“Because they couldn’t sell. They decided they would go and rehab it themselves, then decided it was too costly. Now they’ll try and sell it again,” she snapped. “Honestly I really wish they’d just make up their mind and stick with it.”
“Well, it depends on whether they really want to sell or not,” he said, “but I can put in an offer.” He went on to give her an amount well below the asking price.
She gasped and said, “Are you trying to insult them?”
“Nope,” he said, “it’s worth that to me and not a penny more. Talk to them, see if they want anything written up,” he said, “but that’s my offer.”
With that, he ended the call. He chuckled because, as much as she didn’t like his offer, if she could make the deal happen, she’d like it very much because it still brought her a ton of money. But he wasn’t interested in the place unless he could get it at a price that allowed him to make a profit on it. With building costs going up, and supplies being a huge issue right now, absolutely no way would he pay more than he needed to for a building like that. And, if they’d had it on and off the market multiple times, then the sellers were willing to accept a lower price than they had in mind earlier—something this Realtor didn’t want to hear. Either way, he was prepared to let it go if he couldn’t get it for what he wanted. But, if he could, then he’d take it. Other than that, no way.
He cleaned up after his meal, then poured himself a glass of wine and made his way over to the couch, where he sat down to stare out at the beautiful view. He was tired after all the walking today, weary after having that number slam into his consciousness, and more upset than anything over that vision because he had thought his psychic events were a closed chapter of his life. He just wanted to relax. But it wasn’t to be.
When his phone rang again, he stared at it, pissed, because this time it was his ex-girlfriend. He refused to answer it, and, when he didn’t, a text came through.
Thank you again.
He rolled his eyes at that.
No way he was opening that door. He knew what she meant, in that he’d been instrumental in finding her nephew. She’d been derelict in her duty, and the boy had somehow slipped into the hands of a pedophile. At the same time, if Simon opened that door to Caitlin and even acknowledged her words, she would feel that she could contact him anytime. And she most definitely could not.
It was all water under the bridge, and it had taken a long time for her to get out of his life as it was. When he didn’t respond, another text came through.
At least you could acknowledge that you received my message.
He stared at it and wondered. “And why the hell should I?” he murmured out loud. Then another text came through.
I really am sorry. I treated you like shit, and I shouldn’t have.
He laughed at that. “You think?”
He got up, put on some music, and sat back down again, shutting off his phone. He liked an awful lot of technology, and one of the best ways to enjoy it was when it was time to shut it down. He closed his eyes and rested.
Chapter 2
Kate’s Tuesday Morning
Tuesday was arepeat of the day before. Time went by in a blur of cases and research. When Kate got some time, she’d gone back to the original drive-by case that Rodney had mentioned. She walked over to his desk with the file in her hand and said, “So a couple more similarities are here.”
He looked up at her in surprise. “What are we talking about?”
“The Chevy trucks and the drive-by cases.”
He frowned, his mind shifting gears, and said, “We’ve been busy since we talked about that last.”
And their desks were piled high. Plus, the detectives had added pressure to maintain the good press the department had just received for breaking up that pedophile ring. It was still in the media, still all over the news, and they were still being hounded by people for interviews.
“Similarities? Like what?” he asked.
“The same color,” she said, “aqua blue. That’s a fairly unusual color.”
He nodded. “Huh, I thought it was black.”
“According to what’s here,” she said, “it says aqua blue.”
“Interesting. Okay, so what else?”
“It didn’t have a bed liner, but it had hooks on the sides. Metal ones, likeTs coming up off the bed.”
He nodded. “Tie-down hooks?”