Haunted Fixer-Upper, The (6 page)

I narrowed my eyes.
“Well, can you blame me? You are acting weird.”

He gave a lopsided grin.
“Thanks a lot.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“So you didn’t answer the question. Did they just walk away?”

He paused,
then said, “I think they did.”

A chill ran up my spine
. “That’s weird.”

“
Not much weird about it. I think they just couldn’t afford it,” he said in a nonchalant tone.

Reed pulled into
our destination and I didn’t have a chance to ask more questions, but I would later. I wouldn’t drop the subject that easily.

The car lot sat at the corner of two busy streets.
Melody had been right, the place looked like a castle and a federal-style home had had a baby. Only problem was that the two didn’t look good together.

Black
iron bars covered the windows and a fake tower had obviously been added on the side of the once-lovely home. Stone had been added to the façade. I knew that underneath that was the beautiful original masonry work. It was a shame to see the house changed so drastically. I hadn’t seen it in its original condition, but I knew that this was a match that didn’t go well together. The place stuck out like a giant medieval sore thumb.

All different makes and models of used cars filled the lot. Reed had a hard time finding an empty spot to park the car.
Not another vehicle would fit into the space. All the cars would have to be rearranged to get to others. The parking arrangement was like an intricate puzzle that probably only the owner of the place could solve.

A
s soon as Reed and I hopped out of the car, a salesman swiftly approached. He had a bounce in his step as if he’d just downed several energy shots. I hated to say he was the clichéd image that came to mind when you thought of a car salesman, but he had the persona down to a T. His dark hair was slicked back against his head and he wore black slacks with matching shoes so polished that I almost saw my reflection. The sleeves on his white button-down shirt were rolled up to his elbows and his bright green and white polka dot tie screamed for everyone to take notice. Since we were the only people on the lot, I sensed he was eager for a sale.

Befor
e the salesman had a chance to speak, another car pulled up, screeching to a halt only a few inches from the man. Reed pulled me closer to him. The driver of the car jumped out and stomped over to the car salesman, stopping just inches from his face. The angry man wore ripped jeans and a too-tight black T-shirt. His sand-colored hair fell to his shoulders in waves and his skin was tan as if he’d spent a lot of time in the sun.

“I need to talk with you,” the man
demanded.

“
I’m with customers right now. We can talk later.” The salesman had an Irish accent that I hadn’t expected. He looked at us and gave a wide fake smile.

“
You’ve put me off enough and now I want my money.” The man’s fists were clenched by his sides.

The salesman shifted from foot to foot.
“I don’t have your money right now.”

“
Well, I guess I’ll have to take it out of your ass.” He invaded even more of the salesman’s space, if that was even possible.

Reed moved a few steps forward.
“Stan Kern, is that you?” Reed asked the angry man.

The guy
looked over with a frown. When he focused on Reed’s face, the frown disappeared and was replaced with a smile. “Well, if it isn’t Reed O’Hara. When the hell did you get back in town?”

I glanced over at the salesman and he looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. At least Reed had caused a distraction and had gotten the guy to calm down. Reed and Stan shook hands.

“I just got back a few days ago. Stan, this is my girlfriend, Alabama Hargrove.” Reed touched my arm lightly.

“
Nice to meet you, Alabama.” He eyed me up and down.

I attempted a half-hearted smile
. “Pleased to meet you.”

The
meeting was a little awkward considering he was about to clobber the salesman.

“
Sorry about this.” Stan looked at the salesman and frowned. “I’ll expect my money tomorrow.” He pointed at the salesman.

The salesm
an cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve got a few things going on…,” he said in a shaky voice.

“I don’
t want to hear your excuses. Pay up or you’ll be sorry.” Stan pointed at him.

The glare in Stan’s eyes told me he was serious about that threat. Reed cleared his throat and Stan slowly turned to look at us.

“So, um, Stan, what are you doing nowadays?” Reed interrupted, trying to distract Stan from his threats.

“
I’m still a contractor.” Stan cast a glance toward the salesman, then pulled out his card and handed it to Reed. “Give me a call,” Stan said.

Every word out of Stan’s mouth seemed more like a command than general conversation. He wasn’t much for pleasantries obviously.

I wasn’t sure what the men’s argument had been about, but there was clearly some bad blood there. I was just thankful Stan hadn’t pulled out a gun or knife. I’d hate to have to pummel the guy with my giant purse, but I would if need be.

Reed t
ook the card, glanced at it. Stan plastered a smile on his face as he looked at me. I forced the sides of my mouth to move upward. I’d be nice even though my skin crawled when this guy looked at me.

“
We’ll get together before you leave,” Stan stated.

Reed nodded and stuffed the card into his pocket.
“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll give you a call.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the guy, but if Reed was friends w
ith him I guessed that he must be okay. Stan stomped back to his car. The door on his green Dodge moaned as he swung it open and then hopped behind the wheel. Yes, something about the guy definitely rubbed me the wrong way. I wasn’t sure if it was his voice, his actions, or just the all-around bad vibe he put off. Did the salesman really owe him money? Unless he wanted serious bodily harm, he should probably pay up.

Chapter Seven

Reed and I
looked at the salesman, who plastered a smile across his face. “I’m terribly sorry about that.”

“That’s quite all right
,” I said.

“
Welcome to Millerton Quality Used Cars. What can I do for you folks?” he asked as if nothing strange had just happened.

I guessed he had the philosophy that if he ignored something it would go away.

The man continued before we had a chance to answer. “Looking for a car? I have the best deals in town.” He waved his arms through the air in a grand motion. “I’m Gordon Millerton and I own this car lot. I’ll give you a deal you can’t turn down.” He took a business card from his pocket and handed it toward Reed.

I spoke up before Gordon Millerton
got too carried away. I didn’t want Reed driving away in a new truck. The last thing we needed was a lemon.

I waved my hands to catch his attention.
“We’re not looking for a car.”

“
A truck? I have several on sale right now.” He gestured and looked around the lot, hoping our eyes would follow.

I shook my head.
“No, we’re not here to buy a vehicle.”

A scowl spread across his face. He didn’t look so friendly now.

“Well, I’m not interested in anything you have to sell.” He turned around and started walking back toward the ‘castle’ house.

I looked at Reed and he shook his head.
“What a great guy. Come on, Alabama. I doubt we’ll be able to talk to him about the house. He’s obviously a jackass. No wonder Stan was mad at him.”

“
No, wait, let me talk to him. When he finds out we may want to buy something else I’m sure he’ll change his tune.” I hurried toward the man. “Excuse me, Mr. Millerton, but we’re here to talk to you about the McKeeley Plantation.” I thought I’d have to tackle the guy to catch his attention

“
Oh, another one worried about what I’m going to do to the place, huh? Well, it’s none of your business.” He waved me off.

I continued to chase the man
as he hurried toward the building. “No, I wondered if you’d be interested in selling the house? Is it for sale?”

He stopped, turned around
, and looked at me. A big smile spread across his face. He was a true salesman. “I’m so sorry. I get a lot of harassment because of what I did to this house.” He pointed toward the building.

I nodded, but didn’t tell him that I thought his creation was
butt-ugly and the harassment somewhat justified. “That’s okay. I understand.”

Reed had walked up behind me.

The man looked from me to Reed. “I’d be willing to sell the plantation for the right price.”

By the gleam in his eyes, I could tell that he had a high dollar amount in mind.

“Come on in and we can discuss it.” He motioned over his shoulder.

I smiled at
Reed as he followed me up the stairs. “What do you think?” I whispered.

“I think he’s nuts,”
Reed answered.

Well, yeah, that was pretty obvious.

We followed Gordon up the old stone steps toward the building. I expected to see remnants of a historic home but almost everything appeared to be new.
What looked like stumps from rose bushes lined the stone path toward the home.
My gosh.
Had he even destroyed those?

The old doors had been replaced with new fake wooden ones. The f
loor was now carpet. I hoped he’d just covered the old hardwoods that had probably been there rather than ripped them out. Very little hints of the grand home it once was remained. The inside had hints of the grand home it had once been. Too bad it was buried under this man’s weird designs. To each their own, but it was a shame to see the house changed so much. If he’d wanted a castle then why hadn’t he built a new one? Maybe he’d wanted this prime location to sell his cars. I guessed the historical society was lucky that he hadn’t torn the house completely down.

His office was painted in a dark burgundy color
, like the shade of those awful pickled beets my mother always ate, and a metal of armor stood sentinel in the corner of the room. A large metal desk took up most of the space in the middle of the room. Files littered the top. It didn’t look as if he followed a strict filing system. Didn’t Melody say he was her boss? Was she the accountant? Or did she sell cars?

“
Please have a seat.” He gestured toward the two metal chairs in front of his desk.

“Thank you,”
I said, as I took a seat. “My name is Reed O’ Hara and this is Alabama Hargrove.” Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I mean, this is Reed and I’m Alabama.”

“
Nice to meet you folks,” he said as he shook Reed’s hand and winked at me.

I glanced around the space. He had framed photos of different castles. What else
, right? Why was I not surprised? This guy was obsessed.

“So what’s this about the
McKeeley place?” he asked.

“Well, we’re interested in the place.” I looked at Reed to see if he was backing me up on that statement.

“
I must admit I’m a little shocked that you showed up now. It’s quite a coincidence. I’ve been thinking about selling the house.” He folded his hands together and placed them on top the desk. “The place is more than I have time to take on right now. I bought another house in addition to this one and the plantation. I just don’t have time to work on all of them. I like to oversee all the work to make sure it’s done correctly, so you can imagine how time-consuming that can be.” His accent was more apparent the more he spoke.

“That’s understandable. So you’
re interested in selling the place?” Reed asked.

“Yes, I’
ll let it go for the right price.” He looked from me to Reed.

“How much?”
I blurted out.

Reed glared at me. It wasn’t like that wasn’
t a valid question though. Would it really be that easy? They always said if it seemed too good to be true, then it probably was. Gordon told us the price and surprisingly it was less than I’d expected.

I coul
dn’t believe he’d given us an amount that I thought was fair. It was like fate. I’d stumbled upon this house and now this crazy guy wanted to sell it. I had to buy the place now. That was like a sign or something. But why was he selling it for so little? There had to be a catch.

“
It needs a lot of work. Have you been by to look at the place?” He gave a pitying smile.

Did he realize he was lowering the price every time he said something like that?
I wanted to play it cool so he wouldn’t see how excited I was about the house.

“
Yes, we stumbled on it when our car broke down. We’re not from around here. Well, he is originally.” I pointed toward Reed.