‘It’s alright Philippa,’ a deep calm voice intruded, ‘I have a few minutes.’
Ava looked across and got her first look at Dennis Pearson and unlike Baz, he actually looked like a lawyer with his carefully parted salt and pepper hair, his neatly groomed beard and well-tailored dark blue suit.
‘Ava,’ he crossed the room and held out a hand, ‘it’s nice to finally meet you.’
‘Thanks,’ she shook his hand. ‘Sorry about Bailey, it really is too hot to leave her in the car.’
‘It’s no problem,’ he waved his hand. ‘Why don’t you both come on back to my office, Philippa is a little uneasy around large dogs.’
‘Sorry,’ Ava muttered contritely as she passed by his flustered assistant. As he closed the door to his office, she caught a glimpse of the small woman as she flopped back into her chair, her hand pressed to her rather ample, heaving bosom.
‘What can I do for you Ava?’
She watched as he retrieved a bottle of water from his desk drawer. He set an empty coffee mug down on the floor beside Bailey and filled the cup so she could drink. Bailey, being the unladylike slob that she was, simply stuck her nose in the cup, following it as it moved slowly across the floor, causing the water to lap up and over the sides like a miniature tsunami and making a complete mess of his pristine floor.
‘Sorry,’ Ava winced.
‘It’s alright,’ he chuckled good naturally, ‘I have dogs of my own.’
‘Oh?’
‘Labradors,’ he grinned, ‘big, bouncy and boisterous, so compared to my heathens she’s actually very well behaved. German Shepherd?’
‘Yeah,’ Ava replied looking down at her dog who sat back on her haunches watching them, her long, wet pink tongue dripping slobber and water, ‘although given the size of her I sometimes wonder if she’s half werewolf.’
He laughed loudly.
‘You’ve just arrived on the island I assume?’
‘A few hours ago,’ she nodded, ‘I’ve been up to the house and had a quick look at the place. I met one of the realtors.’
‘Which one?’
‘Courtney Keller.’
‘Ah yes,’ he smiled in amusement, ‘she went to school with my daughter. She’s only just recently got her realtor’s license; it’s so new it still squeaks if she turns around too quickly.’
‘I think she was a little disappointed when she found out I already owned the house.’
‘I’m not surprised. Marv who owns the realtors has been trying to off load it since he took over the business from his daddy back in the late seventies. I believe he was offering a hefty bonus to anyone who could sell it. I expect Courtney was seeing dollar signs the minute you drove up.’
‘Something like that,’ Ava agreed, ‘she didn’t seem to happy when I told her to take it off the market.’
‘You’re not selling?’ he replied in surprise. ‘You’re going to keep it?’
‘I honestly don’t know yet,’ she shook her head, ‘but as we’ve already seen, it won’t sell in the condition it’s in now. So, I either have it rehabbed and flip it, I fix it up and live in it or I bulldoze it to the ground and sell the land.’
‘Is the last a serious contender?’
‘What the bulldozing part?’
He nodded.
‘No,’ she replied after a moment, ‘it’s such an old house and although it’s in a bit of a state you can see how beautiful it must have looked in its glory days. Although it would be easier and infinitely cheaper, I can’t bring myself to knock it down, not unless it’s too far gone to save it.’
‘I see,’ he leaned back in his chair and studied her. ‘You look a little like her you know.’
‘Who?’
‘Caroline,’ he answered simply.
It was a jolt to hear her mother called by her birth name, she had only ever known her as Serenity.
‘You knew my mom?’
‘I did, although I was a few years older, we went to school together,’ he told her softly. He wasn’t going to tell her that everyone knew who the Wallaces were because of their wealth and connection to the Lynch House. ‘I suspect you favor your father more, but I can see a little of her in your features,’ he continued. ‘She always was a free spirit, the island never sat well on her. I wasn’t surprised when she left as soon as she turned eighteen.’
‘Yeah, sounds like mom alright,’ Ava replied, ‘she was never big on responsibility.’
He heard a tiny trace of bitterness coloring her tone, but he politely chose not to mention it.
‘Anyway,’ Ava changed the subject, ‘Courtney mentioned you have the keys to the house?’
He leaned back studying her for a moment longer before opening one of his desk drawers and retrieving an old, heavy bunch of ancient looking keys.
‘Why do you have them?’ she asked curiously, ‘I just would’ve thought the realtors….’
‘We thought it best that I hang on to them,’ he laid the keys on the desk in front of her. ‘There have been several break-ins over the years, kids mostly scaring themselves with ghost stories and dares.’
‘Ghost stories?’
‘Like any house of that kind of age,’ he shrugged, ‘it’s primed for attracting gossip and rumors. I wouldn’t pay any attention, but I will warn you the keys won’t do you much good. Other than the padlocks for the safety fences we had to board up the entire ground floor after…’
‘After what?’ her eyes narrowed.
‘It isn’t safe,’ he hedged around her question as he reached for a yellow legal pad and picked up a pen. ‘I can’t guarantee what state the interior is in, you shouldn’t go in until it’s been thoroughly checked and declared structurally sound. Here’s the number of a local construction business, its family run, has an excellent reputation. They take care of pretty much the whole island and although they’re based here, they do take on work over on the mainland too, so if you do decide to fix up the house, they’re the ones you need to speak with.’
‘Thanks,’ she reached out and took the paper as he folded it and handed it over.
‘Sorry to cut this short,’ he looked down at his watch, ‘but I do have another appointment.’
‘Not at all,’ she scooped up the keys and tucked the paper in the pocket of her jeans. ‘Thanks for your time.’
‘My pleasure,’ Dennis smiled, ‘make sure you stop by and let me know how things are going.’
‘I will.’
Giving him one last look, she opened the door and hurried through the office as quickly as possible before Philippa freaked out again.
Once back in her truck she pulled out the paper Dennis had handed her and read his neat scrawl. Not only had he given her the name and number of the construction business but also instructions on how to get there.
She could’ve blamed the fact that she spent the next hour driving around in circles on the fact she’d been reading his map upside down, or the fact that none of the roads were marked clearly, but what the hell, it was a pleasant enough drive and she certainly got to see more of the island and the more she saw, the more she liked.