Bed & Breakfast 16 - Streetcar Named Expire by Mary Daheim

Author:Mary Daheim [Daheim, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mary Daheim
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2010-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

Stensrud shook his head. “No, I meant of George’s.”

“No,” Judith said. “I’m . . . sort of a friend.”

“Good.” Stensrud patted Judith on the arm. “No harm done, then. I’m off.” He was out the door in three long strides.

“Lawyers are usually more discreet,” Judith said with a little smile.

Rory seemed disconcerted. “Yes, of course. But Mr. Stensrud . . . Well, he can be blunt. He’s a very aggressive type of attorney, which is good.”

“That’s helpful for George,” Judith remarked. “Construction projects are so controversial these days.”

Apparently assuming he’d found a kindred spirit, Rory eyed Judith with approbation. “Mr. Stensrud gives Mr. Guthrie excellent representation. You’re right, when your client is a builder, you have to be tough to go up against all these zoning commissions and environmental agencies.”

“Of course,” Judith said, still in her friendly mode.

“Builders are in a bind these days. There’s so much incity construction. People want to live close to downtown, but housing developments are restricted, not just because of a shortage of space, but because of all the . . . legal ramifications.” Judith wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but thought it sounded plausible. Indeed, Rory agreed wholeheartedly. “Absolutely,”

he declared, growing expansive. “I haven’t worked here that long, but already I can see what Mr. Guthrie’s up against.” He gestured toward the inner office. “Right now, he’s in there fighting for his projects. Don’t these negative types realize that construction is good for the community? It provides jobs, for one thing. I had some different ideas before Mr. Guthrie hired me, but I learned real quick that I was dead wrong. Take the Alhambra, for example. The Heraldsgate Hill Historical

A STREETCAR NAMED EXPIRE

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Society put up a big fuss about the renovation, but Mr. Guthrie hasn’t hurt the exterior at all. In fact, he’s improved the place. It was overdue for some big improvements.”

Judith looked puzzled. “I didn’t realize the historical society had protested the changes.”

“Oh, yes,” Rory asserted. “I was a member, in fact. I live over on the side of the hill above the lake. I majored in history at the university, so I thought it might be kind of cool to join the historical society. There was quite a bit of news about it, especially in the weekly newspaper.”

Judith winced. With her busy schedule, weeks went by when she didn’t look at anything in the community paper except Falstaff’s Grocery specials.

“I guess I missed that,” she admitted. “When was it?”

Rory reflected briefly. “In the late winter or early spring. Naturally, I sided with the O’Dowds and some of the other members at first, but after I got this job, I quit the society altogether. They’re just a bunch of troublemakers.”

“The O’Dowds?” Judith said. “Do you mean the couple who used to lived in the Alhambra?”

“That’s right,” Rory said. “Billy and Midge. In retrospect, I can see that it was sour grapes with them. They couldn’t afford to buy a condo and didn’t want to move. They were just stonewalling.”

“Yes,” Judith murmured, her brain kicking into high gear.

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