Chapter 4: Brian and the Furnace Technician
Brian was on his second cup of coffee, and extremely wary of the house, when the technician from J. Lawrence Hall called and said he’d be there in about half an hour.
Brian took a break from setting up his office and walked out into the hallway, glancing down at the kitchen. Nothing was going on there, so he went into the parlor. He had thought about telling Jenny what had happened in the kitchen before he went to bed, but part of him doubted what he had seen. He had enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine, and a Booker’s, which was more than he usually did. Plus, there was the stress of the move and the whole dead poacher thing.
There were a lot of mitigating factors, but Brian couldn’t shake the feeling something real had occurred. Why it had occurred, he had no idea. He couldn’t ignore it, though.
Deciding he would bring it up to Jenny after dinner, Brian worked on his office until there was a knock at the door.
Brian called out, “Here I come.” He put down his printer, wondering where the hell he’d put the damned thing’s power cord.
Grumbling and shaking his head, Brian walked to the front door and opened it. A young man stood on the porch, holding a canvas tool bag in one hand and adjusting his glasses with the other.
“Brian?” the young man asked.
“Brian indeed,” Brian said, extending his hand.
The young man shook it. “I’m Jack from J. Lawrence Hall. You have a furnace that needs a little attention?”
“I hope it’s just a little attention,” Brian said. “Come on in. The basement’s this way.” Brian led Jack to the basement door, which was surprisingly still closed. He opened it and turned the light on before leading the way down the narrow wooden stairs. The smell of earth and age rose up to greet him as a chill settled in around him.
“Dirt floors?” Jack asked.
“On the other side of the furnace,” Brian said. “Someone put some concrete down at one point or another. Some of the piping for the furnace does run through the dirt section, though.”
The basement was empty except for a few broken chairs and a half a dozen wooden apple crates that had come with the house. At the far end of the basement, under the kitchen, the furnace stood off slightly, to the left. A slim doorway was beyond the furnace, a pair of pipes branching off into the darkness.
“I don’t know if there’s a light in there or not,” Brian said, nodding towards the doorway. “I glanced in with a flashlight when we bought the place, but that was it.”
“Not a problem,” Jack said. He looked around and smiled. “It’s nice to work in an open area. Some people have years of stuff piled around, and others have a mess.”
“I can’t even imagine,” Brian said.
Jack chuckled. “Good times, I’m tellin’ ya.”
Brian laughed and shook his head. “Okay. Listen, if you need anything, I’ll be upstairs.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jack said, putting his bag down beside the furnace.
Brian left the young man to his work and went back to getting the office ready. The indicator on his cell was flashing when he walked into the office, and he picked the phone up off of the desk.
Did the furnace tech show up yet? Jenny had texted.
He’s here now. Give you an update soon, Brian texted back.
He put the phone down, picked up his coffee, and frowned when he took a sip and realized it was cold. He carried the mug into the kitchen and put another pot of coffee on. From under the kitchen, he heard Jack working. Occasionally the pipes rattled as the young man checked something.
Soon Brian was back in the office. He found some Motorhead in his music library and dropped the phone into the docking station. In a moment, the office was filled with music, and Brian nodded along happily in time to the beat. He took a sip of his coffee and then started hunting again for the cord to the printer.
Three and a half boxes later, he found it, mixed in with a package of padded yellow mailers.
Brian held the cord up, shaking his head. “How the hell does that happen?”
“Brian!” Jack yelled from the basement.
