Search the Dark. Marta Perry

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СКАЧАТЬ eyed him as if his reputation had preceded him. Either that or he didn’t look as good as he’d thought he did after a night’s sleep and a shower and shave.

      “Mr. Randal? One moment please. I’ll let Mr. Evans know you’re here.”

      Her finger moved to a button on her desk, but before she could push it, one of the two doors behind her desk swung open. Jake Evans stood there, giving him a quick, assessing glance before his face eased into a smile.

      “Zach, come on in. It’s been a long time. Good to see you.”

      Zach allowed himself to be ushered into the inner office, where the latest thing in computers seemed to argue with a heavy oak desk that would fit more readily with a fountain pen and legal pad. Zach swept the room with a comprehensive glance, accustomed to sizing up his surroundings swiftly.

      The office was clearly a study in contrasts, with the taste of the elder Evans jockeying for control with that of his son. A small basketball hoop was attached to a black enamel wastepaper basket, and a Phillies ball cap sat rakishly atop a crystal vase on the corner of the bookshelves.

      Jake waved him to a chair and folded his lanky, still-athletic frame into the black leather one behind the desk. He moved like the basketball star he’d been in high school.

      “Is Jeannette Walker making you comfortable at the Willows?” Jake leaned back and seemed to restrain himself from propping his foot on the wastebasket.

      “The place isn’t bad.” He couldn’t blame the setting for Jeannette’s blatant curiosity.

      Just like all of Deer Run and everyone in it. He’d come back because he had to, but given the feelings Meredith had stirred up by a single conversation, he’d be better off to sign whatever papers Jake had for him, get rid of the house and head back to his real life.

      Jake twirled a pen between his fingers, seeming in no hurry to get down to business. “What do you think of Deer Run? Does it look different to you after being away so long?”

      “No.” Zach said the word flatly. “Look, let’s just take care of things so I can get out of here. You didn’t have time for me in high school, and I don’t see any point in making small talk now.”

      Jake was immobile for an instant, and then one eyebrow edged its way upward. “I hope I’ve grown up a little since high school,” he said, apparently not taking offense. His grin flickered. “Not that my father would agree with that. He still looks at me and sees the kid who embarrassed him by asking both the Hamilton twins to the senior prom.” He glanced toward the wall beyond which, Zach assumed, lay the senior Mr. Evans’s office.

      “That must have caused quite a stir.” He remembered the Hamilton twins—identical daughters of the then mayor. But he didn’t remember the prom. “Afraid I was gone by then.”

      “Right.” Jake’s gaze slid away from his, as if he was embarrassed he’d mentioned the prom. He shuffled through a file folder on the desk. “Well, to business.”

      Zach nodded, the movement curt. He didn’t want any side excursions into high school memories. He had intended to take Meredith to their senior prom, going so far as to sell his beat-up old car in order to have enough money to do it right. But fate, in the shape of Margo King, had intervened.

      “You know that the house went to your stepmother after your father’s death, of course,” Jake said, raising a questioning eyebrow.

      He nodded. The only surprising thing was that Wally Randal had hung on to enough money to pay the taxes and keep from losing the place altogether.

      “I’m not sure why the property comes to me,” he said. “I’m not related to Ruth.”

      Jake shrugged. “I guess she didn’t have any other family. Her will was clear enough. Everything goes to you. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my letter, the house is badly run-down. If you want to sell—”

      “Definitely,” Zach interrupted him. “As soon as possible. Can you refer me to a real estate agent?”

      Jake frowned, his frank, open face looking suddenly older. “To tell you the truth, I doubt you could find anyone to take it on. It’s in such bad shape I don’t know how you’re going to find a buyer.”

      Zach could only stare at him. He’d ignored the place since he’d heard that he owned it. Now, it seemed, he was going to pay the penalty for that.

      “You’re telling me that I own a worthless piece of property, and I won’t be able to get rid of it.” He glared at Jake, who returned the look with interest.

      “You’ll recall that I sent you several letters asking you to come back and deal with the place. You didn’t.”

      So it was his fault. He’d like to deny it, if he could think of anyone else to blame, but he couldn’t.

      “Okay.” Zach blew out a long breath. “Where do I go from here?” If he stopped paying the taxes, the place would eventually go up for sheriff’s sale, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. It would be proof that he was trash, just as the good people of Deer Run had always supposed.

      “As I see it, you could either do the minimum amount of repair work to make the place saleable.” There might be a trace of sympathy in Jake’s face. “Or you could have the house demolished and try to sell the lot.”

      Either way, his legacy was going to cost him. The old man would be laughing his head off, if he knew about this from wherever he’d ended up.

      “You have an opinion about which?” Zach raised an eyebrow.

      Jake shook his head. Yes, that was definitely sympathy in his expression. “Sorry. That’s not for me to make a recommendation. If you want the opinion of someone in real estate, you ought to talk to Colin McDonald. You remember him from high school, don’t you?”

      Zach nodded. Another one of the “in” crowd. Presumably they’d all stayed here, where they could be big fish in a small pond. “I’ll give him a try.”

      Jake reached across the desk, holding out a set of keys. “In the meantime, I’d suggest that the first thing you ought to do would be to take a look for yourself.”

      Zach forced himself to take the keys, fighting down a wave of nausea. That wasn’t the first thing he wanted to do. It was the last thing.

      * * *

      IF SHE CONCENTRATED on what Sarah had asked of her, Meredith decided, she might be able to keep her mind off Zach. She would not let herself wonder why she hadn’t seen him since the previous day, or what he was finding to do in Deer Run.

      Reminding herself of her good intention, Meredith walked quickly down Main Street and turned up Church. Church Street, named for the two houses of worship which faced one another on opposite sides, sloped gently uphill to Maple, where Victor Hammond, heir to the Hammond Grocery chain, had built a dream house for his wife, Laura.

      There would be no taking over the comfortable old Victorian house where Victor’s parents had lived. Gossip had it that Victor had been so surprised and pleased when Laura accepted him that he’d have given her anything, including the ultra-modern home that now sat uneasily among its more traditional neighbors.

      Since СКАЧАТЬ