibilities as well as with the amount of trees on the property. They stood in front of the truck looking the land over.

  "So, tell me, Mrs. Watson; where would you like me to put the honeymoon suite?"

  "For now, Mr. Watson, how about between those two large eucalyptus trees?" Jenny pointed, then added, "Subject to change, of course."

  "As long as there are wheels on our home I can be flexible." He got back into the truck to move the trailer.

  Jenny walked over to the new location, looked in all directions and visualized the future Watson Manor. When she reached Charlie unhooking the trailer she said, "This is a beautiful place. I'm so excited about building our home here."

  "It is a great place, isn't it? I have to say, I'm very pleased. I wonder what Grandpa Watson had in mind when he bought this place?"

  "Listen," Jenny said. "Do you hear the waves hitting the beach?"

  "Let's take a look." They reached for each other's hand and walked toward the sound. There was a sand dune separating them from the ocean about 100 yards from where they had parked the trailer. When they reached the crest on the dune the ocean was visible and they both had to stop and catch their breath. After a few minutes Charlie was finally able to get his words out. "Wow, thank you Grandpa Watson."

  "This is truly unbelievable. The third floor of Watson Manor will have this view. I guess that question is answered; we build up, not a ranch style."

  "Works for me. I always envisioned an old fashioned Victorian structure with all of the detailed wood trim."

  "I can see it too. I want to live on the fourth floor. Coffee and this view every morning is what I call paradise."

  "Yeah, and guests on the lower three floors wouldn't hurt in supporting paradise either."

  They continued the walk to the ocean, another 100 yards, removed their shoes and walked along the shore.

  "I guess a warm Caribbean current flowing through here would have been too much to ask for," Charlie said with a smile.

  She stopped and turned to kiss him. "I think it's up to us to warm things up."

  "Now that sounds like paradise to me."

  They walked along the shore and gathered a few small pieces of driftwood and headed back to the trailer. It was a real feat to carry her through the narrow door over the threshold of the trailer, but new love conquers all. When the trailer had been warmed up and the spread pulled back over the bed, they moved their clothes into the trailer from the truck.

  "Shall we go into town to look around, grab some dinner and pick up some food to stock the trailer?" he asked.

  "You mean, stock the honeymoon suite."

  "I stand corrected and am guessing that won't be a rare occurrence in our future."

  "See Charlie, I knew we would be perfect together."

  The following morning they walked the property lines that had been marked when Charlie inherited the property. They discussed the layout for the main building and the mobile home they would live in during construction. The honeymoon quickly turned into a working vacation getting the temporary water, power and small septic tank set up for the mobile home. Charlie and Jenny were in their glory and the efforts only fed the dream and built excitement.

  While having breakfast in town on their last day, they found an ad in the local paper for a 15-year-old 10' x 60' mobile home. It jumped out at them, because it was easily half the price of what they had been looking at.

  "What do they say? If it sounds too good to be true then it probably isn't," Charlie said.

  He called the owner, John Wilson, anyway, and set up a meeting with him an hour later. The directions were a little difficult to follow as the mobile home was in a remote location in the foothills about 10 miles from town. The dirt roads weren't marked so the directions were given in distance with left or right turns. They finally reached the location and met the owner standing beside the mobile home.

  "Hello, John. I'm Charlie Watson and this is my wife Jenny."

  "Hello, pleased to meet you both. This is my property and the mobile home was leased out for six months. I live in Sacramento, a five hour drive from here. The lease ran out last month and there was no extension requested. I couldn't get in contact with the renter and when I came out I found quite a mess."

  "Let's have a look," Charlie replied, walking toward the door.

  "It doesn't look too bad from the outside," Jenny offered encouragingly.

  When they stepped into the mobile home the smell of rotting food and flies was overwhelming. The place hadn't been destroyed, torn up or vandalized; it just looked like the occupant left in a hurry. Most of the furniture was there and the inside doors stood open. They stepped out to get some fresh air


  "Is the furniture yours?" Charlie asked.

  "Yes, it was rented furnished. I'm only in town a few days so I need to get it sold quickly, which is why the price is so low. I'm selling it as-is. You've already seen it's in need of a thorough cleaning."

  Jenny turned towards Charlie with a faint smile. "I suggest a quick, and I emphasize the word quick, run through."

  They prepared themselves as if they were entering a war zone and made a dash through the open door. Once they overcame the smell and the flies that stayed in the kitchen, they were actually pleased with the shape of the walls and cabinets. The carpet would need replacing and the furniture would all go, but this wasn't going to be their dream home, after all, just a stepping stone closer to it. They both dashed back through the front door and took deep breaths on their exit.

  Charlie looked at Jenny and saw a smile which he understood to mean "We can do it" and turned to John.

  "Do you know someone that can move it?"

  "I purchased it new in Salinas fifteen years ago. I'm sure they have movers on staff or a contract with movers. How far are you moving it?"

  "It's only about 10 miles to our property in Marina," Charlie stated.

  "I'll tell you what. If we can close the deal today, I'll include having it moved as part of the sales price."

  "You've got a deal, John," Charlie told him and shook his hand. "We'll follow you back into town to close the deal at the Marina Diner instead of in the mobile home, if that's ok with you?"

  John returned a laugh and nod indicating agreement and off they headed back into town. When they had finished the transaction over coffee, John handed them the signed paperwork, his business card and a set of keys for the mobile home. He then searched on his cell phone for the mobile home sales lot and called to set up the move.

  "They pulled up my file and say it can be moved the end of this week. Will that work for you?" John asked, still on the phone.

  "We'll be gone after today, but my architect and I will stake out where we want it located on the property," Charlie said, sending a smile Jenny's way. John relayed the information and handed his phone to Charlie to provide the other necessary information.

  They left the Diner and headed down the street to the hardware store to pick up some metal stakes, large trash bags and three bug bombs. Next stop was to the utility companies to update them on the mobile home being delivered and scheduled the hook up for the following week once the mobile home was in place. With that done they headed back to the mobile home. It was quickly decided this trip was only to get the spoiled food out and set off the bug bombs, evicting the current residents. The major clean up would come later when they returned to Marina.

  Back on the new property, Charlie hooked up the travel trailer and pulled it out from under the trees. They had decided that spot would be a good place for the mobile home and used the metal stakes to lay out the desired location. When they had finished, Charlie turned toward Jenny.

  "I know, I said as long as it has wheels I'm flexible and, technically the mobile home does, but we get one shot at this."

  Jenny stood back, walked around the location they had staked out, and appeared to be deep in thought. Charlie studied her as she surveyed their choice. Finally, she looked at Charlie with a serious expression. "OK, I think we move all the stakes one foot to the right."

  Charlie laughed in relief, "The bus is leaving. Are you coming or moving the stakes?"

  She joined in the laughter saying, "So your definition of flexible is…"

  "Within a foot-and-a-half." Charlie helped her into the truck.

  Driving through Marina on their way to return the travel trailer, Charlie spotted the sign he was looking for and pulled over to the curb. "One more stop."

  Jenny looked between Charlie and the strip mall. "Great, finally some CD's so I am not constantly searching for radio stations that speak English."

  "Ok, two more stops. This one is a final letting go of C.W. and his need for a private space. I lost you once and I don't want to ever experience that feeling again."

  He got out of the truck, walked around and opened her door. Jenny looked again at the mall, spotted the Pet Supply sign and stated firmly, "I hope you are not thinking of getting me a leash at the pet store."

  Charlie smiled and grabbed her hand as they walked into a cell phone store.

  Chapter 15

  Things shifted into high gear for Charlie and Jenny when they arrived home in Long Beach. Their realtor had called with a full-price offer on his house contingent on a 30-day escrow. Charlie's head was spinning as he accepted the offer their realtor had brought the offer right over for him to sign.

  The following week was the run back to Arkansas which they made together in Charlie's semi truck. He was seriously rethinking his recent purchase of the cell phones as Jenny found it amusing to call him on the new phones whenever they stopped and were out of eye contact.

  The original plan had been to return to Marina in three weeks but, as the escrow was so short, they waited until the sale was final and then made the move. They sold most of the furnishings and only had a quarter of Charlie's 53-foot trailer filled with what remained. Jenny followed him in the pickup on the trip to Marina. It was late when they arrived but were pleased to see that the mobile home was in place. They ate on the road and didn't waste any time settling into the sleeper of Charlie's truck for the night.

  The next morning Charlie walked around the mobile home confirming that the utilities had been connected and the septic tank installed and connected. He unlocked the door and opened every window inside to air it out before they would start the clean up. The box of large garbage bags was at the door where he had left them. He figured they could pick up some large plastic trash cans and cleaning supplies in town after breakfast.

  Jenny met him at the door, peeked in and said, "Not great yet but we can get rid of the musty smell."

  "I was just pleased that the tenants are gone. Well, maybe not gone yet, but no longer flying around. Let's go eat and tackle this after breakfast." Charlie walked to the trailer on his semi truck and grabbed a floor fan and positioned it inside the mobile home to pull the air through the windows and out the front screen door.

  "That should help a lot," Jenny said, thankfully.

  They had an unhurried breakfast partly to delay the cleaning task ahead of them, but to also make a list of initial supplies they would need to accomplish the cleanup. The hardware store clerk thanked them for all their purchases and even helped them carry the supplies out to the pickup.

  "Well, mini Watson Manor awaits, Jenny."

  "It's just a small distraction from our second honeymoon."

  Back at the mobile home, Jenny, being the practical one, decided the bathroom was to be her first call to duty, while Charlie started in the master bedroom by moving the old furniture out. When the room was cleared he brought in the lined trash can and began to dump whatever he found in the room's built-in drawers into it. He was almost finished when Jenny called out.

  "Charlie, what's this?"

  Realizing where she'd called from, he hollered back, "The bathroom, darling."

  "Thanks, Einstein." She laughed. "I found something in the bathroom."

  Charlie moved the trash can out of his way and walked down the hall to where she was cleaning. When he looked inside the bathroom he found her pointing at a large eye bolt in the floor.

  "What's that for?"

  He moved in for a closer look and replied, "Maybe the guy was disabled and needed a lifting sling to use the tub."

  She paused, thinking. "Then it would be on the ceiling, wouldn't it?"

  "These ceilings aren't as strong as they are in a house; possibly an anchor point to hold the lift down. It shouldn't be too hard to remove."

  "There was no ramp outside, maybe for his wife?"

  Walking back down the hall another thought crossed his mind and he called back to her. "I've got it. He had a large dog and needed to secure it for bath time."
r />   "I guess…"

  He carried the first full trash bag down the hall and tossed it through the front door. Charlie finished the bedroom by cleaning the windows and crossing the carpeted floor with the vacuum cleaner. He grabbed the bag Jenny had set in the hall from the bathroom, and was headed to take it outside.

  Jenny had moved to the kitchen at that point and, when Charlie passed by she was still puzzled. "I don't see any sign of a dog. No dog food, dish, treats or even a single dog hair anywhere on the carpet."

  "Maybe we toss it out when we pulled the food out last time?"

  "Maybe I guess, but we concentrated on dumping the refrigerator and kitchen trash cans." She opened one of the cabinets. "I looked through all of these. See here, lots of dry goods, cans of things, but no dog food."

  "Well, if you can't find pet food then I'm going with disabled," Charlie said as he tossed the garbage bag outside. He turned and walked towards the small bedroom. He stood in the doorway of the small room and envisioned this room as Jenny's construction office. He'd gone as far as to visualize her working on her computer and finalizing another phase of Watson Manor. Blue prints spread out on a six-foot table and taped to the walls beside her. He smiled at their now-shared dream being in motion.

  First out the door of the small bedroom was a twin-sized mattress. When he returned and picked up the box spring he froze in place.

  He leaned the box spring against the wall to take a closer look at another eye bolt mounted in the floor. It was positioned just under the outline of the bed, the vinyl floor around it showing a slight fan-shaped pattern of wear. He went to the kitchen, took Jenny's hand and said softly to her, "Come see what I found in the small bedroom."

  Jenny walked into the room and saw the eye bolt in the floor matching the one she found in the bathroom. "This isn't right, Charlie. That's a restraining bolt…and not for a dog."

  She walked over to the corner of the room and picked up some clothing, a small blouse and a small pair of jeans. Jenny looked at the inside tag and turned to Charlie.