Matty put her coffee on the desk and dialled a number on the telephone. It had been a week since Bill had left the Bay and she had not heard a word from him.
At first she pretended to herself that she did not care, but as the days went by she began to feel like someone had cut out a piece of her heart, to a point where the last three nights, she had cried herself to sleep.
But this was a new day and she awoke, determined to forget about Bill and continue with her goal to save Tuckamore Bay.
"Wells' Remax."
"Mr. Wells?"
"Yes, this is Dave Wells."
"Mr. Wells, this is Matty Dove."
"Matty. I was planning to phone you later today."
"Well, I guess I saved you a call. Anyway, Mr. Wells."
"Dave. Please call me Dave," he interrupted.
"Okay, Dave. I have a favor to ask."
"Of course. Ask away."
"Well I would have gotten in touch with you sooner, but things have been a little off here lately."
Matty took a deep breath, fighting back the tears.
"I need you to put the lighthouse back on the market."
There was only silence on the telephone.
Matty waited a moment before speaking.
"Dave? Are you still there?"
"I am, Matty. Ah, I don't know if I can list the lighthouse again."
Matty was confused.
"And why is that?"
"Because it is sold."
Now it was Matty's turn to go silent.
"Matty?"
"How can the lighthouse be sold?"
"Well you did have a buyer Matty?"
"Bill?" Matty almost yelled.
"Yes."
Matty was shaking her head.
"But the sale fell through."
"Not according to the papers I have in front of me," Dave informed her.
"What papers?"
"The papers for the purchase of the lighthouse. They are all signed by Bill and you and witnessed by Mayor Tucker."
"No," Matty yelled.
"Those papers are no good."
"Bill told me he was drunk when he signed the papers, but he said he would not dispute them. He wants the lighthouse."
Matty thought for a second.
"Are all the papers there?"
"Yes. The original documents are here."
"Along with amendments 201, 2, 3?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't remember any amendments to the sale."
"Son of a bitch," Matty swore.
"Is there something wrong, Matty?"
"The sale is null and void Dave. If the amendments aren't attached, then the sale is a no go."
"Matty. You never informed me of any amendments to the sale. All we agreed to was the original documents which involved the sale of the lighthouse and the property attached.
If you made any changes and did not inform me, then they are null and void. I am the legal seller of the property."
"There were three amendments to the sale that were attached to the sale. Bill signed all three."
"That doesn't matter, Matty. I had to be informed. All the papers have been filed already and the deposit is in your bank account. The remainder is held in trust by my company, pending a final inspection by Bill. Once he gives me the okay, I will release the funds and the sale will be complete.
There is nothing you can do to stop the sale now. Only Bill can pull out, but he will lose his deposit."
"Son of a bitch," Matty swore again.
"When did all this happen?"
"Bill came to see me yesterday afternoon. Myself, my wife and Bill went to supper and Bill gave me the papers to file and he approved the release of the $250 thousand deposit."
Matty covered the mouthpiece of the telephone with her hand.
"Fuck," she yelled.
"Fucking bastard."
"Matty? Matty?"
Matty put the telephone back to her ear.
"I'm sorry Dave."
"Is there some problem with the sale?"
"Yea," Matty sighed.
"A whole lot wrong."
"I'm sorry, Matty. If you had gotten hold of me earlier, I could have stopped the sale, but it is too late now. It is basically signed and sealed. All that is left is for it to be delivered."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, as far as I know, Bill is on his way up there right now. He has copies of the documents for you and he is going to make a final inspection. If he likes what he sees, then all he has to do is call me and I will release the rest of the money and the lighthouse is his."
Matty wanted to scream as loud as she could, but she realized that it would do no good and Dave Wells was not to blame for any of this. He was only doing what she had hired him to do.
Sell the lighthouse.
Matty let out a long sigh.
"Look, Matty. My advice is for you to talk with Bill and see if you guys can work things out. He is a very reasonable man and I am sure he will listen to reason."
"Oh, I plan to talk to him," Matty barked.
"Well, I await the call from one of you. As soon as I get the call we can seal this thing."
"Thank you Dave and I apologize if I came across as a little bitch. This is not your fault. I know you are just doing your job."
"Matty, I can see that there are some issues between you and Bill. But you have to realize that the law is on his side in this and if you really want him to pull out of this deal, then you will have to convince him so.
I wish you all the best."
The sound of an engine outside the house caught Matty's attention.
"Thank you Dave. I will be sure to let you know what happens."
"Well, again, I hope you two can work things out in a way that suits both of you."
"Don't know if that will happen.
Bye Dave."
Matty hung up the telephone just as she heard the door of a vehicle close. She assumed it was Bill.
"Son of a bitch."
Matty started toward the door, but only got half way across the living room when the front door opened.
She saw two suitcases appear from behind the half opened door and then she heard footsteps head away from the house.
Matty stood in silence trying to figure out what her next move was. She looked to the kitchen. There were lots of long sharp knives there.
She wondered if her grandfather's shotgun was still in the attic.
The door opened again.
This time Bill walked in, a duffle bag over his shoulder. He closed the door and dropped the duffel bag to the floor, staring at Matty.
"Hello, Matty," he said softly.
Matty screamed at the top of her lungs and started stomping the floor.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
Bill bent down and took some papers from his duffle bag. He stepped forward and offered the papers to Matty.
"According to these papers, I am taking procession of my new home."
Matty stared him straight in the eyes, as she snatched the papers from his hand.
She threw the papers on the floor and started jumping on them screaming as she did so.
She fell to her knees and started tearing the papers into little pieces, throwing them up in the air.
"I have copies," Bill informed her.
Matty screamed and jumped to her feet.
"You bastard," she yelled, as she ran at him.
Bill put his arms up to protect himself.