leisure. Just a few little things Iâve noticed that will need changes for you to get your certification.â
âWhat would you do if I moved in before that?â
âThrow the book at you.â
Carla, entertaining a high opinion of her own intelligence, actually began to use it. âHow much?â
âHow much what?â
âMoney. What do you want in order to check these things off the punch list?â
âAre you trying to bribe a public official?â He pretended mock horror.
âIâm trying to figure out why youâre being so difficult. If it isnât money, do you want a suite of teak outdoor furniture?â Carlaâs husband, Jurgen, owned a large outdoor-furniture manufacturing plant over in Waynesboro.
âNo, I donât. Wouldnât have the time to use it, anyway.â
âWhat do you want?â
âFor you to study that list.â He walked past her to the hallway. âAnd you might reconsider how you treat this public official.â
In the living room, the painting crew was putting the finishing touches on the woodwork. Not knowing whether theyâd heard the conversation back in the guest room, Mike winked as he passed them.
Orrie Eberhard, on a ladder, smiled. He didnât like Mike, but he didnât get in his way, either. Mike could hurt his business through rumor and innuendo. Orrie kept on the good side of him.
Carla, puce-faced, came into the living room just as Mike pulled out in his county truck. âHow long have you known Mike McElvoy?â
Orrie carefully put his brush crossways on the open paint can. âMost of his life. We went through school together.â
âDid he cheat?â
âMaâam?â
âDid he cheat on tests and stuff like that?â
âNo, not that I know of.â
âDo you think heâs honest?â
Orrie ignored that question, since he didnât want the reply to come back to him. âThe thing you have to understand about Mike is, his father shamed the whole family. I mean, they were lower than earthworms. Mike has some power and he likes that. Heâs kind of aggressive about it.â
âWhat did his father do?â
âDrank himself to death. Found him dead as a doornail on the swings at the elementary school.â
âTherefore I shall assume that Mike doesnât touch a drop.â
âNo, maâam, he doesnât.â
âAny vices?â
âNow, Mrs. Paulson, I havenât made Mike a lifeâs study. I mean, we get along okay, but he goes his way and I go mine. Plus, I donât want him criticizing my work, even though it has nothing to do with the building code.â
âIf it has lead paint in it, it does.â
âYes, maâam, thatâs true.â Orrie began to appreciate how quick she was.
âIs his marriage strong?â
âI donât know.â
She lifted an eyebrow, still looking up at him. âEveryone has an Achillesâ heel, Orrie, everyone.â
âWell, Mrs. Paulson, for what itâs worth, I didnât much like Mike in school and I donât much like him now, but I get along to go along. Lifeâs a whole lot easier that way.â
Carla gave him a tight smile and left. She had never learned to get along to go along, and she always felt there was something vaguely immoral about it or, if not immoral, weak-willed.
Mike McElvoy wanted something. She was sure of that. Most people, if you hand them a fat envelope of cash, will take it. The question was how much. If he didnât want cash, what did he want?
She couldnât bear more delays on this house or the expense they would entail. Jurgen would fuss.
Carla had a sense, like many people, that there was a clear division of labor assigned by gender. Jurgen made the money. She spent it. She had to cajole him into it, but she used her arsenal of tricks to good effect.
12
I wish Iâd never said Iâd do
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