Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 05 - Trouble on the Doorstep Read Online Free PDF Page B

week. I’d call them.
    Twenty minutes later I had called that homeowner — “Give us another week” — and checked with a couple of real estate offices to see if they had any deals coming up. Pickings were as slim as fishing on the beach in low tide.
    The phone rang again. Harry really needs to get caller ID on every phone . “Steele Appra…”
    “Jolie, where are you?”
    “Elmira, you know where I am. You also know I’m not your complex manager. I don’t see how I can help you.” And I don’t want to.
    “You won’t know that until you see what I mean. Come over here!” She hung up again.
    I sat in Harry’s desk chair and put my head on my folded arms on top of his desk. I really didn’t want to deal with Elmira, but if I didn’t she’d tell everyone she knew that I’d refused to help her. Half the people she told would think I was smart, the other half might one day take their appraisal work to Jennifer Stenner’s appraisal firm. My bank account is getting low.
     
    IF YOU HADN’T BEEN to Silver Times Senior Living you might think that the small backhoe was just moving dirt around for landscaping and the front garden was torn up because they were planting bulbs. Since I’d been there, I knew there had been a very nice gazebo at the entrance of the large complex. The remnants were probably about to be used for a bonfire.
    I didn’t know the place well enough to know where number seven was. The complex has a mix of one-story duplexes for independent living, an apartment building where you can eat in the dining room if you want to, an assisted living building, and a nursing home. It was about sixty acres, given all the walking paths and the tennis court.
    The duplexes have an odd ownership structure, to my thinking. Silver Times sells the properties. When an owner wants to move they sell it back to Silver Times. Technically, an owner might not need an appraisal, but sometimes they want to know the value of the property before they sell it back to Silver Times.
    After a couple of wrong turns, I spotted Elmira’s duplex, but only because she was standing on the small front porch with her arms folded. Great. She’s ready to pounce .
    The front yard had what had been a fairly small tree and was now just a forlorn trunk. It would have to be dug out. Other than that, it didn’t look as if she had had any damage. Surely she didn’t want me to dig out the tree’s root ball.
    “Inside,” she said.
    No pleasantries here. I followed her through a well appointed living room and into the large combination kitchen and dining area. Her unit was smaller than one I had appraised a few months ago, but it had the same granite countertops and crown molding as the larger one. Very classy. Until you saw the area around the sliding glass door that led to a small garden.
    “You really took in some water, didn’t you?” The wallboard had gotten so wet it was peeling away from the studs, and she, or someone, had pulled back the carpet near the door. I glanced around the kitchen. There was similar damage above her kitchen sink window, but it wasn’t quite as dramatic.
    “Are you waiting for someone in particular to do the repairs?” I asked.
    “The maintenance staff did some cleanup and the complex put out some sort of request for bids to do all of the repairs. They said that would ensure high-quality work.” She pursed her lips and shook her head slightly. “They finally sent someone around to really look at this mess.”
    “I hope they can help you soon,” I said, realizing this work was likely what Eric Morton and Steve Oliver had wanted to bid on.
    “They did an estimate for the cost of the repairs. They didn’t want to give me a copy, but I made them.”
    Of course you did. “And?” I asked.
    Elmira studied me with a critical eye. She’s taller than I am and her blue-permed hair has a severe cut. She looks like an elderly drill sergeant. “Tell me what you think it should cost.”
    “Is this the only