Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“Yes. And the boys took iguanas out of the basement.”
“And you don’t think that’s madness?” Mr. Farley barked at me.
“Obviously the house had fallen into disrepair between the last caretaker leaving and the death of Ms. Farley’s beloved brother, but we—”
“That man was a lunatic!” Mr. Farley shouted.
“Hardly,” I told him, my voice low and icy. “Vigilante maybe, but when you’re serving up revenge on people who deserve it, is that bad?”
I had looked up Ada and found many pictures of her but only a handful of Oscar, her mysterious brother. In fairness, he seemed only an enigma to me. All the articles I read painted him the same way, as a true hedonist, living only for his own pleasure off his family’s money. The press was quite judgmental of him back in the early eighties, which was when the few photographs of the man were taken. He was, without question, a wickedly handsome man. Tall, blond, he looked very much like Ada except while her countenance was angelic, his was the opposite. It was the look in his eyes, and the way his smile never reached them…at least in the photos on the internet.
Hollis Martel, son of Thaddeus Martel, who made his money in steel and mining back in the day, had once been engaged to Ada. The families had been thrilled over the union, and the engagement pictures were stunning. They had made a beautiful couple. Sadly, the gossip was that he stepped out continually on his fiancée, and there were rumors that he was abusive when they were alone. In the end, Martel had gone out one night with friends, and two weeks later, his body was found floating in the East River. People remembered seeing a man who might have been Oscar Farley walking Martel out of a bar, but no one could say for certain. No charges were ever filed.
Years later, he was again suspected in the death of Hugh Evans in Rune, Oregon, another article said, but again, no charges were ever filed.
“Only God decides good and bad, Mr.…what was it? Gorev?” Mr. Farley yelled at me, bringing me from my wandering thoughts.
“Yes. Gorev. And sometimes God takes too long, so we have to do it ourselves.”
“Well, we—”
“But as you can see, we’re in the midst of fixing everything, and we can’t have any other drains on the account, as this project will probably be quite pricey.”
“For what?” Eugenia spat. “To fix a crazy woman’s home that she’ll die in all alone? This is madness when the money could be spent—”
“It’s her money. You’re all in the same family, so you must have your own.”
All three were silently staring at me, and clearly seething.
“Everybody must work for the company,” I said, remembering what Mr. Raleigh had told me. “Ada’s money is nothing compared to what the entire family is worth. Maybe you should ask whoever runs things to increase your monthly allowance.”
Nothing. Just more staring until Eugenia yelled, “Aunt Ada!”
Turning, I saw Ada walking up in yoga pants and an oversize sweater. Her hair was up in a bun, held there with elaborately painted sticks. She was wearing the same jewelry as when we’d met, so those had to be some of her favorite pieces.
“Hello, Franz, Bethany, Eugenia,” she greeted them stiffly, then petted Misha and put her hand on my shoulder. “There were iguanas down there.”
I grinned. “Yeah. And they were big.”
“As was the caiman,” she said, pretending to be aghast.
“Did you know it was down there?”
“You know, I honestly thought when they took the alligator that they would have taken the caiman as well. I mean, really.”
I scoffed. “Well, the guys are draining the water that seeped in, and when that’s done, they’ll get started on the French drain.”
“Got it,” she said, smiling.
“The drain should take eight to ten days, and once that’s completed, everything can be covered in cement. I was going to just fill it in to the first floor, but Mr. Zhao, who’s doing all the work to waterproof the foundation, says we should think about putting in a bowling alley down there, or maybe a racquetball court. What do you think?”
“Both?”
“Okay. I’ll talk to him.”
“Excellent.”
“We’re going to do the demolition on the attic once the foundation is done. I’m going to start searching for architects next week so we’ll be ready once we get the go-ahead from the building inspector.”
“But we have to wait until the attic is gone and the basement is completely water-free.”
“That’s correct.”
She clapped her hands. “I’m so excited to be starting!”
“I know,” I said, smiling at her.
She reached up and cupped my cheek in her hand. “You and Gale have just been angels. Darling, we really must talk about your salary.”
“Let’s worry about that later. You have to visit with your family.”
She turned to them. “Franz, dear, what did you need? Did you want me to speak to your father about increasing your allowance?”