Page 63 of Dangerous December
The building had such potential.
Seeing it never failed to spur little daydreams about how it could become a focal point for the entire community if it ended up in the right hands—like hers.
At the sound of footsteps, she saw Dev sauntering down the sidewalk toward her. “Did you go see Frank this morning?
He nodded. “He’s doing well, though he’s really anxious to be released.”
“I don’t blame him a bit. How long were you in Walter Reed?”
“Way too long.” He followed her gaze. “All of these buildings are so unique. They look like they’ll stand for another hundred years.”
She smiled at his abrupt, obvious change of topic. “I’d been saving for a down payment to buy this one, but it was never for sale. And now it will soon be yours. Any idea what you’ll want to do with it, if we manage to meet the stipulations of your mother’s will? Will you sell it? Lease it?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead, but I definitely won’t tear down the buildings on this block.” He leaned back to look at the fortress-like roofline. “Why would you want it? To expand your bookstore?”
“I’ve always been afraid that someone might buy it and let it fall to ruin, or tear it down and put in something new and ugly. It has wonderful old high, pressed-tin ceilings and hardwood floors, and I suppose it could be a trendy setting for some yuppie bar, but I think the main floor would be lovely as a gift shop and a nice venue for parties, a wedding chapel, or perhaps a photographer’s studio. The upstairs would be perfect for a youth center. Our town doesn’t have anything like that, and we need a good, safe place around here for the kids.”
A bright red BMW pulled up in front of the law offices on the other side of the street. Nora Henderson climbed out with a briefcase in her hand, her trim, black skirt suit and severely combed chignon suggesting that she would be in court today.
She smiled, waved, then looked both ways and crossed the street to join them, her high heels smartly clicking on the asphalt. “I got the report you e-mailed last night. Thanks.”
“One month down and five to go,” Beth said. “I think things are going pretty well.”
“I also got a fax from Stan Murdock.”
Dev snorted. “I’m sure he’s rubbing his hands in anticipation, waiting for us to fail.”
“Oh, he’s doing more than that. He has a lawyer going over the will in great detail. I have a feeling he’ll demand documentation of exactly how you two are meeting your mother’s wishes—but he’ll wait until the very end of the six-month period to do so, hoping to catch you when it’s too late for you to make corrections.”
“I like him less the more I hear,” Beth murmured. “I told you about him stopping by one day. He said Sloane House would fail, and he offered me cash to just give up.”
“But you said no.”
“Of course. I want to help those people, not walk away. Keeping the place open as long as we can is the biggest help of all. Stan has no claims unless Dev and I fail with the boarding house...correct?”
“Absolutely. His lawyer has talked to me about what he terms the vague, subjective nature of the parameters defining the success of the boarders in the ‘real world.’” She shrugged. “I think the man has comprehension problems if he doesn’t understand the terms ‘gainfully employed’ and ‘independent living,’ but maybe that’s just me.”
Beth bit her lower lip. “About that...Carl is trying, but he hasn’t come up with any employers interested in a guy with chronic health problems. I’ll be looking into his disability benefits this week.”
“Good. But also try to get him to ‘think outside the box,’ as it were. I think he’ll surprise you.”
“Frank is still in the hospital.... but he should be out soon. We still have until March.”
“You do have that extra six-month extension, but I’d try not to use it if at all possible. Stan is going to pull every string he can, and I’d rather not give him any chance at taking you two down.”
“‘Taking us down.’” Beth shivered as she and Dev walked to the end of Hawthorne, then headed toward Main. “What an awful term.”
“Don’t think for a minute that Stan would hesitate. I think he was more interested in his newly inherited estate than my aunt’s death when she passed away. I was just a kid, and even I saw that avaricious gleam in his eyes.”
“How sad, if he didn’t even love her. A wasted marriage to the wrong man.” Her words were barely out before she caught the irony of what she’d said, but Dev didn’t seem to notice.
“It happens way too often.”
“I always thought your parents seemed happy together.” At Dev’s dry laugh, she looked up at him. “Well, I suppose they were a little too busy to be parents, but they seemed to get along well. Not that I mean to pry.”
“It’s no secret. They were happy enough with each other. Their problem was having a son who didn’t conform to expectations, as you well know.”
“They should have been happy that you found a career path you wanted.”
