Unknown Victim by Kay Hadashi (classic books for 11 year olds .TXT) 📕

When she went into the house, she found Felix had arranged cans of paint in different rooms, as though it was some sort of hint of what he’d like. Each of the cans were new, and were labeled with the same store name as on her new gloves. Popping the tops of a few, she found they were all white.

“White? Every wall in this place needs to be the same color?” She closed up the cans again. “I wonder when the wall paneler guy shows up? Hopefully he waits until I’m out of bed before he starts banging nails in the bedroom walls.”

After eating a quick lunch and applying a second coat of aloe to her sunburn, Gina got dressed for a trip into town. She found the hardware store listed on the back of her gloves on a map, and set off in search of it.

The same hardware store where the gloves had come from was easy to find, right across the street from a bus stop. It was less a matter of wanting different paint, and more about seeing what the store was like. The paint, work gloves, and work belt all came from this store. Apparently, it was the place to go in that part of town and she assumed she was going to be spending a lot of time and money there in the coming months. When she went in, she found the paint guy. He wasn’t bad looking for someone named Brad.

“Hi. Someone got several cans of paint for me from this store. Unfortunately, it’s all white and I was wondering if there was a way to get color added to them?”

“Eight cans? Four primer, and four white?”

“I guess. I don’t know much about paint.”

He smiled at her. “That was Felix. Is there something wrong with them?”

“He forgot to put colors in them.”

“Are you that new boss at the old Tanizawa place?”

“That’s me. Are you still able to add some color?” she asked.

“Sure. Did you bring them with you?”

“I had to take the bus. I don’t have wheels yet.”

Brad led her to the display of cards with paint colors. “I can make any color you want. What did you have in mind?”

Gina had never selected colors for anything in her life, even for the bedroom she had shared with Ana while growing up. The display of paint color choices seemed to dazzle her, and after a moment she grabbed a few that seemed suitable.

“Are these okay for inside a house?”

“Should be. They go in the paint and not in the primer. Just bring the four cans back sometime and I’ll mix something up for you. Is there anything else?”

“I wanted to look at the nursery section.”

He led her to an outdoor area with rows of plants positioned beneath shade netting. “You’re new in town?”

“Not anymore. Been here for almost two whole days now.”

“Anymore, that makes you an old-timer in Honolulu. What do you think of the house?”

“A little rustic, but it has a new roof. I have the blisters to prove it.”

“Felix said you’re staying there?” Brad asked.

Gina let her police officer’s eye get a second look at Brad, in case she needed to ID him as a suspect later. He had some sort of tic in one eye and a slight tremor in the hand with scars on it. Otherwise, he was an ordinary white guy with more white than blond hair. “Maybe.”

“Don’t worry about being attacked in your sleep. Nobody goes around there late at night.”

“Why not?”

“The place is haunted. Or at least that’s what they say. Anybody that knows the reputation of that old house wants nothing to do with the place after dark.”

“That’s fine, but I’ve found a homeless guy sleeping on the front porch the last couple of mornings.”

“Next time you see him, tell him the place is haunted. That’ll keep him away.” He took her to an area of blooming shrubs. “Anyway, Felix said you were a police officer and had shot a priest. Anybody that shoots a priest is going to be left alone in this town.”

“I didn’t shoot a priest. Who says the house is haunted?” she asked.

Brad whistled and called for someone named Kyle to come over to join them. He wore a store vest, had on heavy glasses, and his hair went in every direction. He was as thick through the waist as he was in the chest. “This is the lady running the show at the old Tanizawa place.”

Kyle was as cheerful as Felix had been the first time they met, and shook Gina’s hand with enthusiasm.

“Isn’t that old house haunted?” Brad asked.

“Oh, yeah. You’re staying in the house?” Kyle asked Gina.

“I’ve been hired by the family to rebuild the gardens, and I’ll be living in the house for the next year. Why?”

“No more hear anything at night?” he asked with what was turning out to be the local accent.

Gina folded her arms over her chest. “Like what?”

“Someone walking on the front porch, knocking on the door, something on the roof.”

“I was just telling Brad that there’s been a homeless guy sleeping on the porch each morning, and a roofer has been redoing the roof the last couple of days. Otherwise, I haven’t heard anything except all those doves in the morning.”

“Lucky, I guess. Not everyone hears it.” Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “What about the water?”

“What about it? The place was just replumbed. The toilet doesn’t work, though.”

“Never has. Is the water too hot?”

“Hot?” she asked. “Not at all. In fact, it’s never hot. Maybe the water heater isn’t working right?”

Kyle scratched his head. “Should be okay. It’s not too old.”

Brad took over in the conversation. “She wants to get the wall paint tinted.”

“What colors do you want?” Kyle asked.

She showed him her selections. “Yellow for the kitchen, green for the bathroom, blue for the two smaller bedrooms, and pink for the big bedroom.”

“Oh, yeah. Good colors. Better than all white like