BOILER

Chapter 22

Jerry had an address listed on Ebenezer Drive. Toland parked and watched the house for what felt like a long time. The sunlight was getting red as it streaked across the hills in the distance, trying to outrun the night behind it. Toland strolled up to the house and knocked the front door. He waited, tried again, still got nothing and went around the back.

A big section of the back wall was missing. There was a big wooden frame covered in tarp and plastic sheet where the tarp didn't reach that was trying to keep the weather outside the house. There were tears all over the place and parts of the tarp had come free from their ties and were slapping the neighbour's wall. Toland put his foot in one of the holes and put his weight on it and just unzipped the tarp like that. He poked his head in the hole and brought it out again as a cat came rushing through. He stepped inside.

Nothing seemed to be living in there now the cat was gone. He came into a dining room that had an oval table buried under magazines and mail invitations from foreign princes to claim untold millions. There was a stack of fliers from J.G. Property, the company Jerry had started after his release from prison.

All the walls and floors were bare. There were unopened paint cans on a toolbox against one wall. The living-room furniture which amounted to a couch, tv, and stand with water rings on it were all at odd angles with nothing facing the tv and the tv was facing the floor. The house was silent apart from the wind pushing leaves this way and that in the kitchen. Drawers had been ransacked in the bedroom. Socks, pants, and porn were cast about with abandon. He didn't know if it was Jerry who left the place like this but was sure enough he wasn't coming back soon so went through the drawers and kicked the clothes about and shunted the bed out of the way. He lifted the mattress and checked for tears. The linoleum floor in the bathroom had been torn up and one floorboard had been removed. He searched around in there and found a few damp bills and a plastic bag. He found vodka in the fridge, rinsed a glass, drank a mouthful. He left the glass in the sink and left.

***

J.G. Property. The office was above a coffee shop on an intersection where people were sitting stiffly under an awning and trying to catch the last dregs of the sun. Toland parked. There was a speaker box and door under the sign. He strolled over, pushed the button, and waited. A female voice came down the line.

'J.G. Property Development,' Kelly speaking.

'Hi there. I saw your sign on a property up on Ebenezer Drive. I really liked the look of it, and I was wondering who I should speak to about that.'

'I'm sorry. Who is speaking?'

'Mike Marshal. I tried calling the number on the sign you had there, but there wasn't anybody picking up.'

'What was the property?'

'I'm not sure about the number, but it's on Ebenezer Drive.'

'Oh, well, that property is newly acquired and so isn't up for sale right now. It's still under development.'

'I understand that, but what struck me was the location really, you know, it's all about location. Some great views up there.'

'There are, aren't there.'

'Really great. Anyway, I was just stopping for a coffee when I saw the sign, so I thought I'd be dumb not to ask. If it's not available, then that's ok, but could you maybe just give me some information on the area? Surveys, for instance?'

'What do you mean by surveys?'

'Well, developers like to research areas before they invest anything — crime rate is a good one. Anything they think might hurt the final price. You know what I mean? Would you have any information like that? It would be really appreciated.'