Hard Hat Man (20 page)

“I agree,” Jan said. “And all the
Bible
s and prayers Uncle Horace spouted apparently weren’t enough to ward them off.”

An hour later, Jan was still sorting books in Horace’s office when the doorbell rang. She
sneezed as the moldy smelling dust motes tickled her nose,
wiped her dusty hands on the cloth she’d been using to
clean
books and went to answer it.

“Erick,” she exclaimed as she opened the door
to find their real estate broker standing there
. “What brings you out here?”

“Your mother called and asked me to check on you,”
he said, eying her d
irty
clothes.

“My mother? Called you from London?” Jan repeated, disbelief making her voice end in a squeak.

“Yes. She said she couldn’t get through to your cell phone,” he said, shifting impatiently. “May I come in?”

Jan hesitated, then opened the door. “I’ve been sorting Horace’s library. I’m a mess.”

“So I see.” Distaste colored his comment. He followed her into the kitchen where she washed her hands at the sink.

“I’ll make some coffee,” she said, waving him to a chair at the round wooden table.

“Why didn’t you answer your cell?” Erick asked.

Jan pulled her cell out of her jeans pocket and looked at the screen. “Low battery. I need to charge it.” She plugged it into the charger on the counter.

Erick whined, “You’d told her about Nancy’s body being found, so she’s worried about your safety out here.”

Jan laughed, glancing at him as she put a filter and grounds into the coffeemaker. “Nancy was killed fifteen years ago. Why would that make me in danger now?”

He shrugged. “Well, you know, all the stuff that’s been happening out here. The whole town’s talking about bad luck following Kyle’s project.”

She frowned at him. “You told Mom about those things? Why?”

He flushed and fidgeted on the wooden chair. “Well, you know, she asked how things were going, so I told her.”

Jan gaped at him. “You had no business telling her that stuff. I didn’t tell her about it ‘cause she fusses. And she can’t do anything
about it
from London, can she?”

He shrugged. “I guess not.”

She shot him a frustrated frown.
“So,
you can
just call her back and tell her everything’s fine here, okay?”

“Uh, sure. I can do that,” he said with a sheepish look on his face.

The doorbell rang again. With a sigh, she went to answer it.
This time, Louise Robards stood on the doorstep. Her heavy-set body filled out a blue business suit and her face wore and eager smile.

“Hi. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d see if you’ve found anything you wish to donate to the Historical Society,” she said.

“Come on in. Mr. Andrews is here and I’m making some coffee. I’ve got several boxes of books and some furniture for you to look at.”

Erick seemed embarrassed to be caught at the farm and after hurriedly drinking his coffee and making small talk for a few minutes, took his leave.

Jan was happy to have him go. Louise’s arrival had forestalled any attempt he might have made to ask her out. She was sure
Laura
’s phone call had been prompted as much by a match-making attempt as by worry for her daughter’s safety.
Laura
never tired of trying to marry her off.

Louise looked up as Jan came back from seeing Erick to the door. “I don’t like that man,” she commented. “Be careful around him.”

“
I will.
”

Louise
set her cup
on the table
and rose to her feet.
“Let’s see what you’ve found
for me
here.”

Jan took her through the various rooms, showing her the few pieces of furniture she thought might be antiques. “Whatever you’d like is fine with me and Mom,” she told Louise. “We’re just giving the rest to Goodwill. And what they don’t want will go into the dumpster outside.”

“Oh, we’ll be happy to take some of these chests of drawers,” Louise said. “And
Horace’s desk, too, if you don’t mind.
I always admired that piece.
”

“Kyle thought you might want some of these history books,” Jan said, opening a box and pointing to its contents. There are lots of old
Bible
s and
Bible
reference books too.”

Louise began picking up and glancing through some of the
Bible
s. “No, I don’t think we’ll want these. Nothing special about them that I can see,” she said.
“
But
I’m sure
his church
will
want them. They always hand out free Bibles to people. I’ll take them and drop them off to them.”

“Fine. Less stuff for me to sort through.”

“
Oh, but you may want to keep this one.
” She held out a
note
book to Jan.
“
It’s a collection of Horace’s personal sermons.”

Jan took the large loose-leaf notebook and paged through it. “Really? Horace wrote sermons?” They were all neatly handwritten, with many sentences underlined for emphasis.

“Sure. That small church he belonged to didn’t have a regular pastor. So the members took turns leading the service themselves. Not all of them would do it, of course, but I heard Horace did it quite often.”

Jan put it aside, saying, “I’ll look at it later.”

Louise nodded.
“When would you like me to take the stuff?”

“As soon as is convenient for you,” Jan said.

Louise smiled.
“Then how about right now? I’ll call a couple of my assistants and they’ll bring a truck
.
”

“Fine,” Jan agreed. “I’ll just empty Horace’s desk into a box to sort later and you can take that, too. Same with the dressers. Just put the clothes and stuff into a box.”

By the time they’d loaded everything and left, Jan was exhausted. She sh
owered and changed into
blue
slacks and a white blouse.
Kyle sat at the kitchen table waiting for her when she came out of the bedroom.

“Oh, you’re here,” she said.

“Yes. Ready for supper?”

She nodded. “I’m starved.”

“Good. Let’s go, then.” He led her to his car and helped her into it. “I saw you had company this afternoon,” he said, getting behind the wheel and starting the engine.

She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. Dear Mr. Andrews and Ms. Robards.”

He laughed. “Two of my favorite people. What did Erick want?”

“My mother called him to check on me. Honestly! My cell phone needed charging and she couldn’t reach me, so she called him. Can you believe it? And he had to go tell her about all the problems out here, so she’s all upset. I told Erick to call her back and tell her everything was fine here.”

“Hm. Sounds more like Erick wanted an excuse to come see you himself.” He eyed her. “Did he ask you out?”

Jan grinned. “No. Ms. Robards showed up before he had a chance. He made a hasty retreat. I don’t think they get along either.”

Kyle’s eyes twinkled. “No, I don’t think they do. Erick’s dad dated her for a while and the rumor going around said Erick broke them up. He told people she was just after his dad’s money.”

“That would probably do it,” Jan agreed. “I keep forgetting how much people in small towns know about each other. There are always so many layers to relationships here.”

Kyle nodded. “I suppose in large towns, it’s less likely to find connections between people you know. There’re just so many more
pe
o
ple,
after all.”

“Right.” Jan sighed. “Still,
in the city,
I really do miss knowing everyone when I walk down a street. And having people stop you in a store to chat or ask questions about someone you know. That’s just never happened to me in Chicago.
Most people walk past without even looking at you.
”

His cell phone rang and he pulled over to answer it. After talking a minute, he pocketed the phone. “
That was Sylvia. She
happened to drive by
the house I’m building and says there’s a
problem at my house. Do you mind if we make a quick stop there? It’s right on the way.”

“Sure.”

That possessive, willowy blonde lived
close
to him? A surge of jealousy curled in her stomach. How close were they, anyway?

“I’d like your opinion on what I’m doing with my house anyway. I’ve been meaning to take you over to see it. But with all that’s been happening…”

“I understand.”

“So Mrs. Robards took some of the furniture and stuff?”

“Yes, she brought a truck and a couple of helpers. She took a few boxes of books and a few pieces of the furniture. I’ll need to call Goodwill and have them come get the rest when I finish sorting.”

He turned off the highway and drove several miles along a wooded side road, then slowed as he took a drive into the woods.

She leaned forward as she caught a glimpse of a large split-level home with a curving drive.
The house
appeared finished, but the landscaping wasn’t. Weeds stuck out of the black soil where eventually a lawn would be.

“Come on in. Watch your step and stay on the sidewalk so you don’t get muddy.”

She followed him inside. “What kind of problem did Sylvia tell you about?”

“She said the patio doors were broken,” he said, leading the way across the kitchen and dining area. The subfloors were in, but the rest of the room was unfinished. The kitchen was more complete. It held a table and cupboards and appliances and had a tile floor as well.

“
Damn, she’s right. Looks like someone threw a couple of bricks threw it,” Kyle said, picking up a damaged brick and checking the doors. The doors led out to a
muddy back yard.

“Hello!” a voice called from the door they’d entered.

They both turned to see Sylvia standing just inside the door.
She wore a sleek blue pant suit and matching high heels. Her hair looked like she’d just come from the salon.