Page 33 of A Thin Line

“Name’s Henry.” He held out a weathered hand.

Removing the canvas glove on my right hand, I shook his hand back, smiling again into his light blue eyes. “Annalise—but you can call me Lise for short.”

“I have a daughter named Lisa, so that should be easy for me to remember. Did Mr. Whittier get rid of the old cleaning ladies?”

“Um…I don’t know.”

“Hmm. Well, I do the yard work around here. I’m here two or three days a week in warm weather and then as needed in the winter.”

“What do you do in the winter?”

“Scrape snow off the sidewalks mostly. But I prepare the beds in the fall and spring and, as you can see, I have plenty to keep me busy this time of year.”

I wiped the perspiration off my forehead. “I have to say the yard is beautiful. Your work speaks for itself.”

“That’s awful nice of you to say. I’m proud of it.”

“It shows.” I picked up my bottle of water and took a few sips, grateful for the excuse to relax a bit.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing it, though.”

“Oh? Are you thinking about retiring?”

“No. I love the work. But I suspect Mr. Whittier’ll be selling this place before too long.”

“Really?” Edna hadn’t indicated that—but I supposed that might have been something she’d have an easier time keeping to herself. I was so curious as to why. Did he need the money?

Maybe he realized it was ridiculous to live in a place this big as a single man—even if it was his birth home.

“I don’t think he much likes it here.”

I was shocked, especially after having to spend most of the day meticulously cleaning already spotless bathrooms in the mansion. I disliked Winchester so much because it had been a cesspool of hatred directed at my father and me—and if I’d had the money Sinclair Whittier had, I wouldn’t have hesitated to leave. If that was all true…

I wondered why he stayed.

Chapter 12

Angrily, I scrubbed my face not unlike the way I’d been washing the brick outside earlier. Edna had fetched me about half an hour after I’d met Henry, telling me I needed to clean up. In fact, it was so important, she was going to put the cleaning supplies away.

After all the work I’d done today, especially outside and after little sleep the night before, I was a mess. That, I could deal with. What infuriated me was Sinclair Whittier demanding I be “presentable” for some unknown reason—perhaps simply because he wanted to boss me around.

And I hadn’t been given much time.

Stepping out of the shower, I toweled off before wrapping my wet hair in the towel. After sweating outdoors, my hair was filthy and messy in addition to the rest of my body. But, with two minutes to spare, I was clean with fresh makeup, my hair mostly blow dried. I’d put on clean clothes as well with a pretty floral blouse, but I wore jeans again on purpose. My sandals showed off pink toenails that wouldn’t last—because I hadn’t brought any nail polish with me and I refused to ask for any.

Before I left my room, I checked my phone, now plugged into the new charger Edna had bought for me. I’d sent my dad a quick text as well, letting him know I’d talk later.

I was surprised that I felt as alert as I did, but I figured that was thanks to the shower. Downstairs, I headed to the kitchen where Edna was waiting for me.

“Mr. Whittier is here and he would like to see you in his office.”

I wondered if that had been the room where he’d been in the morning when he’d been talking with his father, something I only knew because of Edna. And I wasn’t about to give away the fact that I thought I knew. “Where is it?”

“I’ll take you there.”

Soon, Edna and I were walking along the main hallway that cut through the center of the house from east to west. The antechamber was the center of the house from north to the center, ending where it met the hallway.

Soon we were near the stairs on the east side of the house and turning down the smaller rear hallway—and I knew I’d been right. As we approached, I heard two men’s voices coming through the open doorway. Edna said, “Here it is.” Before I could thank her, she’d already turned to head back to the kitchen.

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