At Wick's End - Tim Myers [25]
“Let me grab my truck keys,” I said, “and I’ll take it right now.”
“Why don’t you take Belle’s truck? It’s yours now too.”
That certainly got my attention. “Are you telling me my great-aunt had a truck?”
Eve said, “In this business, you need one, believe me. We do more than just the shop, Harrison. There are street fairs, demonstrations, all sorts of times where you’ll be on the road representing At Wick’s End. Mr. Young should have mentioned it to you.”
“Where is this mystery truck?” I asked.
“Behind the building parked in Belle’s spot. I guess that’s yours too now.”
I pocketed the keys to my old Dodge Ram, a pickup truck on its last legs, and followed Eve outside, the zippered deposit bag tucked under my arm. There was a two-tone brown Ford pickup with a brown camper top over the long bed parked in back of the store. “Wow, she’s a beauty,” I said the second I saw it.
“It’s nearly ten years old, but Belle babied it,” Eve said as she handed me the keys. “Don’t forget, we bank with Micah’s Ridge Community Bank. None of those big corporate conglomerates for Belle. She believed in doing business with local folks whenever she could manage it.”
I nodded absently and unlocked the truck. There were running boards on the side, no doubt to help Belle step up into the cab. This was a luxury addition, with carpeting, automatic transmission, cruise control and even four-wheel drive. “Unbelievable. Belle was just full of surprises, wasn’t she?”
“More than you’ll ever know,” Eve said.
I started the engine, then said, “Can I drop you off anywhere?”
“No thank you. I walk whenever I can, and ride when I have to. Have a good evening, Harrison. I’ll see you in the morning.” As she started away, she stopped and turned back. “You did a fine job today.”
Before I could reply, she was gone.
I dropped the deposit off at the bank without any problems, and thought about taking the truck out for a spin, but ultimately decided I needed to get back to River’s Edge. I was discovering that having property involved more than just collecting the rent. It was more like being the mayor of a small town. Owning River’s Edge must have been perfect for Belle. Never the type to complain about being lonely, nonetheless I was sure that the varied group of tenants occupying space there was all the immediate family she really needed around her.
The one thing that kept recurring as I talked with the folks who knew my great-aunt best, day in and day out, was her warm heart.
I’d really missed out by not making her more of a part of my life than I did. And now the opportunity was gone forever.
I’d do the next best thing though. I’d do my best to carry on the legacy she’d given me. And if I could manage it, I’d find the person who’d taken her from us all too soon.
Chapter 6
I found a note from Gary Cragg taped to my apartment door when I got back from the bank. In hastily written cursive, ‘Don’t forget our appointment’, was scrawled on the back of his business card. So much for my plans to take a long hot shower and read a little to unwind from a full day at the shop. I looked longingly at my apartment door, then walked to the attorney’s office down the hall.
Cragg was at his desk working through a stack of papers when I knocked on the doorjamb.
“If you’re tied up, we can talk another time,” I said, hoping for a reprieve from our meeting.
“Nonsense, I’ll just be a moment,” he said as he finished proofreading a document, clearly a letter, before signing it in a flourish of script that was fancier than I would have ever expected from him.
He started to pick up another letter and I stood up. “Listen, I don’t have all night. We can talk some other time.”
Cragg reluctantly put the letter down and said, “Stay. This can wait.” He leaned back in his leather chair and said, “Harrison, I know inheriting this white elephant from your aunt was more than you bargained for.”
“She was my great-aunt, and yes, I was surprised when I found out she’d left all of River’s Edge to me.”
Cragg nodded. “Exactly. Now this establishment was a fine match for Mrs. Black,