Hard Hat Man (2 page)

Soon after Nancy disappeared, Nancy
’
s
mother, Esther, had died
of
a
he
ar
t
a
tta
c
k
. N
o one had even suspected she had a heart condition.
One tragedy after another.

Laura
was saying,
“
It was right before we moved to Chicago.
”

“
Yes, of course
,
”
Jan said. “I remember.”

“
Well, I
’
ll see you tomorrow, then?
I
’
ve made reservations for us at the
Lakeside
Motel.
”

“
Wait a minute.
What
’
s the address?
”

Her mother laughed.
“
You can
’
t miss it, Jan.
It
’
s the only motel in that little burg.
”

“
But how do I get to
Lakeview
?
”

“
Use a map, dear.
It
’
s somewhere north of Minneapolis, about an hour, I think.
I
’
ll be there around noon.
Bye.
”

Jan sighed and hung up the phone.
Her mother had done it again, suckered her into doing something she really didn
’
t want to do.

But then, how long could it take to close up an old farmhouse?
She remembered Uncle Horace as a crotchety man in overalls and the house as a big white Victorian.
And Aunt Esther cooking on an old gas range, and rolling out cookies on a round, wooden kitchen table.
They hadn
’
t had much money.
He might have hidden a little in his family
Bible
or in a drawer under his socks, but it shouldn
’
t take them long to sort stuff out.
Then she
’
d get back to her vacation.

This could hardly have come at a worse time.
Classes had just ended and she was looking forward to some badly needed time off from her teaching job before she began taking summer classes toward her master
’
s degree.

She
’
s
d
one it again, conning me into using my free time
to do something for her.

***

In
t
h
e Hart Construction
office in Blaine, a suburb north of Minneapolis,
owner
Kyle Hart hung up the phone and buzzed his secretary.

“
Yes, Mr. Hart?
”
his secretary
’
s efficient, proper voice came over the intercom.

“
Marcia, will you make a dinner reservation for three at six tonight at that new Chinese place
in Lakeview
?
”

“
Right away
,
sir.
Laura
Johnson is on line two.
”

Kyle flipped a button and answered the call.
“
Hello, Mrs. Johnson.
Did you find your accommodations at the motel satisfactory?
”

“
The motel is fine, Mr. Hart.
We
’
re in unit twelve.
But can we move up the time of the closing?
I have to leave for London in two days.
My daughter
Jan
will take care of the details of cleaning out the house.
”

Jan!
His mind jumped back to grade school and the fiesty, skinny girl who’d sat ahead of him and he grinned. He’d loved to tweak her pony tail, just to get her to turn around and stick out her tongue at him. Sometimes the teacher
had
caught him and made him write, ‘I will not pull Janita’s hair’ on the chalkboard one hundred times. But it had been worth it. He wondered if she would remember him. Was she still so much fun?

“
I
’
m sure we can work something out
,” he told
Laura
.
“
I
’
ll pick you
both
up personally about five thirty.
We
’
ll discuss it over dinner, okay?
”

At her assent, he hung up.
Running a nervous hand through his short hair, he
steppe
d to the window and
stared
out.
His new office building, housing Hart Construction, overlooked the freeway.
Traffic whizzed by in a steady stream.
A neat lawn and freshly planted trees were directly below.

The scene suggested wealth and success but he knew it was an illusion.
Few people knew the financial foundation under Hart Construction was shaky since he
’
d taken a huge loss on his last project.
Unless he made this latest project work, his ratings with his creditors would drop to zero.
He had to make it go.
He was counting on it.

Moving over a few steps, he studied the artist
’
s conception of his project on the wall.
Three buildings set at angles around tennis courts and a large pool made up an apartment complex of one hundred and fifty medium priced units.
The artist had filled in neat trees and landscaping.
Sidewalks connected the apartments to a separate garage building that opened onto a blacktopped road and completed the complex.

It was a pleasant scene.
He hoped like hell he could make it all come true.

He drove out to Lakeview and
pulled up in front of the modest motel
a
t precisely five-thirty
.
A small red Chevrolet
sat
in front of unit twelve.
Had they driven out together? He rang the bell, frowning, trying to remember what
Laura
had said. Somehow he’d gotten the impression they lived in different places.

A tall woman in a blue designer dress and perfectly coiffed brown hair answered the door.

Her smile widened when he introduced himself.
Waving him inside
the modestly furnished room
, she said,
“
I
’
m
Laura
Johnson.
My daughter is almost ready.
She arrived only a few minutes ago.
”

“
No hurry.
”
He glanced around, dismayed to see how skimpily the room had been decorated.
Everything seemed to be in shades of tan or brown, making it seem even more dreary. An open suitcase lay on a stand and some dresses hung on the closet rack near the door.
He should have found better
accommodations
for them.
But Lakeview was a very small town, so he hadn’t had much choice in making their reservations.

A door opened and Kyle turned to
see
a slim, younger woman step out of the other room.
He forgot to breathe as his gaze slid over her.
Was this really the Jan he’d remembered?

She was tall
,
maybe five inches less than his six foot one.
Her hair was brown like her mother
’
s, but loosely curled around her face in a casual style.
A
bove a pert nose
, b
lue eyes regarded him.
Oh, yeah, he remembered those eyes!
Her perfect, slim body was encased in brown slacks and a gold silk blouse, which was filled out nicely.

Laura
said,
“
There you are, Janita.
This is Kyle Hart, the
contractor
who
’
s buying Horace
’
s farm.
”

Kyle caught his breath and found his tongue.
“
Hello
,
Janita.
W
e went to school toget
h
er in fifth grade, remember?
”
He reac
he
d out and shook the hand she offered him.

“
Hello, Mr. Hart.
We did? Well, that was ages ago. I
t
’
s nice to meet you
again
.
I prefer Jan, please.
”
She shook his hand, then turned away, as though he were of no importance to her.

He cleared his throat
, embarrassed that he’d even mentioned grade school
.
Obviously she either didn’t remember him or chose not to admit it.
She and her mother had moved away that summer and he hadn’t seen or heard of them again until now. And now their cooperation was a key to securing his future. He tried to sound cheerful.
“
I
’
ve made reservations at a Chinese restaurant.
Will that be okay?
”