“Good morning, Mrs. Nash. How are you?” Annie asked Ian Butler’s secretary.
“Fine, thank you, Mrs. Dawson. May I help you?”
Annie smiled. “I was hoping to see the mayor for just a moment.”
“He’s not busy right now. Go on in.”
Annie walked over to the open door. Ian was seated at his desk, concentrating on something he was writing on a yellow notepad. He looked up when she knocked on the door frame, a sudden smile lighting his eyes.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite sleuth. How are you, Annie?” He got to his feet and pulled up a chair for her. “I hope you didn’t come over to talk about Burly Boy’s Burgers again.”
She returned his smile, feeling a little flush warm her face, and shut the door behind her. “I’ve been a real bear, haven’t I?”
“Nah, not you. You love Stony Point, that’s all. So do I. I still hope we’re going to have some eleventh-hour miracle before it comes to tearing up buildings on Main Street to put in a fast-food place.”
“I have an idea about something, Ian, and I need your help.”
He lifted both eyebrows. “About stopping Burly Boy?”
“Maybe.” She bit her lower lip. “Oh, I’m not sure. I don’t know if this will help at all, even if it works, but I have to try. And I can’t think of anything else.”
His eyes were warm and understanding. “I’ll be glad to help in any way I can. What do you need?”
“You have to do a lot of granting permits and such for people who want to build anywhere in Stony Point, don’t you?” Annie asked.
“Well, I don’t personally do it, but it’s something the city does. Why?”
“How hard would it be to find out if someone is about to clear some land somewhere and is planning to start construction?”
He shrugged and shook his head vaguely. “I don’t know. I suppose it would depend where it is.”
“I guess what I’m asking is this: If you were to contact another town and ask for that kind of information, would they tell you?”
“It’s usually public information. I guess you could call up the county clerk’s office or the city clerk if it’s an incorporated area. Is it someplace nearby?”
“Fairfax County, Virginia.”
“Virginia?” He chuckled. “And what’s all the way down there?”
She told him about Geoffrey Whyte and the clue about the trees.
Ian knit his brow. “How would you know whether these trees you’re looking for are on a place about to be developed? And if they are, how would you know the right ones?”
The phone on his desk buzzed, and excusing himself, he picked it up.
“Yes, Mrs. Nash?” He nodded. “I see. No, I’ll get it. Ask her to hold for just a minute.” He put his hand over the receiver. “Speak of the devil.”
Annie cringed. “Burly Boy?”
“Ms. McMillan herself. I guess I’d better take it. Do you mind?”
Annie grinned at him. “Do you mind if I listen in?”
He shook his head, chuckling. “Always the sleuth, aren’t you? Sure, if you want to listen, go ahead. I’ll even put her on speaker, if you’ll stay out of the conversation.”
“Ooooh, yes, please. I promise I won’t make a peep.”
Ian punched the flashing button on his phone. “Good morning, Ms. McMillan. How are you?”
“Pressed for time, Mr. Butler.”
“Just so you’ll know, I have a friend of mine here in the office with me,” Ian said, glancing at Annie, “so our conversation won’t be strictly private. Is that OK with you?”
“That’s your call to make, Mr. Butler.” The woman’s words were cool and clipped. “I just wanted to let you know I’ve been on the telephone with Mr. Huggins about that Main Street property he owns. Due to the scheduling of some of our other construction projects, we’d like to get this one taken care of immediately. It will be some time before construction will start there, even if we can close very soon, but as you can well imagine, the timing on every project affects many of others.”
“I can understand that, Ms. McMillan,” Ian said. “How can I be of help?”
“Mr. Huggins has given one of his tenants an option to purchase, provided she can make the necessary financial arrangements by the end of next month.”
“Yes, that is my understanding too.”
Ms. McMillan laughed brusquely. “Let’s be honest here, Mr. Butler. I’ve spoken to Ms. Brock. She has no reserves, no assets, and not even the vaguest prospect of obtaining any by the end of next month. You know that as well as I. She certainly knows it. And I’m quite sure Mr. Huggins knows it too.”
“He might. I’m not sure what this has to do with—”
“As I told you, I’ve been trying to reason with Mr. Huggins about this. Of course, it’s been very difficult having any sort of a detailed conversation with him. He’s forever attending to something about his wife’s treatment and then having to call me back.”
Annie fumed at the thought of poor Mr. Huggins being badgered by this woman at such a difficult time, but she held her tongue.
Ian’s usually genial expression was growing more and more stony. “He does have a lot of things on his mind right now, Ms. McMillan, as I’m sure you can understand. Anyway, I’m assuming there’s a reason you’ve called me about this.”
“Yes, of course.” The woman’s voice fairly crackled with disdain. “I suppose that, as the mayor, you have more than a little influence there in your little town. I thought you might be able to reason with Mr. Huggins and with Ms. Brock about this option and see if you could get them to agree to cancel it.”
“And why would I want to do that, Ms. McMillan?”
“I think your town council was impressed with the numbers we gave them as far as what having one of our locations would do for your local economy. And of course, there are other community-enhancing efforts—literacy programs, green energy and conservation awareness, those sorts of things—which our corporation would bring to your area. It would obviously be in the best interest of Stony Point to get this deal done and as quickly as possible, don’t you think?”
“Your company’s presentation did impress the council, I’ll agree, but Mr. Huggins and Ms. Brock’s agreement is outside of their control—and mine too, for that matter.”
“I understand that, of course. But you still have influence, Mr. Butler, and that’s what I’m talking about. Surely the two parties can be made to understand that, for the good of the community, they might want to reconsider.”
“So you want me to lean on them a little, is that it?”
Ian looked at Annie, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. She put her hands on her hips and glared at the telephone.
“To put it plainly,” Ms. McMillan answered, “yes.”
Ian sat up in his chair and tented his fingers together on the desk in front of him. “I’m just curious, Ms. McMillan. Why is this so important to you?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I told you we have to schedule these things out in advance. If I can get this deal done, I can move on to something else. Surely that’s not too hard to understand.”
“But is little Stony Point really worth all this trouble? I mean, there are places up and down the highway you could get.”
For a moment there was only a cold silence.
“Mr. Butler, a lot of people from SLR & FFH have researched this particular location. We’ve done studies and marketing research and cost analyses. We’ve had a preliminary survey and inspection of the property. Based on all that, I have assured our CEO that this is the best place to open a location in the area. I have always gotten the locations I propose, and I’m not planning on letting this be the first one to get away. Even if we do have to wait out this ridiculous little option period between Huggins and Brock, I mean for this deal to go through. Either you can help me or you can’t. Which is it?”
Annie and Ian exchanged incredulous glances.
Ian cleared his
throat. “I don’t think I can help you, Ms. McMillan. Mr. Huggins and Ms. Brock have an agreement that’s good through the end of next month. I know you’ve spoken to both of them about terminating that agreement so you can go ahead with your project now, but it seems neither of them is interested in doing so, am I right?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
Annie stifled a snicker at the increasing irritation in the woman’s voice, and Ian put one cautioning finger to his lips.
“These people are my friends, Ms. McMillan. Both of them are dealing with difficult personal situations right now, and I don’t think either of them needs me to turn up the pressure. Especially since I should be trying to make things easier for them.”
“Oh please, Mr. Butler, this is a business matter, not a personal one. Your friendship with any resident of your town shouldn’t have any bearing on the decisions you make as mayor.”
“Forgive me, but I don’t believe that’s true. At least it’s not true here in Stony Point. I’m not going to show favoritism to my particular friends, no—but I consider showing consideration to all of our residents a major part of my job.” Ian’s brown eyes flashed. “Now, is there something else I can help you with today, Ms. McMillan?”
“You realize that SLR & FFH has a lot to offer a small town like Stony Point. If you were willing to cooperate with us, we could be very generous.”
Annie’s eyes widened. Was she offering him a bribe?
Ian only chuckled. “I appreciate your community spirit, Ms. McMillan, believe me, but I really can’t do anything to help you in this situation. Generosity of any kind isn’t going to make the slightest bit of difference.”
“I see.” She sniffled audibly and disdainfully. “In that case, I suppose all I can do is wish you a good morning.”
“You have a good morning too.”
Ian hung up the phone, and Annie clasped her hands together.
“Oh Ian, I could just kiss you.”
His face turned a little red, and he gave her an endearing “Aw, shucks!” look. “Just doing my job,” he said, looking quickly at the floor.
Annie blushed too, realizing what she had just said, and he glanced up and gave her a wink.
“I’m not surprised Mary Beth didn’t like her,” Annie said, her smile fading. “Do you think she was trying to bribe you?”
Ian shrugged. “Hard to say. Sometimes people put out little feelers to see how you’ll react. I always find it best to stop that kind of thing before it gets started. Whether or not that’s where she was going, she knows where I stand. That’s never a bad thing.”
“You handled her just right. I’m amazed she keeps her job, treating people like that.”
“I expect she’s very successful at what she does, as long as you measure success strictly as getting what you want no matter what.”
“Ah … well, speaking of getting what we want …”
She gave him a significant glance, and he laughed.
“Oh yeah. You didn’t come here just to witness my masterful way of dealing with difficult people, did you? I take it you want me to find out what you want to know about land- clearing plans in Virginia—right?”
“It would be very helpful of you. And maybe—being the important person you are—you could find out quicker than just little old ordinary me.”
“But that brings us back to the same question I asked before. How are you going to know which trees are the right ones or even that they’re clearing the property where these trees are located? I mean, that sounds like a long shot to me.”
Annie smiled at him. “You just find out what I need to know and leave the rest to me. I can’t promise you it will solve the Burly Boy problem, but just maybe it will get Mary Beth’s clock back for her.”
****
Very late that afternoon, Annie’s telephone rang. She stuck an envelope in the book she was reading, marking her page, and picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
The voice on the other end of the line whispered something unintelligible. It was a man’s voice, low and gruff.
“Hello?” Annie forced her voice to be strong and steady. “Who is this?”
“Seven owls fly low at midnight,” he repeated a little louder.
“Ian! You scared me half to death. What in the world are you talking about?”
He laughed. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought if I was going to pass on classified information, I’d better use a password.”
“Very funny. Next time, try not to sound like some anonymous weirdo. Now, tell me about this classified information. From Virginia?”
“Yep.”
“Hang on while I get a pencil and paper. I want to make sure I don’t forget anything.”
“I don’t know how this will help,” Ian said, “but here goes. There are actually three places being cleared starting this week. All of them within fifteen miles of the old Whyte home.” He gave her the specifics. “That last one is starting the day after tomorrow.”
“Oh perfect. I want to get this done quickly, before our Mr. Sanders has time to figure things out.”
“Umm …”
Annie waited, smiling a little at his sudden uncertainty. “Yes, Ian?”
“You feel like having dinner sometime?”
She managed not to giggle. “I usually do most evenings.”
“I mean with me.”
He was so cute.
“When did you have in mind?” she asked.
“Umm . . . Friday night?”
“I think I can just pencil you in, Mr. Mayor.”
“That would be great.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Seven?”
“Perfect,” she agreed.
“And this stuff about the trees …”
“Yes?”
“I still don’t see how this is going to help anything, Annie. The information I got doesn’t really tell us anything about particular trees or what they might lead the way to.”
“Don’t you worry about that, Mr. Mayor. You just hold Burly Boy off for a little while longer, and let me get the rest of my plan set up. Thanks for your help.”
“No problem, Annie. You know I’m always glad to help. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you. Otherwise, I’ll see you when I pick you up at seven on Friday night.”
Ian hung up, and as soon as she heard the dial tone, Annie called Mary Beth.
“Hey there. It’s Annie. Didn’t you tell me Mandy Culbertson has been helping you out at the shop lately?”
“Oh yes. I told her she didn’t have to. I mean her parents’ insurance paid for everything. It was pretty upsetting at the time, but at this point everything is back to normal and no real harm done. But she’s insisted on doing more, and I have to admit she’s been nice to have around.”
“Still, it’s great to have Kate back at the shop too,” Annie admitted.
Mary Beth sighed happily. “It certainly is. Between her and Mandy, the shop has never been so clean and well organized.”
“Do you think Mandy might be willing to help get your clock back?”
Mary Beth didn’t say anything for a moment. “What did you have in mind? I mean, she’s just sixteen. I wouldn’t want to put her in the middle of any kind of trouble.”
“No, no, nothing like that. Just a little acting job. What do you think? Would she do it?”
Mary Beth chuckled. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
14
It had been a slow business day, a day full of customers who hemmed and hawed, and took a lot of time but didn’t buy anything, a tedious, never-ending day, and Frank Sanders was more than glad to see the end of it. He was just about to lock the front door when the telephone rang.
“Antiques and Oddities.”
“Is this Mr. Sanders?”
The voice was vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “Yes, it is. How may I help you?”
“Mr. Sanders, this is Annie Dawson. I … uh … I’
m sure you remember me from the other day.”
His professional cheerfulness vanished. “Yes, Mrs. Dawson, I remember you. Thanks to you and the local police, I’ve had a busy week.”
Annie Dawson laughed a little. Embarrassed, no doubt, Sanders thought.
“I’m really, really sorry about that. I was so upset that day. I guess I just wanted to blame someone. My late husband always told me I should cool down and think things through before I did anything foolish. I know I should have listened.”
“Yeah, maybe. Is there something I can help you with?”
“I’m sure you already know this, but the police have made it absolutely clear that they didn’t find any evidence you were involved with the theft of my friend’s clock. You have to admit it was quite a coincidence that it disappeared right after you were at Mary Beth’s, but sometimes those things happen.”
He didn’t say anything. He just waited for her to say whatever it was she was trying to say.
“Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for all the trouble you’ve been through.”
He smiled to himself, glad she couldn’t see his face over the telephone. “Well, as you say, those things happen. Yes, it was a pretty unlikely coincidence. And—all in all—there was no real harm done. If they don’t recover the clock, I hope the insurance will make good the loss.”
“I think the insurance at the repair shop will eventually cover it. We’re waiting to see.”
“Well, then, it seems everything has been taken care of. I appreciate the apology, and really, don’t give it another thought.”
“That is very kind of you.”
“Think nothing of it. Now, if there’s nothing else … ?”
Again the woman laughed nervously. “Just one other thing. It’s not a big deal, but I was hoping you might be able to help me.”
“I suppose I can try. What is it?”
“Mary Beth told me that while you were at her house examining the clock you took several pictures. If you wouldn’t mind, I was wondering if you could email them to me.”
“Pictures?”
He had taken several while he was there—good clear photos of the fine detail work on the clock. Why would she be interested now?
The Key in the Attic Page 11