Page 21 of Fixer
“Problem?”I asked as he got in.
“Yeah.Crap.Lousy timing.Mrs.French says the scumbag owner is doing some sleazy business.She’s in a panic, wasn’t able to explain what, but he might sell the building out from under us.”
“Meaning what?More rent?Tearing it down for a parking lot?”
“She wasn’t clear.Apparently, Jack Turner on the first floor is calling an emergency tenant meeting tomorrow night at seven.She said I didn’t need to be there, but…”
“You need to be there.”
“Yeah.Old Mr.Turner’s a hot-head and he may be fired up for nothing, but he’s going to alarm the rest, and Mrs.French doesn’t panic for nothing.”Wade fidgeted, his foot tapping the floor.
I glanced at my watch.“Twenty-seven hours from now, and an eleven-hour drive.No sweat.”
“The timing’s crap.We just got here.”
“Could’ve been worse.Might’ve been before we even left and you’d have felt really torn.”
“I suppose.I can come back, I guess.You don’t need to hang out here longer?For farm business or anything?”
“Nah.We’ll call and write.There’s payphones in the city, and I have a PO box.Shawn and Zay know a lot more about the farm by now than I do.That old couple who sold the place, the wife was really smitten with Zay.He calls her for advice and she gives lots.They barely need me.”
“Except to buy the place.How did you swing that?”
“My dad was a smart man.He made sure to stash away a fair bit of money.That came to me when he died.Like all his other gifts, it saved my ass when I needed it most.”My voice thickened at the words.
“I remember him.”Wade laid a hand on my knee.“I only knew him a year, but he seemed like a good man.”
“The best.”I drove on, savoring the warmth of Wade’s palm on my leg and his impulse to comfort me, until he realized what he was doing and sat back, folding his arms.
“Right,” I said.“Let’s say goodbye to your brother and get you back to Illinois.”
Chapter 6
Wade
“Okay, what’s the story?”I asked, striding out onto the rooftop deck of our building.This was the one space big enough to hold everyone comfortably, though only about half the tenants were up here tonight, dressed in light jackets and sweaters against the spring chill.Technically, we weren’t supposed to be on the roof, but the lock at the top of the stairwell had broken and never been repaired.I’d replaced it with a latch that didn’t need a key from the inside.Oops.
“Wade!You’re back.”Mrs.French hurried toward me, with Mr.Turner behind her.“And you brought your friend.”
“This is Dustin,” I told her.“He’s good at problem-solving, and I hear we have a problem.”I’dhatedleaving Shawn so soon, after having just found him again.But that black hole in my soul was healed, knowing he was alive and happy.A problem with my building was important too, a threat that made my wolf growl, deep inside.At least I still had Dustin with me.
When we’d arrived, I hadn’t been sure if Dustin would simply drop me off and leave.He didn’t owe me any help.He’d gotten me and Shawn back together, so his job was done.Instead, he’d parked and asked to use my bathroom.Then, when I suggested he might be useful with whatever was going on, he’d nodded and followed me up the stairs, feeling natural now at my back.
“A problem.”Mr.Turner gestured dramatically at Mr.Kawashima.“Wait till you hear this!”
Mr.Kawashima looked a little bashful, running a hand over his tidy, steel-gray hair.When we all focused on him, he said to me, “You know that highway widening project that’s coming?”
“Yes.They’re building a whole new set of lanes on the west side of the highway.”
“They were.Now, my daughter works in the mayor’s office, and she says they had a private meeting where they planned to put the local extension on the east side instead.Right through here.Taking out this whole block and a bunch more, flat as a pancake.”
A babble rose from the gathered residents.
I said, “That doesn’t make any sense.The lots along the west are mostly derelict buildings or already demolished.That was the whole point.Cheap properties and not a lot of active businesses and residents to relocate.”We’d all followed the story carefully when plans first emerged.“All these buildings here on the east are occupied.”In crappy shape and owned by slumlords, sure, but home to far more people.
Mr.Kawashima wrung his hands.“My daughter said there were two building owners there, and they were talking about a big payout.How they were going to value the properties the city would have to pay for.She didn’t have any details, but she said they all seemed really pleased about it.”
Dustin asked, “Do we have anything official, or we’re working off this rumor?”
