Page 91 of The Homewreckers
The T-shirt muffled Milt’s laughter. “Well, ma’am. This old boy and me,” he slapped the driver’s back, “we’re gonna reattach the winch to the front bumper of the truck and then we’re gonna gun it and pray to the sweet baby Jesus that it will work.”
“Oh.” Hattie acted like this was exactly the response she expected.
“As to what happens after we get it out of there? Well, we’ll reset the dumpster. But what you do with that stinky old septic tank after that? Not my problem.”
They found Trae sitting under the catering tent, his face pale beneath the makeup.
“Gruesome,” he said, when Hattie and Cass and Mo walked up. “Utterly gruesome.” He shuddered to emphasize the point.
The other three sank down onto the chairs around the table. “This is the day that will not end,” Mo said, as the others nodded in agreement.
“However, disgusting as this latest development is, we still have a full shooting schedule. I want to move upstairs this afternoon. Trae, is the upstairs bathroom ready for tile?”
“I still need to pick out the new faucets and showerheads, and we need a commode, too.”
“I’ll call Sandpiper, that’s the plumbing supply showroom in town,” Cass said. “They’ll be expecting you. But Trae, you’ve got to pick something they either have in stock or can get right away. Nothing fancy, no custom finishes. And they close at four, so you’d better get going.”
“What are we doing in those upstairs bedrooms?” Leetha asked.
“I’ve got my guys framing out two smaller closets on either side of the doorway. We could shoot that this afternoon. I’ve got two pairs of chippy old shutters we’ll use for closet doors,” Hattie said. “As soon as the closets are in, we can paint in there.”
“What about the back bedroom?” Leetha asked.
“The guys have already cut the lumber and dry-fitted the new sets of bunk beds,” Hattie said. “The lockers I salvaged from an old elementary school will go in there too. They just get bolted to the wall. With any luck, we could get to all that after they’re finished with the closets.”
“Luck?” Mo said with a snort. “What’s that?”
Hattie and Cass stood on the back porch, looking out toward the river. The view, with the exception of the container truck, was now almost unobstructed.
Milt and his driver had successfully managed to extricate the trailer and dumpster from the old septic tank, and now both were standing at the rear of the trailer, looking down into the pit.
“Coastal Construction called. They’re on their way with a Bobcat,” Cass said. “Originally I thought we’d just get them to knock down the rest of the oak tree, but now, I’m thinking maybe we get them to fill in that septic tank. There’s more than enough fill dirt on-site.”
“The sooner the better,” Hattie said. She pointed at the two men, who were now jumping up and down and waving their arms. “What’s with those two?”
“I don’t wanna know,” Cass said. “Can’t be good.”
The younger of the two men met Cass as she was walking down to check. He was breathless and wide-eyed.
“Ma’am? You need to come look. I think there’s a body in y’all’s septic tank.”
43A Skeleton Crew
“Detective Mak?” Hattie Kavanaugh’s voice sounded frantic. “We just found a skeleton in the backyard.”
Makarawicz stood and walked out of his office. “At the beach house? Where?”
“In the old septic tank out in the backyard.”
“Listen to me, Hattie,” Makarowicz said. “Sit tight. Don’t touch anything. Get your people away from that septic tank. Don’t call anyone and tell them about this. I’m on my way.”
Makarowicz called dispatch and asked for a patrol unit to be dispatched to the house. Then he called the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Chatham County coroner’s office to inform them that skeletal remains had been discovered at a residence at 1523 Chatham Avenue.
He hit the rarely used light-and-siren switch on his dashboard and sped toward the Creedmore house.
Makarowicz shut off the siren as he rounded the corner onto Chatham Avenue. No use drawing the neighbors’ attention to what was probably already a chaotic crime scene. He counted more than a dozen cars and trucks parked in the yard and driveway at the house.
Hattie Kavanaugh met him as soon as he stepped out of his car. Her television makeup was smeared, and she was pale and shaking. Her producer/director was with her.
