Buried Under Clutter (Tina Tales Mysteries Book 2) Page 4

  Taking a deep breath, then regretting it, she led Jenny and Uncle Bob across the hall to the living room. Again, Uncle Bob drew drapes and opened windows. It contained even more furniture than the sitting room. Next was the dining room. A huge table was centered in the space. Tina counted twenty chairs, not all matching, placed around it. Two large china cabinets sat against opposite walls, and sideboards, some with hutches, took up the rest of the wall space. The table was filled with more stuff, mostly dishes and lamps. But there was a pathway around the table, and she decided this might be the place to tackle after doing the kitchen.

  Across the hall, they entered the music room. A grand piano, a small organ, bookcases filled with sheet music, benches with papers sticking out between their tops and interiors, violin cases, horn cases, other instrument cases, some open, others closed, along with more cardboard boxes filled the room. This room smelled less foul than the others. “I think she kept this one closed,” Jenny said while Uncle Bob did his thing with the windows.

  “What a relief.” Uncle Bob rubbed his gloved hands together to get rid of some of the grime from the windowsills. “I volunteer to work in here.”

  Tina and Jenny laughed. But then they were all coughing from the dust. “I suppose we should look at the kitchen now.” Tina, still masked, pointed for her uncle, then turned to lead the way.

  They trooped through a butler’s pantry, thankfully clear of boxes simply because there was no room for any, although the counters were piled high with so many items, Tina couldn’t sort them out in her mind. They entered the kitchen and stood gaping until the smell overcame them, and they all gagged. Uncle Bob quickly went to the window over the sink, but he couldn’t reach it because of all the dishes piled everywhere, even on the floor in front of the counters.

  “Back door.” Jenny rushed to open it. A yellow tabby, tail held high, marched into the room, sat down on top of a low stool, and stared at each of them in turn.

  “Your highness,” Uncle Bob said. He reached to pet the cat, then quickly withdrew his hand when the creature hissed at him.

  Tina laughed. Jenny lowered her mask and stood staring at the cat. “That’s Mrs. Morris. I thought she was dead, too. She was an outside cat.”

  “I’ve seen her around.” Tina also lowered her mask. “Always ran away when anyone tried to pet her.”

  “Yes.” Jenny pulled a chair away from the mess, cleared off a few dishes, and sat down heavily. “She only seemed to like Aunt Olivia. I don’t know what to do about her.”

  “Don’t worry about it right now,” Tina said. “We’ll feed her while we’re working here, then figure something out.”

  Jenny sighed. “How do we start, Tina? I can’t imagine how long this will take or how to get it all done. And we haven’t even looked upstairs, or in the attic and cellar.”

  “We’ll check the other floors later.” Tina could see Jenny was overwhelmed. Better get started. She lowered her mask and positioned herself so Uncle Bob could read her lips. “We have to split up because there’s not enough space in any of the rooms for even two of us to work together. For now, forget about the boxes lined up against the walls. It sounds funny, but we need more boxes. We each need two, and a trash bag. Start by quickly looking for absolute junk that no one would want. Into the trash bag it goes. Then look for stuff that’s nice enough to donate but nothing you’d keep yourself. That goes into one of the boxes. Nice stuff to keep goes in the other one. Uncle Bob and I will just put all the good stuff in both boxes for you to sort out later. Unfortunately, it will all have to be cleaned.”

  “It’s going to take forever,” Jenny wailed.

  Uncle Bob patted her on the shoulder. “Now, now. One step at a time. Let’s see how much we can get done today. You might be surprised.”

  “We haven’t even looked upstairs.” Jenny put her head in her hands. Uncle Bob continued to pat her shoulder.

  “Don’t think about it,” Tina said. “Just start putting trash in the bags and take them out to the front porch. When the dumpster and the kid arrive, he can throw the stuff away. As we fill up boxes, he’ll get them out of here too. I’m going to start in the kitchen at the sink. Cleaning the dirty dishes up will help with the smell. Each of you start in one corner of the room and move around. Jenny, which room do you want to tackle first? The dining room might be good because we can use that long table, after it’s cleared and cleaned, to put the stuff after it’s all washed.”

  Jenny looked resigned, then straightened her shoulders. “The dining room will be fine.”

  “Good.” Tina thought they’d better get to the office quickly, too, to be sure no important papers were buried in there. Of course, important papers could be anywhere. No chance of them being neatly filed away. She saw some on the kitchen counter next to the back door. She walked over to take a look. Mostly junk mail. When she glanced up, Uncle Bob and Jenny were looking at her expectantly. “Oh, sorry. We need to get boxes and trash bags. They’re stashed in our garage.”

  It felt wonderful to breathe in the fresh air after they all stepped outside.

  Soon they were all working in different rooms. Tina had quickly filled two bags with trash. She filled the sink with soapy water and began putting things in the dishwasher, or if too fragile, into the sink. One assembled box sat on a chair, waiting for things to keep or donate.

  Jenny screamed.

  The crystal pitcher Tina was holding started to slip from her grasp. She clutched it harder and placed it quickly into the dishwasher. Then she ran toward the dining room.

  CHAPTER 11

  When Tina entered the dining room, she found Jenny standing, a shaking hand over her masked mouth, staring at an object in the corner.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Tina banged into a chair and a pile of boxes on her way over to Jenny.

  Jenny turned away from whatever was on the floor. “That’s too big to be a mouse. It must be a rat.” She gagged and pulled the mask away from her mouth. She walked to the window and took deep gulps of fresh air. When she caught her breath, she said, “It smelled worse over there, so I moved some boxes to look…”

  A cornered rat? Great. Tina turned and saw Uncle Bob behind her. He must have seen her run into the room, she thought. She lowered her mask so he could read her lips. “Jenny found a rat. Have you seen a broom anywhere?”

  “It’s dead,” Jenny said in a strangled tone. “But there could be live ones still around, couldn’t there?”

  Tina didn’t deny it. Uncle Bob took her gently by the shoulders and squeezed by her to look at the corpse. “I’ll go get a shovel and a trash bag. No wonder the whole place smells so bad.”

  “But Mrs. Blackwell had cats.” Tina looked at Jenny, afraid the other woman might throw up or pass out.

  Uncle Bob walked toward the door. “Probably too old and feeble to keep the population down by the time they died.”

  Jenny took a long, shuddering breath. “I’m not sure I can keep doing this, Tina.”

  Tina swallowed hard. It would be much more difficult to work without Jenny’s help. “I know it’s not easy. But I need you here so I can ask questions as we go. Maybe it would be better if we tried to work in the same room?”

  “Yes. That’s a good idea. Silly of me, afraid of a dead rat. Especially after I saw what happened to Aunt Olivia. I don’t think I’ll be able to take a step into that bedroom ever again.”

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to even look into that room. You want to come into the kitchen with me? You can probably find even more stuff than I did to throw out in there so we can get some clear space to work on.”

  Uncle Bob came back with the shovel and empty trash bag. Tina didn’t care to see him dispose of the rat, so she and Jenny hurried to the kitchen. “This is gross.” Jenny pulled her mask back over her mouth.

  Tina put hers on again and shifted gears. “Maybe you’d rather we start in the office? Might be some important papers in there.”

  “Yes. Let’s do that.” />
  “Let me put a few more things in the dishwasher and get it started. Then we’ll take on the office.”

  When they walked toward the other room, Tina noticed that the smell from the dead rat was fainter, and she sighed with relief. Surprisingly, there were no dirty dishes in the office, which may have been why the rats weren’t interested. She realized she hadn’t seen evidence of food in the music room, either.

  “Let’s clear the big desk so we can work there.” They quickly assembled two boxes and began placing good items in them and threw out obvious junk. Then they cleaned off two chairs and sat down side by side to look through the papers.

  They could hear Uncle Bob working in the music room, and soon they got into a rhythm for sorting the papers. Bills in one pile, checks to deposit in another. Obvious junk straight into a trash bag and bank statements into a file folder.

  The doorbell rang, making them both jump. “Who could that be?” Jenny asked as they made their way through the maze of boxes lining the hallway.

  When Jenny opened the door, Tina saw Mrs. McEllen standing there, a plastic cake container in her hand. Tina grimaced. No way did she want to eat anything in this house.

  “I brought some sandwiches.” Mrs. McEllen beamed at them.

  Tina glanced at her watch. Noon already. Jenny looked a little green.

  “I’m not sure we’re up to eating, Mrs. McEllen,” Tina said. “Certainly not in the house.”

  “Oh.” The old lady looked disappointed. “How about out here on the porch?”

  Jenny frowned and turned away.

  “I’m afraid none of us is very hungry.” Tina kept her voice gentle, but she wished the woman would take the hint and go away. She knew curiosity was the driving factor for her being there.

  “I could probably eat some of whatever’s in there, Mrs. McEllen.” Uncle Bob came up behind Tina and peeled off his mask and gloves. “Let’s sit over here.” He gestured toward a corner of the porch with four rickety-looking wicker chairs and a glass-topped wicker table.

  Mrs. McEllen gave him a huge smile.

  “I’ll get some bottled water for you,” Tina offered. She could use one herself. Jenny stood in the doorway to the office, looking uncertain. Tina took off her gloves, grabbed the cooler off the pile of boxes, and took out four bottles of water. “Let’s have a drink out in the fresh air. You look as if you could use a break.”

  Jenny gave her a faint smile and followed Tina outside, closing the door behind them. Tina handed the bottles around and took a deep drink from her own.

  A truck rumbled up with an orange Dumpster on a flatbed. Tina showed the men where to place the container. Back on the porch, she had only taken two more sips of her water when a sporty red car pulled into the driveway. It just fit behind the Dumpster. Two people climbed out of the roadster.

  “Colin. Tabitha,” Jenny said softly. “What a surprise.”

  “Hello, Jenny,” the man said as the couple walked carefully up the cracked sidewalk. Tina was surprised at how young he looked. Around her age. A strikingly handsome face, but a bit pudgy in his tight jeans—blond, blue-eyed, a sweater in a color that matched his eyes, and snakeskin cowboy boots. The woman was older, around Jenny’s age, but well-preserved. No frown lines to mar her face, her hair dyed blonde, her blue eyes the same shade as Colin’s. Her jeans and sweater were black, as were the fancy, high-heeled boots on her narrow feet.

  “The gang’s all here,” Tabitha said gaily, coming up the steps, Colin trailing. “Well, except Uncle Harold and your mother. How are you doing, Jenny?”

  “Holding up. Mother is not doing so well.”

  “I can imagine.” Tabitha gave Jenny a quick hug.

  “You’ve been working.” Colin hugged Jenny, then stepped back to look at her more closely. “You look tired.”

  “Oh, I am.” Jenny brushed the back of her hand across her forehead. “This is Tina Shaw.” She gestured toward Tina. “She lives next door and is a professional organizer. She’s been a big help so far. And her Uncle Bob and a neighbor, Mrs. McEllen. Everyone, these are my cousins, Tabitha and Colin.”

  Uncle Bob stood up to shake hands. Mrs. McEllen gave a gracious nod and went back to eating her sandwich.

  Tina couldn’t figure out why the two cousins had come. Curiosity? To help? To see if there was anything in the house they’d like to have? All of the above, maybe.

  “Is it pretty bad inside?” Tabitha stared at the front door.

  “Yes.” Jenny waved her hand. “You want to see?”

  Tabitha looked reluctant.

  “That’s why we came.” Colin took Tabitha by the elbow. “How bad could it be?”

  Tina couldn’t help smiling. Colin caught her glance and quirked an eyebrow. “Bad, huh?”

  “See for yourself.” She turned and led the way into the house.

  “Oh, it smells horrible,” Tabitha said. “Why does it smell so bad?”

  “Cats, rats, decaying food, mainly,” Tina said.

  Tabitha stopped dead in the hallway. “Live rats?”

  “Not so far.” Tina walked into the tower sitting room. Tabitha followed slowly, then Colin and Jenny.

  “Oh, look at the furniture,” Tabitha moaned. “How could she let the cats do that?” Tina barely heard her mutter, “Stupid old woman.”

  “She really couldn’t help herself,” Tina said. “Hoarding is a mental condition, and apparently part of the hoarder’s brain is wired wrong, to put it in layman’s terms.”

  “How do you know that?” Tabitha’s gaze jumped to each object in the room, the color draining from her face.

  Tina hoped the woman wouldn’t faint. She thought of offering them masks, but figured they wouldn’t be there that long. “I’m a psychologist. I also did some reading up on hoarding when I became a professional organizer.”

  “So, you do both now—work as a clinical psychologist and a professional organizer?” Colin asked.

  “No. I’m only doing the organizing now.” Tina wished the questions were done with and she could get back to work. She saw that Colin was studying her with more interest than he’d first shown. She knew she didn’t look her best, and probably smelled like the old house, too. What did it matter, though? She was in love with Hank. And Colin was probably a spoiled rich boy, by the looks of him. Nothing to see here.

  “How will you ever get this all cleaned up? Are the other rooms this bad?” Tabitha’s voice sounded strained.

  “The kitchen is worse,” Tina admitted. “We haven’t even looked at the bathrooms yet.”

  Tabitha gave a strangled cry. “I can’t.” She pushed past the others and rushed outside.

  Colin looked alarmed. “We were going to help. I guess not.” He followed his cousin out the door.

  Back on the porch, Tina and Jenny stared at each other. “Back to the office?” Tina asked.

  Jenny looked both angry and resigned. “Why am I not surprised? Yes, let’s get back to work.”

  They both put on their masks when they entered the house. “Did you know they were coming?” Tina followed Jenny into the office.

  “They mentioned it, but I thought it would be a few days from now, not so soon.”

  “They may have wanted to see if there was anything valuable—”

  “There was that,” Colin said from the office doorway. Tina and Jenny turned to look at him. “And a huge dose of curiosity. I got Tabitha settled in the car. I would like to see the rest, though, if that’s all right with you, Jenny.”

  “Of course it is, Colin. Help yourself.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Tina watched Colin leave the room. Since his jeans were so tight and he wasn’t wearing a jacket, she decided he couldn’t steal much, if anything. Why was she suspicious? Maybe anyone would be when so much money was at stake.

  She saw Jenny looking at her and cleared her throat. “What does he do for a living? And Tabitha?”

  “He’s a financial planner. Tabitha’s in real estate. I don’t know how much
she actually sells.”

  “I wonder if your aunt let Colin handle any of her money. Oh, look!” Tina held up a check she found in a pile of papers she’d been shifting through. Ten thousand dollars and change made out to a company she’d never heard of before. She stared at it a minute. Then she noticed the date. Almost three years ago.

  Jenny took the check and studied it. “I don’t recognize this company. I wonder what it’s for. Do you see any paperwork that might have come with it?”

  Tina looked through the stack in front of her. “No. But here’s another check. Six thousand. I wonder how many we’ll find. This one’s dated last September.”

  Jenny took it from Tina and glanced at it. “I’ve never heard of this place, either.”

  “We’d better go through all these piles quickly and take any checks we find to the lawyer.”

  “Good idea.” Jenny stuffed the checks into her jeans pocket.

  “Did your aunt have a financial planner?”

  Jenny looked confused. “I really don’t know. We could ask Colin. Maybe he knows.”

  They could hear him rummaging around in the dining room.

  “I wonder what he’s doing,” Jenny stood up and wound her way through the clutter to the hall.

  Tina followed. They found Colin looking through one of the boxes in the dining room’s far corner. He didn’t hear them, and when Jenny said his name, he jumped.

  “What are you looking for?” Jenny asked.

  His face turned pink, and he wouldn’t meet her eye. “Just got curious. I’m sorry if you think I shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “No, no, Colin, it’s okay. I was just surprised. If you really want to, you can help anytime. And take whatever you’d like. Mother doesn’t want more things. You know how she is—almost the opposite of Aunt Olivia. I guess they call it minimalist now.” Jenny turned to look at Tina.