Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights Read Free Page A

really big guy. He’s gruff, but that comes with a gentle giant shyness. He isn’t always comfortable in social situations.
    “I know there are other issues, but I’ll have to think about all of this . Have you seen the inside yet?”
    He looked sheepish. “Yes. I didn’t want to get your hopes up until I knew more about it. I knew I wanted out of the other location, but I sure didn’t expect to get out of it this way.”
    “Uh huh . How many square feet is it?”
    “ Over two thousand.” The Realtor walked over to meet us when we climbed out of the car. He and Chris shook hands.
    “Pamela, this is Max Avery,” Chris said, introducing us . “I met with Max about a month ago and told him I might be interested in this building.”
    “ In a couple of days it’s going into foreclosure,” Max said. “I’m not sure why the current owner even bought it. Maybe as an investment. He never lived here.”
    Max was eager for a sale . I could see it in his pudgy little face. And he was smiling way too widely, but at least it was a pleasant smile. He was a short man who had to look up at Chris, and Chris was about five-ten.
    Sherlock and Watson watched us from the car . Sherlock had a worried look on his face and I knew what the meant. “Excuse me. I’ve got to let the dogs have a potty break.”
    Chris and Max nodded and turned to head for the brick house. While the dogs did their business, I took a good look at the exterior of the place. It had potential. There were two mature oak trees, one on each side in front of the house, and it had a large, open porch in front that ran the width of the dwelling. There were two pillars, one at each end, and two in the middle of the porch with one step leading up. A walkway ran from the sidewalk to the porch step. The porch would be just right for a few tables for outdoor dining when the weather permitted. The lawn, what there was of it, needed a lot of work, and anything even resembling a plant was dead. Oh well, I enjoyed yard work. And the oak trees seemed to be okay. I shook my head, realizing that I’d better see the inside before even thinking about visiting a nursery and buying plants. And realistically, we’d probably need to hire a landscaper.
    I walked around the house to get a feel for the place and discovered a door that apparently led under the house . I assumed there was a cellar or something along those lines. I’d ask Max about it.
    Since Chris and Max had already entered the house, I whistled to the dogs, who were busily sniffing the trees, and they came running, following me into the house. For such young dogs, they were quite well-behaved – usually. At two and a half, they responded well to training. Of course, we’d started training them as soon as we brought them home. Labs are great dogs, but they’re big and strong, and sometimes headstrong. They make up for that with love and loyalty. I think it was the headstrong part that caused their previous owners to let us have them.
    I entered a living room and , looking around, noticed that there was a bedroom off to the side and a dining room straight ahead through an archway. There were built-in book cases on either side of the arch. I could hear Chris talking and followed his voice, which led me into a kitchen.
    The floors were all hardwood and would probably be beautiful, with a lot of hard work . They’d been neglected for a long time, from the looks of them. Layers of faded wallpaper adorned the walls. Hmm. If it was forties style, maybe some new wallpaper would work. That and a lot of fresh paint. Although our restaurant would be from that era, I was pretty sure the house was older than that.
    “When was this house built?” I asked.
    “In the late 1920s,” Chris replied. It seemed he had done his homework. “This used to be a residential area. Come on, Pamela. Let’s look through the rest of the house.”
    Max led the way, still grinning . There were a total of four bedrooms in the house and two