|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"A fifty-percent deposit." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"You've got to be kidding," Terry muttered. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Hardly," she said without humor. "I'll make the formal arrangement with Mrs. Otis and set up a convenient time to pass papers if the amount is sufficient." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Six hundred thousand dollars?" Terry felt dazed. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Yes, but it comes with the stipulation that you vacate by June 1. I'm sorry, but it's impossible to be more flexible. Perhaps," she added, "you can rent a place until your son is out of school." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Terry nodded dumbly, trying to put it all together. She wanted to say $600,000 was ridiculous, nearly twice its value. But she caught herself and took a deep breath to regain control. "I have to talk it over with my husband first," she said. "It's only three weeks." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I understand. I'll contact you tomorrow." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The woman clearly didn't like that but said, "All right, Wednesday," and cranked up her window, her manner void of any pleasure expected of the occasion. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
She drove down the driveway and into the street, leaving Terry staring at the check and wondering what the hell had just happened. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ten minutes later Claire Manning had the Escort up to seventy in the fast lane of Route 2 heading east toward Boston. From her carry-on bag she pulled out a portable phone and made three calls. The first to Beverly Otis to tell her that by noon Wednesday she wanted the purchase-and-sale agreement signed and the lawyer lined up for the title-transfer by the week's end. Beverly promised to take care of the necessary details and would have it all wrapped up as desired. As soon as papers were passed, as agreed, Beverly would receive a $20,000 cash bonus above her six percent fee. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The second call was to BlueSky Charter at Logan Airport, where her Learjet was fueled and waiting to take her to Dulles International near Washington, D.C. She informed her pilot that, given the light traffic, she would reach Logan by ten-fifteen, leaving plenty of time to drop the car off at Budget. The flight would take only an |
|
|
|
|
|