Case of the Secret Life Read online

  CASE OF THE SECRET LIFE

  L C LANG

  COPYRIGHT 2019 by L C LANG

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher or writer, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to anyone person, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

  Image by Serge Melki on VisualHunt

  CHAPTER 1

  My name is Sasha Harman. I am 31 years old, have long dark red hair, blue eyes, am about five foot seven inches tall and I am in fairly good shape. And, I am a private investigator. I used to work for my father, Robert Harman, who was a police detective turned private investigator, but he retired a month ago. My parents left this morning to their new home in Phoenix, Arizona.

  So, here I am with no place to live and no job. Well, that’s not quite true. I do have a job. I did a lot of background checks and other things on the computer when I worked with my father. I have three major business accounts who frequently give me the job of doing background checks on new hires in their companies. So, I do have that income. And, I do have a place to live.

  I am now arriving in the town of Petersburg, which is twenty miles south of Indianapolis. I lived in an apartment above my parent’s two-car garage. I moved in there after I graduated college and began working for my father. Of course, when my parents sold their house, I had to move too.

  I sold the minimal amount of furniture I had, packed what I wanted to keep from my apartment. I also packed all of the books and supplies my father had in his office. Then I put everything in my black Cherokee and left Indianapolis behind me. Left a lot more than furniture behind, but that’s another story for another time.

  Now that I am in Petersburg, I am heading to the home of my late grandmother. Grandma Sadie died three months ago. She had come to live with my parents six months ago. Her death came at a very stressful time for everyone, but we stopped long enough to mourn her loss.

  It came as a surprise when I found Grandma Sadie willed me her home here in town. Maybe it was the fact that I am still single and my brother and sister are married and settled into their own homes. Whatever. Right now, I am grateful. I have a house to live in. What I will find inside the house may be another story.

  Petersburg is a good-sized town south. It is not a small town, but it is not as large or congested as much as Indianapolis is. So, this is going to be a good change for me. At least it gets me away from a bad memory.

  As I drive through town, I remembered going into some of the stores and shops I am passing. Although, it has been a few years since I have been here longer than a couple of days, when I visited my grandmother Sadie. Both of my parents were born and raised here, and they were married here too. I was also born here, but moved with my parents to Indianapolis when I was five years old.

  My father began working as a police officer with the Petersburg police department before my parents were married. After six years, he took a job with the Indianapolis police department, also known as Metro, so we moved up there. Over the years, he worked his way up to the rank of sergeant when he left the department after a shoot-out with someone who did not want to give up. Dad was injured and shortly after he recovered, he retired from the department. That was ten years ago. Then he went into business for himself as a private investigator.

  Once I graduated from college, I joined his business. Although I mainly worked in the office, I have worked many cases with him. I knew the office inside and out. If I didn’t work a case with him, he would consult with me on what the case he was working on was about, so I knew what he was doing and why. As often as I could, I went along with him. Before he closed the office a month ago, I had gotten a lot of experience over the years.

  One of my jobs in the office was doing the accounting on the computer. I was proficient in computers, so the job came to me. When we began getting in requests to do background checks, I also got that job. My dad did not like computers. So, we got a few programs in and I began doing them. I was glad the three businesses wanted to keep my services, even when I told them my father’s business was closing.

  All of the experience I gained while working for my father for five years, not only earned me a private investigator license, but also gave me the determination to continue working in that profession. I want to start my own private investigation business, but will have to see where I can set up an office.

  Just then, I approached my Grandma Sadie’s house. It is located two blocks away from the beginning of the main business district. I pulled into the driveway and stopped in front of the garage. It is a one-car garage and is to the left of the house.

  Twenty-five years ago, Grandma Sadie began a tea room, which she had had built onto the other side of her house. The lot the house is on is wide, so she not only had the tea house built onto the side of the house, she also had a small parking lot put in as well. Right now, the tea room is empty. I will have to think about what to do with it.

  Finally, I opened the door, grabbed my purse and got out. Then I headed for the front door. I took out of my jean’s pocket the house keys and unlocked the front door. Then I stepped inside. I felt like I was going back in time. Except for the dust, everything in the living room was just as I remembered it. There are sheets covering some of the furniture, which I had helped my mother put over the furniture when my grandmother came to live with us.

  With the house closed up for six months, the air smelled stale. I opened the side window in the living room and a light breeze began coming in. Then, I began taking off the sheets. The furniture is still in good condition, so for the time being I will use what is here. The one thing I loved the most about the house is the wooden floors. One large rug is under the couch, coffee table and a cloth club chair.

  Yesterday, I arranged with the utility company to hook up the gas and electric this morning. Also I had the water turned on too. Tomorrow, the cable company is coming to hook up my cable and internet. I have a few things to do in the house before tomorrow. First, it is time to move in.

  Leaving the front door open, I headed to the back door of my Cherokee and opened it. Then, I began unloading everything. I folded down the back seat to have more room for the boxes. I also took in three bags of groceries I picked up before I left Indianapolis. I also have a couple of boxes of food and kitchen items that I’d had in my apartment, along with four more boxes of clothing and various items that I wanted to keep. I also had four boxes of office supplies and books from my dad’s office. How I managed to get all of the boxes in my truck still amazes me.

  For the time being, I sat everything on the living room floor. Once I finished unloading everything from the Cherokee, I locked my truck, walked back inside the house and then closed and locked the front door behind me. Maybe tomorrow I can check the garage and see if I can clean it up enough to pull my Cherokee inside the garage.

  I looked at the pile in the living room and took a deep breath. Time to get to work and I have a lot of work to do. The first place I headed is the kitchen. I got cleaning supplies out of a small closet near the washer and dryer. Then I began cleaning.

  An hour later, the kitchen cabinets, counters and the kitchen table are all clean. I also washed the floor. Then, I headed back into the living room. One at a time, I picked up the food bags and the kitchen boxes, taking them into the kitchen, setting them on the counter. Then I began putting away all of the groceries and the kitchen items I brought with me. All of Sadie’s kitchen items were still here, so for the time being I did not need anything else.

  Next, I headed upstairs. There are two bedrooms upstairs. One bedroom is empty. Five years ago, several year
s ago, Grandma Sadie had her bedroom remodeled. Combined with a second bedroom, the bedroom now is a large en suite, along with a walk-in closet and a good-sized bathroom, with a walk-in shower.

  An hour later, the bedroom and bathroom are clean. Sheets are on the bed and the pillows are in pillow cases. Then I brought up my suitcase and four boxes of clothes and a smaller box of personal items up from the living room. I put my clothes in the closet and the dresser. And supplied the bathroom with towels, toilet paper and my toothbrush and toothpaste.

  When that was finished, I headed back down the stairs. It is now late morning and I am getting hungry. I had already made a list of important numbers I would need here in town, a list of things I need to take care of and locations of businesses that I want to go to. So, I checked my list, pulled out my cell phone and made a call to a local pizza shop that also delivered. I placed a delivery order for my favorite pizza. A medium sausage and pepperoni. Twenty minutes. I thanked the young man who had taken my order and closed my cell phone. Then I got my purse from the couch, pulled out my wallet and got out the money, along with a tip for the delivery man. There is a small square wooden table to the right of the front door, so I placed the money on the table.

  While I waited for my pizza, I headed for the tea room. A glass door on the other side of the living room led to the tea room. I opened both door and walked inside. The room was spacious, measuring twenty feet by thirty feet. And, it is empty. There are large windows on the three walls in the room, making the room light and airy. A door on the other side of the room allowed people to come directly into the tea room.

  I knew Sadie had worked the tea room for about twenty-five years. She loved tea and enjoyed sharing it with other people whenever they visited, so it made sense for her to build the tea room onto the side of the house. My grandfather liked coffee, but he occasionally shared a cup of tea with her. My grandfather knew it gave her something to do while he was working. Even after my grandfather retired and then died a few years later, Sadie kept up the tea room, mainly for something to do.

  I walked inside the room. To my left, is a five-foot long dark oak serving bar. Behind the serving bar is a built-in wood unit, with a counter, two drawers underneath and three shelves above the counter. I remember Sadie having the china cups and saucers sitting on the shelves. Two sets of electric plugs on the back wall of the counter heated four pots of water, so she always had hot water for anyone wanting tea.

  Going behind the serving bar, I opened the two doors underneath the counter. Inside I found four glass pots and packages of napkins. And, two boxes, which held two dozen china cups and saucers.

  Just then, I heard a knock on the front door. I headed back into the living room. I looked around the curtains in the living room window and saw that it is the pizza delivery boy. I picked up the money from the small table and opened the door. The boy, who was just a couple of years short of being a man, smiled at me.

  “I am glad you are here,” I said, taking the pizza box from him and then handing him the money. “I am starving. The rest is for you.”

  The young man’s eyes got big when he saw the money in his hand. He looked up at me and gave me a big smile. “Thanks.”

  We said goodbye and I closed the door. I walked back into the tea room and sat the pizza box on the serving bar. Then I walked back into the kitchen, got out a can of soft drink, grabbed a paper towel and then headed back into the tea room. I sat my soft drink and paper towel next to the pizza box.

  I walked back into the living room and got into the boxes of office supplies. I found a legal pad and a pen. I headed back to the tea room, sitting the legal pad and pen on the counter. Then I got out a piece of pizza from the box. It has been a while since I have had pizza, so I relished the first bite.

  While I ate, I walked around the room. I knew my grandmother had four small round metal tables with two metal chairs for each table when she ran the tea room. Both the tables and chairs were in a French style, with a lot of swirls and fleur de leis. The tables had glass tops, which enriched the ambience of the tea room. I wondered where they are now, although I realized my parents probably had moved them when my grandmother got too old to work anymore. Through the window facing the back yard, I noticed a large wooden storage building. Maybe that is where the table and chairs are. I will check for them later. I also have to decide what to do with them, because I cannot use them.

  As I looked around the room, I knew the size of the room would be perfect. A business was here before, so why not another business. The serving bar is a nice addition. Might need to get a small refrigerator for snacks and drinks, since I will probably keep certain business hours, once I get the business going. The windows will need curtains, but I have some that I think will work. And the hooks for the curtain rods are still up. So, I just need to hang the curtains. The outside door is a solid door and it locks.

  I turned, with the glass doors to my back and surveyed the room again. I will need to get a few things to turn this room into an office. I can get the internet hooked up in here too. But, I will have to place an order for furniture. I nodded. Yes, this room will work just fine. Grandma’s tea room is now my new office. And, I will not have to leave the house to go to work.

  Over the next few minutes, I ate my pizza and hauled boxes into the office. I also brought in my messenger bag with my laptop inside, sitting it on the counter. Then I leaned against the top of the serving bar, pulled over the legal pad and pen, and began making lists.

  My father’s biggest complaint about me was how many lists I made. That habit came from my mother, so he should have been used to it. Still, most of the time, if I do not write something down, I will forget. So, I make a lot of lists. However, these are the first of the lists that I will be making now that I have moved in. I did not bring any furniture with me, so I will begin my office here with new furniture.

  Half an hour later, I had the next two days all worked out. I had also pulled my planner out of my messenger bag and have filled in the information. The past few years my life revolved around my planner. Now, all I have listed is where I want to go and what to do on certain days. The rest is blank. Hopefully, I can fill in dates with jobs. At least I hope so.

  I walked over to the front window and looked outside. It is now early fall and the leaves are beginning to change. I have always loved the fall season. Two trees are in the front yard. I don’t remember how many are in the backyard, but I am sure I will have a lot of raking to do in another month or so. Then I blew out my breath. Next year I will have to find someone to mow my lawn. It is not that I don’t like mowing the lawn. Hopefully, I will be busy enough that I won’t have time to do it myself.

  Seeing that I am a licensed private investigator, I hope to bring in enough money that I can outsource on jobs I really do not like to do. Like lawn mowing. And if I don’t get many jobs, then I have a few ideas of what I can do. But, that will come later.

  Right now, I went back to my lists to see if there is anything I forgot. Once I get my cable and internet hooked up, I have a lot of things to do. First on the list is to order office furniture.

  CHAPTER 2

  The next morning, I hit the floor running, literally. I had no sooner finished a light breakfast, when the man came to hook up the cable and internet. There is no television upstairs, so all he had to do was hook up the television in the living room, which is a nice 54” flat screen that my parents got for my grandmother two years ago, and the internet in my office, with a router so I can take my laptop anywhere in the house.

  Only took the man forty-five minutes to get everything attached. Once he left, I got on my laptop and accessed the internet. Then I got into my online business email and found I had three jobs waiting on me. Great. I will work on them later. Before I do anything else, I have an order to place. So, I went to one of my favorite furniture stores in Indianapolis and looked at what they have. Then I began placing the order of what I wanted, checking them off my list as I went.

&nb
sp; Fifteen minutes later, my order was finished. The expedited delivery will arrive late tomorrow afternoon. I marked it on my calendar. I am already getting excited about setting up my office. I still have to unload the boxes of supplies, but I will do that once I get in the furniture I ordered.

  Now, I have some business to take care of. I grabbed my purse and headed out the front door, locking it behind me. I got in my Cherokee and then I took off. My first stop will be the city offices. I have to apply for a business license.

  Ten minutes later, I pulled into the small parking lot of the city offices. I grabbed my purse, got out of my Cherokee and then walked inside the building. I took a deep breath and walked up to the counter. One of the two women in the office approached the counter. She is in her early fifties, short light brown hair with a few grey hairs interspersed. She is wearing a pair of black slacks and a long-sleeve tan shirt. She has a pleasant smile on her face.

  “What can I do for you?” the woman asked.

  “I would like to apply for a business license.”

  The woman nodded as she pulled out a form and picked up a pen. “Okay. What is the address?”

  I gave the address to her. The woman wrote down the address. Then she stopped and looked up at me.

  “Isn’t that the address of the tea shop?”

  I nodded. “Yes, it is. Sadie was my grandmother.”

  “Oh, good. Then that means you are opening the tea shop again? I sure missed it when it closed a few years ago.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry. I am not opening the tea shop. I am opening a private investigation company.”

  The woman looked deflated. Then she smiled at me. “And is the space for the tea shop still separate from the house?”

  I nodded again. “Yes, it is.”

  “Alright. It is too bad you are not opening the tea shop. It was really popular.”