Decker just stared at her.
She hastily added, “I didn’t know we were going to be moving from Quantico to D.C., but I always thought we could live there regardless. We’d be going against traffic if we were still working at Quantico. Now it’s even closer.”
“Do you mean we’ll be living together?” said Decker slowly, apparently not having heard what she’d just said.
“Well, not living together. We’ll be roommates. Like in college.”
“My college roommate was an offensive lineman who made me look small,” said Decker. “He was messy and disgusting, but he was a guy.”
“Well, I’m sorry I’m a girl, but I can cook, so how about that?” retorted Jamison.
“You can?” said Decker in a dubious tone.
“Well, a little.”
His gaze continued to bore into her.
“I can microwave pretty much anything,” she snapped.
Decker closed his eyes and said nothing.
Jamison focused on Milligan. “And best of all, Melvin’s going to let Amos and me stay there rent-free in exchange for looking after things.” She added, “In addition to our jobs with the FBI.”
Decker opened his eyes and said firmly, “I am not looking after a building. I don’t even know if I want to be roommates. This is a lot of change being thrown at me,” he added in an offended tone.
“But I already said we would look after the place, Decker. I promised Melvin.”
“Then you can,” said Decker. “One job is plenty for me.”
She looked at him appraisingly. “Okay, if you want to find a place on your own, feel free. Keep in mind that D.C. is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. And you don’t have a car, so it’s not like you can live way out and commute in that way. So you’ll probably need to take out a loan to pay your rent. Just saying.”
Decker continued to stare at her.
Jamison said, “Look, I can deal with the tenants, all right? And everything else. You won’t really have to do much, if anything.”
Milligan said, “Sounds like a deal you can’t refuse, Decker.”
Decker didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Can I at least see the place first before I decide?”
“Absolutely. We can go right now. But you’re going to love it. It’s very charming.”
“Is that a code word for needing a lot of fixing up?” he asked.
“It does need a bit of TLC,” she conceded. “But Melvin said I can hire professionals to do that.”
Decker stared at Jamison. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”
“Not that I know of,” said Jamison, refusing to meet his eye.
“That is not a response that inspires confidence,” he said grumpily.
CHAPTER
9
DECKER STARED AT the moonlit building.
Jamison stood next to him, watching her friend closely.
When Decker finally turned to her she looked away. “See, it’s everything I told you it would be,” she said, smiling at the asphalt.
“And then some,” replied Decker tersely.
The building had once been an old brick warehouse with huge windows; Jamison had informed him that it had been divided up into apartments. Decker took a deep breath and the smells from the nearby Anacostia River filled his lungs. On one side of the warehouse was an abandoned building. On the other side was a demolished structure. Across the street was a string of homes that looked to be about a hundred years old. They were actually leaning into one another and looked uninhabited.
The parking lot of the former warehouse had seemingly more cracks than asphalt, and weeds were growing up through them. An old chain-link fence that surrounded the building was torn down in places and the gate was gone, leaving rusted hinges behind. A few cars were parked in the lot. The newest of them was about twenty years old. Two had plastic trash bags duct-taped over broken-out windows.
“Has Melvin seen the place?” he asked.
“He’s seen pictures. He asked me to look around and I did. And I found this.”
He glanced at her. “So how much ‘looking around’ did you do?”
“Melvin didn’t want to buy a place in a ritzy area, Decker, even though he could afford it. He wanted a place where he could make a difference. The rent on these places is well under the going rate. Everyone living here has a job. Most have multiple jobs. They work hard and they’re trying to better their lives and the lives of their families. It’s really a neat place. And within walking distance are a bunch of restaurants that just started up, all mom-and-pop shops. And there are churches and a park and…” Her voice trailed off as Decker gave no reaction to any of this.
Jamison added, “So, you don’t like it? I know it’s not the Taj Mahal.”
“I used to live in a cardboard box in a Walmart parking lot, and after that in one room at a Residence Inn. So if it has its own toilet this is actually a move up for me.”
“Okay?” she said tentatively. “So you’re good with it?”
“How many tenants?”
“Fifteen units are rented. Two residents are single. The rest have families.”
“So you’ve met them?”
“Yes. I wasn’t going to give Melvin a recommendation without doing proper due diligence. He wants to do good things with his money, but I would never put him in a situation where he would lose his investment. And it’s got good bones. Once the rest of the improvements are done, it’ll be great. And the area around here, while I know it doesn’t look like much, is really starting to come around. Like I said, the restaurants are coming in, and buildings like this one are being renovated. All good stuff.”
“And then the rents rise and the taxes go up and the people you’re trying to help can’t afford it anymore.”
“Well, our rents aren’t going up. And we did a deal with the local government. They’ve given Melvin some tax abatements and other incentives so he can afford to keep helping those who need it.”
“Abatements and incentives? When exactly did you do all this?”
“In my spare time. I know I was a journalist when we first met, Decker. But my heart has always been about doing stuff like this.”
Decker nodded and looked back at the building. “And where will we be living?”
“Like I said, on the top floor. It’s got great views. And it’s all built out.”
“Is it furnished, or do we have to go shopping?”
“I took the liberty of getting some things. If you don’t like it we can always do a redo.”
“Does it have a place to sit and a place to sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Do you want to go inside?”
He motioned for her to lead the way.
Jamison punched in a code on a box next to the entry door and pushed it open. Decker followed her in to where they were confronted by a set of stairs.
“It’s a true walk-up,” she explained. “No elevator.”
Six flights up they reached a door that Jamison unlocked while Decker leaned against the wall and caught his breath. She looked back at him.
“I thought you’d been working out,” she said.
“I just did.”