“Good to hear. Comes to a leaky toilet, you got a couple ways to go. Failing flapper, plunger ball, float ball, or fill valve. You hear hissing or a trickling sound, it’s a good bet that’s where your problem lies.”

“I hope you’ll find a problem for my sake. Every time the meter goes up, he looks at me like I did it.”

“If he’s losing water, it’s most likely the irrigation system. Also possible the leak’s in your service lateral, which is the underground pipe runs between the house and the meter out there. He says his is right there along the property line. Easier to get to before he put in that two-car garage. Once I find the shut-off valve, if the meter’s still running, means you got a problem somewhere between the two. Valve itself could have a leak; common with these older bronze gate valves.”

“Sounds like an expensive repair.”

“Can be. Most of those old galvanized iron pipes are sixty, seventy years old. You get a break, it’s costly to locate and even worse to replace. Sewer or water lines break on a homeowner’s property, it’s up to the homeowner to remedy the problem. It’s more like I do the fixing and the homeowner pays. Any rate, possible I won’t finish my inspection today, but I’ll be back first chance I get.”

31

Henry didn’t return with Edna until twenty minutes after one. I had to call the alarm company to push back the technician’s arrival by two hours, but I was at the office in time to let him in. I left him to go about his business with his drill, his ladder, and the wiring he had to run. He said he’d mount a panel near the front door and a second one in the kitchenette, assuring me he’d give me a quick lesson in its use when it was done. I found it distracting to have someone going in and out, but he was cheerful and he seemed efficient. The locksmith arrived shortly thereafter and changed the locks on both doors.

Cullen had been on the premises less than an hour when he paused to have a word. “Your friend’s here.”

“My friend?”

He pointed to the window behind me. “She pulled up a few minutes ago and she’s been checking the front door, so I figured she was waiting to pick you up. You want, I can tell her you’re on your way.”

I turned in my swivel chair and looked out. A silver-gray sedan was parked at the curb with a woman at the wheel. I didn’t recognize the car. She’d parked on the near side of the street instead of the far side, so I couldn’t see her well enough to determine if she was someone I knew. Cullen was correct about her interest. She leaned forward and studied the front of the bungalow. All I saw was long, dark hair. April? I sat for a moment more and finally got up. “I’ll go see what she wants.”