I was kinda hoping the Dashing Major could join us but he had to get back. It would've been good to be the three of us.
But you were up for the trip so that was real good.
All I got from the attorney was the will and the keys. The deed needed redrafting to show me as the legal owner so we would have to wait for that.
You tried looking the address up on the internet and streetview but it gave us nothing. So we'd have to wait until we got there to get any idea of the house.
You started to look up houses in the area and that gave us a fair idea of the neighbourhood. All clapboard houses and wooden front porches.
I got us booked into a decent hotel in Indiana. Didn't look to be anything in the small town where the house was anyway. And so after dropping the Dashing Major off at the airport we started our road trip. All 330 miles of it. I reckoned 6 hours or so with stops.
Interstate driving is boring. But with you it was fun. We talked and sang and laughed. Even managed to persuade you to do some driving. You drive pretty fast though. We were lucky not to get pulled over.
And before we knew it we were booking in at the hotel. Large chain - characterless rooms - but decent quality. And the food was good. We managed to get adjacent rooms and agreed to meet down in the bar. You wanted to call the Dashing Major.
I'd already got an update from High Maintenance Mandy. The team weren't happy she had disappeared but were relieved she was back. She's decided she's gonna lay down the law a bit so she can get away more often without the drama.
Not much to say about that evening other than we were both tired after the drive. We decided we'd make an early start of it so turned in.
As it turned out the town was only 15 minutes drive from the hotel. Narrow roads and fields. Country.
Coming down the main street there wasn't much to see. Square buildings made up a few tired looking shops. And a post office. Houses dotted around. Quiet. Remote. Jeez.
Eventually we pulled up outside the place. It didn't look too bad from the outside. Grey paintwork on the clapboard walls - could do with sprucing up. But it was okay. Small patch of lawn out front had been cut recently.
We walked round back and there was a larger, longer stretch of empty grass. Fenced on the sides by the neighbours but nothing at the bottom. Just some trees. There was a low building behind the trees which I guessed belonged to another property. Hard to tell.
You got creeped out by two crosses stuck into the grass. I pointed out that it was probably for a clothes line.
At least I hoped it was. Bit obvious if there were bodies buried in the garden if they weren't.
We decided to go in through the front door.
You'd called your house a fixer-upper. This was on a whole new level.
No carpets. No curtains. No furniture. I'd expected that.
Floors painted brown. Decor that suggested no-one had lived here since the 70's. Kitchen units with doors hanging off. Broken blinds. Bits of wood lying around as if someone had thought about doing something and given up. It was a mess.
The rooms downstairs were a decent size though and there were at least two decent sized bedrooms. The family bathroom was too small but there was a small room - painted lime green - that could go to make way for a bigger bathroom. Yeah. It had potential.
Do it up and sell it on.
But then why hadn't gramps done that. Why keep it. My spidey sense was saying there would be a reason. And I wouldn't like it.
You'd gone outside to check out the bottom of the garden. I could hear voices. Could see you talking to an old man peeping over the fence. You looked like you might be a while.
So I started thinking. If I had something to hide where would I hide it.
Floors downstairs had been painted over. Was there a reason for that? I started testing the rooms. Looking for a squeak. A suggestion of a loose board. Signs that something might not be right.
Nothing obvious. But if I was hiding something it wouldn't be obvious.
But would gramps be as careful? He was a man who had left a gun, a bloody knife and a helluva lot of cash in a storage unit. Not that well hidden either.
I was in the hallway. Facing the stairs. Too obvious? Too cliche to be under a stair?
I started bouncing on each stair. Testing them in turn. They each had their own note but nothing that suggested a hiding place. Hallway didn't give anything.
Main bedroom was a featureless square. Nothing calling to me there.
Second bedroom had some tired old folding doors to a narrow closet. Solid wall at the back. I moved into the closet to get a better look upwards. Nothing but ceiling but as I did there was a different squeak. A different note to the wooden floor.
I moved over the floor now - methodically. Definitely a different note. Just there.
I took a knife from my ... well never mind where from. I tested the edges of the boards. They didn't give so easily. But they weren't as secure as their neighbours. Yes. This was looking promising.
I worked around one of the boards - teasing it up - carefully. I got my cell out and used its torch. Prising up the corner of the board I was struggling to see anything. I raised it a little higher. The floorboard creaked a little. It didn't like this. Would it split?
Would it matter if it did? That would depend on if there was anything down there I wanted to keep down there. For now at least.
I thought I could see something. It was difficult though to make out if it was just dust and imagination.
I worked down the board now - teasing and prying. I figured I would have to lift this one out if I was going to check it out properly.
It took a while but eventually - with a nasty crack - the board sprung loose. I put it to one side but could already see that there was something. It was under where I was knelt. I was sure of that.
I tried angling the torch light under - difficult to get a good look because of the back of the closet wall.
But yes - there it was. Poking around with the edge of my knife and by the light of the cell phone there it definitely was.
A hand. Skeletal. But a hand and a wrist and ... yeah. We were going for the full set I reckon on this one.
Thanks gramps - just f*****g thanks!!
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