“Well, if so, you just let Mr. Richter know. He says that the property is worth a mint. A mint! The house is protected—it’s on the historic register—but the things that could be done around it are just amazing. You could honestly come out of this with quite a fortune,” Lilly told her. “Why, just a few weeks ago—before poor Mr. Merlin’s demise—Mr. Richter was saying that he’d studied the place, and he’d let Mr. Merlin know just what it was worth!”
“I really haven’t thought about it at all,” Kelsey said, “but if and when I do, I’ll certainly let Mr. Richter know.”
Kelsey thought about Lilly’s words as she left the office. Property in Key West was prime, she knew, especially a property the size of her grandfather’s house. It was doubly waterfront as well, being on the tiny spit of a peninsula, and it was in Old Town.
She’d never thought about the value of the property. She’d never thought about coming back.
Maybe she had just assumed that Cutter would live forever.
At the car, she hesitated, curious.
Joe Richter had told her that it had been months since he had seen Cutter.
Lilly had said that he’d been out there just a few weeks before Cutter’s death.
She almost walked back in to ask Joe Richter, but then she wondered just what it could matter. Richter was confused on dates, maybe.
He wasn’t exactly a spring chicken, either!
It was a different world with Kelsey Donovan in the house. The place smelled like pine, and fresh, as if a great ocean breeze had come through.
She was gone for some time, of course. And he had spent so many hours in the house, insanely going through boxes and drawers. Insanely, and yet with an excellent organization, so that no one else would know. It was imperative that he find what he sought now.
But for once, he sat in the chair by the fireplace. He sat in the chair where old Cutter had died, almost a week ago now. All he had to do was wait.
Kelsey Donovan would find what he needed.
He stood and stretched and walked to the door, noting the new locks, the bolts. And back in the laundry room, the screens had been fixed, the windows had been fixed and locked down. Good Lieutenant Beckett had seen to that.
He smiled.
Ah, well. Beckett knew how the kids had always broken into the house. But the lieutenant would have no idea how he was getting in.
No idea just how often he stayed there, in the house. Hiding, listening.
Waiting.
Returning from the grocery store, Kelsey wished that she’d called someone for help. She seemed to have at least twenty bags, big ones, and, on top of that, cases of water and beer. Heavy stuff.
She was on her second trip into the house—wondering why they had always parked on the wrong side of the house and why there had never been a carriage drive that would place the car park somewhere near the kitchen, at least—when Jonas came walking into the yard.
“Hey!” she said.
“Hey, I saw you from my place. Looked like you needed a hand,” Jonas told her.
“I can’t say that I won’t be extremely grateful,” she told him.
“Well, especially since I plan on partaking of the feast, I think the very least I can do is help!” Jonas said.
He was tall and lanky, with a thatch of brown hair that fell across his forehead, but, like the others, Jonas had matured. He had a good smile. And despite his lankiness, he was good with grocery bags.
They both grabbed up two and headed for the house. Kelsey had left the door open. On the porch, though, she found herself pausing.
“What?” Jonas asked her.
“I don’t know. It’s bizarre. I know that someone aired this house out—I’m sure Liam had it done—but every once in a while…it’s just strange. It may be my guilt complex. Every once in a while, I feel like I’m being overpowered by…”
“By?”
“The smell of death. Do you smell anything?”
Jonas stepped into the house and inhaled deeply. He turned to her and shook his head. “Kelsey, I don’t smell anything. But…” He paused, wincing. “Cutter was dead awhile before he was found.”
Kelsey nodded.
Jonas smiled at her. “The house smells like pine to me! Clean and fresh. Hey, want me to open windows?”
“Maybe I should open everything up today,” Kelsey said.
“We’ll get everything in, and then run around and open everything,” Jonas suggested.
On their third trip out, Kelsey saw Katie come walking down the dirt-and-gravel drive from the mainland.
“Hey, Katie!” she called.
“Hey—thought I’d take a walk over. Sean is at the house, and he and David are editing something, and so… I see you did the shopping. Want some help?” she asked.
“Help is always great. But you have to work tonight….”
“I have four hours,” Katie told her.
“I think you should dive right in,” Jonas said. He looked at Kelsey. “Ask Katie what she smells,” he suggested.
“What I smell?” she asked.
“Yes, do you smell anything?” Kelsey asked.
Katie arched a brow, her hands on her hips.
“Um…maybe the water is a little stagnant somewhere?” she suggested.
“Do you think that’s what it is?” Kelsey asked, relieved.
Katie laughed. “Hey, when they work on broadening the highway from Florida City to Key Largo, and they’re reclaiming land, the smell of rot can be horrific!”