by John Sullins
He assumed he must have misunderstood Darvish. He must have been saying they checked the lock on the gate and not the house unless the maintenance man walked to the house.
He grabbed the gate and pushed it slightly to be sure it was actually locked. The gate barely moved under his force so be walked to the control box on the left brick column. He opened the box and saw a keyway and a green button.
He returned to the Caddy and got the key ring with all of the keys he had found in the file cabinet. He tried fitting the keys into the key slot until he found one that fit. He turned the key and the locking latch at the center of the gates flipped open, and then the box made a soft clicking sound and the gates slid open about a foot before the clicking sound stopped.
He said aloud, “Must have a battery backup system. Sounded like the battery went dead.”
He walked to the opening and pushed against the right gate. It moved on its rollers fairly easily so he continued to push it until the opening was wide enough to drive the Caddy through. He drove through the gate and stopped. The snow was several inches deep and the driveway was only visible because of the opening through the trees. He thought about the possibility of getting stuck if the driveway was washed out or if there might be downed trees across it, but his curiosity was so strong there was no way he was not going to see the house. He took his foot off the brake and eased slowly through the snow.
Chapter 51
The big Caddy’s tires slipped and spun slightly as it plowed through the trackless snow but he made it to the old two story house without getting stuck. He parked beside the house, not sure if he was still in the driveway or in the yard.
He climbed the three steps to long covered porch across the front of the house, leaned against the glass of the widow, and looked inside. The place was dark but he was able to see a couch and end tables but nothing else.
He took the key ring from his pocket and began trying keys in the door knob. He found a key that fit the slot but it would not turn in the knob. Either it was the incorrect key or the old knob was rusted on the inside. After trying every key and finding no others that fit, he waded through the snow around the house to the back porch. As he stomped his feet on the porch floor to remove the snow from his shoes, he noticed the barn a hundred feet behind the house. The barn reminded him of one he and his Army buddy Jim had spent the night in when traveling from Georgia to Indiana the previous year. He wanted to check it out, but first he began trying keys on the back door. About halfway through the key ring he found a key that fit and unlocked the door.
He went through the door into the kitchen. Other than being very dusty and the air smelling stale, the kitchen appeared to have been left intact. There was a small table and chairs in the center of the room. A ceiling fan hung over the center of the table. A stove and refrigerator were also there. The floor seemed solid and did not squeak as he moved around the room.
He found two chairs in addition to the couch in the living room. There were lamps on the end tables and magazines on the coffee table in front of the couch. He was surprised to see a large flat screen TV hanging on the wall opposite a stone fireplace.
He inspected the two downstairs bedrooms and found beds in each and the beds were covered with bedspreads with pillows. He looked in the bathroom between the bedrooms and turned the knobs on the sink but there was no water.
He went up the stairs and followed the same procedure. Each room had furniture, and other than being dusty, looked like nothing had been touched since the last person lived there.
He asked himself why this house was so special that the woman did not want anyone around the place. He had no answer to that question.
He went back to the kitchen with the intention to go outside and check the barn but as he entered the kitchen again he noticed a door to his right. He opened it and found a set of stairs going down to the basement. He started down the steps but it was so dark he could not see the steps under his feet. He was going to need a flashlight to check out the basement.
He stood at the top of the stairs thinking about what might be down there. But finding out would have to wait, he had to go home and find a flashlight or lantern.
He locked the door behind him and got back into the Caddy. As he drove home his mind drifted between what might be in the basement and the unusual paragraph in the will. Since he had found nothing unusual in the top two floors of the old house, he thought he might learn the connection once he got into the basement.
Chapter 52
He closed the gate behind him when he left and made a mental note to buy new batteries and try to find the remote control for the gate.
When he got home he went upstairs, sat at the desk, and began making a list of things he needed for the old house, starting with batteries for the gate, a flashlight, and a lantern. The list continued with things he needed for everyday living such as new clothing, a warmer coat, a supply of food, and a new lap top computer. As he wrote the word computer, he realized he had not yet tried to turn on the old laptop computer he had found in the file cabinet.
He got up from the desk and took the laptop from the file cabinet, sat it on the desk, and plugged the charger cord into a wall outlet. He was not surprised when the screen failed to come to life. He assumed the battery was so old in needed to be replaced. He wrote on the list to take the lap top to a computer store to see if an expert might be able to get it to work and help him log on to find what it contained. His hope was to find emails or documents that would provide insight into his great grandmother’s activities. Not knowing the meaning of the unusual paragraph in the Will was nagging at him.
He opened the folder containing the Will and re-read the twenty five words in that paragraph. But it was only four of the twenty five words that bothered him. They were the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth words that ate at him.
He wish he knew exactly what those words meant. He was bound and determined to find out.
Chapter 53
He was up early the next morning and out the door on his way to town. Less than a mile from the end of his driveway he saw Ed Roy’s new pickup parked along the edge of the road. When he slowed to a stop behind the truck, the driver’s side door opened and Ed Roy climbed down.
Keith eased the big Caddy forward and Ed Roy opened the passenger side door and got in.
Keith asked, “What’s wrong?”
Ed Roy looked up sheepishly, “I’m outta gas.”
“How could you be out of gas already?”
“I guess someone spotted the new truck in my driveway and stole the gas last night.”
“Do you have a gas can?”
“No, and I don’t have any money either.”
Keith made a U-turn and returned to the house.
“There are a few gas cans in the barn, I don’t know if there is gas in them or not.”
Ed Roy said, “There’s gas in most of them. I keep them full for the tractor, when I cut the grass.”
Keith parked at the barn door and got out.
“Let’s grab two of the cans and put them in the trunk.”
“I’m really sorry about this Keith. I hate being a pest.”
“A pest? Come on Ed Roy. You are the only friend I have. I told you, I owe you and your father for what you have done here. I can’t do enough for you. As a matter of fact, I have an offer for you.”
He followed Ed Roy into the barn and the cans. He picked up one and could tell by the weight it was full. Ed Roy did the same. As they carried the cans to the Caddy’s trunk, the one Ed Roy was carrying was dragging the ground because of Roy’s short arms and legs. Keith thought it was funny but held back the laugh.
Keith put the cans in the trunk, closed the lid and got back into the driver’s seat.
“Ed Roy, as I said the other day, I want to hire you as a full time assistant.”
“Assistant, doing what?”
“Anything, everything, you know, just be around and take care of things for me. I know n
othing about owning a house, cleaning a house, or about what goes on around here.”
Ed Roy stayed quiet.
Keith continued, “Tell me how much I will have to pay you to be my assistant.”
“I don’t know. I think you are just being nice. You don’t need me.”
“Ed Roy, more than a need, I want you around. I need your knowledge about the house, the community, the people and all of that stuff. I am a stranger here. You being around will make me feel more comfortable. I am being honest, I really do want to hire you.”
He looked at Keith and shifted his weight on the seat.
Keith put his hand on Ed Roy’s shoulder, “Tell me how much it will take to hire you?”
“I don’t know.”
“How much did you earn last year? For everything, the odd jobs, what Joni paid you, all of it?”
Ed Roy chuckled and a slight smile spread across his face, “About nineteen thousand.”
“Ok then, I’ll pay you thirty thousand to be my main man.”
Ed Roy shook his head violently, ”No, no, no, that’s way too much.”
“Ok, then, let’s make it thirty five thousand, and before you say no, It is going to keep going up every time you say no.”
Ed Roy’s smile got bigger.
“Listen to me Ed Roy, I am sincere. I really do want your help. Let me pay you the thirty thousand. If for some reason you don’t like being my helper, then you can quit. But at least give it a try. I’ll give you your first month’s pay today, How about it?”
Ed Roy inhaled a long slow breath, “Ok, I’ll be your man Friday.”
Great, let’s put the gas in your truck and go to town. You need to fill the tank and I need a flashlight and lantern.
“A lantern, what for?”
Keith knew immediately he should not have said anything about the flashlight. He did not want to lie so he said, “I own another old house and property. It has no electricity so I need the flashlight and lantern to look around.”
“Are there no power lines to the house? I can show you where the power company office is. They can get the juice turned on. You know the power restriction times, but you could have power at least some of the time.”
“See there, you are already earning your pay, great idea. Let’s do it.”
Chapter 54
They put the gas in Ed Roy’s truck and Keith followed him into town. The only place in town with gas was restricting purchases to only ten gallons so they both put ten gallons in their tanks.
Keith parked the Caddy on the edge of the store’s lot and got into the new truck with Ed Roy to go to the power company. He found it strange that every ceiling light at the power company was working and turned on. He wanted to ask the woman behind the counter why they were not conserving power like everyone else, but he did not want to make any enemies there and risk a possible delay in getting the power connected to the Hamlet house. Lights would be a big help in checking the basement.
The woman was polite and seemed pleased that to have a new customer.
“Under the circumstances, with power on only a few hours each day, our men’s work schedule is slow, they need something to do. We can be there first thing in the morning if that fits your schedule.”
Keith agreed and gave her the address. He turned to Ed Roy, “I guess I won’t need that lantern.”
“You might need light bulbs. How long has the place been empty, no electricity?
“I’m not sure, but you are right. I need to buy some light bulbs to be safe and maybe a couple of lamps. Where can I get some?”
Ed Roy motion with his thumb towards the door. “There’s a place a block from here, if it’s open.”
The woman added, “If you are talking about County General, it’s open today. My daughter works there. But they close at three.”
Keith felt strange as he pushed a cart around the store selecting a couple of lamps, bulbs, a flashlight, and some clothes. He looked down at Ed Roy who was following him.
“Until a few days ago, I was poor. The only time in my life that I had any money to spend was when I was in the Army, and then it was not much. I can’t get over what has happened.”
Ed Roy turned his right pants pocket inside out, showing he had no money, “I’ve never had any money either. But I am a happy man. I have a warm place to sleep and never go hungry. I don’t really want much more than that.”
He then stepped across the aisle, picked up a small box and held it out to Keith. He said, “One thing I think you should get is a cell phone, look at this one. There are still some of the old hard wire phones at your house, but they stopped working years ago.”
Keith looked at the box, “Good suggestion, I’m buying it.”
“Well, you are going to have more money to spend now than in the past. It makes me feel good to be able help you. If your grandfather was of the same mold, I understand why my great grandmother was his friend.”
Ed Roy put down the sweatshirt. “I know I told you about how they say she changed after her first husband was killed. I was thinking about that last night, and I did not tell you everything I had heard.”
“Why not?”
“I was not sure if I should tell you, it might not be too good. I did not want to give you the wrong impression or maybe hurt your feelings.”
“Go ahead and tell me. I want to hear it all.”
Ed Roy leaned against the cart and told him the story as they wandered through the store.
“My grandfather told my dad that she use to leave town for weeks at a time and would never say anything about where she had been. He was not sure, but he thought she may have been doing something ……………..strange.”
“Something strange? What do you mean? I was told she was a bounty hunter. That’s kind’a strange.”
“Yea, but it’s more than that. He told my dad that one time he came to visit and when he knocked on the front door, she did not come to the door. When he went to the back door and onto the porch, the kitchen door and windows were open and he overheard her talking to her friend Morgan.”
Ed Roy stopped and looked up at Keith as if silently asking if he wanted to hear something bad.”
“Go ahead, tell me what he heard.”
“Well……….he heard her talking about the two of them jumping from an airplane with parachutes, and then laughing about how the pilot died in the crash.”
Keith immediately thought of the unusual paragraph and especially those four words.
“Are you saying he thought they killed the guy, the pilot?”
“My dad said he never believed it, but my grandfather did.”
He thought she was a killer?”
“I think he thought she may have been a vigilante or something like that.”
Chapter 55
The morning air was showing some signs of spring as Keith leaned against the hood of the Caddy and waited at the front gate for the power company truck to arrive. He had forgotten to get the batteries for the electric gate but he opened them manually again and looked down the road hoping to see the truck.
He waited, and waited and waited. The woman yesterday said, “First thing in the morning.” In his world that meant no later than eight or nine. He guessed it was already after ten and he was so anxious to search the basement of the old house he got into the Caddy and headed down the driveway.
He parked the Caddy at the side of the house and was stepping onto the back porch with his flashlight in hand when he heard the sound of the power company’s big truck’s scraping the low hanging tree limbs hanging over the driveway and knocking off the snow which was falling onto the truck’s windshield.
It stopped behind the Caddy and a short stocky man with a red face stepped out.
“Sorry we’re a little late. We had a power pole get knocked down last night by a drunk driver and we had to help get that fixed first.”
“No problem, I’m glad you made it.”
The man looked at the house and the power pole n
ear the driveway before walking to the side of the house where the meter was mounted.
“I’ll have you on line in thirty minutes.”
Keith stood on the porch and watched the man move the truck closer to the pole and then climb into the bucket lift. He moved a lever and the bucket raised up and moved him to the edge of the lines and the pole’s transformer.
Keith could not see what the man was doing because the bucket blocked his view, but after only a couple of minutes the man lowered himself back down.
“I need to take a look at your breaker box.”
Keith unlocked the door and the man followed him inside.
“I just got this house, I don’t know where the breakers are.”
“Probably in the basement.”
Keith pointed to the door for the stairs. “Over there. I have a flashlight.”
The man lifted his own flashlight from his pocket, “Never leave home without it.”
“I’ve never been down there, so I don’t know the condition of the stairs, be careful.”
He followed the man down the steps and onto the concrete floor. The man moved his light along the wall nearest the truck and spotted the breaker box. He opened the cover and moved his hand down the two rows of circuit breakers.
Keith wanted to shine his light around the basement to see what was there but avoided the temptation. He could not take the chance of the man seeing something illegal, he kept his light aimed at the power box.
“They are all in the on position. When the power comes on later today, you should have lights. Since this is a new place for you, I suggest you be here when that happens. You never know if there might be a short someplace. If you smell ozone or smoke, flip off this main breaker immediately and call us.” He moved his hand to the main breaker in the center top of the box to make sure Keith understood.
