CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
(part five)

Friday morning — 9 A.M.
Locust Street

“What are we doing here?” Sandy asked as Valerie turned onto her father’s street.

“You’ll see,” Valerie said.

Driving her ancient Mustang, Valerie stopped across the street from Sandy’s childhood home. A group of twenty or so men and women wearing Lipson Construction shirts and hardhats were standing around the house. A large truck pulled up with a bulldozer and excavator on its bed. A man ran up to Valerie when she got out of the car. Sandy didn’t hear what they said, but the man ran back to the house. The man whistled and a woman and man ran to him. Together, they jogged up to the house and went inside.

“What’s going on, Val?” Sandy asked.

Heather and Tanesha pulled up in Aden’s SAAB sedan.

“Why is she driving Aden’s car?” Sandy asked.

“She’s trying out all the cars. Aden let her use his today because he’s home with the kids,” Valerie shrugged. “Blane wants her to have the perfect car. They’re so sweet.”

“They are…” Sandy puzzled at Valerie. “Do I need to ask again?”

“Ask what?” Valerie smiled at Sandy. “Jill wanted to be here but she has school. So did her Mom.”

“Did they know what was going on?”

“Oh, I think so.”

Valerie jogged over to direct the men who were unloading the bulldozer and the excavator.  Heather and Tanesha came over to give Sandy a hug.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Sandy asked.

“Not a chance,” Heather said. “Jill said that Jacob said that Valerie has been acting weird since yesterday. She won’t tell him or Mike about what she has planned. She just asked for a Lipson team and the equipment.”

“Oh, and she made Jacob buy your Dad’s house yesterday,” Tanesha said. “They took possession about three yesterday afternoon and the FBI finished last night.”

The women turned to watch the delicate dance of people and machines.  Valerie and two men unloaded the equipment. The men scrambled up on to the machines to start them. Valerie jogged over conferred with the people inside the house. A woman ran over to give them hard hats, dust masks and Lipson Construction jackets.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Sandy asked the woman.

She smiled and ran back to the rest of the employees. A truck pulled up to roll off a construction dumpster. Valerie came over to where Heather, Tanesha, and Sandy were standing.

“Are you ready?” Valerie asked.

“You know, I’m not feeling really great,” Sandy said. “I don’t really know…”

“You can do this! It won’t be hard. That’s what we have the machines for! Come on!”

Unable to resist Valerie’s infectious cheer, the women followed her to the machines. Valerie climbed up on the excavator then helped Sandy into the cab with her. The man warming up the machine hopped off the excavator.

“You can come with me on the bulldozer or watch here. We’re taking a video for Aden. I think the FBI is here too.”

The man pointed to a non-descript woman holding a video camera.

“If this is what I think it is? I want to participate!” Tanesha said. “Yes I do.”

“Me too,” Heather waddled after Tanesha.

The man helped the women up onto the bulldozer then took over in the driver’s seat.

“Ready?” Valerie said into her walkie-talkie.

The people on the ground moved away from the house.

“Are you ready, Sandy?” Valerie giggled.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow…