Catharine Bramkamp - Real Estate Diva 05 - A 380 Degree View (26 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Four

I barreled down the stairs.  Pat was red faced and goggled eyed.  “You have to see this.”

“You found Raul’s video.”

He just waved me to the kitchen.

This was another video, not posted on You Tube but from Raul’s copious and badly labeled archives, it took this long for Pat, Mike and Brick to recover it. I immediately saw why Lucky would want this particular video repressed.

Lucky and Summer stood in the theater Lobby. Lucky leaned on his cane. Summer’s hair color glowed red under the ceiling lights.  There was no sound, but they both gestured to the quilts on the walls.  Summer pleaded, Lucky was adamant.

“Selfish son of a bitch.” Ben muttered. “Preventing his daughter’s success, not letting her make her own living her own way.”

“Can you play it again?” Pay punched the play button and ran the short video over again.  Why was this suppressed?  I scrutinized the video again.

“Preventing his daughter’s success? Or keeping her buyers from self immolation?”  I asked.  “What if Lucky didn’t want anyone hurt?  What if he knew what Penny sewed into her quilts?”

“What if he knows it would be eventually traced back to him?”  Ben countered.

We all huddled around Raul in the bedroom balancing plates of pasta. 

“Did Penny tell you anything? Did she let anything slip?”  I asked Ben.

Carrie patted Raul’s hand absently.

“She talked about how all her life she had to hear about how great Lucky Masters was. How he built houses for the people, made the houses affordable. How wonderful. But you know, Penny thought her dad cared less about the finished houses and more about being able to mow down trees, clear away brush and forest. He liked the destruction of it all. She insisted on walking me through the house again.  She loved the study the best, she showed me how the railing was low enough so the view wasn’t obstructed, even when she sat at the desk.”

“All 380 degrees.”

Carrie and Brick smiled. 

“Yes.” Ben confirmed.  “All 380 degrees. And Penny told me this was her dad’s greatest achievement because he fought the council on the tree line restrictions and won. So he clear-cut the forest as far as he could and as fast as he could in order to build as large a home as he could get away with.  It was all about killing the trees.  He even cut down the trees that interfered with the view.”

“Some people would consider the trees the view.”

“Poor thing, that kitten story.” Carrie automatically wiped her eyes, but there were no real tears. “She’s so lost. I think Prue should invite her to the next Brotherhood meeting.  I mean really, what does it matter now?”

“I’ll tell Suzanne to get right on that.” Prue grinned. 

I carefully twirled my angel hair pasta. Prue was safe. Raul would heal. Ben loved me. My little world was quite fine right now.  Tom would find out who killed Lucky and who killed Mattie, that was his job.  He would also need to ask Penny about the quilts, that too was his job.  I would send him Raul’s video of the quilt burning, that should at least help whomever would prosecute. I was out of the whole affair, it was none of my business. My work here was done.

I woke the next morning with two nagging thoughts. Carrie hadn’t mentioned Patrick in the last 24 hours nor had she mentioned her parents. That was not good.  And the Pest One inspection report for Penny’s house had to be signed.

“Now it’s my turn to visit the mysterious and misunderstood Penny Masters.” I announced at breakfast.

“And what is your excuse?”  Ben asked.

I tapped the thick folder of paper.  “Paper work, anything I should look for?”

“Nothing.” Carrie said.

“Everything.” Ben said.

Prue rolled her eyes.  “I am not inviting that woman to a Brotherhood meeting.”

Carrie’s phone rang and she snatched it up and disappeared down the hall, nice try, but we could still hear her.

“Are you sure?”  Her voice kicked up a couple of tones, as if she were a Valley Girl instead of a Sonoma County native.

“Could I have more coffee please?” Prue seemed too complacent. What had she done? What had she told Patrick or worse, Carrie’s parents?

Carrie returned after a very short phone call, but her expression was one of complete delight.

“He offered them jobs.”

“He offered them jobs?” We all repeated like well rehearsed Greek Chorus.

Carrie nodded happily.  “They accepted. They signed up, signed the paperwork, you know Cooper offers good benefits and salary and all that, and turned it all in.  All in place, very proper. They were scheduled to start today.”

I took another sip of coffee, and then another hoping it would help me understand what she was saying.

Ben thought about it for minute, then smiled.

“Go on, I’m a little dense this morning.”  I gestured with the coffee urn and poured more coffee for me.  I brought the pot over to Prue and topped off her mug.

“Once you sign on to work for Cooper Milk, you’re committed, there are a lot of forms and releases to sign. I guess over the years it developed that way.  One of the forms states that if an employee fails the drug test, he or she cannot ever come within five hundred feet of any Cooper plant, office, or,” she paused dramatically, “event for five years.” 

Oh, that wicked boy.

“They did not pass the drug screening.” I guessed.

“They did not pass the drug screening!”  Carrie cried.

“That is genius.”  Ben whistled appreciatively.

“Yes,” Carrie favored us with a huge grin. “Yes he is.”             

Sarah spun around the open library floor.

“I used to come here every day after school.” She pointed in the general direction of the elementary school.  “I loved it here.” She slid on the floor, something she could never do as a child; it wasn’t proper and it wasn’t quiet. “This was the children’s section. I read every book on the shelves, except for westerns and science stuff.  It was like paradise.”

She gazed up at the painted ceiling.  “Can you learn things just by reading books or do you need a class?”

Scott shoved his hands in his pockets. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her.  “It used to be that people educated themselves just by reading books.”

She nodded.  “Sure, I read about that. But to get a good job you have to have that degree. That’s what Suzanne says.”

“What if you don’t need to work?” 

She stood.  “Everyone needs to work; that’s what gives you purpose.”

“Is that what your grandparents said?”

She turned away from him.  “I took care of them my whole life.  That was purpose wasn’t it?”

He nodded and tentatively took a step closer.  “Maybe the work doesn’t have to pay?”

“Excuse me?” The couple both stopped and looked down at a very small person climbing up the stairs. For a moment Scott was completely flummoxed, he didn’t have much experience with people who came in such tiny  packages.

“Is this the library?” The little girl cleared the steps.

“It is, but we don’t have many books here anymore. The new library is out across the highway.” Sarah’s voice was kind, but the girl was clearly disappointed.

“I know, but it’s so far away. I can’t walk there. I can walk here after school.” The child pouted. 

Scott looked at the child.  “I do have some books.”

Sarah glanced at him, surprised. 

“Friends of the Library. They store their sale books here in the basement.  Wait here.”

He disappeared with a clatter of footsteps down to the lower level. Sarah watched him open-mouthed.

“Here.” Scott rushed up, books sliding off his arms and crashing to the floor.

The little girl’s face lit up at the sight. 

He dumped the books on the only table left in the room.  The girl pulled up on tiptoe to reach the books.

“We need a lower table.”  Scott pushed the books towards the girl.

“Can I borrow this?”  She had pulled down a Bernstein Bears book and a copy of
Madeline.

Sarah gently took the book and glanced inside.  The old fashion card pocket and the stamp - Claim Jump Library - were still in good shape.

“Yes.” Sarah said.  “Bring them back when you’re done. You can take more when you return these.”

The girl nodded happily.  “Is it okay to tell my friends?”

“Tell everyone.  The Lewis Lending Library is open for business.”

Scott stood stunned at what just transpired. Was it that simple?

Sarah turned to him, her face alight.  “It’s that simple!”

The dogwoods were finally able to fully express themselves in white and bright pink.  The plum and cherry trees were covered in tentative pink, the snow was receding and revealing soft, fragile grass. Spring in the mountains is precarious, likely to end with a sudden snowfall that breaks off tree branches and smothers new flowers.  Or spring can launch a surprise heat wave that just as effectively stunts new growth. I was prepared to appreciate the mild and uneventful weather. Today, Mother Nature was cooperating.

Pale sheets of snow in the shape of tree shadows hovered on the edges of Penny’s front lawn, but the daffodils glowed with bright yellow promise. All was good. I just had to let go of all the possibilities and conjecture that surrounded poor Penny. She was my biggest client.  Biggest clients are never easy nor without controversy.  I pushed everything aside to concentrate on saving my career.             

I pressed the doorbell.

“Exactly on time.” Despite the early hour, Penny was dressed to kill in high dangerous heels and a Chanel red wool suit.  In comparison, and don’t think for a minute women didn’t immediately make comparisons, I was seriously frumpy in my now shabby chic funeral outfit. I hoped she had been so distracted by Ben she didn’t remember my ensemble the last three times she saw it.

“Hi, good morning.  I have some forms for you on the house.”

“Oh.” She looked behind me, as if Ben were hiding in the shadows ready to jump out and surprise her.

“I’m alone, Ben isn’t here.”  I hoped she would let me in anyway. 

“Come up to the office.” She turned, assuming I’d follow and close the door behind me.

I walked two steps behind her through the living area with the soaring ceiling, down the hall lined with hanging quilts and up narrow stairs to her high tree house - like office. The stairs were covered with a thick shag carpet. I slipped off my own pumps before tackling the ascent. I tend to catch my heels on thick carpet and I didn’t want to fall backwards down the stairs because of my shoes. It was bad enough I was clothed in the same outfit I wore to her house tour, tumbling backwards down the stairs would be the final indignity.

Before me, Penny’s high heels dug efficiently into the carpet nap and she didn’t even wobble. She managed her Jimmy Choos well.

“Paperwork?” She retreated behind a broad mahogany desk that was grand enough to emphasize our roles: she the boss, I the employee. I had seen it done many times. She wanted me to feel small and intimidated. I may be a Little, but I’m not that easily intimidated.

“Yes, the Pest One and the general inspection.  There’s a lot of suggested work. You may want to consider reducing the price, unless you want to pay for the repairs.”

“No, no, a price reduction will be fine. No buyers yet?”

“It’s only been two weeks.” I pointed out.  Sellers in a hurry are not necessarily a good thing: they make mistakes, cut corners, lie.

“Are you doing everything you can?” She quizzed.

Instead of taking umbrage, I pulled out copies of the
Sacramento Bee
ads, the copy of the Craigslist ad, the printout of the MLS entry, a hard copy of the web site and glossy prints of the sale flyers. Sellers love to see as much paper as you can create.

She flipped through the piles in a desultory fashion.  “I guess you’re trying.”

“Trying? I’m one of the best. A house like your father’s is unique and unique properties don’t sell in a week. Yell at me in six weeks, but not two.”

She eyed me.  I stood my ground.  Do not insult my professional integrity.

She took a breath, then eased up a bit.  “I apologize, I understand from Ben that you are the best. I just want all this,” she glanced out the broad expanse of windows.   “Done, I want it all done.”

“I can understand that.” 

“No, you can’t, you don’t know what it’s like to lose what you love.”  Penny narrowed her eyes at me.  It was difficult to hold my ground against that. The whole scenario, the surprise pregnancy, searching for a house for three, then, just as abruptly, losing everything, possibly even Ben in one bloody twenty-four hours.  The hollowness in my chest was big enough to have a name.  I knew loss.  I wanted to sit down. But I remained standing.

Penny stepped back, reading my expression.

“Okay, maybe you do know.”  We stood together in that silence, a shared moment.  Maybe Carrie was right - Penny was just a lost soul.