Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights (3 page)

“There’s a light down there,” Max said, “but the electricity isn’t on right now.”

“I’ve got a flashlight in the car,” Chris said. “Be right back.”

A
cellar would make a perfect place to store things once we finished it off. I wondered how much work it would require. I envisioned shelves for storage and maybe a section for wine and other liquors. It would need sturdier doors, too.

“So you and your husband want to convert this
house into a restaurant?” Max asked.

“That’s the general idea,” I replied
. “It seems like we’d have an awful lot of work to do to make that happen though.”

I waited impatiently while
Chris was gone, worried about Sherlock and Watson. I felt really antsy when I heard Watson begin to whine.

“What’s going on down there?” I
called, wishing they could answer me. It was too dark to enter the basement.

Chris returned with
a flashlight and turned it on, carefully climbing downstairs. I followed close behind him. “What’s wrong with the dogs?” he asked.

“I have no idea, but let’s get them out of here.”

Chris turned the light on the dogs and Watson was scratching at a patch of cement in the corner of the cellar. There was a large old barrel sitting on top of it. I wondered if something might have leaked out of the bottom. I noticed another patch on the other side of the cellar. It appeared that at some point in time someone had thought about finishing off the cellar.

“Watson,
leave
it,” Chris ordered.
Leave it
was a command we’d learned when training them, along with
take it
. It was a good lesson in patience for them.

Not only did Watson ignore
Chris, but Sherlock began whining, too, and the scratching continued.

“Out,” Chris ordered
. “Right now!” He was using his authoritative voice, but the dogs weren’t listening. He grabbed Sherlock’s collar and pulled. He repeated his command and the dog reluctantly obeyed, heading for the stairs. Watson was more stubborn, but finally obeyed and followed Sherlock.

I felt like all the time and energy we’d spent training them had been a waste, but they
usually
obeyed us.

“I wonder what that was all about,” I said.

“Probably a dead body buried down here,” Chris said.

“
Not funny, Bogey Man.”

He smiled at my use of his nickname
. “I was joking. Those dogs are always getting into things. If we buy this place I’ll get rid of the barrel and that should solve the problem.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said.

Chapter Three

C
hris and I spent the next couple of days discussing the pros and cons of buying the house and converting it into a restaurant. I don’t know if the pros actually won out or not, but it was something we really wanted to do. We’d had a taste of the restaurant business and liked it. I had to chuckle when we talked about it because part of the reason I enjoyed it was that I was a boss, not a waitress. Continuing on with that same train of thought, I knew how to treat our waiters and waitresses because of my background. I knew what a hard, physical job it was, and many times there wasn’t much compensation. No matter how well you treated a customer, sometimes they could be downright nasty, and sometimes they just didn’t tip. And the base wage isn’t all that great. Tips make a difference.

The
brick house went into foreclosure, as predicted, and we made a bid on it. Even after Chris’s savings and the insurance money were used, we’d still need to take out a small loan, the key word being
small
. If we’d had to borrow a larger sum, we couldn’t have followed through with the restaurant. The problem was that we’d have to use part of Chris’s savings to live on while we set up the new restaurant, and that would leave us short.

I was happy because Chris and I were
able to spend more time with Mikey than normal. My son was growing up and I didn’t want to miss any more of him than I had to. We could take the dogs to work with us, but Mikey needed his sleep. We couldn’t keep him up at night. I counted my blessings that Constance was so willing to stay with my son.

On
e rainy day I let Mikey stay home from school because he said he felt like he was coming down with a cold. He wanted to go see the brick house, but I told him we’d have to wait until we knew if it was ours or not. He settled for helping me bake cookies and then sneaking a few to Sherlock and Watson. My son and the Labs were inseparable. He rolled on the floor and the dogs licked his face and tickled him. There was a lot of giggling and washing of face and hands that day. And the cold “miraculously” disappeared. Chris almost missed the fun because he was out running errands, but he arrived home in time to share cookies and milk with his stepson and two worn out dogs.

“There’s no mistaking that
Mikey’s your son,” Chris said. “His hair is dark blonde instead of auburn, but he’s definitely got your green eyes. He’s got your cute nose and ears, too.”

“Chriiiiii
s,” Mikey said, annoyed. “Boys don’t have cute noses and ears.”

“My mistake,” Chris said, grinning
. “So I like your ugly nose and big ears.” He laughed and Mikey laughed with him.

“Okay, Chris, you can call them just a
plain
nose and
plain
ears,” my son said, “and you can like them if you want to.”

The dogs had perked up when they heard the laughter and sauntered
back into the kitchen to see what was going on. The man and boy looked at each other before grabbing two cookies and tossing them to Sherlock and Watson.

“Chris?”
Mikey’s tone of voice caught my attention. He sounded very serious. I glanced at him quickly before turning away to give the impression that I was minding my own business. He’d been studying the backs of his hands.

“Yes,” Chris said.

“Ummm, would it be okay if I called you Dad instead of Chris?”

I had to fight
back tears. My son had never mentioned this desire to me. It touched me to my very core. Chris and I had discussed him adopting Mikey, but we’d been waiting for the right time to approach my son.

“I’d be honored,” Chris replied
, after clearing his throat. There was a decided catch in his voice. “But this means I can tell people you’re my son instead of my stepson, right?”

“I’d be honored,” Mikey mimicked.

I left the room in a hurry. I knew if Mikey saw my tears he’d be embarrassed. “Got to run to the ladies’ room,” I said, leaving the room. I pulled myself together and blew my nose before returning to the kitchen.

“Mom, is that okay with you?”

“Nothing would make me happier,” I replied, before hugging both of the men in my life.

The phone rang and Chris got up to answer it
. Sherlock raced him to the phone and slid into the wall. He was a big dog, and there was a loud thud. If dogs have expressions, then his was one of embarrassment. He shook his head a few times and stood quietly next to Chris, who glanced at the dog like he was an idiot – the dog, that is.

It
turned out to be a political recording and Chris hung up in disgust. “Didn’t we put our number on that Do Not Call list?”

“Yes, but
I’m don’t think that list applies to politicians.”

Watson sat innocently by Mikey’s feet, licking her paw
. She didn’t even take note of Sherlock when he sat next to her, ignoring him completely.

At di
nner that night Mikey told his
dad
that they were having a Father and Son event at school, and would he please come with him.

I’d swear Chris’s chest puffed up when he agreed
. “Is that why you want to call me dad?”

“No, sir, I just want you to be my dad
. I didn’t know my real father, you know. I was too little when he got sick.”

Mikey turned to me
. “Sorry, Mom, but this thing at school is only for sons and fathers.”

“That’s okay,
sweetie. I hope you two have a good time. When is it?”

“In
a few weeks, right before we get out of school for the summer.”

That night Chris and I received extra big hugs at bedtime
. We left Mikey’s room and discussed adoption again. Relationships were turning corners in our house, and my emotions were off the charts.

***

Before too much time went by we found out that our bid was accepted and the house was ours. And a new adventure began.

I called Sharon Stone,
our newspaper connection, and told her what we were doing. She was interested and wanted to talk to us about it.

Chris got the keys
to the house and Big D met us there.

“Okay, this means you’re going to introduce me to one of your friends, right?”
Big D asked in his gravelly voice.

Chris is five foot
ten, like I said, I’m five foot five, and Big D is six feet and four inches tall. He’s blonde with a husky build and powder blue eyes. We both looked up at him. Davey was younger than we were, probably around twenty-eight or so. He and Chris had met when Chris worked as a mail carrier. Davey was on his route. They’d run into each other at a bar one night and had a beer together, and a friendship formed.

“Yes,” I said, “I know a woman named Myrna
whom I think you’d really like. And I think she’d like you. Excuse me, but her name is really Gloria. She resembles Myrna Loy.”

“Who?” Big D asked.

“Watch an old movie once in a while, ya big lug,” Chris said. “It might open a few doors for you. Maybe broaden your horizons.”

“Oh
. She was an actress?” Big D looked confused.

“Yes,” I said
. “Well, Myrna was, but Gloria isn’t. And she’s as cute as a… Well, she’s cute. Take my word for it. Although, she’s awfully short for you.”

“I like short women.”
Big D and Chris left me standing there and walked toward the house.

“Okay, we’re off and running
,” I said to myself, following them inside.

Mikey was at school and we’d left the dogs at home so they wouldn’t be under foot
. We had a lot of planning to do and didn’t need distractions.

We showed Big D where we wanted to locate the kitchen, which was where the master bedroom was currently located, in the rear of the house
. We wanted to take out some walls and one bathroom. We’d decided that the remaining bathroom and the closet next to it could be upgraded for the public restrooms.

Big D had other ideas
. Since this would be a restaurant, we’d have to have a rear exit. Consequently, he suggested we add a hallway to the left of the kitchen and add the public restrooms there.

There were three bedrooms located
on the right side of the house. I wanted to convert the rear of them into an office, but Big D convinced me that a smaller office located by the kitchen would work better. I complained that from time to time I wanted to bring the dogs in with me and Davey said he would add an outside entrance to the office so the dogs wouldn’t be near the food. If we removed the exiting restroom and closet that were located by the bedrooms and knocked out a few walls, we could use the current three bedroom area for a bar and dance floor. There would be two entrances – one at the front where the bar would be located and a diagonal entrance by the dance floor where we would remove walls. We could place tables between the two.

On the left of the house were a living room, dining room and the old kitchen
. That would be the main part of the restaurant. There was a fireplace located in the living room. That would stay. Then there was the archway with built-in bookcases on each side. If we took those out we’d have more open space. Davey said these weren’t bearing walls so it wouldn’t be a problem.

Chris had
brought his flashlight and took Big D outside so they could access the cellar, while I walked around trying to picture the house with all of the changes we wanted.

I didn’t know if any of the
other walls were bearing walls. In fact, I wasn’t even sure what a bearing wall was. My best guess was that a bearing wall was one that helped keep the building from falling down. I’d have to ask Big D.

“We won’t have any trouble finishing up that
cellar,” Big D was saying as the two men walked around the front of the house. “Finishing that will be relatively easy. Putting in the shelves and storage cabinets won’t be a big deal either.”

“Chris,” I said, “I’ve had a thought.”

“Uh oh.” He looked at Big D. “Prepare yourself. This probably means more work.”

“No, just the opposite
. I’m thinking we should leave the archway and the bookcases.”

“And?”

“No
and
, Bogey Man.” I stopped and thought for a moment.

“Look out, here it comes,” he said, again glancing at Big D
. “I can hear the wheels turning.”

“Could we enlarge the archway a little and just move the bookcases?”
I looked to Big D for my answer, who in turn glanced at Chris.

“
Works for me,” Chris said.

“No problem,” Big D said.

I kept my thoughts to myself because the big lug had looked to Chris to see if what I wanted was okay. I sighed before I asked, “Are any of the walls we want taken out what you call bearing walls?”

“No,” Davey said
. “The only bearing wall is one you’re leaving.”

“What is a bearing wall?” I asked.

“It bears weight so your ceiling and room won’t fall in, put in simple terms.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“I’ll put the plans together and take them to the building department. I can’t see any problems, but we do have to have permits. I guess your business license and liquor license can be transferred to the new location, but that’s something you’ll have to check on. I don’t really know anything about that. Anything else?”

“
Yes. The dogs were way too interested in the slab of cement in the cellar,” I said. “Can we take that out and see what’s under it?”

“
Sure. I’ll have to take out both slabs of cement to put in good flooring,” Davey said. “Why were the dogs so interested?”

“I don’t know, but they kept scratching and pawing at the cement,” I said.

“Who knows why those cockamamie mutts do anything?” Chris asked. “I told Pamela there’s probably a stiff buried under the cement. She didn’t believe me.”

“Just
don’t forget, Bogey Man, you’re the one who mentioned a dead body in the first place, not me. You put the idea in my head.”

Chris and Big D laughed over that one, looking at me as though I was a quivering little mass of feminini
ty.

“I’ll help you get the cement out of the
cellar,” Chris said. “We’ll see what had the dogs so interested.”

“Ha,” I said
. “You’re not offering to help. You’re looking for a mystery to solve. That’s wishful thinking on your part.”

He shook his head and the two men walked back to the proposed bar and dance floor area, discussing what could be done
. “I know where you can get your hands on a really cool antique oak bar,” Big D said. “It’s L-shaped and it’s cheap.”