Author's note: While my first attempt at a story game for this contest did not pan out (I have a newer, better idea I'm currently working on) I still didn't want the work I put in to go to waste. So without further ado, here is the first part of a short story trilogy. The second and third will be released sometime following the conclusion of EndMaster's Fourth Prompt contest.
As Victor and his wife Chloe slowly pulled into the driveway, their six-year-old daughter Willow looked up at their new house and summed it up in a single word: "Spooky!"
Victor had to admit he was surprised when his Uncle Nate had left him a derelict mansion in his will, namely on account of the fact that he had been unaware that their family even owned one. Uncle Nate and his dad had fallen out years ago, when Victor was around Willow's age. Aside from a couple of uncomfortable family reunions, there had been no interaction between him and Nate growing up.
Granted, Nate had no wife or children, and there were no other siblings in their immediate family. When Victor had heard the reading of Nate's will, his first thought had been to wonder why it didn't just go to one of his dad's cousins who had remained on at least neutral terms with Nate throughout the years. Now that he was looking upon it, he was wondering why Nate never had it demolished.
Victor and Chloe already had a beautiful home in a modest suburban neighborhood, but they had come up with the idea to check the place out, perhaps make some modest repairs to get it up to code, and then flip it for a profit. However, after viewing the damage the mansion appeared to have, it seemed that they may just have to sell the land rights to the state government if fixing the place up was going to cost more than the value of the home.
Chloe looked up at the house, then turned and looked askance at Victor. "You're sure you never heard of this place?" she asked doubtfully. "I half expect the Mystery Machine to come barreling up the driveway."
"Well, things between my dad and Nate were a little strained for us to be invited to his summer home. Trust me, dad never said anything about him other than that he hated him. I wasn't even allowed to call him my uncle when dad was around."
Chloe whistled. "Well, I wonder if this was even his primary residence, considering the amount of disrepair it's in. Still, it can't hurt to have a look around. Maybe it looks better on the inside."
"Looks and personality don't always match up." Victor agreed.
Chloe rolls her eyes and laughs. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that. Can you unload the trunk while I get Willow's stuff together?"
Victor agreed, and began to unload their sleeping bags, toiletries, mini-fridge, and two gallons of drinking water while Chloe helped Willow out of the car and began rummaging through her backpack to make sure everything was still in there (Willow liked to throw her things all over the place). Once everything had been accounted for, the three of them stood in silence as they looked up at the mansion with cracked windows, shutters hanging off their hinges, and the roof that was missing several tiles.
"Daddy, do we have to live here?" Willow whines, looking up at you.
"We're not living here." you reassure her. "We're just gonna be here a few days while mommy and daddy have a look around. Then we'll pay someone to come fix the place up and sell it for a bunch of money!" At the word money, he picked up Willow and spun her around, laughing as she squealed and gleefully shouted at him to put her down.
"But is it safe?" Chloe asked.
Grinning, Victor set Willow on the ground. "Again, daddy, again!" Willow cried. Gesturing at her to hold on a moment, Victor turned to answer Chloe's question. "Nate's executor already had a brief tour of the place after Nate died. If there was anything dangerous here, we would have been told. Besides, it's not like Uncle Nate died from asbestos poisoning."
Nate had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which neither Victor nor Chloe wanted to bring up in front of their daughter. Seeing that Chloe still looked unconvinced, Victor offered a compromise: "If we see anything that looks unsafe, we can camp outside, okay?"
Chloe shook her head. "We didn't bring a tent, remember?"
"There wasn't room in the van along with everything else," Victor countered, "And there's no rain forecast, and it's summer. We have blankets. As long as we're careful when lighting a fire, we should be fine. Look, how about we check the place out first before we discuss where we're going to sleep?"
With a nod of assent from Chloe, and an input from Willow ("I don't like camping, mommy.") Victor handed Chloe the keys and picked up their things as Chloe picked up Willow and unlocked the door, letting the three of them inside.
Looking around, Victor saw that the house was actually moderately clean. Sure, it was obvious there was paint peeling off the walls, and some cracks were beginning to form on the stairs, but it's a far cry from the disaster that the outside of the house implied. A cursory glance in the living room showed a recliner and a couple of tables along with a TV stand and bookshelf that look as though they're still perfectly functional.
While Chloe turns on the TV (this place has electricity?) so Willow can have a distraction, Victor crossed the hall to check out the dining room and adjoining kitchen. There was nothing in the room except a long bench table. If Uncle Nate lived alone, Victor imagined he may have felt pretty lonely being in this dining room eating by himself. The curtains were thick and looked old, if the fading of their original red color was anything to go by. They might need to be removed, but Victor decided he would discuss with Chloe whether or not they should be replaced or if they would just leave it bare to let sunlight in and so that the buyer could pick out their own from scratch.
Moving into the kitchen, Victor saw marble countertops and a wood stove. Score! Features like that would really drive up the home's value, even though the cabinets and fridge seemed to be ordinary enough. Checking the cabinets and fridge, Victor didn't find any kind of food or drink, but the utensils and tinware seem to have been cleaned recently. Turning on the tap produced clear water rushing out at a steady rate. Odd.
As Victor stepped back out into the hallway, Chloe poked her head out of the living room door. "So, what's the verdict?" she asked.
"It's great!" Victor exclaimed. "We might have to spend some money fixing up the outside of the house, but if the upper levels are anything like this one, we could make a killing! It's just... the utilities are still working, and there's not a speck of dust anywhere. The dishes look like they've been washed recently too. I know Uncle Nate only died two weeks ago, but shouldn't there be a little bit of dust on everything?"
Chloe frowned. "Well, like you said, it has only been two weeks. If he paid his bill at the beginning of the month, they technically wouldn't have cause to shut it off yet. As for the house being clean, well. Is there any chance someone could have come by to help clean the place?"
"When he was alive, sure." Victor replied. "I do remember the executor of his estate telling me that an employee of his found the body. But even if he did have someone to help him with the cleaning, that still doesn't explain why they've been tidying up after he died. I feel like if I found my boss dead in his own house, I wouldn't be coming back."
"Maybe it's his ghost, then." Chloe teased.
"Ha, ha." Victor replied sarcastically. He took Chloe into his arms. "Seriously, I think this could actually be a windfall for us, babe."
Chloe smiled. "I do too," she said, looking up into Victor's eyes.
The two of them shared a kiss for a brief moment; a sharp knock at the door caused them to jump apart and look around in shock.
"What the hell?" Victor muttered. "Who could that possibly be?"
"Maybe it's someone coming to visit that hasn't heard the news about your uncle?" Chloe suggested.
A second knock upon the door. Victor decided there was no point in continuing to guess who it was. He moved to answer the door. Standing on the porch was a older Latina woman with glasses. She was plump and wore a clean white uniform, with her hair being longer and tied back in a ponytail. She reminded him slightly of somebody's grandmother at a job interview.
"May I help you?" Victor asked politely.The older woman looked at him askance. "Hello, my name is Esmeralda. You are the new homeowners, yes?"
Victor laughed uncomfortably. "Well, not exactly. We are just fixing it up to turn around and sell it. Did you know my uncle Nate?"
Esmeralda's eyebrows shot up. "Very well. He was my employer. Who are you exactly?"
It was Victor's turn to be surprised. "He was my uncle. You worked for him?"
"As his maid, yes." I found his body."
"Oh." Victor didn't really know what else to say to that. "It… must've been quite a shock."
Esmeralda shrugged. "No. Nathaniel was often locked in his room. Wouldn't even let me tidy up in there. When he would come out to pay me, I would see cuts and bruises on his arms."
Rage flared up within Victor. "You didn't think to tell someone or get him help?" Even though he had hadn't seen his Uncle Nate for years, it still seemed a massive tragedy that someone who was close to him could've gotten him the intervention needed to save his life.
"And if he had fired me for doing so? How would I pay bills then?"
So her financial situation was more important than a man's life. Victor had to bite his tongue to hold back an angry retort. After he counted to five in his head, he continued: "Why are you here? Did my uncle owe you money or something?"
Esmerelda's eyes widened. "Uncle? I did not realize Nathaniel had any family to speak of. No, I have been coming by a couple of days every week to keep the place clean. I knocked today because I saw a car in the driveway. I have a key here, see?" She then pulled a shining brass key out of her pocket, smiling at an utterly bemused Victor.
"So... you've been cleaning this place even though nobody lives here and you're not being paid?"
Esmerelda nods. "Nate set aside money for me at the company I work for. Paid a month's advance for me to come by and take care of the house. This was right before he killed himself. I don't clean, I don't get paid."
"And... what company is this, exactly?" Nate asked skeptically.
"Radiant Renewal." She handed him a business card.
As Victor went to go call the company and check on this, Chloe went to the front door to speak to Esmerelda. While your wife was being looped in on the situation, you learned from Esmerelda's supervisor that her story did indeed check out.
"Technically, there's only a week left on the contract," the manager says in a cautious tone, "But if you'd like, we can return what's left of the money and cancel it. But since there's only two more visits after today, it couldn't hurt to let her help, could it?"
"Considering it's my house now, I'd say it doesn't really matter whether or not it would 'hurt' anybody. Cancel the contract."
"Well, there is a ten percent cancellation fee..."
Victor let out a irritated huff. Despite what the woman said, he still believed she could have done something to prevent his uncle's suicide. He may not have known Nate well, but the man was still a person who was clearly self-harming and isolating himself. Letting this woman complete her contract and collect the rest of his money just felt like rewarding her for her indifference to his suffering.
"Fine." he said tersely. "Just..." He saw Chloe waving him over. "Hold on a moment."
Walking over to her, she asked him in a hushed voice: "Are you sure we should cancel her contract? She could help us keep everything orderly while we fix the place. We have to keep it clean for showings, and her help would allow us to focus solely on ordering the supplies and making repair plans for the next week."
"Honey, she knew he was self-harming, and he wouldn't come out of his room." Victor objected.
"And? Honey, I know that's awful, but he was her boss. What good would it have done her to call 911 on him? I can see why you're upset, but she says she only knew him for a couple of months before he passed, which..." She broke off, looking unsure, then continued. "Which, from what you've told me, is more time spent around him then you did. Are you really going to give up free help when firing her won't really change anything?"
Victor supposed she was right. No point in turning up a chance to get some free labor for the sake of sentiment. With a heavy sigh, he informed the man on the line that he would keep her retained for the duration of the contract, and walked upstairs to finish appraising the mansion while Chloe gave Esmerelda the good news.
