Cold Heart (12 page)

So maybe speaking to the Sherriff was out for now. She would have to figure out something else. Perhaps the clearest way to let Montgomery know that she wasn’t selling was just get on with getting Wildwood ready to go.

13

Carter put the binoculars down and rubbed his eyes. He’d been watching the apartment for several hours and it didn’t look like Michael was going to do anything but lay on the couch today. He put the binoculars to his eyes again but this time he was surprised by some action. Michael was putting on a jacket. Okay, he was going out. Carter switched his view to the front entry and watched and waited. He was rewarded quickly as Michael came through the front door just as a car, driven by a young brunette, pulled up in front. He climbed in and the car sped away. Carter had started his engine already but he had to move quickly to get his vehicle turned and in line behind the other car before it disappeared into traffic.

His day had started early but it would be worth all the effort, if he could find out what Michael was up to and eliminate him from the list of those who might have been making the crank calls to Lexi. He had been keeping his distance since their dinner together the other night. She was so easy to be with and to talk to and he found himself opening up about things to her in a way he had never expected to. There had been a moment though, just before he left when he had looked in her eyes and had felt a heat that had made him want to cross the room and simply devour that mouth of hers. It had been so difficult to keep his hands off her when they said goodnight that he decided he needed to stay away for awhile.

Then she had called to give him her new numbers and on learning that there had been more calls, he had been furious. He managed to surreptitiously get Michael’s last name and he used the internet to get Lexi’s previous address. He decided the best way to figure out what this loser was up to, was to follow him. However, up until now he hadn’t gone anywhere.

He only had to follow them for a short distance and then the woman pulled into a pretty fancy restaurant. There was valet parking and when the valet took the car the two went into the restaurant hand in hand. Carter was glad he hadn’t driven his truck and was somewhat more dressed up that he usual. He pulled up once they had gone inside and let the valet take his vehicle also. He hoped this wasn’t one of those places where you could only get in with a reservation. After checking that they were not still in the lobby he went inside. The hostess asked if she could seat him and he asked if, since he was alone, he could sit at the bar. He could see that Michael and this woman were seated right next to the bar so he could probably sit with his back to them and maybe hear their conversation.

The hostess told him to go ahead. Carter took a somewhat circuitous route to his seat so that he could keep his back to Michael. When he was seated the bar tender gave him a menu and asked for his drink order. Carter ordered a beer and then quickly perused the menu while trying to listen to the conversation behind him.

“Listen baby,” Michael said, “you’ll have to spot me today as I have a ton of bills that bitch Lexi left me with.”

“That’s okay, sweetie, we can just put this on Daddy’s tab anyway,” the girl said.

She was maybe twenty-five and dumb as a bag of hammers as far as Carter could tell. He also knew that Lexi had paid everything for the month even though she was leaving, so he was obviously stringing this one along.

“I was just so glad you weren’t working today so we could see each other,” she said.

“Yeah, well my boss said because I’ve been doing so much overtime, I could take the next couple of weeks off,” he lied.

Carter knew he was lying because Lexi had also told him that Michael was currently unemployed. He was clearly up to his usual tricks and had found one that had a bottomless purse and was preparing to freeload off her for awhile.

The waiter asked what he wanted and Carter ordered a burger since he knew it would be quick and was probably the cheapest thing on the menu, besides he was hungry. He finished his burger and paid his bill. He had listened to about as much of the useless drivel between these two as he could possibly stand. Making his way out to the curb, he gave his parking stub to the valet and waited for his car. The pair came out just as he was climbing in his vehicle. Thank goodness, Carter thought. They were hanging all over each other and Carter could pretty much guess where this was going. He pulled ahead and parked and waited. When they were in their car and had pulled out he got in behind and followed them.

They drove to a posh area of San Francisco and the girl pulled into a town house garage. Carter waited for awhile but it was clear that they were staying put and he thought he had seen enough. Michael had clearly moved on to a new mark. He decided he had been correct in his initial assessment of this man.

Unfortunately that meant that his original fears might be true, that Montgomery and his lackey, Mitch, were probably responsible for the fire and for the harassment of Lexi. That was cause for a lot more concern. He had no doubt about how determined Montgomery was to obtain Lexi’s land. He had seen the frustration that Max had been feeling from all the pressure Montgomery kept putting on him to sell. Carter had even wondered about Max’s untimely death and whether the pair could have been in any way responsible for the ‘so called’ accident. Since the fire, he had begun to wonder about it again, though he had been careful not to voice his concerns to Lexi.

Carter supposed the next person he best be watching was Mitch. He pulled away from the curb and started heading for the valley. He would stop in Napa on his way home and see his mom. It would have been quicker to take Highway 101 if he was just headed home but it didn’t make sense not to use this opportunity to check in on her. He took the Bay Bridge over towards Oakland and then took Highway 80 north to Richmond and Vallejo. Then he cut over to Highway 29 and up to Napa. With the traffic it took him nearly two hours. It was perfect timing though because his mom’s best time of the day was usually mid-afternoon.

That was not the case today unfortunately, as she was in an extremely agitated state, which only increased with his arrival. She didn’t know who this strange man was that was in her room and finally he just had to leave in order for the nurses to be able to settle her down. As he left, they all looked at him with such sympathy. He wondered how much longer this would continue. As he drove the additional hour to get home, he was feeling pretty low about everything. He was glad that it appeared Michael was not the culprit who was phoning Lexi and scaring her but that meant that it was likely someone who posed more of a threat.

When Carter arrived home he went straight to work caring for his horses and then headed into the house. He felt a little at loose ends. He really wanted to see Lexi but he resisted the urge to just drop over. He was pretty sure she would call him if anything happened to frighten her, so maybe no news was good news. Maybe Montgomery had decided that Lexi was not going to sell and that was that. If only Carter actually believed that. Montgomery was too smart to play his cards all at once. He wouldn’t do anything to show his hand too quickly. No, he would leave her be for a little while and then Bam he would hit her again, only next time it would be something bigger. He decided that he should be watching Mitch.

Carter poured himself a scotch. The phone rang and as expected, it was one of the nurses from the home. She was just calling to let him know that his mother was resting comfortably now. They never failed to call him whenever there had been any sort of incident like this afternoon. It was really above and beyond, he thought and he really appreciated it. It was just one more thing that he and Lexi had in common. They were both basically orphans.

Carter decided to do the only thing that really helped when he was feeling low and that was to paint. He headed upstairs to the large attic space where all of his paintings and paraphernalia were set up. He had been working on one that he was particularly fond of. It was a horse looking out from his stall, nose to nose with a little blond haired girl. He was working on the leather halter that was hanging by the stall. He had enjoyed creating this work and he had a feeling the gallery owner in Napa would like it too. First though, he would have a couple of hundred limited edition prints made.

Carter had learned that this was where the real money was, not that he cared all that much about money, but he did need to eat and so did his horses. He tried to paint not just subjects that appealed to him but ones that would be marketable as well. What was fortunate for Carter was that most of the time, the two things seemed to coincide. After working for a couple of hours, he went downstairs and made a sandwich. He really wanted to call Lexi but he resisted the urge instead he turned on the TV to see if there was a game he could watch and was rewarded with two choices; tennis or college football. He chose the latter.

14

Wildwood and the grounds was a beehive of activity. There were men and equipment outside removing all the charred remains of the barn. The fire chief had given Lexi the go ahead to clean up. He told her they had found no evidence of any accelerant having been used and without that there was no way to prove it had been arson. Of course all someone would have had to do was stand inside and drop a match into the dry straw and that old barn would have exploded into flames. Lexi had no doubts that it was arson but there was nothing she could do.

She’d called Carter and asked him if he knew anyone she could hire to clean up the remains of the barn and he had given her a name. She hadn’t actually seen Carter this past week, which she supposed was a good thing because she needed to focus and he was definitely a big distraction for her. She called him a second time mid week to give him her new phone numbers and had explained about the calls she had gotten the night he had been there for dinner. She had assured him she was fine.

So, lots of work was being done. Lexi had taken Carter’s advice and hired a cleaning firm to come in and clean everything in the place from top to bottom. She could afford it and it made the most sense. Surprised at how reasonable the price had been, she wished she had just done that in the first place. Once everything was up to snuff she would have regular help to keep it up. The office was all set up as she had managed to finish that this past week and she had figured out how to operate the commercial washers and dryers in the laundry room and had laundered all the dust covers so that they could be used again. A contractor was coming tomorrow to work on a plan with her for any upgrades and maintenance that needed to be done.

Lexi was feeling much more in control. Since having both the land line and the cell phone numbers changed, there had been no unwanted calls. She knew that eventually that land line number would get out again and there would need to be several lines once she was going to open, but for now she had peace and sleep. Her judgement was always so much better when she’d had enough sleep. Today, what she was really looking forward to was the visit with Marjorie, from the Upholstery Shop. Lexi had learned that Marjorie was also a decorator and that would be really helpful. If Lexi liked where she was headed with colors and such, it meant they could work together on all the design choices.

This had been a tremendous relief to Lexi as there were so many things to be coordinated. It made much more sense to have a professional helping her decide these things. There were paint colors to pick, countertops to decide on and all kinds of draperies and linens that would have to be changed. Marjorie would have access to good prices and would know where to go and who to see. Lexi was excited. She was also excited because she wanted to ask her about Max.

She hadn’t yet got up the nerve to call Grace Montgomery. It had been so nice not having to think about Mitch and Montgomery this past week, with no calls and no door knocking incidents, that she was reluctant to possibly stir anything up by calling. She hoped that they had seen that she was forging away with her plans and given up on the attempts to change her mind or scare her off.

Despite her resolve the night of the mystery calls, Lexi had been back and forth on the whole issue several times in the days following. She wondered if she should just give in and sell. The truth was though, that she didn’t need the money. She needed the project and she had nowhere to go. In a way, she felt more at home here than she felt anywhere. As a child she loved the open skies and pastoral views and somehow, after years of not coming here, she had forgotten but it had all come flooding back that first day.

She heard the crunch of gravel and Tucker’s woof announcing Marjorie’s arrival. Lexi went out to the front porch to greet her.

“Wow,” Marjorie said, as she got out and saw Lexi. “I had no idea it was this impressive.”

“Thank you,” Lexi said. “It needs some work but mostly just a little touching up here and there. And of course a lot of cleaning and yard work.”

Marjorie had gone around to the trunk of her car and was getting a large box out. Lexi rushed to help her.

“If you could get that one,” she said “I can manage this one.”

“Just go straight in and then to your right. We can spread out on the dining room table,” Lexi said.

Both ladies were puffing by the time they reached the table.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you would bring lots of samples.” Lexi said.

“No I don’t kid around. This place is beautiful,” she said looking around.

“Would you like the twenty-five cent tour?” Lexi asked.

“Yes please,” Marjorie said.

Lexi could tell she was genuinely impressed and that would help. Lexi felt you had to actually like a space to do a good job of decorating it. She showed her the office, the kitchen and the washrooms and laundry area downstairs and then took her back out to the foyer and led her upstairs to the bedrooms. She didn’t show her Max’s room since she hadn’t completely emptied it yet and there were still a lot of boxes in there.

“This is just lovely, Lexi,” Marjorie said as they walked back down the stairs.

“There are four cabins also, but let’s see how far we get in here before we take a look at those. I am thinking of actually moving into one of the cabins myself eventually,” Lexi said.

“Is it weird living in this huge space all by yourself?” Marjorie asked.

“It is,” Lexi said.

“So let’s start by talking about your vision for the place,” Marjorie said.

“Yes, you bet but why don’t you unpack your samples and I will get us some tea and we can sit down and talk about it,” Lexi said.

“Tea would be wonderful,” Marjorie said.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Lexi said.

She returned in a very few minutes and by then Marjorie had spread fabric samples and catalogues all over the table.

“Wow, that is a little overwhelming,” Lexi said.

“I know, but we will be eliminating quite a few, right off the bat. It is always easier to narrow it down when you are in the space,” she said. “So, tell me your plans.”

“Well, I hope it will be more than just a lobby of sorts. I will need to have a check in desk somewhere, but given the fact that there are only a dozen rooms, counting the cabins it won’t need to be especially large or formal. I want this space to be more like a living room. I will need to expand into it a bit from the dining room as I will want to have several more small tables rather than one big one. I may still use the big one, for buffets and such but on a daily basis it will probably just have a nice flower arrangement or seasonal decorations,” Lexi said.

“You have really thought this out haven’t you?” Marjorie said, looking impressed. “I brought several furniture catalogues for you to look through, just to get an idea of what you might like. There will be tables and chairs in there.”

“Good,” Lexi said.

“But let’s start with the furniture arrangement in here and then we can decide what pieces you may need and then we can think about fabrics and colors,” Marjorie said.

The two women moved the large pieces around until they were happy with their locations. They decided where the check in desk would be and what type of unit they would put there. They arranged couches in front of the fireplace and then set up occasional chairs in another area by the windows. They figured out where the big dining table could go against a wall and how many smaller tables they would be able to fit into the dining room if they expanded its area into the edges of the great room. After that, Marjorie began to drape some of the chairs with fabric samples for Lexi to look at.

“I recommend keeping the large pieces far more neutral than these chairs are,” Marjorie said, “that way they will not compete with any seasonal decorations you may want to have. You can put your color into pillows and throws and those things are more easily changed. Plus if you were to have a wedding reception here, for example, it would make it much easier for a bride to plan decor.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that,” Lexi said. “What a good idea.”

“I think you will need an area rug for the seating area by the fire and another for the area by the window. I’ll source out some and email you photos to see what you like. What I propose is that I do what they call a story board for the room and then you’ll be able to see exactly what I have in mind and hopefully have a good idea of how it’s going to look when it’s complete. Then, we do the same thing for the bedrooms and then eventually the cabins. What do you think?”

“I love the idea.” Lexi said, “Can I afford you?”

“Yes,” Marjorie laughed. “I can charge you a percentage of what the total budget becomes or by the hour. On big jobs like this where a lot of hours will be involved it is probably better that we agree on a percentage of the total budget. We will need to do a little more work before we actually determine what the budget is going to be. I will give you my pricing sheet to have a look at.”

“Thanks,” said Lexi.

“I think this is all we have time for today,” Marjorie said. “I’ll call you tomorrow from the shop and we’ll organize another time to get together, if that works for you?”

“That would be great,” Lexi said. “We made great progress I think.”

“Me too,” Marjorie said. “It’s going to be a beautiful spot.”

“Thanks, I still don’t understand why my uncle didn’t get it up and running,” Lexi said. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Well only what I have heard through a friend of a friend if you know what I mean,” Marjorie said. “She went to high school with Max. He was absolutely smitten with this girl and he finally got her to go out with him during the last few months of school. During that summer after graduation, they were together constantly. They talked about getting married and then eventually building a Lodge like this and running it together. Something happened and my friend wasn’t sure what but this woman ran off with someone else. Max was devastated. He just never got over it. Then out of the blue one day he started building this place. It was really weird he got it to this point and then just abandoned the project, covered up the furniture and that was the end of it.”

“That is really strange,” Lexi said. Something about the story was really unsettling but Lexi couldn’t decide what. Marjorie was packing up the samples they had determined would not work and when she had her box ready started toward the door.

“So I will call you tomorrow,” she said’

“Great,” Lexi said. “Thanks again.”

She walked Marjorie out to her car and waved as she drove away. The men who had been working on the clean-up of the burned barn were almost finished. Lexi walked over to the man in charge.

“It looks good,” she said. “Don’t know what is going to go there but there are lots of possibilities now.”

“Yup,” the man said. “It’s good to see someone moving forward with the project. I helped Max with the original excavation.”

“Really!” Lexi exclaimed. Was there no one in town that wasn’t involved or knew the story?

“Yup,” he said. “I was real sad to hear about his accident. He was a good man.”

“He was,” Lexi said. “I wish I’d been able to spend more time with him.”

“Yes I’m sure you do. Well we are almost finished and we’ll be on our way.”

“The bill?” Lexi said.

“In the mail,” he replied.

She went in and got Tucker once they had left. The cleaning people had left also and everything was shining. She took Tucker out without a leash as he had been cleared by Dr.Walters when she had taken him in a couple of days ago. He was able to return to his normal activities and he seemed really pleased about that. Lexi wondered what she would do with the area where the barn had been. Grass perhaps. She figured she would pave the driveway and a parking area and then create a nice lawn, maybe a fire pit. She needed to talk to a landscaper.

She and Tucker were about to head for a walk when none other than Geoff Montgomery drove up and he had Mitch in the car with him. Both got out and Tucker immediately went nuts. He was barking so fiercely that she was afraid he might attack them but he didn’t leave her side. She quickly grabbed his collar and commanded him to sit. He quieted but he kept a low growl going. She held on tight.

“Can I help you?” she asked impatiently.

“That’s one vicious dog,” Montgomery said. “I’d be keeping a close eye on him.”

“He’s a gentle as a lamb,” Lexi said. “He just knows a wolf in sheep’s clothing when he sees one.”

“Hey now, no call to be unfriendly,” Montgomery said. “Mitch and I just came by to say how sorry we were to hear about the fire.”

“I’ll just bet you are,” Lexi said.”If you don’t mind I’d appreciate it if you would get off my property.”

“Well now, there’s no call to be rude,” Montgomery said.

“Look, I know what you are up to and it’s not going to work. I’m not selling and you can try all the scare tactics you want, I won’t change my mind. Now get the hell off my property or I’ll go in and get one of those shotguns my Uncle Max was so fond of and I’ll use it.”

“Well Mitch looks like we aren’t welcome and after my kind hospitality and all the other night. I think I’m a little hurt,” Montgomery said. “I guess we best be going before the little lady here decides to sic that mangy dog on us.”