any assets remain after I’ve paid the specific bequests first.”
Frost nodded, and a smile reappeared. “Then I’m the answer to your prayers. I’ll give you ten percent more than this entire place is worth on paper, right here and now, and you don’t have to mess with any of it.”
“Who’s to say what it’s worth, exactly?” I asked him.
“You’re kidding, right? This place is in bad need of a fire,” he said. “The building and everything in it isn’t worth more than a thousand dollars. It’s the land I want.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said. “However, I disagree with your valuation.”
“You know what? You’re more like your mother than you seem,” he said, and I could tell that he wasn’t paying me a compliment.
I chose to take it as one, though. “Flattery will get you nowhere,” I said with my fake smile repeated. How far could I push him on price? I knew that depended on how badly he wanted the place, and the only way to truly find out was to haggle with him, whether I chose to ultimately sell it all to him or not.
“Okay, maybe it’s worth a little more than a grand,” he conceded. “How about ten thousand?”
Had I just raised his bid for the building and its contents tenfold without even breaking a sweat? “Give me a figure for the land, too,” I said.
“Eighty thousand, lock, stock, and barrel,” he said.
I just shook my head.
“Ninety.”
“No thanks.”
After a moment, he frowned at me and said, “One hundred thousand dollars, and that’s the best I can do. It’s only half an acre of land, for goodness sake. For that price, I can buy land somewhere else and avoid the hassle of dealing with all of that junk inside.”
“I’ll consider it,” I said.
That just managed to anger him more. “Be honest with me. You don’t have any intention of selling this place to me, do you?”
“I don’t care who it goes to, but you’re not the only interested party,” I said. It wasn’t true, at least as far as I knew, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t nudge him a little more.
“Okay. I’ve got another offer for you. You keep whatever of value that you find inside. I’ll take the empty building and the land, all for the original hundred-grand offer. You might be able to make a few thousand if you can sell the junk inside, and that will be pure gravy for you. You wouldn’t even have to report it to the other heirs if you didn’t want to,” he added slyly. “Do we have a deal?”
I was saved from defending my honor by the state police inspector’s arrival.
“What are you doing here, Mr. Frost?” Inspector Black asked him the moment she approached us.
“Just doing a little business with the estate’s executrix,” he said.
“Not this afternoon, you’re not.”
“Hold on one second. She was about to accept my offer,” he stammered.
“Sorry. You heard the inspector,” I said with a smile. “We’ll have to continue this discussion at a later date.”
“I need an answer right now, Suzanne.” He was a bully at heart, but sadly for him, I knew how to deal with bullies.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked him sweetly. “Remember, no is just as definitive an answer as yes.”
He got it immediately. “Tomorrow is soon enough.”
“Until then,” I said.
After he’d driven off, Inspector Black asked me, “What was that all about?”
“Evidently Frost has been trying to buy this property for years, but Dan wouldn’t sell it to him. Now that the original owner is dead, though, he’s trying to make a deal with me.”
Black frowned, but she didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Evidently our minds were thinking alike. Frost could have murdered Dan for his property, figuring that the executrix might be an easier nut to crack than the original owner had been. The developer hadn’t counted on dealing with me, though. “Are you wondering if he just gave himself a motive for murder, too?” I asked her.
“You have got to butt out of my
Frost nodded, and a smile reappeared. “Then I’m the answer to your prayers. I’ll give you ten percent more than this entire place is worth on paper, right here and now, and you don’t have to mess with any of it.”
“Who’s to say what it’s worth, exactly?” I asked him.
“You’re kidding, right? This place is in bad need of a fire,” he said. “The building and everything in it isn’t worth more than a thousand dollars. It’s the land I want.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said. “However, I disagree with your valuation.”
“You know what? You’re more like your mother than you seem,” he said, and I could tell that he wasn’t paying me a compliment.
I chose to take it as one, though. “Flattery will get you nowhere,” I said with my fake smile repeated. How far could I push him on price? I knew that depended on how badly he wanted the place, and the only way to truly find out was to haggle with him, whether I chose to ultimately sell it all to him or not.
“Okay, maybe it’s worth a little more than a grand,” he conceded. “How about ten thousand?”
Had I just raised his bid for the building and its contents tenfold without even breaking a sweat? “Give me a figure for the land, too,” I said.
“Eighty thousand, lock, stock, and barrel,” he said.
I just shook my head.
“Ninety.”
“No thanks.”
After a moment, he frowned at me and said, “One hundred thousand dollars, and that’s the best I can do. It’s only half an acre of land, for goodness sake. For that price, I can buy land somewhere else and avoid the hassle of dealing with all of that junk inside.”
“I’ll consider it,” I said.
That just managed to anger him more. “Be honest with me. You don’t have any intention of selling this place to me, do you?”
“I don’t care who it goes to, but you’re not the only interested party,” I said. It wasn’t true, at least as far as I knew, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t nudge him a little more.
“Okay. I’ve got another offer for you. You keep whatever of value that you find inside. I’ll take the empty building and the land, all for the original hundred-grand offer. You might be able to make a few thousand if you can sell the junk inside, and that will be pure gravy for you. You wouldn’t even have to report it to the other heirs if you didn’t want to,” he added slyly. “Do we have a deal?”
I was saved from defending my honor by the state police inspector’s arrival.
“What are you doing here, Mr. Frost?” Inspector Black asked him the moment she approached us.
“Just doing a little business with the estate’s executrix,” he said.
“Not this afternoon, you’re not.”
“Hold on one second. She was about to accept my offer,” he stammered.
“Sorry. You heard the inspector,” I said with a smile. “We’ll have to continue this discussion at a later date.”
“I need an answer right now, Suzanne.” He was a bully at heart, but sadly for him, I knew how to deal with bullies.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked him sweetly. “Remember, no is just as definitive an answer as yes.”
He got it immediately. “Tomorrow is soon enough.”
“Until then,” I said.
After he’d driven off, Inspector Black asked me, “What was that all about?”
“Evidently Frost has been trying to buy this property for years, but Dan wouldn’t sell it to him. Now that the original owner is dead, though, he’s trying to make a deal with me.”
Black frowned, but she didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Evidently our minds were thinking alike. Frost could have murdered Dan for his property, figuring that the executrix might be an easier nut to crack than the original owner had been. The developer hadn’t counted on dealing with me, though. “Are you wondering if he just gave himself a motive for murder, too?” I asked her.
“You have got to butt out of my
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