you want to sign the papers?” The guy said excitedly.
“Well, can I take a look at the place first?”
“Oh, right.” He said disappointed. “ Well, the place is really in great condition. It sets off by itself, sort of out in the country, do you have email? I can send you some pictures of it? It needs a little TLC on the outside, the inside is spectacular though. At least it was five years ago. I haven’t been in there since then. Probably needs some dusting.”
“Can’t I just meet you there? Can you tell me where it is?” Drew said a little confused.
After a long pause and then what seemed like an eternity of arguing that she wasn’t going to buy anything until she saw it, he finally decided to meet her there in 30 minutes. She would have to break out the Harley and she would have to call in late to work for the first time in 2 years but there was no way she was missing this one. She couldn’t wait to see what kind of scam this guy was trying to pull off.
The first road that she was supposed to take after exiting the highway was a washed out gravel road that she had never before in her many years of living in New Orleans noticed. As soon as she turned onto the road she spotted a fat old man with a cigar hanging out of his mouth leaning against a brand new silver Cadillac. He even looks like a con man. She thought to herself. She pulled up in front of him and he automatically held out a hand with a ring of keys.
“I will sit here for ten minutes. No more! Go take your peak and then meet me back here. If you take longer than that you can call me as soon as you get to a phone.” He started to get back into his car.
“Wait, you aren’t going to go with me?”
“Nope, I haven’t stepped foot on this land in 5 years and I ain’t goin’ do it now.”
“Alrighty then.” Drew clicked her tongue, stuck the keys to the house in her pocket and put her helmet back on.
“You got ten minutes, little lady.” He warned her again.
Drew gave him the thumbs up and then took off down the road. “Weird.” She mumbled to herself under her helmet.
About a mile up the dirt road and through some thick ass trees she noticed an old cemetery to her right. The cemetery wasn’t in the best shape she noticed. Since everything was pretty much flat or sinking in New Orleans she could pretty much see the house and everything around it once she cleared the trees.
She had to pull over and catch her breath. It was absolutely beautiful in a gothic sort of way. There were a lot of vines and weeds growing up over the iron fence that surrounded the castle, and yes, it was a castle, and it looked like a crap load of trash that had blown up around the fence and yard as well. It had definitely been a while since anyone had been up here.
She was glad that she had worn jeans and her Harley boots because it looked like it was going to be a wade through some tall grass and no telling what was living in the grass and weeds.
“Ten minutes? How the he ll am I supposed to check out this freaking mansion and be back in ten minutes?” She said out loud.
The place looked like it belonged in a Bram Stoker’s novel. The only thing it was missing were the gargoyles on top of the roof and the blood sucking undead of course. Though she couldn’t quite see the fine details of the architecture from where she was standing and hadn’t been inside yet. Who knew, maybe there were blood suckers living in there after all, or not living she supposed. She drove the bike around the fence as far as she could without running into more thick weeds.
It looked like there may have been a garden at one time and some very nice landscaping around the castle and then a privacy fence took up residence at the back of the house. She imagined that was where the swimming pool was. “It’s probably the home of the Swamp Thing by now.” She said to herself.
In her heart she had already made up her mind though. She didn’t care if the entire roof was falling in,