“All right, okay, it’s freaky. It creeps me out, too. But…I’m not sure there’s anything we can really do about it. I mean, we did sign the agreement—”

“And whose fault was that?”

“Fine. Blame me all you want, but I’m pretty sure we’re locked in.”

“I’m pretty sure we’re not. Because people sell houses all the time. People flip houses. There are shows about it!” She looked up at him. “And that’s all we’d be doing. We bought a house, now we try to sell it for more than we paid and make a profit.”

“What if we can’t sell it?”

“We walk away. People do it all the time. The bank’ll take it, and then it’ll be their problem.”

Lane shook his head. “Our credit would be ruined. We’d never be able to buy a house again. And you know how much you wanted a house. How much we wanted a house.” He thought for a moment. “Although…” he said slowly.

“Although what?”

“We could rent it out. Our monthly payments are low, pretty much what rent for a place like this would be. We could rent it out to a couple or a family and use the money to make payments while we tried to sell it. It’d give us the chance to wait for a decent price.”

Jen immediately felt brighter. “Yes! Let’s do it!”

“I’ll have to find out how,” he mused. “Although I think Stapely, at work, has a rental unit. I could ask him. Even if he doesn’t know, he’ll know someone who will.”

She smiled. “Then we can get a real house, one that’s all ours. A home.”

He smiled back at her. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Me, too.”

They hugged.

And from inside The Room, the tapping started again.

Twelve

TWELVE

1

After being summoned, Coy walked cautiously into Ben Shanley’s office. The manager looked different today, he thought. Younger? Tanner? Something. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the change was visible and extended to the office itself. The furnishings appeared to be the same but now they looked fresher, hipper, more stylish. Even the light seemed brighter, as though the windows had been dusty before and had been washed to let in more light.

Shanley was certainly in a good mood. Not usually one for displays of emotion, he came bounding around the desk, a huge grin plastered on his face. “You did it!” He said gratefully. He pumped Coy’s hand. “Thank God, man! You saved us.”

Coy was guarded. “I just told them what you told me.”

“Well, they bought it. Hook, line and sinker. And now we’re back in business!” He threw an arm around Coy’s shoulder, a gesture as unusual as it was awkward. “Come on out with me. Let’s tell the staff.”