The Mighty Quinns: Devin Read Free Page B

this?” Dev asked.
    Jimmy Joe nodded.
    â€œAfter school, you walk over to the hardware store. I’m going to leave a list of supplies for you to pick up. You can pay for them on my account. Then I want you to bring everything over to Zelda’s. I’ll meet you there.”
    â€œWhat are we going to do?”
    â€œWe’re going to turn you into an upstanding citizen of Winchester,” Dev said. “And until you pay Marv back for those tires, I don’t want to see you spending money on cigarettes.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œNow, get to class. No more trouble.”
    Dev watched the kid walk away.
    One by one, he’d deal with the problems in Winchester. It was all he could do. Lately it seemed he was scrambling just to keep ahead of the game instead of doing anything proactive. But if Jimmy Joe showed up at Zelda’s, he could count his day a success.
    Dev got back into the cruiser. Now he needed to address another problem. But this problem promised to be more personal than professional.
    * * *
    E LODIE W INCHESTER SLOWLY climbed the porch steps of her childhood home. Somewhere in the distance, a blue jay’s call echoed in the quiet morning breeze. She reached out and ran her hand along the painted rail, now weathered with age and peeling with neglect.
    Made of the local red brick, the house was a sprawling homage to the Queen Anne style. A wide veranda circled the entire first floor, interspersed with simple wooden columns that held up a shingled roof. It had been built by her great-grandfather at the turn of the century, completed just ten years after he opened his textile mill.
    But the house had been empty for six years and she could see the work that would be required to bring it back to its former glory.
    Elodie had never really looked at the house from a maintenance viewpoint. To her, it had always been more like a fairy castle, with its high-peaked roofs and rooftop widow’s walk. Now it was her house, the only compensation she’d received after her father had raided her trust fund in a futile attempt to save his failing investments.
    All of her siblings had suffered the same fate, but most of them had already been drawing on their trusts for years. She’d had the most to lose, so she’d gotten the only thing left that hadn’t—or couldn’t—be sold.
    The house had been on the market for years, but its deteriorating condition and the floundering town had driven away all the qualified buyers. No one in Winchester could afford to buy it, much less live in it. And no one from out of town wanted to live here.
    She pulled the keys out of her pocket and opened the front door, letting it swing wide before she stepped across the threshold. To her surprise, the house didn’t smell musty. Although the air was hot and stuffy, the scent of lemon oil and floor wax lingered in the air.
    As Elodie strolled through the nearly empty rooms, she ran her finger over chair rails and mantels, finding barely a trace of dust. The sound of running water startled her and she followed it to the back of the house where the kitchen was located. A slender figure, dressed in a familiar gray uniform, stood over the sink.
    â€œMary?” Elodie said. “Mary Cassidy?”
    The woman turned, a bucket clutched in her hand. “Miss Elodie. I heard you were back in town. The minute I did, I came right over. The place is a bit dusty, but I’ll have it sparkling again in no time.”
    â€œMary, I don’t understand. Have you been cleaning here all along?”
    She nodded. “I just couldn’t let it all go to ruin,” Mary said. “I come once a week and do what I can. I have to say, it’s much easier without all the furniture.”
    â€œWho is paying you?”
    â€œOh, no one. I don’t need to be paid. I just want the house to look presentable. For you and the rest of the family.”
    Elodie stared at the woman in disbelief.