The Life Of Reilly. Sue Civil-Brown

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ up the dampness and suck water out of crevices.

      “Nothing on this island ever really gets dry,” Jack remarked as he swept the mop around. “The heat will evaporate the excess, but the humidity will remain.”

      “That’s one of the first things I noticed here, the humidity. It’s odd though because even though it’s there, it’s not real troublesome.”

      “Unless it turns really hot. Most of the time, though, it just seems to soften the air.”

      “Well, I haven’t needed any moisturizer since coming here.”

      He flashed a smile. “One of our many money-saving benefits.”

      “Does the island have a plumber?”

      “We sure do. I already put in a call to him.”

      “Any idea when he’ll get here?”

      Jack leaned on the mop handle and grinned. “Well…he said as soon as he could.”

      “And that means?”

      Jack shrugged. “I guess it depends on whatever else he needs to do.”

      “Oh, great.”

      “Relax. All things come in their own time on this island.”

      Harv Cullinan’s time proved to be about a half-hour. “Caught me just before I left for a day of fishing,” he told Jack as he stepped into Lynn’s kitchen. “There I was, dreaming of a big ’un. All set to go, me tackle box beside me, waiting for Geordie to pick me up.”

      “I’m sorry,” Jack said.

      “Me too,” Lynn said a trifle sarcastically. “Next time I’ll make the pipe wait.”

      Harv looked at her. A short, bulky man with a balding head, he might have been a miniature Hulk. “Now, now, teacher, nice of you to worry about me, but there’s always another day to fish.”

      Lynn nearly gaped at his response. She’d been churlish and he’d taken it as a kindness. There must be something in the air here. Worse, his response made her aware of how peevish and unpleasant she was being. “Sorry. I’m sorry you missed your fishing.”

      “Like I said, always another day.”

      Slowly, as if his every joint ached with monstrous pain, he lowered his bulk to look into the open cabinet beneath the sink.

      “My, my,” he said, his voice sounding hollow as he put his head inside the cabinet. “That’s a beaut.”

      “We thought so,” Jack agreed.

      Slowly Harv eased back and sat on his heels. “It’s not gonna be easy.”

      “Why not?” Lynn asked.

      “Because pipes don’t split like this. Not copper ones, unless somebody’s done something to them.” He eyed her suspiciously from beneath bushy brows.

      Lynn felt as if she stood accused before a jury. “I swear I didn’t do anything to it.”

      “Someone did,” he said darkly.

      Lynn had a pretty good idea who, but she hadn’t gone far enough over the edge to say so out loud. “Can you fix it?”

      “Oh, aye. I’ll need me helper and some other tools. Back shortly.”

      She hoped shortly was shortly.

      “He’ll take good care of you,” Jack said. “I’ve gotta run. I’m meeting a couple planning a wedding. I’ll check back later.”

      Buster let him pass this time and slowly returned to the wallow where he settled in with contentment.

      As she changed into more suitable clothes, Lynn wondered if she’d come to this island to teach for real, or if she was in some mental hospital totally lost in delusion.

      What happened next would only increase her questions.

      CHAPTER SIX

      THE HULK AND COMPANY returned an hour later, shortly before Lynn needed to leave for school. To Lynn’s horror, a backhoe and two trucks pulled into her yard. The Hulk and three helpers appeared, all of them carrying battered tool boxes.

      She jumped out her front door and barred the way. “What do you need all this stuff for? It’s just a little broken pipe.”

      “It’s a broken copper pipe,” Harv Cullinan answered, as if that explained it all. His three minions all nodded sagely.

      “Wait,” she said again. “Why the backhoe?”

      “Because,” the Hulk said patiently, “we need to check all the pipes.”

      “But why?”

      “Do you want one to split inside your wall?” He shook his head. “Substandard materials. I’ve seen the mess….”

      Somehow Lynn couldn’t halt the tide. Four beefy men pushed past her into her kitchen. She followed them.

      “I’m not sure about this,” she said.

      “We are,” Cullinan answered. “We don’t do jobs halfway, teach. No point in it. Just causes you more trouble and money in the long run.”

      “But it’s just one little broken pipe.”

      “It’s a sign of worse. I told you earlier, copper don’t split that way.”

      One of the men had crawled under the sink while she was protesting, and when he re-emerged, he looked as glum as if he’d just been told life had ended. “It’s bad, Harv,” he said. “Wrong gauge. Too thin.”

      Cullinan looked at her. “See? You got a big problem, teach.”

      Just then the backhoe started digging up her front yard. “What’s that for?” she asked desperately.

      “Gotta check it all out. These places is old.”

      “But I can’t afford…”

      “Don’t be worrying your pretty little head. We’ll take care of you.”

      Yeah, thought Lynn. To the tune of thousands of dollars she didn’t have, most likely. And it was all Delphine’s fault. Her aunt had broken that pipe, sure as she was standing here.

      “What if I want to run the risk of just fixing the one pipe?” she asked desperately.

      The Hulk shook his head. “I wouldn’t be an honest man if I let you do that.”

      With that he ushered her out of her own house, leaving her helpless to do much except watch her front yard being trenched. A few of the neighbors came out to watch, too.

      “It’s okay,” СКАЧАТЬ