Page 4 of My One and Only

Jo almost spit out her sip of coffee. “Actually, Mom, the subject was a young woman. Close to my age.” She curled her fingers more tightly around the mug. “She was almost killed, but she survived and she’s fine.”

Her mother gasped. Pressed her hand to her throat. “What happened?”

Jo smiled at her mother. “You know I can’t tell you any details,” she said gently. They discussed this every time she said anything to her mom about a case. “But she’s fine. And the bad guys are all in jail. A happy ending all around.”

Trying to change the subject of her job, Jo said, “Tell me about the house you’re having built.”

Her mother practically wiggled with delight. “It’ll be small,” she said. “Two bedrooms, a living room and dining area, a kitchen and two bathrooms. And a lovely little patio at the back of the house.”

“It sounds perfect,” Jo said with a smile. “When is it supposed to be ready?”

“Two more months,” her mom said happily. “Not that I don’t like this rental your brothers found for me, but it’ll be nice to be in my own place. And brand new!” She smiled widely. “I’ve never had a brand new house.”

“I’ll take a look at it in the morning.” Stretching out her legs, Jo said, “Right now, I’m thinking about dinner. How about Lou Malnati’s pizza? You know how much I love The Lou.”

“I figured that was what you’d want,” her mom said, practically bouncing on her chair. “I’ll call the Geneva restaurant and have them deliver it.”

Before Jo could tell her mom she’d pick it up, her mom was dialing and ordering. When she ended the call, she said, “Pizza will be here in about an hour.” She tilted her head. “You want a glass of wine in the meantime?”

“Thanks, Mom,” Jo said. “A glass of wine sounds great.”

* * *

The next morning, after breakfast with her mother, Jo had her mom write down the address of her new house, then she climbed into her car and headed for the new development being built. It was a 55-and-older community, and Jo was happy that her mom would have the opportunity to make new friends. She’d worried when her mother had told her she was selling her house and moving to a new development in Ogden. Most of the people on her mom’s block had been there as long as her mom. But Jo had researched the development, and she was confident that her mother would be happy there. They had all kinds of programs and activities for their residents, and her new house was close to Jo’s brothers. One of them lived in Geneva, while the other lived in St.Charles.

Jo hadn’t spent a lot of time with the construction crew in the Army, but she knew she’d recognize quality work. As she pulled into the new development, she saw that work was in progress on a number of houses. She followed her mapping app down the winding streets until she saw a sign with her mom’s address on it in front of a partially built house. A truck sat in front of the house, and as she pulled in behind it, a man opened the driver’s side door and headed toward the house.

As she killed the engine, she spotted a man walking out of the house. A tool belt hung from his waist, with a hammer hanging through a loop on the right side of his jeans. A leather nail pouch drooped from his belt, which was drawn tight around his lean waist. A cigarette dangled from one side of his mouth.

Shoving his hand through his hair, he shook the newcomer’s hand. They chatted for a moment, then the carpenter pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket and offered it to the newcomer. But instead of pulling out a cigarette, the newcomer pulled out what looked like a wad of cash. He thumbed through it, nodded, then slid it into his jeans pocket. He slapped the carpenter on the back, then turned to walk to his truck.

Sucking in a breath at what looked like a pay-off, instinct honed in too many war zones had Jo sliding down so that her head wasn’t visible in the car. She stayed there until she heard the truck in front of her start up and drive away. When it turned around and passed her car, she saw the lettering on the side of the truck -- City of Ogden. Building and Permits Department.

When the sound of the truck had disappeared completely, she waited five more minutes before she sat up.

The pick-up in the driveway probably belonged to the carpenter. Frowning, she looked around. Was he working alone? Shouldn’t there be at least a couple more people here?

Stepping out of the car, she walked up the rutted dirt driveway and approached the house. She heard the sound of pounding coming from inside, so she stuck her head into the door. “Hello?”

The pounding stopped, and the same guy who’d given the cash to the man in the city of Ogden truck appeared in front of her. “Help you?”he asked, looking wary.

Jo pasted a smile on her face. “I’m Jo Hatch. Molly Finster’s daughter. I’m visiting her from out of town, and she asked me to check on the progress of her house. Okay if I come in and look around?” She widened her smile. “Mom’s really excited about this house. Can’t wait for it to be finished.”

The carpenter studied her for a long moment, his shoulders still hunched. Finally he said, “Come on in. Just watch where you step. Nails on the floor. Pieces of wood. Don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’ll be careful,” Jo assured him.

He led her around the structure, pointing out where each of the rooms would be. “It’s gonna be a while before it looks like a real house,” he said. “I’m still framing it out.”

“I don’t want to keep you from your work,” she said. “Mind if I look around a bit? So I can describe it to my mom?”

He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure. Just watch where you step.”

“Will do,” Jo said, then frowned. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Billy. Billy Simms.”

“Thanks, Mr.Simms. I promise to be careful.”

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