“Fine with me.”
I took out a pen and a spiral-bound notebook, dashing off a note, asking if he’d get in touch at his earliest convenience. I ripped the leaf from my notebook and folded it in half before I handed it to her with one of my business cards. “There’s a machine on both these numbers. If he can’t reach me directly, tell him I’ll return the call as soon as I can.”
She read the card and sent me a sharp look, though she made no comment.
I said, “I don’t suppose I could trouble you for a quick tour.”
“I don’t rent to females. Women are usually trouble. I don’t like gossip and petty bickering, not to mention feminine-hygiene products interfering with the plumbing. I’ll see Mr. Downs gets your note.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
I stopped by the supermarket on my way home. For once, the sun was out, and while the temperature was still riding in the low fifties, the sky was a bright clear blue. Charlotte’s Cadillac was parked across the street. I let myself in and unloaded my shopping bags. I’d noticed a batch of fresh bread dough proofing in a cradle that Henry kept in the glass-enclosed breezeway between my place and his. He hadn’t made bread for ages and the notion put me in a good mood. Having been a professional baker by trade, he’d make eight to ten loaves at a time, and he was generous about sharing. I hadn’t talked to Charlotte in a week, so once my kitchen was tidied up, I trotted across the patio and knocked on Henry’s door. I could see Henry at work, and judging from the size of the kettle on the stove, he was making chili or spaghetti sauce to go with his bread. William was seated at the table, with a cup of coffee in front of him, an odd expression on his face. Charlotte stood with her arms crossed, and Henry was whacking an onion with a vengeance. He reached over and opened the door for me, but it wasn’t until I’d closed it behind me that I tuned in to the tension in the room. At first I thought there was a problem with Gus because the three of them were so silent. I figured William had gone next door to visit him and brought back a bad report, which was only partially true. I found myself looking from one stony face to the next.
I said, “Is everything okay?”
Henry said, “Not really.”
“What’s going on?”
William cleared his throat, but before he could speak, Henry said, “I’ll handle this.”
“Handle what?” I asked, still clueless.
Henry used the knife blade to sweep the onion aside. He laid out eight cloves of garlic and used the flat of the same blade to crush the cloves, which he then chopped. “William went over to Gus’s for a visit this morning and saw Charlotte’s business card on the coffee table.”
“Oh?”
“I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” William said.
Henry sent a hot look in Charlotte’s direction and I realized then that there was a dispute under way. “These people are my neighbors. I’ve known some of them for the better part of fifty years. You went over there to hustle real estate. Gus was under the impression that I sent you over there to talk about the sale of his home when I did no such thing. He has no interest in putting his property on the market.”
“You don’t know that. He was totally unaware of how much equity he’d built up or the use he could make of it. Of course he knew he’d bought the lot next door, but that was fifty years ago, and he didn’t understand how that half-acre ownership enhanced the overall value. People are entitled to information. Just because you’re not interested doesn’t mean he’s not.”
“Your efforts reflected poorly on me and I don’t appreciate it. From what his nurse says he was close to collapse.”
“That’s not true. He wasn’t the least bit upset. We had a nice chat and he said he’d think about it. I was there less than twenty minutes. There was no pressure whatever. I don’t operate that way.”
“Solana told William you were there twice. Once to talk to her and then a second time to discuss the matter with him. Maybe you don’t call that pressure, but I do.”
“He was sleeping the first time and she said she’d pass the information along. I went back at her request because she wasn’t sure she’d explained it properly.”
“I asked you not to do it at all. You did an end-run around me.”
“I don’t need your permission to go about my business.”
“I’m not talking about permission. I’m talking about simple decency. You don’t go into a man’s home and cause trouble.”
“What trouble are you talking about? Solana’s the one who has everyone all riled up. I drove all the way up from Perdido this morning and here you are being pissy with me. Who needs it?”
Henry was silent for a moment, opening a can of tomato sauce. “I had no idea you’d take such liberties.”
“I’m sorry you’re upset, but I really don’t think you have the right to dictate my behavior.”
“That’s entirely correct. You can do anything you want, but keep my name out of it. Gus has health problems, as you well know. He doesn’t need you waltzing in there acting like he’s on his deathbed.”
“I did no such thing!”
“You heard what William said. Gus was beside himself. He thought his house was being sold out from under him and he was being sent to a nursing home.”
Charlotte said, “Stop that. Enough. I have a client who’s interested…”
“You have a client in the wings?” Henry stopped and stared at her in astonishment.
“Of course I have clients. You know that as well as I do. I haven’t committed a crime. Gus is free to do anything he wants.”
William said, “At the rate he’s going, you’ll end up dealing with his estate. That should settle it.”
Henry banged his knife down. “Goddamn it! The man is not dead!”
Charlotte snatched her coat from the back of the kitchen chair and shrugged herself into it. “I’m sorry, but this discussion is at an end.”
“Conveniently for you,” Henry said.
I expected to see her stomping out the door, but the two weren’t ready to disengage. As with any clash of wills, each was convinced of his position and righteously annoyed with the other’s point of view.
“Nice seeing you,” she said to me, buttoning her coat. “I’m sorry you had to be a party to this unpleasantness.” She took out a pair of leather gloves and put them on, working the leather over her fingers one by one.
Henry said, “I’ll call you. We can talk about this later when we’ve both calmed down.”
“If you think so little of me there’s nothing left to say. You’ve as good as accused me of being insensitive, untrustworthy, and unscrupulous…”
“I’m telling you the effect you had on a frail old man. I’m not going to stand by and let you bulldoze right over him.”
“I did not bulldoze over him. Why would you take Solana’s word over mine?”
“Because she has nothing at stake. Her job is to look after him. Your job is to talk him into selling his house and land so you can take your six percent.”
“That’s offensive.”
“You’re damn right it is. I can’t believe you’d employ such tactics when I specifically asked you not to.”
“That’s the third time you’ve said that. You’ve made your point.”
“Apparently, I haven’t. You’ve yet to apologize. You defend your so-called rights without any regard to mine.”
“What are you talking about? I mentioned the value of homes in this area and you assumed I intended to muscle my way in, abusing your neighbors in order to make a few bucks.”
“The man was in tears. He had to be sedated. What do you call that, if not abuse?”
“Abuse, my ass. William talked to him. Did you see anything of the sort?” she asked, turning to him.
William shook his head in the negative, studiously avoiding eye contact so one or the other wouldn’t suddenly lash out at him. I kept my mouth shut as well. The subject had now shifted from Charlotte’s visit to Solana’s account of it. At the rate they were going at it, there was no way to cut in and broker a truce. I wasn’t good at that stuff anyway, and I was finding it tough to get a handle on the truth.