Page 5 of Grinchland
“Mayor?”
A moving truck had now slowed in front of Linda’s house and then started to slowly back up into the driveway.
“Silas?”
“Hmm?” I glanced over to see Todd was staring at me with a confused expression. He had his notebook out and his pen poised in anticipation of my response.
Todd paused. “Was there anything that you wanted me to specifically say to Mrs. Potts?”
I blinked at him, trying to recall what he had been talking about. Normally, I was always on the ball. I would look distracted, but when asked to repeat what had just been discussed, I could, with ninety-nine percent accuracy.
This was a first.
“Um…” Did I admit to Todd that I hadn’t been listening? No, changing the subject seemed the better option. Plus, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to focus until the sudden appearance of this mystery woman was solved. “Do you know if Linda Nexworthy rented out her house?”
I glanced back out my window to see that the woman and a mover were now standing at the back of the truck while the other mover unlatched the rollup door.
“Linda Nexworthy?” Todd paused. “The cashier at Shop ’n Save? I thought she had to go to Texas to help her daughter after her grandson’s diagnosis. I didn’t know she was renting her house out.”
When I realized Todd wasn’t going to be any help, I pushed off the armrests of my desk chair and slowly made my way to the window so I could peer down. The woman was now directing the movers who were removing all sorts of boxes and what looked like Christmas decorations from the truck.
I sighed as realization dawned on me. This woman was new. From the way she dressed and the obscene number of boxes labeled Christmas Decorations, I knew my peaceful December was looking a lot more grim.
Thankfully, most of the residents in Grinchland respected the decision we’d made as a town council when we changed the city charter to ban the decoration and celebration of Christmas. Most people who still wanted to celebrate left to do that elsewhere. Those who didn’t mind, stayed. We’d even become a destination spot for people who wanted to avoid the holiday.
Some cities were the stop for all things holly jolly. We were the opposite.
“Who is that?”
I startled and turned to see that Todd was now standing next to me. Heat pricked the back of my neck. Todd was a fantastic assistant, but he was nosey. I stepped back from the window and settled back onto my chair, hoping that Todd would get the hint to drop it. “Get Linda on the phone. I need to ask her who is renting her house.”
Todd lingered by the window for a few seconds longer as I shifted my focus to my computer and shook the mouse to wake it up. I wanted to know what the newcomer was doing now, but that was only going to fuel the flames of curiosity that I could feel building up inside of Todd.
Thankfully, he didn’t linger by the window. Instead, he walked away while pulling his phone from his back pocket and typing away on the screen. Then, he handed it over to me.
Three rings and Linda answered. “Hello?”
“Linda?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Silas.”
She paused. “What can I do for you, Mayor.”
“Did you rent out your house?”
She let out a long, pointed sigh. “Yes, I did.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I thought we talked about you letting me know when you had a candidate.”
“Well, since you’ve rejected the last five candidates, I figured that no one was going to make you happy, and I need help with the mortgage. Maria needed a place for the new substitute teacher to stay, and she asked me if I’d rent her my house. Seemed like a win-win, so I said yes. Clara’s a nice girl.”
I knew that there was no legal way for me to fight Linda on this. We had a handshake agreement that I would let her use my parking spot at the community center if she promised to keep me in the loop when she was picking a renter. I guess our agreement was now null and void.
My lack of response must have had her scrambling, because she continued. “If it makes you feel better, she’s just taking a substitute position. She’ll only be here for a few months, and then we’ll be right back where we were before.” She paused. “I need money for gifts for my grandkids. I would appreciate it if you didn’t scare her off.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Scare her off?” I repeated. What did she mean by that?
