Page 32 of Simon Says… Fight (Kate Morgan Thrillers #11)

The hotel that he’d just purchased was cheap enough, and it could sit for a while.

He could even just unload it, if he dropped it, cleaned it up, and set it up as a new building site.

However, he would make a ton of money if he set it up for business.

It would probably take forty million to do it properly.

Swearing at that, not sure where he’s going with that thought, still not really having any choice but to consider it, he walked on.

This was where his business sense went out the window, and it became an issue of the heart.

He found himself walking right toward the warehouse he’d just asked Ariel to look up. As he stood here, she called him.

“So, turns out it will be sold, and I happen to know the Realtor with the listing,” Ariel began, back to her same old flirtatious tone. “It’s apparently going for sale this next week—or at least it would have, until this mess happened.”

“Right.… So what price are they looking at? Do you know?”

She shared the asking price that had his eyebrows raising. “Really?” he asked, with a dry laugh. “It’s derelict, haunted, and all kinds of other things.”

“Including prime real estate.”

“But we both know it needs a crap load of work. Nope, not for me,” he said, his tone calm.

“That one’s full of bad woo-woo vibes.” Ariel went silent, and he laughed.

“I know. I never say that,” he admitted, “but it is what it is. This one’s got a really bad feel to it, and it needs to be dropped.

I would need a far-more-reasonable price if I were to get into it. ”

“Are you thinking that you’re the one to drop it?” she asked him cautiously.

“I don’t know. If the sellers are set on that price, no way,” he declared, “definitely not. And, once people find out that not only one but two murdered people were dumped there, that won’t go over well.”

“No, they’ll do a quick sale and try to keep that out of it, if they can. You’re right. Once news like that gets out, it just becomes too much of a headache.”

“It already is,” Simon noted, “and, as we both know from experience, all the locals avoid it, and everybody else will too.”

“Yet not you,” she stated, with a note of amusement. “You’re walking right toward it.”

“Maybe not,” he said, “definitely not at that price.”

He ended the call and stood here, looking up at the old building, and whispered, “Sorry, sweetheart. Some projects are definitely way too expensive for even me to take on. And now that I have another one ready to drop, I don’t think anything good can be in the works for you.

” It was almost as if she understood, and he felt a true sense of sorrow. He frowned.

“Look, if this is something I’m supposed to take on,” he added, “somebody needs to show me that it’s worth my time and effort. Otherwise, hell no,” he muttered. “If it was supercheap, then maybe I could try, but only if it comes at a bargain-basement price.”

And, sure enough, Ariel called him back ten minutes later.

“So, how badly do you want that property?” she asked.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because the owners have found out about the two murders, and they don’t want anything to do with it. Apparently they’re quite religious, and this is triggering all kinds of bad vibes for them. Maybe that bad woo-woo you were talking about. I think they would agree with you.”

“I don’t know,” Simon replied. “Depends on what they’re looking for as a sales price.”

She laughed. “The price that they were originally asking for was decent,” she began, “but the price they’ve dropped it to now is shocking. If I had the money, I would be all over it myself.”

“Sure,” Simon noted, “but you still haven’t told me what the new asking price is.” As soon as she stated the new figure, he was excited as hell. “That’s less than half of what they were asking.”

“I know, and believe me that my Realtor friend is beside herself.”

“Sure, less than half the commission for her.”

Ariel snorted. “When we do these kinds of deals, it’s not even about the commission. As you very well know, it’s all about repeat customers.”

“People like me,” he stated in a wry tone.

“Yes,” she agreed cheerfully. “People like you also pay my mortgage. On the other hand, people like me keep you in these buildings that you want to sign up for.”

“Not all that sure I want to sign up for this one though, but at that price—”

“I know, and I think that’s why they’re doing it,” Ariel exclaimed. “It might go out to the market differently, but right now, at this moment, if you make an offer, it’s a done deal.”

He frowned at that. “I have to talk to my banker and my lawyer, you know, to see if I can finance it.”

“You do you,” she said. “I’m just telling you that, if you want this one, you’ve got to strike while the iron is hot. The more time that passes,… I don’t know why but…”

“But what?”

“The owner, Elsie, she’s not well. She’s saying sell it right now because she thinks it might be connected to her health issues.”

“What?” he asked, his mind still reeling from the name. “Did you say her name was Elsie?”

“Yes, that’s her name.”

“And why did she think that?”

“I guess she has a few regrets for things she might have done when she was younger. Now she’s thinking that she’s being punished and that this building might have something to do with it.”

“I don’t suppose she murdered any of the men found in her warehouse, did she?”

At that, Ariel snorted. “Yeah, no, I don’t think so. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a beautiful woman in her day and might need to be clearing her conscience sometime soon.”

“These things just boggle the mind,” he muttered. “I’ll call you back.” With that, he ended the call, phoned his lawyer, and barked, “Take a look at this property.” He gave him the address.

“Another one?” Allen asked. “You want to confirm you’re not spreading yourself too thin.”

“I know,” he replied. “Otherwise I’ll be out in a damn casino, gambling for money again.”

Allen paused, and then he started to laugh. “I forgot that’s how you got started. You had the darndest luck. Anyway, I’ll take a look at it, if you’re serious about this one.”

“Oh, I am,” Simon declared.

“What’s so special about it?”

“Well, for one, it’s where my partner found the man who was beaten up in there. Two, we found another body when we did the full search of the warehouse, and three,” he added, “the owner’s name is Elsie.”

“And?” Allen asked. “I get the first two, but what’s that name got to do with anything?”

“I don’t expect you to understand that one.” Simon sighed. “Just take a look at it.” His next call was to the banker. David was not happy at all, but who gave a crap what he thought? It didn’t take long before Simon had the purchase cleared, even if he had to start moving some money around.

“It’s always good to do business with you,” David said in a casual tone.

As soon as Simon got off the phone, he called Allen back and told him to look at this sale now.

Allen replied, “I’ll get right on it. You have a good feeling about this one?”

“Maybe,” Simon noted. “I just want to confirm I don’t overstretch my boundaries here.”

“Are you concerned about it?” Allen asked in alarm, and he chastised himself for having asked it in the first place.

“No, I’m not concerned about it,” Simon stated. “I’m just being sensible.”

“Sensible is good, at least in my books,” Allen said, with a snort. “So, I’m all for it. Let me know if you want to write up something formal on this one.”

“Will do,” Simon said. “Read it over and let me know what you think.”

When Allen got back to him, he muttered, “That’s a hell of a price. I’m not sure you can lose on this one.”

“Oh, I can lose,” Simon admitted. “Yet, even if I completely destroy the warehouse, which in this case might be the best thing, it’s still prime real estate.”

“It is, and it’s a hell of an opportunity at that price.”

“I know,” Simon said. “So, are we all right on your part?”

“Yes, definitely a green light on this one,” he confirmed, his tone cordial. “And, damn, I’m envious on this one, you’re just full of luck.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I’ll offer full price either.”

After a moment’s pause, Allen laughed. “That’s a valid point. Why would you? If that’s the price they’re giving, that’s just a starting point.”

“I agree,” Simon confirmed, “but I also can’t go too low and have them turn around and list it.”

“Right, it’s a fine line,” Allen noted. “Good luck.”

When Allen ended the call, Simon quickly phoned Ariel. “Write up an offer,” he said.

“Really?” she asked in delight.

“Yes,” he replied, but he named a figure substantially lower.

Cautiously, she added, “I’m not sure they’ll go for that, not after making such a drop already. They may not accept your offer.”

“And it might come up, but, right now, as you said, the iron is hot, though I don’t really want to take advantage, not too much.”

“Really?” she questioned in a droll tone. “But you’re right,” she conceded. “It’s business. Let me write it up.”

She sent the paperwork within an hour, while he was still at his next coffee shop, sitting here, munching away on a sandwich. He quickly signed the offer and sent it back.

As he did, he looked over in the direction of the warehouse. It still called to him. “This one’s for you, Elsie. I’ve got no idea what I’ll do with it,” he admitted, “but surely we can do something to help people in your situation.”

Of course, Elsie wasn’t among the people in the situation as described, but the problem bothering her needed to be dealt with. As soon as he sent off the signed paperwork, he got a call from one of his foremen.

As they talked through a couple things, the foreman added, “It might be time to start looking at another project, as this one’s definitely on track. We won’t be finished today or tomorrow, but it is coming along nicely.”

“I am thinking about another one,” Simon declared. “I’ve just picked up one property, and I’m looking at a second right now.”

His foreman snorted. “Well, good. Tell me about it.”