Chapter 9
She followed the school bus down the back roads towards the McConnell house—it wasn’t until she finally pulled off on the right street that she remembered there was an elementary school in the neighborhood. She would have to find an alternate route on school days, or risk running behind schedule while waiting for the kids to get onboard. Buses really hadn’tstopped as frequently when she was younger; Edie remembered having to walk several blocks to the stop, and none of the other kids waiting there lived on that street, either. Was that a safety feature, or were kids too lazy to walk too far anymore?
Five minutes later than she had estimated when she’d left her house, she slowed to a stop in front of the McConnell place. There were already two cars parked by the chain-link fence fronting the property, and the trashcans on the curb left no room for Edie to squeeze in, too. So she pulled into the empty driveway, same as she had the only other time she’d visited. Then Mr. McConnell had been home—she checked her paperwork; his first name was Michael. The missus was out at the store then, the kids in school. Mr. McConnell had explained that, most days, his wife’s van was parked in the driveway, but she could park across the street once the renovation began. “I’m sure you’ll want to pull your trucks up here,” he’d said. “The double gate opens wide enough for you to pull all the way into the backyard, if you need to.”
They might. The front porch wasn’t in too bad of shape, but the gutters sagged and a large patch of shingles had blown off the roof at some point. No use trying to match them—there was enough money in budget to redo the entire thing.
Cutting the engine on her pickup, Edie gathered the papers back into her portfolio and climbed out of the cab. Let’s get to work.
* * * *
4
Edie knocked on the front door and heard muffled giggling inside the house. She knew the McConnells had children, but had assumed they would have been in school by now. It was after eight already. A full minute passed, but no one answered the door. She knocked again.
More giggling, this time right up against the other side of the door. The knob turned, and finally the door opened a crack. A young girl of maybe ten stared up at Edie with large, guilty eyes.
Edie gave her a bright smile. “Hey there, missy. Are your parents home?”
The girl shook her head quickly. From somewhere behind her, a boy’s voice called out, “Who is it?”
“Hush, Mikey,” the girl snapped. “You’ll wake Jo.”
Mikey pried the door open farther and ducked his head out under the girl’s arm to take a look at Edie. Definitely brother and sister, and he was a good two or three years younger than she.
Concerned they had been left alone, Edie peered around them into the darkened living room beyond. “Shouldn’t you two be in school?”
The boy giggled into his fists. “Not today!” he shrieked.
His sister shushed him again, but not before Edie heard a sleepy moan from somewhere inside. With her hand on the front door, she peeked into the house and saw a woman stretched out on the sofa. Short dark hair swirled around the woman’s head like a nimbus, and she wore slacks and a patterned pull-on top, the kind of clothing Edie always thought of as business casual
“Now you’ve done it,” the girl muttered darkly. “When she gets up, we’ll have to go to school and it’ll be all your fault.”
On the sofa the woman stirred, then sleepily rubbed her hand across her face. “What time is it?” she mumbled.
Edie took a step inside. “Ms. McConnell?”
“What?” The woman sat up, blinking, and frowned at her surroundings. “Yes, that’s me. Who are you?”
Before Edie could answer, Ms. McConnell noticed the time display on the DVD player and let out a small gasp. “Damn it, Ava! Why’d you let me sleep?” She ran a hand over her hair to smooth it down and frowned at the children. “Don’t tell me you missed the bus.”
Mikey lowered his hands from his mouth long enough to cry out triumphantly, “We did! Ava said if we didn’t wake you up, we wouldn’t have to go to school today!”
Edie felt the moment slipping out of her control. Clearing her throat to turn everyone’s attention her way, she ventured, “Ms. McConnell? I’m here to review the renovations, but if now isn’t a good time…”
“What? No, no, it’s fine.” The woman turned away and yawned. “Let me get some coffee or something first. I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
“Edie. Edie Davis.” Hoping to jog the woman’s memory, she added, “With Davis Contractors.”
“Right, right.” As she stood, the woman stretched her arms towards the ceiling, then smoothed her shirt back into place. She had large dark eyes that looked like pools of ink in the paleness of her face, and a cute pixie cut that made her look younger than she probably was. Though Edie tended to prefer femme women with long hair and curls, she had to admit this one was cute in a pert, perky kind of way.