Chapter 4
Luke
The soft thuds of car doors closing echoed around me as I got out of my truck and met my crew outside the old antique store beside The Cozy Cup.
Taking a sip from my steaming travel mug filled with coffee so strong it could strip the ancient varnish off the banister inside, I nodded to my foreman, Kado Strayer. “Morning.”
“Hey, bossman.” Kado gave a quick smile of greeting, then turned and took a demo fork from the back of his truck. “You ready to knock down a few walls?”
I chuckled. “We have to cart out a bunch of junk first.” Saturday, Mina called and left a message, saying that the old owner shoved all his inventory downstairs rather than getting rid of it. She wanted it all gone.
I had a plan for it all, though. Since what was downstairs didn’t impact demolition, it could stay for now. Once we started cleaning up the debris, I’d send some of the crew down with a couple of hand trucks and have them cart it all up.
Heading toward the door, I shifted the tablet in my hand under my arm, then took the key from my pocket as Kado and the others filed in behind me. “Not all of it goes in the dumpster.” Inserting the key, I twisted the knob and let us inside, flipping on the lights.
Mina also emailed me a list of the items upstairs she wanted to set out front for sale. And to make it extra easy on us, she marked them with blue sticky notes.
A man had to love a woman who was that organized. It made this process so much easier.
“Anything marked with a blue sticky note goes out front. The owner said she’s having a sidewalk sale.” I took a quick glance around the back room. It was completely empty except for a small card table by the door. That had a small sign on it that said to leave it there.
“Got it.” Kado waved his demo fork. “Let’s go, guys.”
I set my coffee on the table, then went back out to my truck to get a can of spray paint. While the guys toted the displays and other junk out, I planned to mark the areas that needed demoing.
Finding what I wanted in the bed box on my truck, I went back inside, bypassing the back room except for the small counter and shelving unit fixed to the wall by the stairs.
Out in the main store, I woke up my tablet and pulled up the building plans, and started marking walls with bright green paint.
“Are we taking out the floors too?” Kado called.
I glanced over. “Yes.” Mina wanted the same floor throughout. The Cozy Cup floors were going, too, once we broke through the connecting wall.
Kado gave me a thumbs up and immediately dragged a heavy shelving unit across the floor, no doubt leaving scratches in the wood.
I rolled my eyes, a sardonic tilt lifting one side of my mouth. At least he asked first.
Marking the walls didn’t take me long. Not many were staying. So, once I finished and returned the paint to my truck, I grabbed a sledgehammer, some eye protection, and my gloves and set to work.
The cabinets on the one wall in the back room were the first to go. In minutes, they lay in splintered pieces on the floor. The long counter and cabinet unit needed to be removed as well, but I decided to leave it for later. It wasn’t in the way, and we could use it to put things on for now.
Using my foot, I nudged the biggest pieces of the ruined cabinets to the side so the guys could carry things through to the dumpster out back.
With that done, I found a screwdriver and popped the hinges out on the swinging doors that separated the back room from the front of the store. The doors would eventually be replaced with something that fit the café’s theme. Right now, they were just in the way.
Hefting the old ones onto my shoulder, I took them out and tossed them in the dumpster, the wood making a satisfying thwack-thump as it hit the hard steel.
Dirt and wood crunched under my boots as I walked back inside. Snagging my sledgehammer, I walked unimpeded through the doorway and turned right as I lifted my dust mask from around my neck and covered my face. This wall had water damage, and I wanted to see where it was coming from.
My first swing cracked the plaster and sent a cloud of dust rising. Small bits of wall broke off, dropping to the floor with a soft skitter.
I hit it again, moving over slightly. The first time, I hit the stud behind the plaster.
This time, my hammer went through. I yanked down, pulling more wall with the hammerhead as I pulled it out.
“That looks like fun. Can I try?”
I paused, hammer raised for another hit, at the sound of the feminine voice coming from behind me. Lowering the hammer, I glanced over my shoulder to see Mina. “Hey. Good morning.”
She smiled, sending that same jolt of awareness through my body that she did last week.
I willed my body not to react.
This job would last an eternity if I couldn’t get that feeling under control.
“Can I try?” She nodded toward the wall.
“You want to demo?” I glanced at the hole I made.
“Yes. Not the whole place, obviously.” She fluttered a hand at the cavernous space. “But I’d like to do a little.”
Lifting a shoulder, I took off my safety glasses and held them out. “Sure. I don’t have an extra mask on me. I could probably find one if you want, though.”
“This is fine.” She sent me a sheepish smile. “I ducked out during a lull in the rush to see the progress. Then I saw you smashing the wall.” She shrugged. “It looked like fun.” Taking the glasses, she slipped them onto her face.
I grinned behind my mask, making the corners of my eyes crinkle. “It is. Best part of construction. Do you want my gloves?” I held up a hand.
“No. They won’t fit and will probably just make it harder for me to hold the hammer.”
“Good point.” Passing her the sledgehammer, I stepped back, then swept a hand toward the wall. “Have at it.”
Mina shuffled forward and raised the twelve-pound sledge. I crossed my arms, curious if she’d actually be able to swing it with enough power to break through the plaster.
But I shouldn’t have doubted her. The woman took a baseball player’s batting stance and swung for the fence. A hole appeared beside the one I’d been working on.
“Nice hit.”
She tossed me a saucy smile. “Thanks. I like baseball.” Winding up, she took another swing, widening her hole. After a couple more whacks, she had a sizeable opening.
Stepping closer, she peered inside.
“You see any water damage in there?” I asked, moving in behind her.
“Um… there’s some plastic.” A furrow wrinkled her brow.
“Plastic?” I dug in my pocket for my phone and flipped on the flashlight. “There shouldn’t be any plastic in the wall.”
One slight shoulder bobbed. “That’s what I see. Shine your light in there.” She pointed at the hole.
I did as she asked, but from my vantage point, I couldn’t see anything.
With a hum, she stepped back a bit and jabbed at the plaster with the hammer, breaking it away to widen the hole.
Now I could see the edge of yellowed plastic.
“Maybe it’s insulation?” Mina said.
“It’s weird insulation, if so. These old buildings, they typically used newspaper or sawdust. It’s more likely there was a leak, and rather than fixing it, they put the plastic in to keep it from ruining the walls and floor.
Do you see any water collected?” I angled the light a little higher so she could peer inside.
Mina leaned in. Raising a hand, she grasped the edge of the plastic, shifting it.
Her scream caught me off guard.
So did her lurch backward. Her back hit my chest, and she stepped on my foot as she scrambled away from the wall.
I shot a hand out to steady her as she stumbled off the steel-toe of my boot. “Why are you screaming?” Did she see a dead mouse or something?
With eyes so wide I could see white all the way around her brilliant blue irises, she pointed at the wall with a trembling finger. “Eyes. Empty. A-a-a…” Her voice trailed off.
“Eyes? What? Is there a dead animal in there?” That wouldn’t surprise me. If water could get in, so could vermin.
A mirthless laugh slid free of her mouth, and she shook her head.
I waited a moment for her to explain, but she didn’t. Her breathing increased as she muttered, “Oh my God,” under her breath over and over.
Concerned now, I made sure she was steady on her feet before I released her and moved to the hole. Shining my light inside, I shifted the plastic.
My stomach did a flip, threatening to eject my breakfast.
Jerking my hand back, I straightened. “Holy shit!”
Peeking out from the plastic, the black voids of a human skull’s sightless eyes stared back.