Chapter 14
Bess
A new day, a new attitude.
That’s my resolve this morning.
Yes, I have a gigantic bump in my road, but I’ve battled and beat worse problems. Why am I letting this current situation get the best of me? I’m resilient, I think I’ve proven that, and I have too much going for me to roll over and play dead. That’s simply not my style.
I need to keep busy, tackling issues as they come up one by one, instead of trying to solve everything all at once.
Besides, I have my best friend’s wedding to help plan, and her baby to welcome a few months after that. I want to look forward to that. Plus, there is this thing with Hugo to explore, and from what I could tell yesterday afternoon, there’s quite a bit of enticing real estate to cover.
It’s amazing how different the world can look after a decent night of sleep.
I caved last night, and took one of the pills Dana prescribed. It knocked me right out and I woke up refreshed and with a more positive perspective.
After a quick shower, I checked my phone to find a message from my insurance company, confirming they’re sending out an adjuster this morning. My plan is to meet him at Strange Brew after I grab a quick bite downstairs.
“Going out?” Doug asks when I walk into the dining room with my coat over my arm.
“Yep, I’m running some errands today. Plan to meet the insurance guy at the coffee shop shortly, and hope…” I cross my fingers, “…I’ll be able to get into my apartment to start cleaning up.”
“Will you be staying there?”
“Oh, that would be amazing, but I’m not sure I can get things in order that soon. Don’t get me wrong,” I quickly add, realizing that might not have sounded very grateful. “I love staying here—the room is beautiful, the bed is comfy, you guys are amazing—but I miss my things and my dog.”
“No need to explain.” He smiles as he pours me a coffee. “I completely understand. But know you are more than welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. Hey—” I suddenly shift gears when a thought occurs to me. “You do weddings here from time to time, right?”
“Occasionally. We can’t really facilitate bigger events, so we don’t get a ton of interest from outside of Silence. It’s mostly locals who know the place.”
I don’t really know what Savvy and Nate envision for their wedding, or whether they already have a place in mind, but I can’t imagine they’d be looking at doing something big and elaborate on such short notice, and it can’t hurt to ask.
“Just as a general inquiry; what is your availability this coming June?”
“As in, this year?”
I scrunch my nose. “Yeah.”
“Yours?” he asks, a twinkle in his eyes. “I happened to see that handsome lawman come out of your room yesterday.”
Damn blush, I can feel it crawling up my cheeks.
“I’m asking for a friend. Honestly,” I add for emphasis, when he slowly pulls up an eyebrow. “I’m just doing some groundwork here. I haven’t had a chance to sit down with her and go over what she might want.”
“Well, from memory, I don’t think we have anything substantial scheduled for June, but let me look into that and I can let you know.”
While I eat my breakfast, I glance out of the dining room’s French doors.
This place would be perfect for a wedding.
The Carriage House has a large stone patio surrounded by a neatly trimmed boxwood hedge, a few Japanese maples—those will look fabulous in June since they leaf out early in the season—and a beautiful garden with roses and rhododendrons beyond. All of it should be in bloom.
A simple wedding; I envision the ceremony here in the dining room, the ornate fireplace would serve as a perfect backdrop for the couple.
Those French doors would be wide open to the patio where high tea could be served in lieu of a full sit-down dinner.
While the guests were outside eating, we could clear the dining room down to the beautiful wooden floors for a little dancing after.
I can see it all.
I’m not a fan of the insurance adjuster.
The grumpy man was barely able to acknowledge me when I met him outside the coffee shop, yet as soon as Emmet shows up, he’s suddenly Mr. Cheerful.
I’d almost forgotten to let Savvy or Hugo know I was coming here. I called from the car but was unable to connect with either of them, so I left each a message. Knowing they’d have a shit fit if I came on my own, I got a hold of Emmet, who was thankfully available to meet me here.
“Luckily it didn’t spread up here, but this apartment definitely needs remedial cleaning. Here’s the name of a company I’ve dealt with before that specializes in this kind of work.”
The adjuster hands Emmet a business card. The guy has been addressing Emmet the entire time on our walk-through, and it is starting to get on my nerves in a big way. I’ve held on to this morning’s good vibe as long as I could, but at this point it’s rapidly eroding.
“I’ll take that, thank you,” I intervene sharply, snatching the card from the older man’s fingers. “Since this is my apartment, my business, and my name on your policy that my money pays for,” I remind him.
I’ve clearly shocked him; he looks like he just bit into a lemon and doesn’t particularly enjoy the flavor.
“Of course,” he concedes primly before finishing up his inspection in silence.
Maybe it would’ve been better to bite my tongue and let his dismissive treatment of me slide. The reality is, I need this man to sign off on my insurance claim, so I can start repairs.
When we get back downstairs to the coffee shop, he pointedly turns to me.
“This area too is a matter of remedial cleaning, but obviously the kitchen is of most concern. I will email you my detailed findings once I have them written up.”
“Can I at least get this company to start upstairs?” I ask, waving the card he provided.
“Since all of this belongs to you, you can do whatever you like,” he says in a disingenuous tone. “But you would have to finance it out of pocket, since the decision on your insurance claim can’t be finalized until law enforcement has finished their investigation.”
I want to slap the superior smirk off his face and have to shove my balled fists in the pockets of my coat. He’s enjoying this.
Since I don’t want to give him anything else to gloat about, I muster up a smile of my own.
“Excellent. I look forward to hearing from you,” I manage.
But the moment he walks out the front door, I deflate like a balloon, plopping down on the closest chair.
Out of pocket? I have enough in my business account to pay the mortgage, keep the lights and heat on, and make sure my employees get paid for the coming month, but without revenue, there isn’t much more. I also have a little tucked away in a 401K, but that only goes so far.
“Damn, that doesn’t sound too promising,” Emmet observes.
“It’s not.”
Hopes I might open back up for business any time soon seem dashed.
So much for my new bright and shiny attitude.
Hugo
“Any progress on those fires?”
Don Merrick, mayor of Silence, is standing in the doorway of my office.
Immediately I feel my blood pressure rise.
I already don’t like the man, but he really pisses me off when he walks in here without so much as a hello and demands an update on one thing or another.
He seems to forget the sheriff is an elected official and the sheriff’s department is funded by the county.
It isn’t the town of Silence or its mayor who pays our salaries or controls our budget.
But Merrick still walks around like he owns the place.
Doesn’t even bother checking in at the front desk and barges right through.
He’s an arrogant, narcissistic dick, who won the mayoral election on a platform of pretty lies and bombastic promises.
There’s only one person Don Merrick cares about and that’s Don Merrick.
Savvy is much better handling the asshole.
She’s far more diplomatic than I have the patience to be.
Besides, I’m getting a headache from agonizing over the proposal I finally was able to send Savvy moments ago.
It’s for the county commission to justify the additional budget Savvy plans to ask for to cover the second investigator position she’d like to offer Tessa Androtti.
“You should check in with Sheriff Colter about any ongoing investigations,” I suggest, struggling for a civil tone.
“She’s not here,” he points out.
Something I was well aware of. She left forty-five minutes ago for an ultrasound appointment.
“Then I’m sure Brenda would be happy to take your message for when Sheriff Colter returns.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t work for me. I need you guys to put some muscle into that investigation. Get it solved so something can be done about those buildings. They’re an eyesore right on Main Street. It’s the first thing tourists see when they roll into town.”
I almost snort out loud. Sure, we get some tourists when the leaves are out and the salmon are running, but people who come here are generally interested in the outdoors and only come to town for a bite to eat or to get groceries.
Silence is hardly a must-stop on Tripadvisor’s list of places to see.
I manage not to laugh in his face, but I can’t hold back a comment.
“Our main priority is keeping the people of Silence as well as their property safe, and to that end everyone is working as hard as they can.”
“Apparently, not everyone, since Sheriff Colter is nowhere to be found,” the prick has the audacity to say.
The temptation to knock the arrogant, pretentious bastard on his ass is great, but that won’t improve the cooperation between city hall and the sheriff’s department. Although, it would make me feel a heck of a lot better.
“Sheriff Colter is probably putting in more hours than anyone else. Definitely more than she should.”
“Ah yes, I heard she got herself pregnant.” He says it like it’s a point of shame, something dirty. “Hardly appropriate for someone upholding the office of Sheriff of Edwards County, but that’s what the people voted for.”