took after me Mum who was born and raised in England,” Alex replied evenly, “In fact I was born there, and we lived there until I was five. You can’t learn to speak English better than that.”
“Yeah but you’ve been in America for 25 years, how come you still talk like you just got off the boat?”
“Simple, I promised myself to keep my accent after my Mum died. So I watch mostly British television and have spent a number of summers back in England. Not every summer, but a good number of them,” Alex explained proudly.
“Bullshit, you just keep it up to get girls. Everybody knows English accents draw in the babes,” his friend shot back. “Hey, you’re still in living in New Swindon Connecticut right? Ever hear of a guy named Graham?”
A strange feeling of foreboding crept over Alex as he answered, “Yeah, he owned a huge estate around here. I believe the old fellow’s been in the hospital for the last few years. Why?”
“He died this afternoon,” Dave told him. “Apparently, he left orders that his will was to be opened by his lawyers as soon as he passed away. Turns out he was the last of his family and he left instruction for the place is to be put on the market, ASAP!”
“So why call me? I don’t do residential,” Alex pointed out.
“We’re not talking residential my friend. The place has about 30 acres of manicured lawns, statues, gardens, and a stone bridge over a large stream. We’re talking golf course, resort or conference center. Get my meaning?”
For a brief moment Alex felt cold again, and then it passed. What the hell was going on? Shaking his head he said, “You want me to get it on the market and show it off. Put together a big Open House and whatnot, right?”
“Exactly!” his friend said excitedly, “Hey are you okay? You don’t sound too good.”
“Flu bug,” Alex replied absently and then assured his friend that he’d take care of things and hung up. “At least I hope that’s all it is,” he said aloud and headed back to bed, pausing briefly at the linen closet to grab an extra blanket.
An hour later he awoke to the sound of the front door opening and Julie calling his name.
Already he could sense something was wrong. “I’m in the bedroom,” he replied and sat up.
As Julie entered the bedroom he noticed Veronica wasn’t with her. “Where’s my other half?” he asked worriedly.
Sitting down heavily on the bed his friend turned to him and said, “Still on the job. Remember those drinks you suggested? Well we were on our way to JT’s when we passed the Police Impound Yard. Ronnie spotted the Medical Examiner’s car and an ambulance there, so of course we had to pull in and see what was up.”
“They find another body in the wreck?”
The big brunette nodded, “But it wasn’t the girl I saw. It was the mechanic who worked there, Paul Chase. He drowned inside the wreck. Somehow it filled up with water, while he was inside of it.”
“Bloody Hell,” Alex murmured, sensing they wouldn’t be able to find a rational explanation for what had happened. He looked at his companion and said, “You knew those kids were already dead when you saw them, didn’t you?”
To her credit, Julie didn’t grow pale or gasp. Instead, she got up and wandered over to a window as she gathered her thoughts.
Finally she spoke, “I thought they were just done up in make-up at first. You know, goofing
“Yeah but you’ve been in America for 25 years, how come you still talk like you just got off the boat?”
“Simple, I promised myself to keep my accent after my Mum died. So I watch mostly British television and have spent a number of summers back in England. Not every summer, but a good number of them,” Alex explained proudly.
“Bullshit, you just keep it up to get girls. Everybody knows English accents draw in the babes,” his friend shot back. “Hey, you’re still in living in New Swindon Connecticut right? Ever hear of a guy named Graham?”
A strange feeling of foreboding crept over Alex as he answered, “Yeah, he owned a huge estate around here. I believe the old fellow’s been in the hospital for the last few years. Why?”
“He died this afternoon,” Dave told him. “Apparently, he left orders that his will was to be opened by his lawyers as soon as he passed away. Turns out he was the last of his family and he left instruction for the place is to be put on the market, ASAP!”
“So why call me? I don’t do residential,” Alex pointed out.
“We’re not talking residential my friend. The place has about 30 acres of manicured lawns, statues, gardens, and a stone bridge over a large stream. We’re talking golf course, resort or conference center. Get my meaning?”
For a brief moment Alex felt cold again, and then it passed. What the hell was going on? Shaking his head he said, “You want me to get it on the market and show it off. Put together a big Open House and whatnot, right?”
“Exactly!” his friend said excitedly, “Hey are you okay? You don’t sound too good.”
“Flu bug,” Alex replied absently and then assured his friend that he’d take care of things and hung up. “At least I hope that’s all it is,” he said aloud and headed back to bed, pausing briefly at the linen closet to grab an extra blanket.
An hour later he awoke to the sound of the front door opening and Julie calling his name.
Already he could sense something was wrong. “I’m in the bedroom,” he replied and sat up.
As Julie entered the bedroom he noticed Veronica wasn’t with her. “Where’s my other half?” he asked worriedly.
Sitting down heavily on the bed his friend turned to him and said, “Still on the job. Remember those drinks you suggested? Well we were on our way to JT’s when we passed the Police Impound Yard. Ronnie spotted the Medical Examiner’s car and an ambulance there, so of course we had to pull in and see what was up.”
“They find another body in the wreck?”
The big brunette nodded, “But it wasn’t the girl I saw. It was the mechanic who worked there, Paul Chase. He drowned inside the wreck. Somehow it filled up with water, while he was inside of it.”
“Bloody Hell,” Alex murmured, sensing they wouldn’t be able to find a rational explanation for what had happened. He looked at his companion and said, “You knew those kids were already dead when you saw them, didn’t you?”
To her credit, Julie didn’t grow pale or gasp. Instead, she got up and wandered over to a window as she gathered her thoughts.
Finally she spoke, “I thought they were just done up in make-up at first. You know, goofing
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