Chapter 1
“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” ~George Bernard Shaw~
When I drove past the old Miller place I was surprised to see a red sold indicator on the for sale sign. The ancient Victorian home had been on the market for so long I couldn’t remember a time that it didn’t have a for sale sign on the overgrown front lawn. No one wanted the house with the tales and suspicions of what had happened to Janine Miller. All I knew was that she’d disappeared some time back in the 1960’s along with her dog but that wasn’t what caught my flight of imagination. It was the dog, who, like my dogs, was a Bull Terrier. Not just any Bull Terrier, her dog was a Reward of Merit and international Champion stud dog and Gambler’s great, great, grandfather. By the time I arrived home, I was bursting with the news that the house had finally sold and with curiosity as to who had bought it.
I parked my van in our driveway beside a dinged and rusty green Dodge pick-up I didn’t recognize. I figured it was probably one of Sam’s cop friends visiting him. They often do since Sam had to leave the force last year after a gunshot wound to his back put him in a wheelchair.
“Sam, the Miller house is sold.” I called out to my husband when I entered the front door. Hearing no answer, I called again, “Sam, did you hear me?”
“I’m in the kitchen.”
“Someone bought the old Miller house. Can you imagine? I wonder what sort of idiot would buy that run down old house,” I said as I walked into the kitchen to find my cousin Russ sitting at the table with Sam.
Russ was dressed in ratty old jeans and a dirty T-shirt. Most people who know him as a cop don’t recognize him when he’s not in uniform. He grinned at me and said, “I guess I’m the sort of idiot.”
“You bought the house?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why in the world would you?” I flopped into the chair opposite him.
Russ picked up his cup of coffee and bobbed his head towards Sam. “I was just telling Sam about house flipping and how I think I can fix up the Miller place enough to sell it for a profit.”
“It sounds as though Russ can pull it off.” Sam said.
“When will you find the time?”
“Well, that’s why I stopped by to talk to Sam.”
Sam had the good grace to look at the ceiling and wait for my explosion. “Talk to Sam about what?”
***I have a page set aside for comments…if you wish to comment on this excerpt please put DB on the comment so I know which excerpt you are writing about.
Recent Comments