Page 92 of Will Bark for Pizza
I didn’t know if I had the bandwidth for a large gathering tonight. Whether I could pretend everything was fine. But before I made that decision, I needed to wash away the makeup-smeared evidence.
A few feet before the staircase, I heard voices and froze.
“Spell it out for me, Joe. I like facts. What did she do?”
Pauline andDad? He missed dinner, but he must have shown up while I was out on my walk.
“There’s a second mortgage on the building. I don’t know how she got a lender to approve it without me, but she found one of those online deals.”
“That’ll be forgery charges.”
“Already filed.”
“Good. Smartman.”
“She cashed out the money before I ever knew about it.”
“From a local bank?”
“She had a friend on the inside.”
I glued myself to the wall just outside the formal dining room, hoping Husker cooperated and didn’t give us away. Dad never told me about the insider at the bank. What else didn’t he tell me? And why was he filling in a complete stranger aboutourfamily business? Giving her details he kept from me?
“Anyway, the bank account is empty. I had to deplete my savings to make the last payroll. That’s why the place is closed right now. I can barely afford to pay for the utilities. She took everything.”
“And no one can find her?”
“Not yet.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry, Joe.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Me too. It broke my heart hearing all this from Dad a few nights ago. But the wound re-opened hearing him tell it again, and adding new details. As if this made it all the more final. There really was no hope. We’d sell as many books as we could this coming week, donate the rest, and close the door on Brenda’s Book Nook. Forever.
Could this day get any fucking worse?
“I have vendors still sending me bills, threatening to send me to collections if I don’t pay up. One even threatened a lawsuit. It’s the biggest mess you can imagine. I can’t let anyone take that on. It would be like handing over a sinking ship that has minutes left before it goes completely under. Who can save that?”
Take on what, exactly?
Was Dad talking to Pauline about sellingherthe bookstore? Wasthatwhy he was being so honest with someone he met all of five minutes ago? Or had Beckett already had the two in touch before tonight? Was Pauline in town to make a new investment?
No, that didn’t make sense. Why would a woman who traveled the world on the regular buy a small-town bookstore somewhere she’d never been before? Beckett mentioned his grandma was a smart businesswoman who’d done very well for herself over the years. This didn’t seem like a smart business move—for anyone.
Fucking Margene.
“Beckett will have a number of local tenants to choose from before the sale is even final. I can help him vet them. Give him insight on which ones to steer clear from.”
“It’s the best-case scenario in a really shitty situation.”
“I’m selling to him below market value,” Dad said. “It’s just enough to pay off the second mortgage and maybe give the part-timers a severance check to thank them for sticking it out.”
“And here I was, worried he was getting too emotionally involved in his business decisions.”
“He’s a good kid.”
“Yeah, he is.”
