For Sale in Palm Springs: The Henry Wright Mystery Series

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Henry took Sunrise Way as the quickest way back over to East Palm Canyon drive where Thornbird's real estate office was located. He found the office building quickly near the Palapas Garden Nursery on Palm Canyon close to the new condominiums that had just been built. The big sign out front had the Coachella Real Estate logo on it with large arrow and an "enter here." There was plenty of parking, the building was constructed in the parking lot of a shopping center and he found a shady spot under a Palo Verde tree and locked the car and headed for the front door.

The heavily tinted glass door opened onto a tiny lobby filled with several leather upholstered chairs that had seen a lot of use and a table with "Homes" magazines. The interior was filled with a maze of cubicle walls and aisles, and several people popped their heads out above the cube walls as Henry walked in. It reminded Henry somewhat of the prairie dogs checking their environment for predators that he saw on a Discovery channel show once. Obviously Henry was no predator or threat to anyone and as quickly as they popped their heads up, they were down again back at doing whatever it was that they did in their little domains.

The smallest desk Henry had ever seen was off to the left, on its accompanying chair was a bored teenage girl with terrible acne who was reading a magazine and filing her nails while she was talking on the phone.

"Gotta go, someone's here." She said as she hung up the phone, slammed the magazine shut and put the fingernail file in the pencil drawer in one smooth motion that Henry figured she probably practiced numerous times throughout the day. She looked up at Henry and said "Welcome to Coachella Real Estate, how can I help you?" with a grin that showed that someone in her family could obviously afford the payments on the silver braces that lined her teeth.

"Good morning, I'm Henry Wright and I'm here to see your office manager" Henry said pleasantly, feeling somewhat sorry for the girl stuck in this little spot.

"Oh, is Mrs. Murphy expecting you?" She asked picking up the phone.

"Well, she's been told that I would be coming to talk with her so she's sort of expecting me, but I didn't make an appointment" Henry said.

"Hold on, I'll let her know you're here. You said Mr. Wright, correct?"

"Yes, that's right, Henry Wright." Henry said, heading for one of the chairs to wait for the office manager's arrival.

Shortly after the homely teenager at the little desk had hung up the phone, a small middle aged woman with bright curly strawberry blond hair wearing a dark green pantsuit which complimented her deep green eyes came bounding around the corner of the cubicle wall holding her hand out.

"Mr. Wright, I'm Rosie Murphy, the office manager here at Coachella Real Estate." Henry got up from the plastic chair and took the offered hand and said

"It's nice to meet you; do you have a few moments so that I can talk with you about Mr. Thornbird?" Mrs. Murphy had a firm handshake which Henry appreciated; he didn't care for the limp fish shake, especially in business people.

Henry let her hand go and stepped back as she started waving her hands and talking very animatedly, "Oh yes, poor Rex, I mean Mr. Thornbird, of course. Mr. Johnson from the police department said you'd be interested in talking with me, even though I told those other detectives everything I know. Which isn't much by the way - say can I get you something to drink, coffee or ice water or something like that - Tiffany, have you offered Mr. Wright anything yet?"

The girl, Tiffany, shook her head while Henry took a breath on Mrs. Murphy's behalf; it was amazing how this short petite woman could manage such a stream of words and activity without seeming to pause in-between for a breath. "What would you like?" Tiffany, the teenager at the desk smiled her silvery smile.