DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT

A

 K & D Mystery

Tyler Mallone

Chapter 1

“Sure, we’ll go today and check it and call you back with our suggested listing price. And thank you for calling K and D Realty.”

I hung up the phone and looked outside. Autumn leaves streaked past our office window. The door opened and David bustled in, arms loaded with supplies.

“Hi, Kell, how’s it going?” His face glowed from the cold and wind had scrambled his reddish-blond hair.

David is the D part of K and D Realty, I’m the K part. My name is Kelly Madison and we own a small real estate office in downtown Bear Creek. We have only one associate and the three of us manage to keep enough business going to make a modest living. David and I had moved here three years ago, intent on being able to work in an area close to our favorite sport—snow skiing. Another important factor was the nearby airport where we hangar our small Piper Arrow.

“Great,” I answered. “We just got a possible listing out in Pinion Properties. It’s a small cabin on five acres. The owner said he’s owned it for fifteen years and just wants to get rid of it. I said we could drive out today and take a look at it.”

“Okay, that should be interesting.”

The subdivision was located ten miles outside of town in a remote area. We had shown property there only a few times, usually when someone wanted to be really isolated. Bear Creek sits in Sierra Nevada Mountains, surrounded by ski resorts.

I pulled out the map and located the street. A search in the MLS, Multiple Listing Service, showed there were several properties listed in the area.

David drove his truck and I tightened my seatbelt; the long dirt road leading to Pinion Properties was usually a bumpy ride, full of washboard ruts unless some neighbor had volunteered to grade it. I held the map and followed each ill-defined side road, looking for Coyote Lane. We almost passed it; I yelled just in time for David to slam on the brakes and pull off onto the narrow winding road. If there were other houses in the area, they were hidden behind thick groves of Jeffrey pines.

Of course there were no house numbers posted but by the description, I identified the private drive that led to Sam Werner’s cabin. David parked next to the house in front of what looked like a hot-house shed. I noticed weeds, probably wild flowers, hanging upside down in the windows. The cabin looked old, cedar siding in need of a coat of stain.

Sam had told me where to find the key. As we approached the front door, I realized I didn’t need it. The door was partly open.

We hesitated, looked at each other and, not for the first time, I wished I’d carried a gun. While we were trying to decide whether it was safe to enter, a figure peeked around the door. A shrill voice asked, “Can we help you?”

David spoke. “We’re Kelly and David of K and D Realty. The owner of this property asked us to check on it.”

The door opened more to reveal the man behind the shrill voice. Tall and pencil thin, his clothes hung on his body like a clothes line. He wore thick dark-rimmed glasses.

 “Oh, Hi,” He squeaked. “My name is James and this here’s my twin brother, Judd.”

Twin brother, Judd, looked nothing like James. Short and round, Judd’s face was one big smile. His head bobbed up and down as if to confirm his identity. Dressed like his twin, Judd wore a red T-shirt over jeans; unlike his brother’s, the cuffs of his jeans were turned up four inches.

They stepped aside to allow us to enter. With a dozen questions bouncing around in my brain, my eyes scanned the large room. A rock fireplace took up most of the wall on the right. Two large overstuffed chairs faced it and shared a wooden coffee table. The left half of the room was the kitchen and dining area. One door at the rear, I assumed, led to the two bedrooms and bath that Sam had described.

“Uh, are you friends of the owner?” David asked.

“Well, no, but we’re friendly,” James smiled.

“Yep, and you can tell the owner we’re taking real good care of the cabin,” Judd added.

“So, how did you arrange to live here?” David looked at each of them.

“Ah. We walked by one day and noticed it needed us,” James said.

“It sure did. It really needed us big-time.” Judd bobbed his head and grinned.

I finally relaxed enough to trust my voice. “How long have you lived here?”

“Been going on three years, I guess.” James looked at his twin for confirmation.

“Yep, yep. We’ve been through three winters so far.”

“So you don’t know the owner?”

James frowned. “He never came to visit. So how could we meet him.”

Makes sense to me, I thought. “And what did you mean when you said the cabin needed you big time?”

“Rats.” Judd looked carefully at his brother. “James hates rats. And when we noticed the front door open, we went in and found rats—lots of rats—a herd of em running all over the place.”