Friday morning, I decided to squeeze in a preliminary survey of Jesse’s house. I didn’t want to sacrifice any of my crew to join me, and Jane had a meeting at her bank that morning, so I poured myself another cup of coffee and walked next door to Jesse’s house by myself.
It was weird to return to the house while the sun was shining, weird to think that I’d found Jesse’s body all those days ago. It was no longer a crime scene. Jane’s cleaning crew had come through and done a great job. I couldn’t see a trace of that fine black soot the police liked to leave on every surface after they’d dusted for fingerprints. I knew how hard it was to get rid of that powder residue because the police had dusted for fingerprints in my garage a few months ago and had left it for me to clean.
I was actually looking forward to doing the work on Jesse’s dilapidated home, even though he was no longer here to enjoy it. I’d offered to help him fix the place a bunch of times over the years, but he’d never taken me up on it. His house was charming, or it would be once I was finished with it.
It was one story, but it had a steeply pitched roof and a large attic with a dominant front-facing gable. The porch was roomy enough to create an outdoor sitting room if someone wanted to, and the widow’s walk that circled the attic was instantly appealing from the street. I knew the house would sell quickly.
I had my computer tablet with me, and as I walked through the main living areas, I took pictures and typed out notes. Later, I would prioritize the work. On most jobs, that meant starting with the basement, reinforcing the support posts and beams before doing anything else. Otherwise an old house like this might collapse on top of itself.
The only time I’d ever been in Jesse’s basement was the night Mac and I came looking for the intruder, but it had been so dark that night that I couldn’t see whether there was any damage or not. Now I walked into the pantry, found the brass ring set into the floor, and pulled up the trap door leading to the basement.
I ignored the instant chill that shot up my spine. After finding that body in the basement a few months earlier, I got a little flash of terror whenever I had to go down into the bowels of a house. Not that I would ever mention that aloud to another human being, especially my guys.
“Part of the job,” I grumbled. “Don’t be a wimp.” Besides, next time I ventured into Jesse’s basement, I would be with a few of the crew and wouldn’t have to worry. It was just when I was alone that the thought of these dark, dank spaces creeped me out.
I switched on the light at the top of the stairs, took a bracing breath, and strolled down the steps as if I didn’t have a care in the world. Shining the flashlight around the large space, I confirmed that there was no dead body and sighed with relief. I could handle cobwebs, grime, even spiders if I had to. But I’d rather not.
Walking around the room, I checked the strength and condition of each post. I studied the horizontal beams overhead for signs of sagging or rotting. Damage to something down here could mean we’d have to jack up the entire house, and that was always a tricky move, even though we were experts at it.
I was surprised but happy when I didn’t find any water or termite damage and the posts looked and felt solid. But the brick walls around the foundation told another story. There was crumbling in spots, and in several places where I pushed my thumb against the mortar, it turned to powder.
I checked the next wall, cautiously pushing a few more random bricks to test the wall’s strength. I reached as high up on the wall as I could stretch, and also got down on my hands and knees to check near the base. Then I moved on to the third wall and did the same. It wasn’t the most scientific way to survey for possible damage, but it would give me a preliminary idea of the work necessary to bring the house up to a level that would fetch Jane the best price.
As I thumped my knuckles against a random brick, a big mama spider swung out at me. I screamed so loud I was afraid the neighbors might call the police.
“You just surprised me, that’s all,” I grumbled to the spider, who had already crawled back between the bricks.