“You will, and you’ll meet him too. He’s going to play Mr. Bennet. Turn here.”
They followed homemade signs that pointed the way to the sale and led them down a rutted gravel road. Weeds grazed the underside of the truck, and Tate had to repeatedly jerk the wheel to miss the big potholes.
The jostling woke Jack and Gizzy. Leaning forward, Jack looked out the windshield. “I got the idea this place was a mansion. Doesn’t seem like the entrance to one.”
Casey handed him the brochure. On the front was a photo of a sprawling house that was part Victorian, part Queen Anne, and more than a little creepy.
“Beautiful,” Jack said, then leaned back, and he and Gizzy began kissing.
“Give us a break, would you?” Tate said. “My envy is getting the better of me. There it is.”
As the house came into view, everyone looked out the front. It seemed to be as long as a football field, with turrets with witch’s cap roofs, and its windows looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in years. The house was in such bad repair that it had an air of abandonment about it.
“Looks just like home,” Jack said, and they laughed.
The huge old house was surrounded by what appeared to have once been a beautiful garden. But now only a few trees were left, along with the stony remnants of flower beds. Around the house was endless farm acreage that had been plowed and was ready for planting. To their left was a parking area, with a few pickups and SUVs already there.
“Dealers,” Casey said as Tate parked the truck. “Stacy said they’d be here early and that if we want things we have to act fast.” She’d printed out what Stacy had sent her, so each item had a color photo with it. She divided the pages into four groups and handed them out. “I think the best thing would be for us to separate and stake claim to what’s on each list.” She gave them envelopes of cash. “This is from Kit and the prices are estimates, so try to keep in the budget.”
Tate turned off the engine, then reached across Casey to the glove box and pulled out a baseball cap and a little packet. She watched him tie back his hair and slide the cap down over his eyes. Next went a huge, bushy mustache, which didn’t seem to want to stay on, and aviator glasses.
“I should have shaved,” he said.
“And ruin your image?” Casey said, making him smile. “Okay, everyone know what to do?”
“Sure.” Jack handed his pile of papers to Gizzy. “We work together.” He opened the truck door.
“But that’s not—”
Tate took Casey’s papers and put them with his. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”
Casey started to protest, but the truth was that she didn’t look forward to wandering about the ratty old place by herself. She got out of the truck and joined the others. “If anyone gets hungry or thirsty, food is in the back of the truck.”
They left the parking area, and when they rounded the corner they looked up at the house. Up close it was downright scary. A gutter hung down, some of the windows were cracked, and a roof at the far end appeared as if it might collapse at any second.
“Welcome!” said a little man standing by a table where a woman sat with a cash box. “There’s a twenty-dollar-per-person cover charge to see it all. If you buy anything, it’s refunded, but I have to get something from the looky-loos.”
“This is your house?” Jack asked.
“It is now. My great-aunt’s family owned it. Monster, isn’t it?”
“What are you going to do with it?” Gizzy asked.
“Sell everything I can, then bulldoze the house and plant kale. This whole country is kale-mad. There’s money to be made in anything kale.” He was staring at Tate. “You look like—”
“Don’t say it,” Tate said in a heavy Southern accent. “Come on, let’s go.”
Jack handed over four twenty-dollar bills and they went through.
In front of the house were tables covered with dusty items. Chairs and small tables were set around on the grass, which seemed to have been freshly mowed. The couples separated.
“Big stuff is in the house,” the little man called to them. “The prices are on everything, and I won’t sell anything before ten A.M. But I might be persuaded to bargain.”
“He dreams of bidding wars,” Tate said and Casey agreed. “Come on, let’s go inside. I’d like to see this place before the hordes get here.”
Casey knew she should start searching for the items they needed, but she stuffed the papers into her pocket and followed him. He didn’t go in the front door but through the side. They came out into what seemed to be a basement passage with lots of doors leading to side rooms.
“It looks like a movie set,” Casey said.