CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
(part three)

Thursday morning — 9:15 A.M.
The Castle

Jacob opened the door to Katy’s room where Mike was painting. Valerie was sitting on the bed drinking a cup of tea while Mike painted the fairies. The roar of four HEPA filters, set up to protect Valerie from the paint fumes, made conversation almost impossible. Mike was so focused on his work that he didn’t hear or see Jacob. He looked up when Valerie touched his shoulder.

Jacob waved both of them from the room.

“Don’t you have a company to run?” Mike asked.

“Which company?” Jacob asked. His face was set somewhere between angry and exhausted. “I was on my way to a site when I received the weirdest phone call. I thought I’d stop by to see what you thought.”

Mike nodded.

“What happened, Jake?” Valerie asked.

“I got a phone call from an agent selling Sandy’s father’s house,” Jacob said. “You know MLR properties is on the list for houses that need a quick sale. The agent said the owner needed money immediately. I was trying to figure out where I’d heard the address before when she went into the whole story. The Feds have frozen all of Sandy’s father’s assets except for the house. Sandy’s father needs get the money out of the house to pay for legal fees. No lawyer will take his case without payment up front and he doesn’t want to take a chance on a public defender.”

“Sounds like they’re going to prosecute the bastard,” Valerie said.

“Well, that’s my question,” Jacob said. “That’s what I think we need to decide on.”

“Crap, Jake, what do I know? You just put my name on this company so I would have a stake in the profit,” Mike said. “I don’t know anything real estate. I just go where you tell me to go.”

“Wait a minute,” Valerie said. “If Mike’s name is on this company, then it’s part mine too. Let’s hear Jake out.”

Shrugging, Mike gave a longing look toward Katy’s room and his painting project.

“What’s the issue?” Valerie asked.

“If we buy the house, we’re supporting Sandy’s father in defending himself,” Jacob said. “On the one hand, this is a democracy and he has a right to defend himself. Blah, blah, blah and all that civics stuff. On the other hand, he’s a complete scumbag who should rot in prison after being tortured by Dick Cheney’s goons. Why would we want to support someone like that?”

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow….