Dressed to Drill, page 11
Last weekend, we had shopped for all the other supplies the guys would need: beer, chips, dips, salsa, nuts, and cookies. They were set for the evening.
I poured another cup of coffee for each of us, then said, “I thought of something else I meant to tell you yesterday.”
Mac was stroking Tiger’s back and causing the lucky cat to purr loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. “Something to add to the Scooby-Doo game?”
I thought for a second. “Um, not really. It’s more to do with the ongoing horror that is Whitney Reid Gallagher.”
“Ah. Let’s hear it.”
I told him how Whitney had come screaming into the church, and when she saw Madeline crying, she accused me of hurting her. “And when Whitney heard that Sarah was dead, she went ballistic.” I shook my head and sat down again. “She was shrieking and moaning and crying, and of course, she was accusing me of causing Sarah’s death. She said, or rather shrieked, to Madeline, ‘I warned you that death follows her wherever she goes!’ ”
I had tried to imitate Whitney, and now I was developing a headache.
“Good God,” Mac muttered. “That woman is unhinged.”
“True.”
“I had other words in mind for her,” Mac admitted. “But that’s the cleanest I could manage.”
I gritted my teeth. “I wanted to pull out my hammer and whack her with it.”
“I’m sorry you have to put up with her.”
“Me too.” I sipped my coffee. “I was wondering what she was doing there, but apparently, she’s a friend of Madeline’s. And that’s just weird. I have no idea how the two of them got together.”
“That’s a puzzle,” Mac said. “You want me to find out?”
I laughed in surprise. “You’re too busy to bother with things like that.”
“You’re right. But I would love to figure out why she’s always showing up when you’re on a job.”
I frowned at him. “She does, doesn’t she?”
He shrugged. “Something to think about.”
I thought about it for a few seconds, then remembered another moment. “Listen to this. Something else happened between Whitney and Carla.”
“Carla? Really? What happened?”
“Well, first I have a disclaimer to make. I heard this secondhand because I went off with Eric to look at the murder scene.”
Mac nodded. “Understood.”
“So, according to Wade, Whitney was still whispering loudly to Madeline, and I guess Carla asked her to be quiet. Mainly because she was complaining about me. So that made Whitney mad, and she started accusing Carla of being my stooge.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I know,” I said. “So Carla told her to get out.”
“She probably didn’t take that too well.”
“No. Apparently that really triggered Whitney, and she started yelling and swearing and stomping her stupid stilettos. And finally Carla shouted, “Show some respect, you heathen. You’re in a damn church!”
Mac laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. And honestly, I’ve never seen Carla get pushy or angry or anything. She’s totally calm. The most gracious woman I know.”
“That’s a good description of her,” Mac said.
“Yeah. But lately she’s been getting in Whitney’s face more and more. Carla told me that the change started to happen when her little girl Keely ended up in the same class with one of Whitney’s boys.”
“Uh-oh,” Mac said. “I’ve met Keely. She’s a sweetheart.”
“She is, and she doesn’t put up with troublemakers.”
“I almost hate to ask. Did it get ugly?”
“Oh yes, it got ugly. But only because Whitney was one of the mothers in the classroom that day, and she stuck her stupid nose into it.”
Mac rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got to have details.”
I laughed. “Okay, so Whitney’s son Tyler was taunting Keely, and he just wouldn’t stop. He was being a little jerk, probably because his mother was there, and he thought he could get away with murder.”
“Did Keely clean his clock?”
“Only in the most gracious way, since she’s Carla’s daughter. She spoke very quietly and firmly to little Tyler, telling him that if he didn’t stop, she would have to put him in his place.”
“That’s it? That’s all she said?”
“That’s all she had to say,” I said. “Because she’s the princess of calm. But Tyler kept giving her grief, and Keely told him he needed a time-out. And that’s when Whitney turned to Keely and said, ‘Why, you little witch. Don’t you tell my son what to do. Apologize right now.’ ”
Mac’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Whitney said that to Keely?”
“Yup. And then Tyler turns to his mother and says, ‘Mommy, you’re being unfair.’ And Whitney tells him to shut up.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. So Tyler shakes his finger at his mother and says, ‘Mommy, you’re being a bully. You have to go to the principal’s office.’ ”
“Uh, did Whitney turn on her own kid?” Mac wondered.
“Of course,” I said, laughing. “Whitney repeats, ‘Shut up, Tyler.’ So then Tyler and Keely both turn to their teacher, who says very politely, ‘Mrs. Gallagher, we have a zero tolerance policy for that kind of behavior in this classroom, so you’ll have to wait in the hall.’ ”
“Go, teacher!” Mac said.
At his raised fist, I laughed again. “But then Whitney says to the teacher, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ And the teacher says, ‘Ma’am, you realize you’re getting off easy, don’t you? I could send you to the principal’s office.’ ”
“No way!” Mac said.
“Yes way,” I said. “And now all the kids are chanting, ‘Send her! Send her!’ ”
Mac pounded the table. “I love it.”
“And get this,” I said. “When Carla came to pick up Keely that afternoon, the teacher was the one who told her the whole story.”
Mac grinned. “Gotta love a teacher who’s on the side of the angels.”
His words made me smile. “Yes, you do.”
* * *
* * *
An hour later, I was upstairs getting dressed for work when I realized I really didn’t have any work to go to. I sat down on the edge of the bed and thought about it. I could go up to the Gables and check on the work we’d done for Jane’s hotel. Or I could go up to the lighthouse and make sure everything was going well with my team up there. Or . . .
“Shoot,” I muttered. I was all geared up to work on the church renovation. But that was impossible.
“What’s wrong?” Mac said when he walked into the bedroom.
“I’m not sure where to go today. I mean, I have plenty of choices, but I was all psyched up to start the church project. I completely forgot that the church is now a crime scene.”
“Why don’t you come with me to Homefront?”
I gazed up at him. “What’s going on there today?”
He gave a casual shrug. “There’s some talk about building more tiny homes.”
“Seriously?” I was excited to hear it.
“Yeah,” he said, then grinned. “Actually it’s more than just talk. The property still has enough space, and we have a whole bunch of vets on a waiting list hoping to move in as soon as someone else moves out. But nobody has moved out. I mean, why would they? Homefront is so nice, and the community center offers just about everything a veteran—or anybody, really—would need to live a good, healthy life. So we made the decision to add on some more houses.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
He sat down next to me and draped his arm across my shoulder. “Shannon, you’ve been inundated with details on getting the church renovation up and running, and I know it’s going to be an important new addition to the town. I just figured I’d wait to mention it until we had a firm plan in place. But believe me, I’m not about to start this new addition to Homefront without you.”
I believed him. “When would you want to start building?”
“It would probably take two to three months to get it going. Depends on how quickly we can have the equipment and materials delivered. I’d love to get your input on that. I remember you and your guys had a pretty well-oiled machine putting those homes together.”
“That’s for sure.” My guys and I had worked it to the point where we’d been able to build five tiny homes a week from start to finish. And they were beautiful, if I do say so myself.
“So, I thought that once you got the church project going, you might be able to send a few of the guys over to Homefront, along with Carla or Wade. And we could get started on twenty new homes.”
“Twenty?” I jumped up from the bed. “That’s fantastic.”
He smiled broadly as he stood and then slipped on a lightweight denim jacket. “Yeah, we’re all pretty excited about it. We’re just working out the details.”
“Just give me ten minutes to get ready, and I’ll go to your meeting with you. Okay?”
He leaned over and kissed me. “It’s better than okay.”
Chapter Eight
Driving onto the Homefront property always gave me chills in the best possible way. I had been working in construction most of my life, and when I looked around Lighthouse Cove in almost any direction, I could see my work and be proud of what my team and I had accomplished. In my head, I often ran my own personal highlight reel, which might sound a little crazy, but it helped to look at my completed projects to verify that we were doing a good job.
One that I was particularly proud of was Mac’s lighthouse mansion, which I’d begun refurbishing shortly after he moved to town. There was the new barn and Ecosphere at Rafe and Marigold’s farm. And who didn’t love Jane’s beautiful new luxury hotel and restaurant at the Gables? Of course, I was truly pleased that my friend Emily had hired me to renovate her haunted house. And the restoration of the old lighthouse north of town was something we’d been excited to take on.
Added to those jobs, I had dozens of home makeovers and remodeling jobs throughout the town. But I had to admit that I was proudest of my participation in the building of the veterans’ village known as Homefront.
This was the sort of place that changed people’s lives for the better. And I wasn’t just referring to the veterans who lived here. Everyone who worked here or came to one of the workshops felt it, too. I had seen it happen before my eyes, and it was beyond inspiring to be a part of it.
Mac grabbed my hand and we walked into the community center together. It was heartening to see so much activity going on in this place.
The café was filled with people, some eating breakfast with neighbors, others sitting alone with a cup of coffee and a laptop. Some were writing or paying bills. Others were checking emails or simply sneaking a peek at the latest social media gossip.
Walking down the hall, we saw folks sitting in chairs, waiting for one of the many different counselors who were there to help with everything from mental health to job seeking to veterans’ benefits. There were a couple of guys waiting outside the door to the barbershop and another waiting for the nurse who came twice a week. The place was humming, and it gave me a warm feeling to know that I’d contributed to its overall success.
Our meeting with Vince, the community project manager, was short, sweet, and productive. Mac laid out the ideas that had come out of his meeting with the Homefront board of directors, which consisted of Mac and Eric and two other partners as well as Vince and two of his team members, along with a number of residents. One of the guiding principles of the board was that residents should be involved in the decision-making process. It was just one reason why the community was successful on so many levels.
Vince himself was a combat veteran who had been a commander in the army. All of the residents respected him because he was a wise, caring guy with a devilish sense of humor.
We talked about schedules and permits and equipment needed, along with a dozen other topics, including the proposed budget that twenty more houses would require.
We walked up the main road from the community center to the far edge of the property and checked out each of the short streets. There were ten tiny homes on each street, homes that my team and I had built. Then Vince pointed out the area where twenty new homes would be located. Since the property was terraced, we would add two additional levels and build ten houses on each.
Along one edge of the property, we had built a park with picnic benches and shade trees. Now I noticed that someone had constructed three raised beds and had planted lots of vegetables. Each bed was filled with lush and verdant leafy greens, along with tall tomato vines and a dozen different pepper plants. I noticed that they had set up a drip-line irrigation system that looked clean and efficient.
“Who started the vegetable garden?” I asked.
“One of the vets,” said Vince. “His name is Jerry, and he was a landscape architect in his former life. He got together with the cook in the café, and they set the whole thing up. The rule is that any of the vets who want to pick some veggies for their dinner are welcome to it. Naturally, the kitchen gets the most use out of it, and Jerry supervises the whole thing. He’s a really cool guy.”
“That’s so smart,” I said. “I’m impressed.”
“Shannon has a world-class garden on her property,” Mac boasted. “We’re always making salads and cooking all those fantastic vegetables she grows.”
“I’ve got to admit I was surprised,” Vince said. “But the guys are really into it, and the vegetables are growing like crazy.”
I nodded. “Our weather is conducive to a year-round growing season.”
“It’s great to see the vets take charge,” Mac said.
Vince grinned. “And it helps that we’ve added on some new cooking classes.”
“Now that’s brilliant,” I said.
As we strolled back down to the community center, and Mac and I prepared to leave, Vince said simply, “Good to see you guys again. Let’s talk later in the week and firm up the schedule to get this done.”
There were handshakes and good wishes, and then Mac and I drove off.
“He makes it all sound so easy,” I said.
Mac turned onto Blueberry Lane and headed for home. “That’s what I like about Vince. He’s always on the ball with everything that’s going on here. He’s smart and innovative, yet totally easygoing.”
“That’s the perfect combination of qualities for someone in that position.”
“Yeah,” he said, “I’m glad he’s in charge.”
When Mac drove into our driveway and parked, I grabbed my bag, then turned and looked at him. “What’s next on your agenda today?”
“I’m going to call the partners and let them know how the meeting with Vince went.”
“Why weren’t any of them here with you today?”
“Well, Eric seems to be busy trying to solve a murder.”
I gave him a wry look. “I heard about that.”
He grinned. “And Sam and Dave both told me to handle the meeting and give them the details later.”
Sam and Dave were Mac’s Navy SEAL buddies who had joined with Mac and Eric to form the Homefront partnership. They both lived within an hour’s drive of Lighthouse Cove, and they handled other things connected to the project, like advertising and marketing. But as far as feet on the ground went, they preferred to be silent partners.
As we slid out of the car, Mac turned my question back on me. “So what’s next on your agenda?”
“First, I’ll call Eric and see what’s going on. I’m going to try and convince him to let us work on the outside of the church for a few days. Then I thought I’d try to get together with Wade and Carla. Is it okay if I tell them about the plans for Homefront?”
“It’s fine,” he said slowly. “They’re your foremen, so they should know what’s coming up.”
“I hear a ‘but.’ ”
He chuckled. “But . . . maybe the three of you could keep the news to yourselves for a while, just until we actually go public.”
I smiled. “We can do that.”
In the kitchen, Mac made another pot of coffee. He took half of it up to his office above the garage. Once he was gone, I grabbed my phone and called Eric.
“Shannon,” he said. “What’s up?”
He sounded busy, so I didn’t waste any time. I explained that we had plenty of work we could do on the outside of the building for the next few days. “There are dozens of superficial cracks in the walls and on the front steps, so I’m hoping it’ll be okay to take care of some of them while you and your guys are working inside.”
He thought about it for a few seconds. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Just don’t step inside the church. Don’t open the doors. In fact, don’t even touch the doors.”
“We won’t do any of that,” I said easily, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Do me a favor,” Eric said. “Send me a text tomorrow when you get to the church so I’ll know you’re out there working.”
“I will. And one quick question. Do you have any idea how long we’ll be locked out?”
He paused, and I thought he might give me grief. Instead, he said, “Leo and our crew will need two to three days.”
“Okay. Thanks again, Eric.”
He ended the call.
* * *
* * *
An hour later, I met Wade and Carla at the pub and ordered a tuna sandwich and potato chips. Both of them ordered the cheeseburger and fries. Over iced tea and soft drinks, I gave them the news about the veterans’ village. They both reached for their tablets and started making notes.
