Lost and Found

by Margaret Lake

  * * *

  Things were moving too fast, Michael thought as he drove back to town to meet his sister and her friends. The realtor must have been pretty anxious to unload this property given how quickly the realtor had agreed to meet with the girls. And that was a definite red flag as far as he was concerned.

  Three cars were pulled into the double driveway when Michael arrived, one with a realtor’s magnetic sign on the door. Beside that SUV was his sister’s little Mini and behind her, a car he didn’t know.

  Perfect, he thought. The only space is behind the real estate guy and I can box him in so he can’t leave until I’m satisfied.

  Michael stood outside the house, letting himself absorb what he was seeing. It was the same thing he did whenever he arrived at the scene of a story he was going to write.

  Tiny lot. Probably had a lot of land in the beginning, but this was prime commercial real estate and the land had been sold off. On one side was a bakery and on the other, a modern and busy gas station. What had the planning council been thinking? Obviously, they hadn’t been thinking of the future at all. Or maybe they thought the old Victorian would eventually be torn down to make way for more commercial property.

  The scrap of lawn was newly mowed and trimmed around the flowering hedges. Big purple and blue hydrangeas grew nearly to the top of the porch rail. Michael pulled out his tablet to jot down the question of who would be responsible for maintaining the lawn and landscaping. That could be a deal breaker.

  And while he was at it, his reporter’s nose said that the question should be raised about the very mixed use on this block. Why would the planning council allow a gas station and garage right next door to a residence and then allow a bakery one door down? It might make for an interesting article or maybe even one heck of an exposé depending on what he found. Might buy him some time on the job if it turned out to be something.

  “Michael! What are you doing?” Mia called from the open front door. “We can’t wait for you to see this place.”

  “Hey, Mims,” he called back. “You’re certainly right in the middle of things.”

  “Is that a criticism, Mr. Broderick?” Mia replied frostily, one eyebrow lifted.

  “Merely an observation, Mims,” giving his sister his most disarming smile. “That’s what us reporters do. We observe and report.”

  He also noted that some of the gingerbread trim was either missing or warped. Water damage, maybe? Michael made a quick note when Mia turned around to lead him inside.

  “Michael, this is Jessica Banks and Ashley Caron, my roommates.”

  Not yet, and not if I can help it, Michael thought, but he kept his smile firmly in place.

  “That’s Jess and Ash, Mr. Broderick,” the cute little blonde with the ponytail corrected, reaching out to shake his hand.

  Jessica Banks had a surprisingly strong grip, as opposed to the sweetly feminine Ashley Caron with the very red hair and scattering of freckles. As petite as Jessica was at a couple of inches over five feet, Ashley was tinier still.

  “In that case, as friends of Mimsey, I insist you call me Michael or even Mikey since we’re practically going to be family.”

  He didn’t have to see the look Mia threw him behind his back to know her temper was starting to simmer. That seemed to be the norm for her these days and Michael wanted his tough but sweet sister back. Jessica and Ashley, however, seemed to like his easy manner and friendly grin just fine.

  “So, what do you think?” Jessica asked, reluctantly releasing Michael’s hand. Not because she was attracted to him, but because she wanted to be able to yank him out of the way if his sister decided to toss him over her shoulder. They were barely in the foyer and Mia’s hackles were beginning to rise, and Jessica hoped the ice-blue daggers she shot toward Mia from her eyes would be enough to warn off her friend.

  “Michael, this is our realtor,” Jessica started to introduce them.

  “Annie? Annie Tomaselli? Is that you?” Michael grinned even wider.

  “I was waiting for you to remember me,” the dark-haired beauty smiled back. “It’s only been … what … a dozen years since high school.”

  Michael caught the woman up in a bear hug, spinning her around, much to Mia’s chagrin.

  Well, maybe it was a good thing, she thought. If Michael was lost in teenage reminiscences, maybe he’d forget to be critical. Mia knew the house needed work, but she was looking forward to fixing up the old place. Jessica and Ashley were just as enthusiastic about the project as she was and no way was she going to let Michael … that was M.I.C.H.A.E.L. … spoil it. She hadn’t told him, but they were actually thinking of buying the property and converting it to their own studio spaces.

  The two front rooms had bay windows, perfect for displaying Jessica’s pottery and Ashley’s clothing line. The basement was huge with ground level windows to let in light, and it wouldn’t take much to turn it into her own dojang with plenty of space for Jessica’s kiln and Ashley’s sewing tables. Now if only Michael didn’t catch on.

  “Well, Annie, just what have you gotten my sister into?” Michael grinned, still holding on to Anna’s shoulders, both to give her a chance to stop her head from spinning and to keep her from backing away until he had some answers. He wasn’t an investigative reporter for nothing. Not that there was that much to investigate in Banks County, but he had hopes.

  “Please, Mr. Broderick, let me catch my breath and put on my professional hat. I will be more than happy to show you around.” Quickly, Anna patted her hair back into place and tugged down her suit jacket. She hadn’t remembered Michael being quite this exuberant. Neither had she remembered him being quite this handsome. The changes were rather unsettling to say the least.

  Mia had to suppress a giggle. The lovely Ms. Tomaselli certainly knew how to handle touchy clients even if they were old high school friends.

  Michael threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Not much has changed, has it? Now you just comb your hair, put on lipstick and wear power suits to confound yokels like myself. But you’re still one tough lady.”

  “I’d like to think older and wiser,” Anna shot back, her professional smile firmly in place. “I imagine you’re here to find the flaws and protect your sister from the slick realtor, but you’ll find I don’t mind that at all. The flaws are reflected in the rent and the terms of the lease option.”

  “Lease option?” Michael growled, swiveling to face Mia.

  “It’s just an option, Michael,” Mia stated flatly. “Ms. Tomaselli thought it would protect us since the improvements we’ll be making will certainly increase the value of the property.”

  “Okay, slow down. This is turning into a much more complicated transaction than you first led me to believe. Maybe we should talk about this some more … at home … in private.”

  “My friends are involved in this, not just me, Michael, and you can’t make decisions for all of us. In fact, you can’t even make decisions for me. I’m over eighteen and I make my own living,” Mia huffed.

  “If I may,” Anna interrupted, “I would very much like to show you what we’ve found. Some of these are repairs that will be put in the lease like broken door locks. The owner is responsible for any safety and structural issues, but the lessees want to do their own cosmetic work.”

  “Alright,” Michael grumped, seeing the sense in that. Maybe the girls had really done their homework, helped by his old friend.

  “But a fresh pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt,” Anna added, “and you might find things we missed.”

  “Okay,” Michael nodded, giving in. He refused to look at his sister. He certainly didn’t need to see the smirk that he knew creased her face.

  Anna had the list they’d made up on their previous walk-thru and the few times Michael found something they’d missed she made a note of it.

  It was a pretty big place with two rooms on either side of a wide hallway. The staircase hugged the wall on the left side and was a piece of art on its own. You just
didn’t get that kind of hand-carving on bannisters these days, Michael thought.

  The second room on the left had quite a few built-in shelves, filled with leather bound books. As part of his job, Michael loved to do research and the thought of all those beautiful books nearly had him salivating. Many of them could have historical significance with information about life a century or more ago.

  There were bay windows in both front rooms with cozy window seats in each. No padding, though that was probably one of the things the girls wanted to add themselves.

  The two rooms on the right were separated by wide pocket doors. The second room had most likely been a dining room since there was a built-in buffet along the wall across from the windows. The old-fashioned swinging door probably led from that room into the kitchen. You could almost see a butler hurrying through the door carrying a tray loaded with coffee and cakes.

  The appliances were old, but clean and Michael pointed out they should be replaced.

  “As long as they are in working order, which they are, we might not be able to get the owner to buy new,” Anna pointed out.

  “Wouldn’t hurt to try.” Michael smiled winningly, but he could see that Anna was already adding the stove and refrigerator to the list.

  “No dishwasher?” Michael asked.

  “The house is pretty old,” Anna reminded him. “I doubt if there is even a hookup for one.”

  “I’ll just check,” Michael offered, sliding under the sink on his back.

  “We don’t need a dishwasher, Michael,” Mia grated, already sick of his nitpicking. “Between the three of us, I think we can wash a few dishes.”

  “Or we might just order a lot of takeout,” Ashley giggled, her sherry-brown eyes sparkling with mirth.

  “Sounds about right,” Michael agreed with a grin, as he popped back up. “Don’t write that one down, Annie. The ladies have it covered.”

  Michael went through the upstairs with the same attention to detail he had shown downstairs. Every window was opened and shut and the locks tested. When that was done, he paid particular attention to the only bathroom, turning on the taps, checking the hot water, flushing the toilet. When Michael accidentally switched the stream from tub to shower, he got a good dousing that had him backing quickly from the tub, his hair dripping.

  “Well, Michael,” Mia grinned, “had enough?”

  “An investigative reporter does not give up so easily,” he said with mock seriousness. “The attic awaits!”

  “It’s just an attic,” Mia grumbled, following her brother up the stairs.

  But Michael wasn’t satisfied until he’d paced the entire space, checking each floorboard for safety.

  The basement was next, with every square inch of the walls checked for moisture and the boiler checked for rust. He was only satisfied when he saw a recent inspection tag on the side but noted the company name and phone number so he could double check their findings.

  Michael had to admit that his sister and her friends been pretty thorough, and that Anna really knew her job. When she finally mentioned the rent she’d negotiated, he was really impressed.

  “Ladies, I think this calls for a bit of a celebration. Ice cream sundaes on me,” he said with a smile.

  “Hey, that’s an irresistible offer,” Ashley agreed.

  “I’m in,” added Jessica. “Mia?”

  “Yeah,” Mia replied, letting out the breath she’d been holding. Finally, she smiled at her brother. When it came down to it, he really was the best.

  “Coming, Anna?” Mia asked.

  “Sorry. I really need to update this list and get it over to the renting agent. He’ll need to contact the owner for approval before they can revise the lease and you know that might take some time. Then the repairs have to be done before …”

  “Okay, okay, we get it,” Michael laughed, hiding his disappointment. “But when the lease is signed, you’d better make time for at least a drink.”

  “It’s a date … I mean a deal.” Anna nodded, but didn’t hold out her hand for the traditional shake.

  Oops, something going on here, Mia thought. Time for a little sisterly poking and prodding. If Anna and Michael had been an item back in high school, she’d been too young to know it. Now it was her duty to find out everything she could. But first, she’d pump her mother for information.

  Mom would know. She had this sixth sense when it came to her and Michael and they hadn’t been able to get away with much. Yup, time to drop by Mom’s for coffee in the morning. And if she knew her mother, there would be a freshly baked coffee cake or pecan rolls or some other tasty morning delight, and that was always a good deal.

  Chapter Three

  They’d had a great time over the ice cream treat and Michael had to admit, Mia’s friends seemed to have their heads screwed on the right way. But …

  And that’s what big brothers were for. To find the buts and what-ifs before little sisters lost their life savings or worse.

  Michael congratulated himself on not questioning their plans and letting them talk about paint and drapes and rugs and who would get the big bedroom and morning bathroom schedules.

  Just like with any story, Michael let everything he was learning simmer in his brain. The main thrust of the article … or in this case the project … would float to the surface. That’s when he would get his teeth into it. That’s when he would know where the story was headed.

  By the time he got home, Michael had an idea. Maybe the Victorian itself was the story. Why was it still standing there when all the surrounding land had been sold? Who owned it before? Who owned it now? So many questions.

  Michael had no intention of letting his planning and zoning story slide, but he could combine his research on both. Either one or both might make for a juicy story, and surely Mia couldn’t be mad if he just gave her the history of the place. Jessica and Ashley would probably be interested, too.

  Everything he’d seen while walking through the old house spoke of the man who’d built it and the people who’d lived there. Every patch of peeling paint and wallpaper, every creaky floorboard, told a story and he was just the man to find and report that story.

  * * *

  Mia was flying high when she walked into the senior center to work with her Tae Kwon Do class. These weren’t seniors in the high school meaning of the word. These were retirees in decent health who wanted to do something a little more interesting than a salute to the sun. Of course, they couldn’t kick as high as the youngsters, or break boards (had to be careful of osteoporosis and broken bones), but they could do the forms.

  Instead of belt levels, they received a different color stripe on their belts. The class was just for fun and gave the seniors a sense of accomplishment. It gave Mia a sense of accomplishment, too. This was something she did on her own and it thrilled her when one of her seniors moved up a rank.

  “You sure are sparkling tonight, Mia!” Lindy said as they lined up.

  “Maybe I am,” Mia laughed. “Or I could be on a sugar high.”

  “Let me guess,” Edie shouted from the second row. “Double dip ice cream sundae down at Jackson’s. With strawberries, too.”

  “Have you been spying on me, Edie?”

  “Nope. Just an educated guess. It’s a hot day so ice cream would be nice and cooling.”

  “Okay. Good guess. But what about the strawberries?”

  “Strawberries are in season and Jackson’s gets theirs from my son-in-law’s farm. Big fat ones this year and hard to resist.”

  “That’s cheating, Edie. Might even be insider trading.”

  “Yeah, Edie. A federal offense, that’s for sure,” Marcus teased.

  “Alright, you’ve got me. Now settle down or I’ll have y’all doing laps.”

  “Hah! That’ll be the day,” Marcus smirked.

  The class finally settled down as Mia took them through their warm-up. Wow, if I ever have a mystery to solve, I’d want these people on my side, Mia thought. Logic and nosiness. W
hat a combination. But doesn’t that also describe Michael? Yes, I want him on my side, too.

  * * *

  Michael sat down to his solitary dinner. Just heated up leftovers but a nice, cold beer helped the uninspired meal go down. He had his tablet propped in front of him as he ate, watching the news. At least he had some sort of company for dinner.

  Better get used to it, he thought. Probably wouldn’t take more than a month to get the old Victorian in shape … most of the repairs could be done quickly with the right contractor … and then Mia would move out. Then he’d really be alone.

  Okay, so he’d been alone when he had his own apartment, but that wasn’t the same as rattling around in a big house all by himself. Besides, he’d gotten used to Mia being around and he would miss her when she was gone.

  And what did he need with all this space anyway? He’d had a nice little apartment, easy to maintain and close to downtown. He’d been comfortable and content. Then Mom had gotten married, moved in with Chief, and he couldn’t say no when she’d asked him to look after his sister. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t meant for him to move in with Mia, but it was the only way he knew to keep an eye on her.

  Now she was moving out, getting on with her own life, and where did that leave him? Alone in a big house with a job that could disappear at any time and not even a dog to keep him company.

  “Hey, that’s it,” Michael shouted to the empty room. “I’ll get a dog!” Quickly he grabbed that day’s newspaper and turned to the classifieds. There were two ads for pups, but did he want a pup? Yeah, they were fun, but there was house training and chewed up shoes and he was gone a good bit of the time.

  Looking further, he found an ad for a three-year-old mini-poo-chi … whatever that was … whose owner was being transferred out of the country and couldn’t take his dog with him. Perfect.

  Michael unclipped his phone from his belt, punched in the number and was relieved when a woman answered on the second ring.