by Bill Myers
“Still, with forty eight sites paying an average of five hundred a month, the income more than covers the expenses and leaves a pretty good profit.”
“Polly, that's definitely good news. Just one more question. If I bought Serenity Cove, would you consider being the full time park manager?”
CHAPTER SIXTY
“Walker, you're really thinking about buying Serenity Cove?”
“I am. That's why I asked you to pull together the numbers.”
Polly frowned. “I didn't know Serenity Cove was for sale.”
“It wasn't. But the owner isn't too happy with the manager running off with the rents. She says she doesn't want to deal with it anymore and was talking about selling the place to developers.
“I don't want to see that happen, so I'm thinking about buying it myself just to keep it out of their hands.
“So Polly, if I buy Serenity Cove, would you consider being the full time manager?”
She didn't hesitate. “Yes, in a heartbeat. I'd love to do it.
“And Walker, if you need some help buying the place, let me know. I've got some money saved up and Serenity Cove sounds like a pretty good investment.”
“Polly, it does sound like a good investment. And with you as the manager, it'll even be better. I'll let you know how it works out.”
We ended the call.
Buck was standing behind me holding Mango Bob. “Who was that?”
“Polly. I asked her if she would consider being the manager of Serenity Cove if I bought it.”
“What'd she say?”
“She said yes. Even said she'd like to help me buy the place.”
Buck smiled. “She's a smart woman. Investing in Serenity Cove might be a good move.”
I nodded. “I notice you're holding my cat.”
“I am. He wanted me to pick him up, carry him around. So I did. And he's been purring ever since.”
I shook my head. “Bob usually doesn't let anyone pick him up. Including me. He's pretty particular that way.”
Buck smiled. “Well, he seems to like it now. So that's his name? Bob?”
“Yes. Mango Bob.”
Bob heard me say his name and decided he had been held long enough. He pushed on Buck's chest with his front paws, and Buck put him down on the floor.
We watched as Bob trotted back to the bedroom. After he disappeared, I turned to Buck.
“While you were back there charming my cat, I found something that might help us find Eddie. He's got a girlfriend here in Englewood, and I found her address.”
I showed him the printout of the police report.
Buck pulled a pair of reading glasses from his pocket and looked at the report.
My phone chimed with another incoming call. This time from Anna.
“Anna, I was just getting ready to call you.”
“Good, because I have the listing for Serenity Cove in my hands, and am about to enter it into the MLS.”
“Don't do that. I'll buy the place. Write up the offer and I'll be over in a few minutes to sign it.”
“Walker, are you sure about this? She's listed it at six hundred eighty thousand. And she's looking for a cash deal. No time to wait for a buyer to arrange financing.”
“Anna, I'm sure. Write it up as an all cash offer. Conditioned on no liens, no liabilities, clean title and survey.”
“Walker, you're sure? All cash?”
“Yes, all cash. I can write you a check for the full amount.”
“Walker, aren't you full of surprises. Unemployed, living in a motorhome, yet able to pay cash for a waterfront resort.”
“Anna, it'll take most of what I have, but I think it'll be worth it.”
“Walker, I think you're right. Serenity Cove is going to be a good investment for you. I'll write the offer and have it ready by the time you get here. Let's get it signed and in her hands before she changes her mind.”
We ended the call.
Buck was still standing behind me with the police report in his hands. “So you're buying Serenity Cove?”
“It looks that way.”
“You need any help? Because I've got money to invest.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I think I can do it on my own. I'll let you know if that changes.”
Buck nodded. “What about us finding Eddie? Has that changed?”
“No. We're still going to do that. We just need to stop by Anna's office so I can sign the offer. Then we'll go look for Eddie.”
Buck smiled. “Good. Can we take Mango Bob with us?”
I shook my head. “No. Bob stays here.”
Buck and I headed over to Anna's office on state road 776, which was four miles and one stoplight away from Serenity Cove.
As promised, Anna had the offer ready when we arrived.
“Here it is. Full price, all cash.”
I scanned the offer and saw she had added the contingencies I'd requested. She'd also added, 'expires in twenty four hours'.
“Nice touch on the expiration. It'll encourage the seller to accept and we can get the deal done quickly.”
I signed the offer and handed it back to Anna.
She smiled. “I'll call and let her know. Hopefully we can get her to accept it before the day is over.”
“Good. Call me as soon as you hear back.”
Anna pointed to my Jeep in the parking lot. “Who's your friend out there? He looks familiar but I can't place him.”
“That's Buck. I'll introduce you later. But right now, we're in kind of a hurry.”
Anna gave me a hug. “If this deal goes through, you'll have to help me celebrate another big commission check.”
I smiled, “Plan on it.”
Back out in the Jeep, Buck was looking at a street map of Englewood.
“Where'd you get that?”
“They had a rack of them outside the real estate office. I figured it might be helpful to have a map of the whole town.”
I nodded. “You find the street that Eddie's girl friend lives on?”
“Yep. It's off East Dearborn, three streets up from Publix. You drive, I'll show you where to turn.”
We headed out. No real plan. Just flying by the seat of our pants.
It took seven minutes to reach the stoplight at Dearborn. It was red when we got there.
“Turn left here, then get in the left lane.”
When the light turned green, I let ongoing traffic clear, then turned left and stayed in the left lane.
Buck pointed ahead. “Look for Lee Circle. It'll be on the left.”
He was right. Lee Circle. On the left.
“Look for 121. That's her address.”
Lee circle was a cul-de-sac. A fancy name for a dead end street that ended with a turning circle.
The houses on the street were modest one story block construction. Most showed pride of ownership. Yards were well kept, lawns were mowed, and no junker cars parked in the street.
The house numbers started at 60 and went up. We were looking for 121. Buck called off the house numbers as we cruised slowly down the street.
“70. 75. 80. 85. 90. 100. 115. 120. 125.”
I stopped. “Where's 121? Did we miss it?”
Buck looked over his shoulder. “Back up. It's gotta be between 120 and 125.”
Putting the Jeep in reverse, I backed up until we reached the driveway that had 120 painted on the mailbox. An older man stood in the yard with a water hose in his hand. He looked up and waved.
I turned to Buck. “I'm getting out. See if the neighbor knows where 121 is.”
I walked over to the man in the yard and greeted him with a smile. “I think we may be lost. We're looking for 121 Lee Circle.”
The man laughed. “You must be looking for Eddie or Edith. They always give their address as 121. But there's no 121.”
I nodded. “So that's why we couldn't find it.”
He looked at me, and then at the Jeep. “You the law? Eddie in trouble again?”
“
No, I'm not the law. And as far as I know, Eddie's not in trouble. We're just trying to find him.”
“Friends of Eddie, huh? You don't look like the kind of people Eddie generally hangs out with.”
I took that as a compliment.
I smiled. “Eddie's not in trouble. We just need to talk with him for a minute.”
The man looked at my Jeep. “That your Jeep?”
“Yes sir, it is.”
“Had it long?”
“About a month.”
“You the one who rescued Eddie when he was hit on his bicycle?”
“How'd you know about that?”
“It was in the paper. Eddie showed us the picture. Had your Jeep in the photo.”
I nodded. “Yes sir, that was me.”
“Well, then I guess it won't hurt to tell you where Eddie and Edith live.”
He pointed toward an overgrown vacant lot at the end of the street. “They live down there. Park on the street and follow the path back to the house.”
“Used to be a driveway, but neither Eddie nor Edith have a car, so they let it get overgrown. Edith says she likes it that way. “
I thanked him and went back to the Jeep.
Buck looked at me. “You find out where they live?”
“Yep, down there behind that vacant lot.”
“We going to drive in or walk?”
“Walk. Edith doesn't like cars back there.”
“Who's Edith?”
“You're about to find out.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
We parked the Jeep on the street and headed down the overgrown path. What had once been a well landscaped lot with carefully placed palms, palmettos, and citrus trees, had through neglect become a tropical jungle.
According to the neighbor, this is the way Edith and Eddie liked it. It gave them privacy and made their home invisible from the street.
I wondered about dogs. People who like their privacy often have dogs. Big ones. And I hadn't asked the neighbor whether Edith and Eddie had dogs or not.
I should have.
Forty feet in, the path curved to the left and led us to a clearing. In the center stood a small cottage, white with lime green shutters, metal roof and a small screened in front porch.
It wasn't what I expected. The house was well maintained, the porch spotless. No appliances, no abandoned cars, no junk lying around.
We stopped and took it all in.
Buck spoke first. “Not what I expected.”
“Yeah, a pleasant surprise.”
“You think this is the right place?”
“According to the neighbor, this is where Eddie lives. With Edith.”
“Think they're home?”
“One way to find out.”
As we got closer to the house, the crunch of our footsteps on the white shell path alerted a dog to our presence.
Fortunately, the dog was small and inside the screened-in porch. It could see us, and it could bark, but it didn't look like it was going to cause any trouble as long as we stayed outside.
The dog continued to bark as we got closer to the house, and a heavy set woman, maybe in her fifties, wearing cut off sweat pants and a white t-shirt came out on the porch.
She pointed at the dog. “Hush up, baby.”
The dog immediately stopped barking and moved to the woman's side.
She pushed the screen door open and the small dog rushed us, wagging its tail as it ran. It went straight to Buck and sat down in front of him, apparently waiting to be petted.
“You boys looking for Eddie?”
“Yes ma'am. We are.”
“You the law?”
“No ma'am. We're not.”
The woman opened the screen door and stepped outside, cigarette in hand.
“What do you want with Eddie?”
Buck, who had been leaning over petting the dog, stood up and walked past me.
“Ma'am, My name is Buck Waverly. I'm in town scouting movie locations, and Eddie was helping us.”
The woman smiled. “I know who you are. I've seen all your movies. Especially the ones with that girl actor. What's her name again?
“Eddie told me he met up with a movie star the other night, but I didn't believe him. Eddie's always coming up with wild stories.”
She took a drag on her cigarette. “So, you're the movie star?”
“Yes ma'am, I am. And we need Eddie's help. Plus we may have a part for him in our movie.”
“Really! Eddie in a movie. Wouldn't that be something.”
“Yes ma'am, it would be. Anyway, we need to talk to Eddie about this today. Can you tell us where we can find him?”
The woman took a final drag of her cigarette, and dropped the butt in a coffee can beside the door.
“So this movie. How much does Eddie get paid for doing it? And don't call me ma'am. My name is Edith.”
Buck smiled. “Well Edith, if we can find Eddie and if we can get him in the movie, he'll get paid three hundred dollars a day. We might need him for three or four days.”
Edith paused as she calculated how much money we were talking about. Then she asked, “What about me? Any parts in that movie for me?”
“Maybe. But only if we can find Eddie.”
She smiled, “What part would I play? In the movie?”
Buck looked over at me, then back at Edith. “Eddie's girlfriend. You could be his girlfriend in the movie.”
Edith smiled. “How much would that pay?”
Buck explained that the movie was still in pre-production, and that if he couldn't find Eddie today, there wouldn't be parts for either one of them.
Edith frowned, then said. “Well, if you're looking for Eddie, you probably won't find him until after dark.
“During the day, I don't know where he goes. He says he has a job washing trucks at the roofing company, but I don't believe him.
“He also says he has a job cleaning the bait tanks at the convenience store on Dearborn. That could be, because sometimes he comes home smelling like fish.
“All I know for sure is by dark, he's usually made enough money to buy a twelve pack of beer, and he'll hang out behind the library and drink with his friends until it's all gone. Then he'll come staggering home to me. Usually just before sunup.”
Buck nodded. “Edith, does Eddie have a phone?”
“Yeah, he's got one. It's inside on the kitchen counter. He never takes it with him. Never checks his messages. I doubt he's turned it on in the past month.
“If you want to find him, come back here around eight tomorrow morning and you'll likely see him sleeping on the back porch. Or look around Dearborn street after dark tonight.”
Buck pulled a business card from his pocket and wrote a number on the back. He handed it to Edith. “If you see him, have him call this number.”
As Buck turned to go, Edith reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait. You can't leave yet. I need to get a picture!”
She pulled a cell phone from inside her bra and pointed it toward Buck.
“Go over there and pick up my little Taco. I want to get a picture of you petting him.”
Buck smiled and walked over to the dog. As soon as Buck got close, the dog laid down, rolled over onto its back and put his feet in the air.
“Ain't that just the sweetest thing!” Edith hollered. “Rub his belly!”
Buck rubbed the dog's belly, and Edith took a photo.
Edith beamed. “That came out real nice. Wait till Eddie sees it.”
We thanked Edith for her help and walked back to the Jeep. After we were buckled in, I asked, “You gave her your phone number?”
Buck laughed and shook his head. “No. I gave her yours. She'll probably be calling you about a part in a movie.”
We'd spent thirty minutes at Edith's and learned that we'd probably have the best chance of finding Eddie after dark.
Since we had two hours of daylight left in the day, we decided to go back to Serenity Cove and check on Polly.
When we arrived at the office, she was inside and in a good mood. “You just missed the locksmith. He changed all the door locks and checked the windows. Found two broken locks in the back, which he fixed. The bill is on my desk. He said we could mail in the payment.”
Polly dangled a set of keys. “He gave me two sets of keys for the new locks. You want me to keep one?”
I nodded. “You're the office manager. You'll need office keys.”
My phone chimed. Anna.
I stepped outside to take the call.
“Walker, just talked to the seller. She's signed the offer. But with one condition. You can't call the police on the former manager. She doesn't want anything on record about what he did.”
I shrugged. “Fine with me. I wasn't planning to call the police anyway. It's her money that was taken, not mine. It'd be up to her to press charges, not me. Not sure why she'd even bring that up.”
“I agree, it's strange she made me include this in the offer. But she was adamant. No police.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. She's already contacted her bank and told them about the sale. They're going to work to push this through quickly.
“We might be able to close within ten days – as long as you can come up with a certified check for the full amount.”
“I can do that. Just let me know a day ahead so I can get to the bank.”
“Will do.”
We ended the call.
When I stepped back inside the office, Buck was sitting on Polly's desk, his back to me, whispering to her. When Polly saw me, she asked, “Good news?”
I nodded. “Yes. It looks like I'm going to be the new owner of Serenity Cove. Probably close the deal within two weeks.”
Polly smiled. “That's great! Does that mean I'll still be the park manager or will you be taking over?”
I shook my head. “I'm not the manager type. You've got the job for as long as you want it.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Buck told Polly about our day. How we'd met Edith and where we'd have the best chance of finding Eddie after dark.
“So,” asked Polly, “You're going to go out and look for Eddie tonight?”
“Yes,” I answered. “That's what I'm going to do.”