Second Time Around

Chapter 6 - What's Going On Here?

By Arli J

Edited by Radio Rancher
Based on Characters from Pinochle, by E Walk

When we left the bank, I glanced at the clock at the end of the Commons. I realized that we had to hurry. "Gregg, it's almost one o'clock, and we are supposed to meet Beau and the others at your store. I'm glad it's just around the corner!"

We hurried to the store and arrived just as the others were going in. Beau introduced us to Mr. Wainwright, the appraiser. When he looked at the building, Mr. Wainwright seemed a little confused. He told us that the building was in the process of being condemned. This came as a surprise to Kate Dolan, since she owned the building and had had no notice of condemnation proceedings. According to Mr. Wainwright, Giulio Petrillo was the one who had initiated condemnation proceedings. Kate was furious.

She asked Mr. Wainwright to go ahead with the appraisal. He agreed, and we went through the building together. Mr. Wainwright was amazed at the good condition of the building, and he mentioned the fact that it was one of the few freestanding buildings on the Commons. After checking the first floor, we took the elevator up to the second floor. Mr. Wainwright seemed to be surprised that the building had an elevator, and he appeared even more impressed with the building as a whole.

We inspected the second floor, and he commented on the immaculate condition of the apartments. When we got to the third floor, Gregg pulled his sketch for the design there from his pocket and showed it to Mr. Wainwright. He liked the ideas Gregg had, and when Gregg mentioned the idea for the roof patio, Mr. Wainwright was really paying close attention. He suggested that we check out the roof, so we went out through the rear window and took the fire escape to the roof. Mr. Wainwright was very impressed with the condition of the roof and the drains. He thought the idea of a roof patio was a very good one.

We went back down to the third floor and took the elevator down. Beau and Mr. Wainwright went first, then Harley and I went down, and we were waiting for the three ladies, Becca, Kate, and Sally, when the door opened, and a rather self-important man walked in. He immediately began questioning Mr. Wainwright about what he was doing there, and informed him that he had already had this building condemned and intended to raze it. So, this was the infamous Giulio Petrillo! Mr. Wainwright made it clear that the building was in excellent condition and should not have been condemned. Mr. Petrillo told him that he had started proceedings because Kate had refused his offer to buy it. He used some very uncomplimentary terms in describing her. It was his bad luck that Kate and the other ladies arrived just in time to hear his final remarks. Kate treated them like a bad joke.

By this time Beau and Becca were getting angry. I could see it in their faces. Becca reached into her purse and handed Kate a one dollar bill. She told her that she was buying the building, so that if Mr. Petrillo tried to tear it down, she would own the property, and her words made it clear that he would not get the land until hell froze over. She then asked Beau to call the private investigator who worked for their company, and she almost knocked me over when she told him to call President Michael Smith. Beau knows the President of the United States? I think I'm traveling in some very fast company!

Mr. Petrillo stood and listened, as Beau made the calls. First, he called the investigator and asked him to get all the information he could on Mr. Petrillo and to have it ready for him by early tomorrow morning. Then Beau called the President and told him what was going on. He asked President Smith if he would have the FBI investigate and get a report to him by tomorrow. He ended the call by agreeing to join the President and his family at Camp David on Labor Day.

Giulio Petrillo was sneering by the time Beau finished his calls. He couldn't believe that Beau actually knew the President. Beau assured him that he did, indeed, know President Smith. They had been boyhood friends. Mr. Petrillo seemed a bit unsure at this point, but Becca added another blow by asking Kate if she knew the Mayor of Ithaca. She did, and borrowing Beau's cell phone, she called the Mayor and asked her to join us for a swim party at the country club this evening.

Giulio Petrillo was looking definitely nervous now. Beau finished him off; he told Mr. Petrillo that he had been recording the whole conversation and warned him that it might not be in his best interests to try any actions, legal or illegal. Mr. Petrillo left, but he was not a happy man.

Kate asked Mr. Wainwright to come to her house to appraise it as well. We all got into our cars and drove up to the Hudson Street house. When we arrived, Mr. Wainwright surpised us by announcing that the house was zoned as a commercial building. Beau asked him if it would be possible for people to live in the house, as long as a business was operating in it. He told him that I would have an office of his consulting firm in the house and would be operating the unused rooms as a bed and breakfast. He wanted to know if Ben and Grant and a couple of their friends could live there under those conditions. Mr. Wainwright agreed that it might be possible, but said that he would have to see the house to be sure. Kate, Beau and I took him on a tour. He did a thorough inspection of the house and made notes on the pad he carried with him.

When we returned to the parlor, Beau invited Mr. Wainwright to the swim party and asked if he could have the appraisal figures ready for us by that time. He said he could probably have them ready by then. Then he and Sally left. Gregg and I left after making plans to join the group at the country club.

It was only about 4:30 when we got back to the house, so we decided that we would just relax for a while and try to settle down after the whirlwind we had just been through. We put on a fresh pot of coffee, naturally, and when it was ready, we sat down at the kitchen table. Gregg looked across the table at me. "Are you as confused as I am at this point?"

"Probably more so. At least, you know the players! I think I must have lost my scorecard!"

"The only thing that really worries me right now is what this Petrillo guy is up to. He seems so sure that he is going to get the building, and I know that he just wants to tear it down. I can't bear the thought of that building being destroyed. It is so perfect, just so perfect!" He looked as if he might cry at any moment.

"Gregg, I don't think that's going to happen. Were you listening to Beau and Becca? I don't think I'd want to mess with either one of them, but together, they're scary! Does Beau really know President Smith?"

"Yes, Mickey is Jeff's half brother, and the family was staying with Dr. Wilson and Jeff when Beau came there to live. They spent quite a bit of time together, as I understand it, and became close friends. Beau would do anything for Mickey, and Mickey would do the same for Beau. I've got the feeling that our Mr. Petrillo is in for a surprise."

"And who is this Everett guy?"

"Beau does a lot of consulting for different companies. Sometimes he needs information that he can't get from the companies or through normal channels. Mr. Everett is a private investigator, and he has ways of finding out things that I don't even want to know about!" He chuckled.

"From what I saw and heard, and from what you're telling me, I don't think you have a thing to worry about. If anyone should be worried right now, it is Mr. Giulio Petrillo."

We relaxed then for a little while before we had to leave to meet the group at the country club. Gregg was acting more relaxed. He's really a great person to be around when he's not uptight. I found myself liking him more and more all the time. But I still couldn't read him. He gives no indications of his real feelings, or at least none that I could see. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

When we got to the country club, we were directed to a small patio close to the swimming pool, where the rest of the group was gathered. We were a good-sized party, twelve adults and twelve young people, mostly teenagers, it seemed. I was surprised to see Giulio Petrillo sitting at a nearby table, watching what was going on. Kate got us organized quickly, and we hit the buffet. The young people were almost in a feeding frenzy.

After a wonderful dinner, we relaxed for a while on the patio to let the food settle. Then the young people went to change to go swimming. When they returned, they quickly jumped into the pool and played around. Some of the adults decided that it looked like too much fun to pass up, so they went and changed, then came back to join the teenagers.

When the adults got into the pool, it looked as if the young people had decided to drown them. There was a lot of splashing and horseplay. This went on for a while, and then Beau called a halt. He challenged the young men to a race, four laps of the pool. There was a lot of good-natured razzing over the "old man" who was challenging them. Beau just smiled, and Ben had a look on his face that suggested that he knew something the others didn't know.

They lined up on the edge of the pool, and Beau called to Mr. Petrillo to start them. He looked startled as if he had been caught doing something he was ashamed of. I had to wonder what he was doing at our party. I was quite sure that he had not been invited. But he did start the race; he has a very loud voice, when he chooses to use it.

The race was on. Beau quickly outstripped all the racers except Grant, who was close behind him, and Sammy, who seemed to be holding back a little. By the end of the third lap, Grant gave up and dropped back. Then Sammy made his move. He was fast, and he caught up to Beau quickly. But Beau kept his lead and finished just ahead of Sammy. I could see them on the other end of the pool, congratulating each other on their strong finish.

After he had changed, Beau came back and sat down next to the Mayor. He was talking to her, and then he opened his laptop, pulled up a file and handed it to her. He walked away while she was reading it. From where I was sitting, I could watch the expressions flitting across her face, amazement, doubt, skepticism, and then anger, real anger. She closed the laptop. When Beau returned, they had quite a discussion. She seemed to doubt what she had read, but Beau apparently convinced her that it was correct. I could see her stiffen, and her face took on a very cold look. She spoke a few more words to Beau, then got up and walked over to where Kate and Becca were standing. She seemed to regain her relaxed and smiling personality as they talked.

Kate asked everyone to come to her house to continue the party. She very pointedly did not invite Giulio Petrillo.

When we arrived at Kate's house, she sent the young people down to the game room to enjoy themselves. She asked Ben and Grant to stay for a few minutes. The adults settled in the spacious parlor, and Dr. Hubbell gave us the results of the boys' testing this morning. It appears that we have two highly intelligent boys on our hands. They had practically identical scores on the IQ test and the aptitude test. Dr. Hubbell was really amazed, and, it seemed, a little confused. This is not an ordinary occurrence, when two people take the same tests in separate rooms. He went on to say that the results of Grant's SAT exams were not ready, but that he would bring them by tomorrow. He told the boys that their advisor was eager to meet them and had set up an appointment for tomorrow morning early, so that they could get everything done that they needed to do before everyone leaves for Fremont. "Everyone" includes me. Beau asked me to fly to Nebraska with them and help Gregg driving his car back to New York. His leg does not allow him to drive for long periods of time; in fact, he prefers not to drive at all, if he can avoid it.

Beau asked Mr. Wainwright if he had the appraisals on the house and the building on the Commons. Mr. Wainwright handed him two folders. Beau and Becca looked at them, glanced at each other and nodded. Then Beau handed one of them to Kate. She looked at it and seemed surprised, but delighted.

Beau handed the other folder to Gregg. He opened it and looked at the amount at the bottom: $480,000.00. He looked at it for a minute, then nodded. He glanced over at me, but I just shrugged. I'm not familiar with the prices of big-ticket real estate.

Beau made arrangements for everyone who needed to be there to meet at the office of Kate's brother-in-law, who is a lawyer. He asked that Gregg and I be there at nine o'clock with the others. Then the group began to break up. It seemed that everyone had to be somewhere early in the morning. The Cochrans left with the Hubbells, leaving their own car so that the kids would have a way to get home. Sally was catching a ride with Bob Wainright and leaving her car for her nephew, so that he would have a way to get home.

Beau suggested that we all meet for breakfast at 7:30, but I looked at Gregg; he was looking exhausted, and I still needed to pack for the trip. I suggested that we could meet them at the lawyer's office at nine. Then we left, too.

When we got back to the house, Gregg looked at me with gratitude. "Thanks for getting us out of there, and thanks for begging off on breakfast. I have a hard time saying 'no' to Beau, but I am completely worn out."

"Don't think I'm all that altruistic! I'm pooped, too, and I haven't had a chance to pack. We've been on the run almost constantly since you arrived in town. If we go to bed now, we can get a decent night's sleep, and then, when we get up in the morning, we'll pack and then stop somewhere for breakfast before we have to meet Hurricane Beau."

He grinned. "That sounds like a really good idea. Good night." He went into the bathroom and then to the bedroom. I had that strange feeling again, as if I had lost something, when he closed the door.

From Gregg's diary:

I can hardly wait for noon tomorrow! We'll be on the plane to Nebraska, and all this craziness will be behind us. We've been here a little over two days, and I feel as if I'd gone through two months of rushing around and trying to get everything in place for when we come back. I just hope living here isn't going to be this hectic. If it is, I think I'll just leave everything and take a bus back to Nebraska. This is just too much for me!

Well, I got the appraisal on the building tonight. It's steep, but not unreasonable. I think the lady at the bank was right. The building is worth whatever I have to pay for it. I'll have to get in to see her as soon as we get back from Nebraska.

The one bright spot in this whole mess has been Harley. He has been right there to help, to advise, to comfort and to pour coffee when I desperately needed it. He's like a rock! I don't know how he keeps so cool through all this insanity we've been going through. And he keeps the sweetest temper through everything. He's the only reason I haven't been tearing my hair out and screaming. I'm really looking forward to driving cross-country with him. It will give us a chance to talk and really get to know each other. He hasn't said anything about the terrible goofs I made; he acts as if he didn't even notice them. Maybe he didn't. Or maybe,...? Maybe he's just a little bit interested in me too? I can only hope so. He's already proved that he is strong in a crisis; he doesn't fall apart the way I do. And he always seems to know when to speak up and when to shut up. That's something I really need to learn! And I think I'd really enjoy learning - a lot of things - from him! I just hope I'm not imagining all this. I'd hate to make the wrong move, or say the wrong thing, and drive him away.

Well, if I don't get to bed soon, the poor man will have to drag me out again tomorrow. I was so embarrassed this morning. Good night, Harley. I hope you dream about me. I know I'll be dreaming about you.