Horace’s lawyer, thought to hire someone to close up the house? Obviously not.
Jan swallowed and rummaged in the cupboards for some large garbage bags. She emptied everything from the refrigerator into one . Several casseroles that were probably gifts from neighbors were so encrusted with moldy, rotted food that she tossed the dishes along with the rotted food. She carried t he bag outside to the garbage can, but found it already overflowing with the bags she and Laura had taken there yesterday.
She called Kyle. “Can you give me the phone number of the garbage company? I think we need a dumpster instead of a can.”
“I’ll call them,” Kyle said. “We’ll need several dumpsters anyway, when we begin demolishing the house.”
“Don’t you use your own trucks for that? I mean, I saw trucks with your logo working on taking down the barn yesterday.”
“For some things, yes. Depending on the material, some of it goes to a different site for construction material, not to the regular garbage dump.”
“I see. Okay.”
She scrubbed down the ref rigerator , but no amount of scrubbing got rid of the smell. Setting a dish of baking soda inside, she closed it, giving up. Her ice chest would have to do.
Then she began going through the cupboards, throwing all the food that wasn’t canned. She hesitated over Esther’s large collection of spices, deciding to keep them for now, along with a few cans of food that she decided would be okay.
Her cell phone rang and her caller ID said it was Mr. Andrews.
“Hello,” Jan said. “You’re just the man I wanted to talk to.”
“Oh? I hope that means you’ll have dinner with me tonight,” he said, sounding pleased.
“No thanks , I have other plans . What I wanted to ask you is, why wasn’t this house properly closed after Uncle Horace died?”
“Huh? What do you mean, properly closed? I called the utilities and had them shut off. My assistant stopped there a couple times to be sure the house was locked and nothing taken.”
“Oh, right. How about emptying the refrigerator? Draining the water pipes properly so they didn’t freeze? Putting out insect repellant and mouse poison? ”
“But…well, I ’m a lawyer. I don’t know about stuff like that,” Mr. Andrews s puttered . “And you know it was weeks after Horace died before we were sure what would become of the property, so no one really knew who was in charge.”
“You wrote his will, didn’t you?” The weasel was trying to pass the buck. Jan’s throat tightened in fury. And he thought she’d want to date him? No way!
“Well, yes,” he admitted. “But that was ten years before he died and we couldn’t be sure it was his last will, you know?”
Jan swallowed, trying her best to keep her voice even and polite. “Shouldn’t you have assumed it was , unless and until it was proved otherwise?”
Mr. Andrews sighed. “In hindsight, yes, I believe you’re right. Has there been a problem? ”
Holding her temper, she described the mess she’d found and told him about the broken water pipes a nd the break-in a s well.
“I’m sorry to hear about all this, but you really shouldn’t blame me. I did what I thought was right,” he said.
Frustrated, she said goodbye and hung up.
Soon after talking to Mr. Andrews, Harry appeared at her door. He was a portly man in jeans and a red Tee shirt with the words , “Minnesota Twins” on it. His belt hung very low under his pot belly and his brown hair had a large bald spot on top. “Kyle says you need a new lock and for me to see if I can jerry-rig your water pipes so you can have water temporarily,” he said.
“Thanks, that would be great,” Jan said , showing him where the basement stairs were. “I didn’t see a problem up here, but Kyle says there is water all over the basement.”
“Should be a drain down there to take care of that,” Harry said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Jan went back to repacking the boxes she and Laura had
Jan swallowed and rummaged in the cupboards for some large garbage bags. She emptied everything from the refrigerator into one . Several casseroles that were probably gifts from neighbors were so encrusted with moldy, rotted food that she tossed the dishes along with the rotted food. She carried t he bag outside to the garbage can, but found it already overflowing with the bags she and Laura had taken there yesterday.
She called Kyle. “Can you give me the phone number of the garbage company? I think we need a dumpster instead of a can.”
“I’ll call them,” Kyle said. “We’ll need several dumpsters anyway, when we begin demolishing the house.”
“Don’t you use your own trucks for that? I mean, I saw trucks with your logo working on taking down the barn yesterday.”
“For some things, yes. Depending on the material, some of it goes to a different site for construction material, not to the regular garbage dump.”
“I see. Okay.”
She scrubbed down the ref rigerator , but no amount of scrubbing got rid of the smell. Setting a dish of baking soda inside, she closed it, giving up. Her ice chest would have to do.
Then she began going through the cupboards, throwing all the food that wasn’t canned. She hesitated over Esther’s large collection of spices, deciding to keep them for now, along with a few cans of food that she decided would be okay.
Her cell phone rang and her caller ID said it was Mr. Andrews.
“Hello,” Jan said. “You’re just the man I wanted to talk to.”
“Oh? I hope that means you’ll have dinner with me tonight,” he said, sounding pleased.
“No thanks , I have other plans . What I wanted to ask you is, why wasn’t this house properly closed after Uncle Horace died?”
“Huh? What do you mean, properly closed? I called the utilities and had them shut off. My assistant stopped there a couple times to be sure the house was locked and nothing taken.”
“Oh, right. How about emptying the refrigerator? Draining the water pipes properly so they didn’t freeze? Putting out insect repellant and mouse poison? ”
“But…well, I ’m a lawyer. I don’t know about stuff like that,” Mr. Andrews s puttered . “And you know it was weeks after Horace died before we were sure what would become of the property, so no one really knew who was in charge.”
“You wrote his will, didn’t you?” The weasel was trying to pass the buck. Jan’s throat tightened in fury. And he thought she’d want to date him? No way!
“Well, yes,” he admitted. “But that was ten years before he died and we couldn’t be sure it was his last will, you know?”
Jan swallowed, trying her best to keep her voice even and polite. “Shouldn’t you have assumed it was , unless and until it was proved otherwise?”
Mr. Andrews sighed. “In hindsight, yes, I believe you’re right. Has there been a problem? ”
Holding her temper, she described the mess she’d found and told him about the broken water pipes a nd the break-in a s well.
“I’m sorry to hear about all this, but you really shouldn’t blame me. I did what I thought was right,” he said.
Frustrated, she said goodbye and hung up.
Soon after talking to Mr. Andrews, Harry appeared at her door. He was a portly man in jeans and a red Tee shirt with the words , “Minnesota Twins” on it. His belt hung very low under his pot belly and his brown hair had a large bald spot on top. “Kyle says you need a new lock and for me to see if I can jerry-rig your water pipes so you can have water temporarily,” he said.
“Thanks, that would be great,” Jan said , showing him where the basement stairs were. “I didn’t see a problem up here, but Kyle says there is water all over the basement.”
“Should be a drain down there to take care of that,” Harry said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Jan went back to repacking the boxes she and Laura had
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