There was a long pause. I allowed time for him to arrange himself in his wheelchair and replace the batteries in the remote. The volume diminished dramatically, and shortly afterward, he rolled into view.

I turned. “You found the batteries?”

“Drawer in the side table by the couch,” he said. “How’re you doing?”

“I could use a dry towel.”

“Basket in the pantry,” he said, waving in that direction.

I waited, expecting him to return to the living room, but he kept his attention fixed on me. This created an irresistible urge on my part to make nice.

I flicked a look at my watch. It was 8:03. “What time do you think she’ll be home?”

“Depends on how long she has to sit there.”

“I thought she had an appointment. Isn’t she having her teeth cleaned?” I asked, thinking what the hell else would you be doing in a dentist’s chair at 8:00 A.M.?

“Naw. This’s an emergency. She has to have a crown replaced. She said if she called first, the lady at the desk would make her wait two, three weeks. She goes in, they’ll make sure the dentist sees her right away so it won’t look bad to the other patients.”

“Doesn’t a crown take hours?”

“Oh, I imagine she’ll be back by noon,” he remarked. “If not, she said to ask if you’d fix me lunch.”

An involuntary sound escaped my lips.

He rolled himself away. “I better let you get back to work. I don’t want to slow you down.”

I finished the dishes, brooding darkly. I’d just wandered back into the living room when I caught a glimpse of the plumber’s truck pulling into Henry’s drive. “The plumber’s here and I have to run next door. Henry gave strict instructions to let him in the minute he arrived. Will you be all right? It shouldn’t take long.”

He waved me off. “I’m fine.”

I found Mr. McClaskey standing at my front door. He lifted the brown gimme cap as soon as I appeared. “Morning.”

“Hey, Mr. McClaskey. Henry’s off running an errand and I’m babysitting the guy next door, but both our doors are unlocked and you can let yourself in. You’re looking for leaks?”

“Yes, ma’am. Starting with the commodes. Mr. Pitts says he has no complaints, but it never hurts to check.”

“I have two toilets—one up and one down—and neither seems to be running.”

“Good to hear. Comes to a leaky toilet, you got a couple ways to go. Failing flapper, plunger ball, float ball, or fill valve. You hear hissing or a trickling sound, it’s a good bet that’s where your problem lies.”

“I hope you’ll find a problem for my sake. Every time the meter goes up, he looks at me like I did it.”

“If he’s losing water, it’s most likely the irrigation system. Also possible the leak’s in your service lateral, which is the underground pipe runs between the house and the meter out there. He says his is right there along the property line. Easier to get to before he put in that two-car garage. Once I find the shut-off valve, if the meter’s still running, means you got a problem somewhere between the two. Valve itself could have a leak; common with these older bronze gate valves.”

“Sounds like an expensive repair.”

“Can be. Most of those old galvanized iron pipes are sixty, seventy years old. You get a break, it’s costly to locate and even worse to replace. Sewer or water lines break on a homeowner’s property, it’s up to the homeowner to remedy the problem. It’s more like I do the fixing and the homeowner pays. Any rate, possible I won’t finish my inspection today, but I’ll be back first chance I get.”

31

Henry didn’t return with Edna until twenty minutes after one. I had to call the alarm company to push back the technician’s arrival by two hours, but I was at the office in time to let him in. I left him to go about his business with his drill, his ladder, and the wiring he had to run. He said he’d mount a panel near the front door and a second one in the kitchenette, assuring me he’d give me a quick lesson in its use when it was done. I found it distracting to have someone going in and out, but he was cheerful and he seemed efficient. The locksmith arrived shortly thereafter and changed the locks on both doors.

Cullen had been on the premises less than an hour when he paused to have a word. “Your friend’s here.”

“My friend?”

He pointed to the window behind me. “She pulled up a few minutes ago and she’s been checking the front door, so I figured she was waiting to pick you up. You want, I can tell her you’re on your way.”