would have taken time to fully heat the tank. But the memory of that bone-deep cold still clung to her, like a warning she couldn’t quite shake. “The plumbing lines under the house all check out,” Bill’s assistant, Hank, an- nounced as he joined them in the kitchen. Hank, a lanky redhead barely out of his twenties, ran a hand through his curls, dis- lodging a web of spider silk and dust from his scalp. Kat winced, feeling a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry to have been such a bother.” “Don’t worry about it,” Bill declared, slip- ping his cap back on. “I hear you’re keeping the old trailer. You’ll be calling me soon enough for real issues.” Kat blinked. Again with the assumption. Trailer Estates was full of lovingly preserved vintage trailers, yet it seemed everyone ex- pected her to replace hers. She forced a po- lite smile and saw them out. Alone again, she glanced at her waiting lap- top, then at the bright Florida sunshine fil- tering through the jalousie windows. Nope. Still no inspiration. Her grand plan was to sip sweet, iced tea by the pool every afternoon, so she might as well start now. Filling her Stanley Cup with the tea she had brewed earlier, she changed into her favorite turquoise swimsuit, tossed a towel over her shoulder, and drove her VW Beetle a few short blocks to the Trailer Estates pool.
Chapter 3:
Echoes in the Breeze
...continued...
Kat stood leaning against the kitchen coun- ter, arms crossed, watching Bill, the park’s maintenance man, crouch in front of the water heater tucked inside the narrow utility closet off the kitchen. The faint scent of damp insulation and old metal filled the air. Bill grunted as he pushed himself upright, pulled off his ball cap, and wiped the sweat from his balding head with the back of his hand. “I assure you, Ma’am,” he said with a practiced nod, “there isn’t anything wrong with this water heater. In fact, it’s practically new. And it checks out to be in perfect work- ing order.” Kat frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Just yesterday, I ran out of hot water in the mid- dle of my shower. It wasn’t a long one, and the water heater is more than big enough to handle it.” Bill offered a confident shrug, as if he had heard this complaint a hundred times be- fore. “Could be it hadn’t been fully warmed up. This unit has been just purchased and all. Maybe the previous owners had the wa- ter heater turned off while it sat vacant.” Kat pressed her lips together. She couldn’t deny the logic of his explanation. If the pre- vious owners had shut off the system, it
The lot was paved with black top, but as she
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