by J E Grace
Samantha walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from the frig and handed it to him. “Thanks,” he said taking a big gulp. “You have a lot of lovely properties for sale. The prices here are much lower than Denver. Have you been here long?”
“I’m fairly new to Shadow Lake. I’m originally from Pigeon Bay, South Carolina and got tired of the rat race. The office came up for sale, and the rest is history,” she said smiling.
“I hope my wife and son feel the same way. My son, Mark, is in his last year of high school and wants to be a professional photographer. Evelyn’s an author, so she works from home. She was a little apprehensive when I talked to her about the move and wasn’t sure I could make it in a small town, but with a website, it doesn’t make any difference where I live.” he said glancing out the front windows.
“I don’t know if Mindy told you or not but the owner, Mr. Williams, is a professional photographer. He might be willing to visit with Mark sometime. He could probably learn a lot from him.”
“Sounds great. Well, I should be going if I’m going to get back to Denver before dark. Evelyn gets worried when I’m on the road. Again, it was nice doing business with you,” he said shaking her hand. “Talk to you soon.”
“The pleasure was mine. Have a safe trip,” said Samantha seeing him to the door.
As Mr. Hastings was going out the door, Beverly passed him coming in. She said hello to Mr. Hastings and continued shutting the door behind her.
“Well, girl, he looked happy,” said Beverly as she walked over to her desk and put her purse into the bottom drawer.
“I just sold Jonathan’s house to him. We close in thirty days or less.”
“Boy, you are on a roll this month, aren’t you? Jonathan should be pleased. Being in his new house now he can relax,” she said as she headed for the break room for water. “You should be happy too. He won’t be a client for much longer. I know you like him.”
“Yes, that does uncomplicate life a little. He should be here anytime. He’s coming in to sign the contract,” said Samantha knowing full well she just opened up herself to more teasing.
“Well, maybe he’ll ask you out. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You could do a lot worse.”
“No dates with clients remember. He’s still a client, Beverly,” said Samantha giving her the evil eye.
“Okay. Point taken. I’ll ask you again in thirty days,” said Beverly laughing as she walked over to her desk.
Chapter 30
T he weeks had passed by quickly. Jonathan was out of town for his showing in Denver.
Samantha was busy researching the McClure Mansion with Beverly. They had dinner together at her house and scrolled through website after website searching for something pertinent. So far, just a few leads that would have to be checked out at the assessors’ office. Hopefully, their archives would turn up something.
Samantha in her sweats and tee-shirt kicked back in the recliner while Beverly curled up on the sofa. It was the weekend, and the office wouldn’t open until around noon the next day. There were a few quick leads on listings Samantha wanted to check out and a couple to preview. It would probably not be hectic, but she liked to set up her calendar for the following week.
Samantha looked forward to attending the Shadow Lake Community Church on Sunday. It was a small congregation, and everyone knew each other. They had an excellent choir, and Pastor McMillan preached a good sermon. He didn’t pull any punches and told it like it was. No stepping around the pressing issues of what Christians should and shouldn’t do. Beverly went to the same church, and they usually sat together.
Samantha was deep in thought. Only a few more days until Jonathan’s closing. What would happen then? Would he ask me out? She got goosebumps at the idea of being alone with him on a date.
Her phone rang, and she picked it up. The line seemed empty, but she could hear the faint sound of heavy breathing. Was it some practical joke? School kids are making random calls. Every muscle in her body tensed as she is waiting for someone to speak.
Finally, a sexy male voice spurted out foul language saying what he would like to do to her. Immediately, she slammed the phone down. Her body shook as waves of nausea came over her.
“What’s wrong. Who was that?” asked Beverly. She didn’t like watching all the color drain from Samantha’s face.
“Oh, nothing. Probably just some school kids playing a practical joke by talking smut over the phone. It was disgusting.”
“How awful. The nerve of kids these days. What if it isn’t kids? You know I wouldn’t put it past Calvin to do something like this. Maybe we should do a little research on him. After all, you don’t know if anything he told you is true,” said Beverly clicking the keys on her laptop.
A few seconds later a bunch of links with his name in them appeared. Articles on his projects, interviews conducted by some top names in the investment industry, and a reference to Edward Benham. Edward was Calvin’s great-uncle. What if he had a claim to the property? But then, he was just a stable hand. Beverly kept clicking links.
“Samantha, I found Edward’s obituary. Listen to this. “Edward was found hanging from the rafters in the stable and was found by Matthew McClure’s son, Bryan. An investigation pulled up no leads, and it appeared to be suicide.”
The more Samantha read about the mansion, the more the place seemed to evoke some strange and disturbing incidents. It seemed that everyone that lived there or was associated with the house suffered in some way. Was it a coincidence?
“What did you find on Calvin’s personal life?” asked Samantha pushing the recliner footrest down as she got up. “Do you want some tea? I think I could use a cup.”
“Sure. I’ll keep skimming. It looks like Calvin got offered a plush job right out of college. He worked for a large architectural firm outside of Los Angeles, then secured an investment position a few years later for McCallister Investments in Denver. It doesn’t say if they still employ him and any record of his career ends there. Maybe they are the investment group behind his project slated for Shadow Lake. But we don’t know for sure.”
Samantha made tea and then walked over to close the vertical blinds that covered the sliders to the deck. At night, she became uneasy. She hit the stereo button, and soft Christian music filled the room.
She handed Beverly her tea and sat back down.
Beverly took a sip and nodded her approval. “His parents were Stephen and Emily Benham. They were filthy rich and at the top of the social ladder. Stephen Benham was caught and prosecuted for embezzlement of McCallister Investments and spent a few years in jail, and they confiscated their family home and the rest of the assets. They were penniless. It seems that Calvin’s work was questionable, but they couldn’t pin anything on him, so he kept his job. He ended up taking in his mother and father until he put them in a home for elderly care. They both passed away five years ago in a fire that gutted the facility.”
“He did have some admirable traits after all, but I doubt seriously any of them stuck. I wouldn’t doubt that he has associations with some pretty ruthless backers. He lost his parent’s and wife in such a short time. It almost makes me feel sorry for him. Almost,” said Beverly giving Samantha a wink.
“Well, I think I’m going to call it a night. Turn out the light when you go to bed and make sure to set the deadbolt on the front door,” said Samantha walking to her bedroom.
“Okay. I’m going to bed in a few minutes. I want to check out one more reference. See you in the morning,” said Beverly as her fingers clicked away at the keyboard.
“A few minutes later Beverly clicked on the link reading through the text. Her eyebrows furrowed taking in the information. She marked the page to show to Samantha in the morning, shut the cover on her laptop, and turned off the living room light.
Chapter 31
S amantha awoke early and showered, made a pot of coffee, and was standing out on the deck when Beverly padded into the kitchen. She turned when she
heard the movement of the sliders.
“Well, you’re up early. Looks like another pretty day,” said Beverly as she joined her.
“It’s supposed to be another hot one. Might hit the high 100’s today. I went for casual. Good day for capris.”
“My thoughts exactly,” she said taking a sip of her coffee.
“Did you find anything else on Calvin after I went to bed?”
“You won’t believe what I found. Are you ready to check it out? I bookmarked it.”
They went back into the house and took a seat on the sofa. Beverly, scrolled through the link she had bookmarked the night before. When she got to the pertinent information, she stopped and let Samantha read through it.
Samantha’s expression changed. With her eyebrows raised she read it through again. A lump formed in her throat and a chill ran through her body. She couldn’t believe what she was reading.
“Well, isn’t that something. Leaves a lot of question about what happened. Weird, that after four years, her body hasn’t turned up anywhere,” said Beverly as she handed her laptop to Samantha so she could refill her coffee.
“I wonder what their relationship was like before his wife went missing. It seems that everywhere he has lived, strange things have happened. Maybe he had something to do with the murder,” said Samantha scrolling on the laptop. “He’s a pretty calculating individual. Makes me thankful that I don’t have to do business with him anymore.”
“It makes me wonder about his project for the resort,” said Beverly handing Samantha a cup of coffee.
“Well, I think that I should talk with Mayor Prescott and have him do a background check on Calvin before he approves his office. Once Calvin gets a permit, it will be harder to stop him,” said Samantha putting her cup in the sink.
~
A couple of hours later, Samantha was pulling up in front of her office.
She fought the wind as she entered. Beverly flashed her a smile as she took a seat at her desk. A couple of minutes later, Beverly handed her water as she tried to cool off from the sweltering heat.
“Could you take messages if anyone calls? I’m going to try to get an appointment set up with the mayor,” she said picking up the phone.
“Sure. No problem.”
Samantha waited on the line while the mayor’s secretary buzzed him. In a few minutes, she heard a cough, and a male voice answered, “Mayor Prescott. How may I help you?”
“Mayor, it’s Samantha Dunning. Do you have a few minutes to discuss a matter that concerns the city?” she said settling back in her chair.
“I have an appointment soon, but I can spare a few minutes,” he said.
“This concerns the McClure Mansion. I was working with a client, Mr. Benham, who recently moved to our area to scout out some property to build a resort. Has he been in touch with you?”
“Not to my knowledge. I know I haven’t personally spoken to him. What’s your concern?”
“I’ve done some research on the mansion trying to find out who owns it and so far, everything leads to a dead end. There seems to be no listed owner, and the place has sat vacant for years. Robert McClure Sr was the owner, and I’m assuming the property was passed on to his son, Robert Jr., but I can’t find any record of title. It’s like the mansion doesn’t exist.”
“And you checked it out through the local title company?”
“Yes, just recently. I’m a concerned citizen and want what is best for Shadow Lake. Mr. Benham has some things I ran across about his past, that I’m not sure having him build his resort would be in the cities best interest. It’s questionable, to say the least,” she said wondering if it warranted some investigation into his past dealings.
“I give you my word. The city does not grant any building permits without a thorough background check. What is Mr. Benham’s first name?”
“Calvin.”
“I’ve taken down the information, and I’ll look into it. I believe in doing my research, and if there is anything whatsoever that is questionable, there will be no permit. Until the mansion chain of title is figured out, it’s off the table as far as available property anyway.”
“When you find out who the owner is, I would like to list it if the owner is willing to sell. I think it would be fabulous restored if someone had the financial means to do so,” said Samantha shifting in her seat and waving to Beverly to come over. “I won’t take any more of your time, Mayor. Have a good afternoon.”
“Beverly, make a note on your calendar for next week to check back with the Mayor. I don’t like leaving things to influential people. He may get busy and forget. If we could get the McClure Mansion listing, it would make some excellent advertising for our office.”
Chapter 32
C alvin strode through the entrance that housed the office of the mayor.
He had met with the new realtor Mr. Donatello sent. A young, headstrong my way or the highway type of guy that had struck a nerve from the moment they met. But, when Donatello picked them, you weren’t in a position to argue with him.
The kid had managed to find out what he could about the McClure property, and hopefully, the mayor knew more. That is if the title was in order.
Calvin continued to the reception counter and asked to see the mayor. He was asked to take a seat in the reception area and placed his briefcase next to him on the floor.
After what was longer than he liked, the receptionist motioned him to go in.
“Hello, Mayor Prescott. I’m Calvin Benham. I need a few minutes of your time to discuss a matter I feel would benefit the town of Silver Lake,” he said shaking hands with the major.
The mayor motioned for him to take a seat. Calvin sized him up as they sat in silence.
“Well, Mr. Benham, I’ve been expecting you. Have you found an adequate property for your resort?”
“There is one I’m very interested in and have had my real estate agent draw up a contract with an offer if the property is available for purchase. I also have my building permits ready to submit as soon as a location is approved.”
Mayor Prescott swiveled in his chair and stared at Calvin. “What location do you have in mind?” he asked his brow starting to sweat.
“The McClure Mansion. I need to know how many acres and if it’s for sale. It would be perfect. Of course, I would have to tear down the existing structures to make way for the resort buildings, but it’s doable if we can agree on a price. I think you will find my offer more than fair,” said Calvin pulling the offer from his briefcase.
The major picked up the contract and Calvin could see the expression on his face change. He would never tire of watching a person intrigued by the bait. Now he just had to reel him in.
“While this is a more than fair offer on the property, but I’m afraid it isn’t for sale right now. Not that it might not be in the future. There is an issue as to who the legal owner is, and until I can determine a chain of title and contact the owner, there is nothing I can do for you. And to the acreage, I believe it’s around one hundred and fifty acres,” said the mayor getting up from his desk. “You can submit your business plans and permits. It’s a good place to start. Leave your business card, and when I know more, I’ll contact you. Otherwise, I would suggest finding another backup location.”
Calvin fished a business card out of his pocket and handed it to the mayor. It’s the typical small town runaround. There has to be a way to push this through.
“Until later then. Nice meeting you.”
As Calvin passed the desk, he gave the receptionist a suggestive smile. Her face flushed red, and she quickly turned away. Boy, it doesn’t take much to unravel this small town’s female population.
One way or another he was determined to get his resort put through.
Chapter 33
A month later Mayor Prescott was in a meeting with the town council. After an extensive search of the basement archives, they found the title for the McClure Mansion. The title is notarized in the name of Adam McC
lure.
Adam McClure had a wife and three children, and according to the records, they were all deceased. All, but one descendant that just happened to live in Shadow Lake.
The mayor explained that the future of the property was in that person’s hands. All the person needed to do was to bring in identification to prove they were the heir. The only other interesting tidbit was the fact that Robert McClure had started the town of Shadow Lake and they owed him a debt of gratitude for what Shadow Lake had become.
~
Samantha was in her Lexus about to leave her office when she received the mayor’s call.
“Samantha, Mayor Prescott. It took a while, but our office was finally able to track down the legal owner of the McClure property. I know you are going to be surprised by this, but he lives here in Shadow Lake.”
“Mayor, that’s wonderful. Who is the owner?”
“Jonathan Williams, a local photographer. Who would have known? They don’t even have the same last name. It appears that he was adopted and it took a lot to track it down. Thankfully, someone that handled the adoption was still alive and after all these years didn’t mind sharing information.”
Samantha was in shock. Everything after Jonathan’s name was a blur. She couldn’t believe it. No wonder he had always felt like there was a connection to the place.
“Mayor, Jonathan was one of my clients. I’ll be happy to pass along the information. I’m sure he’ll be as stunned as I am,” said Samantha. “Thanks again. I appreciate the call.”
Things were changing at a fast pace. Now Jonathan was the owner of a drafty uninhabitable mansion, but one that sat on property worth a fortune if sold. It wouldn’t take long for the information to go public. She had to let Jonathan know right away.
She dialed Jonathan. It rang several times but no answer. She pulled out from the curb and drove towards his place.
As she pulled up into the drive, she saw him raking leaves around the side of the house. She quietly shut the car door, and while he had his back to her preoccupied with raking the leaves, she snuck up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist.
