“Hey, Herb, how’s it going?”
“Pretty good.”
“I’ll say. The shop looks great. I see you’ve got a couple of pretty girls working their tails off for you.”
“Watch what you say,” Herb warned. “One of them’s my granddaughter. What can I do for you, Larry?”
“Glad to see you’re fixing up the place. When’re the lights on the dock gonna be turned on again?”
“Any day now. I just need a few more customers like you to actually drop some cash so I can pay the electrician.”
“I’m done fishing for the day, but I’ll buy a bag of chips off of you.” Kathy bent down to see the guy grab a package of barbeque potato chips. Herb rang up the sale, and Kathy went back to work, idly listening to their conversation.
“Any word on who killed Jackson?” Larry asked.
“Nope. You got any ideas?”
“Me?”
“You brought it up,” Herb pointed out.
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do.”
Kathy’s ears pricked up.
“Who?”
“Don Newton.”
Herb laughed. “Why Don?”
“He’s your competition, isn’t he? Wouldn’t he like to see you go out of business and have it all for himself?”
“He’s been watching my business die a slow death for years,” Herb said acidly.
“Yeah, but now you’re sprucing the place up.”
“That started after Jackson was dead,” Herb pointed out.
“Oh.”
“Got any other bright ideas?”
“What about Biggie Taylor? Everybody knows he and Jackson didn’t get along.”
“Biggie don’t get along with anyone,” Herb said.
“I heard ’em going at it last week out on the bridge. Jackson accused Biggie of stealing his bait.”
“He probably did. But how would that get Jackson killed?”
Larry said nothing.
Kathy wondered if she should wait half an hour before she started working on the sign’s red lettering. Maybe they should have bought some blue paint instead; or maybe that wouldn’t stand out against the shop’s new coat of turquoise.
“Have you shared what you saw with the cops?” Herb asked.
“Hell, no. I don’t want to get involved.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t talk about it at all,” Herb advised.
Kathy winced. Mr. Cannon didn’t seem have a clue about giving good customer service. Tori had said Mrs. Cannon had been the force behind the business. Could it have been Herb who’d run it into the ground?
Larry said nothing more. He nearly ran into the ladder as he exited the shop and then marched toward the few cars parked in the lot. He was one unhappy customer. Kathy made a mental note to speak to Tori about that.
Tori approached, laden with a large cardboard box. “The first of many,” she said wearily. “Can you give me a hand to set up the tent?”
“Of course.” Kathy stepped down from the ladder.
Herb poked his head around the door. “Tori, I’m heading into Worton to get some groceries. Can you watch the shop for a while?”
“Sure, Gramps.”
“Good girl,” he said and headed for his truck.
“Good girl?” Kathy asked.
“Yeah. I’m afraid Gramps still thinks of me as a ten year old.”
They watched the truck pull out onto the highway. “What do you think he’ll buy?” Kathy asked.
“Eggs, bread, and junk food. When I get a chance, I’ll go into town and get some decent food.”
Kathy retrieved the canopy and its poles and they began to set it up. During the exercise, she told Tori about Herb’s conversation with Larry.
“Oh, dear,” Tori said.
“Of course, maybe he had some beef against the guy. Maybe he doesn’t treat all his customers that way.”
“Maybe,” Tori said half-heartedly. “But why would Gramps want to discourage a potential witness to keep quiet?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought about it. I’m more focused on how to improve the shop’s bottom line. Do you know Biggie Taylor?”
Tori shook her head. “People come and go around here. You might have a great customer who visits every week all season, and then never see them again. Sounds like this guy is well known, so I could probably find out something about him.”
“Do you think we should mention it to Anissa?”
Tori shrugged. “Maybe.”
Kathy unfolded the canvas cover and it took them several minutes to attach it to the frame. Next, they entered the web-filled boathouse, where Herb had said they would find a folding table. It weighed a ton, and they struggled to haul it over to the bait shop. It was filthy, and Tori hosed it down before they set it up under the canopy.
“It should dry off fast in this stiff breeze,” Kathy said. “I’ll bet the sign I was working on is ready for the next paint color. I’d better get to it.”
Tori nodded, and then set off for the house, no doubt to get more boxes of yard-sale treasures.
Kathy opened the can of black paint and began working on the drop shadow around the red lettering. After that, she added the hook in the corner that she’d mentioned to Herb. By the time she finished with that, Tori had covered the folding table with a white sheet and had distributed the contents of the boxes of junk from the house.
“The cable company won’t come out until Monday to hook us up to the Internet. Do you think Noreen over at the bar would let me log on?” Tori asked Kathy. “I want to list our sale on Craigslist.”
“Buy a drink—or a burger—and I’m sure she’d have no problem.”
“Meanwhile, I’d better make some signs to put up along the road using some of the cardboard cartons we collapsed in the Lotus Lodge.”
“Good idea.” Kathy looked at her watch. The morning had flown by. “I’d better get cleaned up, check out of my room, and pack my car. Jerry from Lotus Realty will be by in less than half an hour.”
“I’m surprised Gramps hasn’t returned. Sorry, but I can’t go over with you until he comes back.”
“Don’t worry about it. Do what you have to do here, that’s your first priority. I’ll either call or text you later to let you know how things went.”
“Okay,” Tori said. Together, they stood back to take in the sign Kathy had finished repainting. “It looks fabulous,” Tori said.
Kathy grinned. “Not bad. Now to hope the customers come streaming in.”
“I’ll let you know—whether they do or not.”
A car pulled into the parking lot. They watched as a middle-aged man and a woman got out of the car and then unloaded tackle boxes, fishing rods, and a small cooler from the trunk. They were smiling as they approached the bait shop.
“Hi. Welcome to Cannon’s,” Tori called.
“Can we get some night crawlers?” the man asked.
“Sure thing. Come into the shop.”
“Oh, Terry, you go ahead. I want to look at all the great stuff here on this table,” the woman said.
Kathy set the cans of paint under the table, noting that the woman was already setting aside some mismatched plates and glasses. At this rate, Tori might have to restock her table a couple of times during the day.
“Do I pay you?” she asked.
“Tori, in the shop, can help you. I’m just here to do some painting.”
The woman nodded.
Kathy headed back to the bar and her tiny room. Once packed, she paid the bill and moved her car to the messy yard next door and waited for Jerry and Anissa to arrive. She got out and stared at the sad state of what once must have been a lovely home. “If it’s at all feasible, I’m going to bring you back to life,” she promised.
Anissa was the first to arrive. She parked her truck next to Kathy’s car and got out. “Good morning.”
“I hope it continues to be good, but that all depends on what we find in the basement.”
“What’s your b
udget?”
“I’m not sure what my inheritance will be.” She told Anissa what her brother received.
“Wow. Well, you could bank half of it and then borrow against it.”
“The way interest rates are these days, I’m not sure it’s worth it.”
Anissa shrugged.
Jerry arrived and parked next to the truck. He cut the engine and got out. His smile seemed forced. “Good morning.”
“Hi,” Kathy said. Anissa merely nodded. “Thanks for coming back today. I’m sorry about what happened yester—”
But Jerry held up a hand to save off her apology. “Let’s get to it.”
They followed him up the stairs to the house and waited while he retrieved the key from the lock box. He ushered them in. “I have another appointment in half an hour, so I’d appreciate it if you could hurry your inspection.”
“Of course,” Kathy said.
Anissa had thoughtfully brought a powerful flashlight, and Kathy showed her to the door to the basement. Anissa went first, lighting the way. “That was kinda rude of that guy to ask you to hurry up,” she groused.
“He probably thinks showing the house is a waste of time.”
Reaching the bottom of the steps, they paused. A couple of small windows had been set into the foundation at some point in time, but the light they let in was mostly blocked by the tall grass and weeds around the outside of the house. Anissa ran the light around the rubble foundation. “Looks in pretty good shape.”
Kathy was surprised to find that, unlike the upstairs, the basement hadn’t been used as another dumping ground by the former tenants. It was a surprise to find that the ceiling height was almost eight feet, which was unusual for a house of this age. A rusty washer and dryer sat defiantly against the back wall next to a long, bulky sink.
Anissa walked along the length of the foundation. She ran the light up and down and then started walking toward the southern-most corner of the room. Kathy followed her to the eastern wall where Anissa touched the stone. “There’s some water seepage here, but nothing too bad. Adding gutters and having them drain away from the house would probably take care of that.”
A spurt of hope coursed through her, and Kathy was afraid to say anything lest she jinx herself.
They wandered around the rest of the basement and found a pile of old wood and a stack of dirt-and-cobweb covered wooden doors. “This is a find,” Anissa said. “These look like the original interior doors. The ones upstairs are crap—hollow core and not up to code. This is a real bonus.”
Nearby sat a hulking furnace and one large hot water heater. “Despite the size of that water heater, it’s not sufficient for the three bathrooms that are already here. You’d want to add more. You’re going to need a whole new HVAC system, and it probably means all new ductwork, too.”
“Expensive?”
Anissa nodded.
They walked around the rest of the basement until they came back to the stairs. “Well, what do you think?”
“I think you should tell Jerry he can go, and we’ll talk about this outside—and then you have to leave.”
“Yeah.”
They headed back up the stairs.
Jerry was back outside and on his cell phone once again. They had to wait for him to finish his call. “Sorry. I’ve got a couple who are moving to this area and want to see at least three houses this afternoon.”
“I understand,” Kathy said. “I’m going to discuss the scope of possible repairs with my contractor and then I’ll get back to you—probably tomorrow.”
Jerry reached into the breast pocket of his shirt, withdrawing a business card. “I’ll be waiting for your call,” he said. He locked up the house and they watched him climb back into his car and take off.
“I don’t like that guy,” Anissa said unnecessarily.
“I can’t say I’m a fan either, but I’d much rather talk about the house. What do you think?”
Anissa actually smiled. “It sounds like a hell of a lot of money, but if you’re willing to put a hundred grand into this place, you might just have a palace on your hands.”
Kathy couldn’t help herself and jumped, then sprang forward to hug Anissa.
“Hold it, hold it!” Anissa cried and pushed back. “Depending on what you want to do, you’re looking at a renovation that could take up to a year to finish.”
“I understand that, but I’m so relieved to hear you say you think it’s a good idea.”
“I didn’t say that—I said it’s worth doing. But I can tell by looking at you that you’ve already fallen hard for this place and would have bought it whether I said it was fixable or not.”
Kathy bowed her head. “You’re right. But I’m so relieved you don’t think it’s a total waste.” She looked back at the house. In her mind’s eye, she saw it as it could be, not as it currently was.
“Now all you have to do is hope it’ll still be on the market when your inheritance comes through.”
Kathy sighed, her spirits falling. “Yeah.” She did have some money saved—what she’d been putting aside to one day furnish the bed and breakfast of her dreams—but it wasn’t enough. Of course, she could probably put ten percent down and get a mortgage, making payments until her inheritance came through. She could come out on her days off to start cleaning up the house and the yard, and maybe even starting some of the demo.
“I think I can pull it off,” she said at last. “I’m calling Jerry as soon as I get home and—”
“No,” Anissa advised. “You need to think this through. You need to sit down and make a list of pros and cons about this project. First of all, you don’t even know if a high-end B and B will draw customers to the area. You’ve got a redneck bar next-door, and a fish camp across the street. From what I can see, your water access amounts to a swamp out back, and the DEC probably wouldn’t even let you put a dock out there.”
Kathy frowned. She hadn’t thought about that. “But I want it,” she said, sounding to herself like a spoiled brat.
“This is a big decision. You don’t want to be here a year from now cursing yourself for being an impulsive fool,” Anissa warned.
“You’re right. I wish you weren’t, but you are,” Kathy grudgingly admitted. “If I do decide to go ahead and do this, would you consider being my contractor?”
Anissa shook her head. “Honey, you don’t even know if I’m any good.”
“I trust you.”
“You haven’t even known me a whole day,” Anissa reminded her.
“I’m a good judge of character.”
Anissa frowned and shook her head. “If you buy this place, you will talk to at least one other contractor before you hire me or anybody else.”
“But would you like the job?”
Anissa shrugged. “You’re not going to be ready to start work for another four, five months, maybe longer. I don’t know where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing.”
Kathy nodded. The idea of working with Anissa had appealed to her. She liked the idea of women working together toward a shared goal.
Anissa glanced at her watch. “You better get going.”
“What are you going to do today?”
“I thought I might visit with Tori. Lord knows I don’t know anybody else around here.”
“There’s always Lucinda Bloomfield.”
Anissa pointed a menacing finger at Kathy. “Don’t go there.”
Kathy smiled. “Okay, I’m leaving. Tell Tori I’ll call her later.”
“Will do,” Anissa said.
Kathy got back in her car and started the engine. She backed into the road, pausing to wave before she headed for the bridge and the road leading home. It was then she thought about what Herb’s customer had said about Biggie Taylor and Anissa’s father. Should she have said something to her friend? Maybe, maybe not. When she talked to Tori later, she’d encourage her to share what they knew about the situation. If nothing else, she wanted to do something to help Anissa get over the loss
of her father. Finding his killer would certainly be a giant step in that direction.
CHAPTER 9
Tori rearranged the junk—or rather valuable merchandise—on the sale table, wondering when Herb would get back from the store so she could leave the bait shop to restock. She’d already had a couple of customers who’d walked over the bridge to check out the refreshed bait shop. They’d bought bait or chips. Not huge purchases, but there was money in the till. They’d also pursued some yard sale items and bought nearly ten bucks worth of stuff. Again, not astounding, but it was money coming in.
Tori looked up at the sound of tires on the gravel parking area, but instead of Herb’s truck, it was Anissa’s. Tori smiled and waved. Anissa got out of the truck and walked over to meet her.
“Well, is she going to buy the place?”
Anissa nodded. “I made her promise she would think it over for at least a day, but Kathy’s a woman with a mission; she wants that house.”
Tori sighed. “I was afraid of that. Will she lose her shirt?”
“If she can see through the whole renovation process, then find some paying customers, she might just break even the first couple of years.”
“That’s not very encouraging,” Tori said sourly.
“It’s realistic.”
“Will you help her fix it up?”
“I don’t know where I’ll be by the time she closes on the house. As it’s empty, it’ll be faster than some, but it still takes half of forever for these things to happen. I can’t sit around for months at a time on the promise of one job.”
Tori nodded.
Anissa looked down at the yard sale items on display. “Hey, you’ve got some good stuff here.”
“Just what my grandma collected over the years. She was a bit of a packrat, I’m afraid. I’m helping Gramps empty out the house.”
“Yeah, that Dumpster is already looking pretty full. What did you toss?”
“Papers, plastic containers, broken appliances—junk. Thank goodness the waste company goes through everything for recycling.”
Anissa picked up a vegetable peeler. “I could use one of these.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out a quarter.
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