by Jeulia Hesse
This whole situation was becoming expensive. Not only the car repair, but now the likely expenses associated with managing the business that were clearly going to come out of her pocket for the time being. Jeremy had access to those accounts if there was anything in them. She had assumed there would be at least some starter funds to ride out a few months of operation before she made some decisions about what to do with the property.
With the events of the past 24 hours, she realized, this was not going the way that she had thought. She felt discouraged and angry. Angry at herself for believing naively that the business side of this endeavor would be smooth. She had assumed the more difficult part would be the emotional impact she would have to face by coming back to this place that she had long avoided. Now that these facts were remarkably reversed, she felt mostly at peace here, because it was not the jarring emotional experience she expected. Instead, she was at a loss to be dealing with the business side of the inn, which was something she was not used to. In business, she was always in control and in her element.
She sighed, kicking a rock across the parking lot, and interrupting the chatter between Shawn and Jeff. They were continuing to catch up on the local gossip. Her trio of companions looked at her. “I should be going,” Shawn began. “Let me know if you need anything else, Crissy. I’ll be out on patrol, and you have my number. If I find out anything, I’ll be sure to let you know. Sorry that this happened. Apparently, there’s enough metal in those old CPUs to appeal to someone for scrap value. Sorry you lost those records.”
“Thanks Shawn,” she replied, getting into the drivers’ side of the car. She ignored Gina’s questioning glance at her lack of full disclosure to the police.
Chapter 12
He watched them from his vantage point on the street. She deserved to have the computer stolen from her car and the window smashed out. She was butting in where she didn’t need to be. They never intended for her to be able to stick her nose into their business.
It had been so easy with the old bat out of the way. He could do whatever he wanted. Now that she had come to stake her claim – one she should have never gotten – he needed to make sure she didn’t want to stay.
It was perfect to see the look on their faces when they found the window broken and the computer gone. He had almost laughed out loud but stifled the outburst. He didn’t want to give away his vantage point.
He had one of the druggies do the job. They were more than happy to do it for money that they would inevitably use to buy more drugs. It was remarkable what those people would do for some cash.
It was a win win for him.
She needed to be silenced if she stuck around. She had a chance at survival. It was up to her to take it.
If she stuck around, it would all be over. She would go the same way of her relatives. This break in should be enough to scare her away. That, and not having access to the cash in her aunt’s account. He couldn’t allow that.
He started his car and pulled out to drive around the block, gloating to himself at the success of the afternoon.
Chapter 13
Later, back at the inn, Christina had a phone call with the attorney from Burlington to review the circumstances of her inheritance. He was kind and thorough and would investigate any information that was available. He also said that he would handle the co-op’s needs so she could access the bank accounts. He assured her that she was within her rights, based on the conditions in Ada’s will, to access the business files. She shared her additional concerns that in this role as executor, Jeremy had contacted investors and real estate developers. She also gave him an overview of Jeremy’s ideas for the future of the property. There was a notable silence on the line before he responded, piquing Christina’s interest.
The attorney changed the topic and offered to have her connect with one of his other clients in the Stowe, Vermont area. They managed a similar hospitality business, so he thought they might be able to shed some light on the market and potential recreational offerings. He would need to obtain their permission before Christina reached out, but he was sure it wouldn’t be an issue. He assured her that he would get back to her in 48 hours or less. He also would provide Victor with a recap.
Christina started to object to Victor’s further involvement, concerned with the expenses it might create, but she stopped herself. With the uncertainty of the amount of operating money she had available, she was grateful to be able to rely on her stepfather’s considerable and generous resources. Silently though, she vowed to pay him back.
Gina joined her in the small office shortly after she ended the call. Her friend handed her a very full glass of wine, settling onto the ancient, winged chair that was nestled in the corner of the small room. Gina studied her friend while they sipped their wine.
“You going to tell me why you lied to the Sheriff?” Gina asked.
Christina sat back in the office chair, making it creak loudly. She sipped her wine, appreciating the flavor. It was such a privilege to have connoisseurs for friends. “I didn’t really lie; I just left out some details.”
Gina sipped and waited, raising her eyebrows in a question. “I got the feeling there is something you aren’t telling me.”
Christina took a large sip and swallowed, setting her glass on the desk. She reached in her purse and located the memory stick. “Let’s see what this has on it.”
She proceeded to insert the memory stick into her laptop and opened the files. There were jpg files among others in the listing, but she avoided the picture files. Instead, she proceeded to work through the other files to see if she could open them with her software.
“You think something is up, don’t you?” Gina asked.
Christina nodded, sipping her wine, and leafing through the files. “Just a hunch.” She gave her friend a sidelong glance while continuing to open and close files from the memory stick.
Gina crossed her legs, yoga style, further settling in with her wineglass. “Well, so far, this trip is not what I expected. But you’ve got me interested – so dish.”
Christina rose and closed the door to the tiny room, causing her companion to raise her eyebrows. The office chair creaked as she took her seat, facing her friend. She exhaled, reached for her wine and settled back in her chair.
“Something is off,” she started. “Jeremy was so hot to get me here to ‘take care of things.’ And now that I’m here, it feels like I am walking through mud to get anything I need to make an informed decision about business operations.”
“He has come up here twice, and each time, he has ‘forgotten’ to bring the checkbooks or any details about the business accounts. I think it’s weird that he has been the only one with access to this office. His attention has been more on what the developers want than what I asked him for.”
She took a sip of wine and continued, “I think he assumed that I’d want to get rid of this property as fast as I knew it was mine. He’s making things easy when it concerns the option of selling to developers, and he’s putting up roadblocks when I want other information.”
She paused, leaning back in her chair, looking meaningfully at her friend. “I found some mortgage paperwork on the inn. She would not have needed to get a mortgage. This place was paid for nearly a century ago. So why was there a mortgage?”
“Maude mentioned some work they had done to the cabins,” Gina said. “Do you think they could have taken out an equity loan or something to make renovations? The kitchen re-work and the plans for the dining area expansion may have been part of all that,” Gina added.
Christina turned her creaky office chair back, so she was facing the laptop again, and resumed her methodical review of the files. She shook her head. “Anyway, that was just the hunch I was having. It feels like something isn’t as it should be.” She resumed clicking on her keyboard.
“Sometimes that’s when you need to pay attention. Intuition can be pretty spot on,” Gina replied, her tone serious.
Christina glanced
back at her friend and smiled teasingly. “You watch too much of the Dead Files. The next thing you know, you’ll be telling me that we are getting guidance from beyond the grave!”
Both women chuckled. Gina loved to imagine other-worldly influences; she would say sometimes it was the only logical explanation for certain occurrences. “Makes you wonder,” she whispered with a low chuckle, sipping her wine in the armchair.
“Bingo!” Christina shouted, “there are some old QuickBooks files here.”
She turned her attention to the to the electronic files and opened them with the version she had on her computer. She found older records with suppliers, plus some of Ada’s invoices and payments. There were sporadic records of guests staying in the inn, and some restaurant records. It would at least get her started.
As she worked and studied the files, muttering to Gina and herself about her discoveries, fresh ideas came into her head. The operations for this inn had seemed like a background noise when she was growing up. Its activities and people moved through the atmosphere around her, paying no heed, as it was all part of the life. Seeing the records now from a different perspective, with experience in the industry, she felt like her eyes were opened and unclouded. The beverage supplier, who to her young self was a friendly man with a brown truck, was now a quality company with desirable wares.
Recalling her conversation with the attorney from Burlington, she mentioned his offer to Gina, about connecting her with their client from Stowe. “Stowe? Hmm, I’ve heard of that,” Gina said, pulling out her phone to google the location while Christina continued working on the computer.
“Hey, wait a minute! Crissy, look at this place!” She jumped up from the armchair to show her what she was seeing on her phone. “Fine dining, antiques, a historical tavern.... And look at these outdoor activities. There are cross country, hiking, and horse trails.
“I wonder if this is the lawyer’s client. This is really quite a place,” Gina said showing her friend the screen on her phone.
Christina absorbed the photos of a beautiful location in a quaint town, and her mind began to hum. Her aunt’s place was historic and had similar offerings, but none that had been promoted to the extent of The Inn in Stowe. Ada had obviously not marketed the inn and instead, was running the business as a small operation that made just enough to make a decent living. She wondered at her aunt’s choice, but quickly arrived at the thought that this had been their home. Ada’s attention had always been on her family while Annie was growing up. It certainly had given Christina the opportunity to have a close bond with her cousin and wonderful memories of living there.
Her mind began to race as she thought about amenities, activities, and the inn’s potential for hosting events. She began to shift from looking at the inn as Ada’s home with the occasional guest, to something more. But was it possible?
Gina stirred. Rising from the chair and stretching, she said, “I can feel your brain waves from over here. I think I’ll go and find out what Maude has planned for dinner.”
Christina nodded absently, clicking an occasional key. The files were older, but they gave some detail about the business. One file that caught her eye was labeled “roof repairs.” Jim only took care of minor repairs and the grounds, so Ada usually had to have outside help for larger projects. Inside of the folder, there were bills from a roofing company and other miscellaneous bills for Stone Construction, which was Jeremy’s father’s company. From the records, it looked like Ada had outsourced several projects over the years to his company.
She searched for details about the cabin repairs, but the records were sporadic and looked incomplete. Likely, this is where Jeremy had stepped in because Christina was not around. The familiar guilt rose in her gut, and she wondered why Ada had not left the property to Jeremy or his father. Why had she chosen Christina after she had literally abandoned her?
Jeff’s words from earlier circled in her head: “She wanted you to have it, to run it.”
Frustrated, she slammed the cover of her laptop shut and stood. She’d better take a walk around the place, take a good hard look at the condition of the building, and see if her thoughts about the inn’s potential were actually feasible. Maybe they had just been a fancy after looking at the pictures from Stowe.
She set out to the grounds and over the path to where the old cabins were located. They had been forbidden to play in them as children due to their lack of upkeep, so she wondered what they looked like now. She followed the path Kevin had come down that morning, noting that it too had been installed in her absence. Solar lights lined the sides of the gravel path, placed strategically in the landscape. She approved of this safety measure and made a mental note to check on it later, when the sun was down.
The path led to a ridge, carved into the mountain by the long-ago glaciers. It was now adorned with trees – pine and birch offered most of the species that surrounded the cabins dotting the landscape. The contrast in the tree bark assisted to disguise the grey sided cabins as they blended into the craggy hillside. The cabin closest to the path was evidently Maude and Jim’s, as the latter sat in an Adirondack chair. He was clearly sound asleep with his audible snores mixing in with the birdsong in the trees.
With the gravel crunching under her feet, she moved past quietly as she could, as to not awaken the older man. In a short while, she approached the neighboring cabin. It appeared to be unoccupied, but the door was locked. It was apparent that the structure had had significant remodeling. The new siding, roof and windows were sparkling in the light through the trees. She tried to peer through one of the windows to see the inside, but it was difficult to make out anything. Flustered, but not deterred from her curiosity, she looked around to the other cabins. From the records, she knew there were seven, but she was only counting six in view.
Her eyes followed the path she had taken. It forked through the trees, with one branch heading up the ridge, clearly connecting the cabins in view. The other continued over the hill rise and through the trees. Curious as to where it led, she opted to follow it over the hill.
The path meandered through the tree line before turning sharply downhill, connecting to another dirt trail that led further down the mountain. After a few steps, she realized where she was. In front of her was the old fishing cabin footpath where she and Kevin had spent much of their time alone, all those years ago.
Even more curious, she continued walking, knowing what she would see ahead. The pond sparkled in the sunlight as Christina emerged from the forest with her shoes crunching on the gravel. The small beach area had a fresh section of sand with two benches and pairs of Adirondack chairs placed along the shoreline. It was visually appealing; she marveled at the transformation of the area. Across the water was the old fishing cabin, fully renovated. Its windows reflected the water in the sunlight.
Her stomach fluttered at the sight of it, bringing back memories of Kevin naked on the makeshift bed. She swallowed hard, pushing down the recollections of their young physical love.
She couldn’t get distracted by him; she had far too much to consider and do in the next few days. She needed to make important decisions and shouldn’t get clouded by a rekindling of young romance. So much had happened since they were together that it was as if several lifetimes had passed – Annie’s disappearance, the never-ending searching and waiting, Ada’s illness and death. But they were adults now with adult problems.
He had made clear last night that his feelings for her had not changed.
Her feet propelled her forward, curious about the cabin’s rebirth into a usable structure. It really was quite nice; Ada must have really thought ahead and was planning for the future. The timing was curious, however. If Christina had the facts straight, this work had been completed as Ada’s health was declining.
Approaching the cabin, she tried the door, and surprisingly found it unlocked. She looked around and saw no indication that anyone was around, but she knocked anyway to be sure. “Hello?” she called, opening th
e door and entered a small galley kitchen.
The room was adorable and modern, with a completely outfitted kitchen and a small sized stainless-steel refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher. The miniature area had light grey wood cabinetry and shining metal handles. The counter was a gleaming granite top, and Christina ran her hand over the cool smooth surface as she looked around.
The amount of work that had gone into the cabin was amazing. It was a different place with the same layout. There was a small sitting area off the kitchen that led through to a bedroom where a large, king-sized bed was visible. The windows all looked out onto the pond, shining in the sunlight. Although small, the cabin’s layout was well designed and made good use of the space.
She continued her self-guided tour by going through the bedroom door, stepping into the cozy space as she slowly pushed the door fully open. Immediately, the small door to her left abruptly opened, engulfing her in the warm steam of a recent hot shower. Kevin appeared before her, dripping wet with a small towel wrapped loosely around his hips.
She gasped, startled. He glared at her, black eyes burning with wariness at her intrusion. Recognizing her immediately, his demeanor changed from murderous to a surprised welcome. “Well, hello,” he said, a crooked smile growing on his lips.
Her body immediately responded to him. After all, she had been recently thinking of their past in this cabin. She awakened at his nearness, his nakedness, and his dangerously distracting presence. “Oh, so sorry to bother you... I was looking around and saw this cabin.... where we–” She stopped herself, stumbling over her words and using lame hand gestures to fill in what her brain could not.
He stepped closer. She could smell the scent of fresh soap off his warm, damp skin. His tangled black hair dripped onto her toes as he leaned over her. His brown eyes were dark and treacherous. Her body tingled with his nearness, and she found herself unable to speak. She licked her lips.
