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Which reminded her of the guy that killed Cal’s mother. He’d be out in five years if not less, though she was positive Cal would fight tooth and nail to make sure that didn’t happen earlier.
“He should,” she said. “I’m sure he will. With his past record, I see him doing time. It’s just a matter of how much.”
“I’ve got employees that are skittish,” he said. “It bothers me.”
“Oh,” she said. This was the first she was hearing this.
“Yeah. My grandfather has no issues going in to open alone, but I’ve been there before him when it’s his shift. Two people on every night.”
“It’s always been that way,” she said. “Right? Other than you opening with your grandfather?”
“Yes. It’s just, I know it’s hard for them, wondering if it will happen again.”
“You’re doing all the right things,” she said. “You’ve got security systems. You’ve got silent alarms if someone tried to rob the place while you were open. It’s not like you’re in a bad section of town for either of your stores.”
“I know,” he said. “But it’s hard to get things out of people’s heads even when they want it to happen.”
It was the way he said it. The way he was staring into her eyes.
They were talking about him.
“It is, but when someone wants it bad enough, they ask for help,” she said.
He only nodded and kissed her on the forehead. “When they are ready,” he said.
She supposed that was the best she could get, but it was better than nothing.
27
A LOT GOING ON
Almost two weeks later, Cal walked into the liquor store in Albany.
“Hey, Cal,” Mike said to him. A younger guy that another employee had recommended. Mike had needed a second job when he’d hired him three years ago. He had a girlfriend and a kid coming at just twenty-two.
Weekends and one night a week, Mike still came in faithfully for his shifts.
“What’s up?” Cal asked. “Looks busy in here.”
Mike looked around the store. It was four on a Friday. “Seems it,” Mike said. “I got here about thirty minutes ago.” Mike’s full-time job ended at three, so he came from there to here when he worked during the week. “Anyway, I know you’re always buying houses and stuff. Looking for rental properties.”
“At times,” he said. He didn’t think he was always doing it. He had about ten rental properties that he’d bought over an eight-year period of time.
And since he closed on one a few months ago, it’s not like he’d had his eyes open lately.
He’d paid cash for that house. He always did now. The money he invested in the brewery, some was cash in his account, some from stocks he cashed in, the rest from a line of credit. He didn’t always like to pull money from one pot if he could avoid it.
Would he touch the rest of the Apple stock his father had? Probably not, but he had plenty of others he bought and sold over the years too.
“Well, my brother has a two-family house. His wife’s father left it to them and they lived there for a bit and are moving now. They didn’t want to list it because they know it needs some work and they don’t have the money for that. Plus they’d like to sell fast. I told him I’d bring it up to you. It might be something you’re interested in.”
He wasn’t but wouldn’t be mean either. “Where is it located?” he asked.
“Altamont,” Mike said.
Which was a good school district.
“I’m not really in the market right now,” he said. “Lots going on lately.”
