I stared at the garage. It had seen better days, and I wasn’t very enthusiastic. But Texas was beaming, although Savage and Hunter weren’t looking too impressed either.
“Ignore the state of the buildings. We can gut them or rebuild, but the space is what we need,” Texas said.
I looked past the literal dump we were facing and finally saw what Texas had. Ross was now uncertain, but this place had potential.
“This was the garage everyone used until Timmons arrived a few years ago. He was young, brash, and fast, and he shoved Old Man Wembley out of business within six months. That’s when people realised they were paying through the nose for work that didn’t last as long as Wembley’s did. But it was too late; Wembley disappeared to Florida and has never come back. He was disgusted at how the town turned on him. I couldn’t blame him either,” Eliana explained.
“Wembley didn’t help himself; he was surly, rude and slow. But his slowness meant quality work, unlike what Timmons spits out. No offence, the man is causing more trouble than he’s worth at the moment. He’s expensive, uses subpar parts, and doesn’t meet deadlines. And has the monopoly in town. But there is something else I’d like you to see,” Ross said and began walking towards a gate. He unlocked it and stepped through.
We walked down a wide alley and entered a salvage yard. And the damn thing was pretty full.
“We weren’t looking to run a scrapyard,” I refuted immediately.
“This has recycling chances. A high-grade furnace, which you can melt down and then sell the metal on,” Ross declared, and Texas looked up.
“There’s money to be made in this Prez. If you don’t mind my advice?” he asked, and I was surprised. Texas wasn’t bulldozing his way like usual.
“Go ahead,” I replied.
“We’ll need other businesses as we claim brothers. Someone could run this for us until we put a brother in charge. If westrip the valuable parts, create an online store, and charge for shipping, even better. This is a shithole and needs sorting, but there’s money here, Calamity, some old cars too, whose parts are no longer available,” he said, pointing to a couple.
Texas wasn’t wrong. There were some older vehicles, and they would make bank. And the scrap metal would bring in cash. But I was hesitant.
“Look, I’ll take over until we find a brother, too,” Texas interrupted my thoughts. I kept quiet and let him dig his own grave. “Tires can be resold, same as engines and catalytic converters, or scrapped because of the materials in them. Batteries and fluids we can recycle, the same as glass. There’s a lot of money in this Prez.”
“You want it, you can have it,” I said, and Texas nodded. He’d walked right into my trap.
I caught Rosie’s grin, and she turned her head, knowing Texas had just got played. Penny’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything.
“Seems we’ve found ourselves a garage,” Hunter stated.
Ross beamed. “I do have one other big surprise for you. You mentioned opening a vet and said you’d love to help, but hadn’t built a clinic yet?”
“Yes,” Rosie replied.
“If you’d like to follow me?” Ross asked and began walking away. He walked us to the end of the street, where there was a double-fronted corner shop. Or what had been two shops, now a veterinary clinic. Rosie’s eyes narrowed as Ross opened the door and stepped back.
We entered a large, rather stark reception area, making both Rosie and Klutz wrinkle their noses. It was nice but cold, not welcoming at all.
“Through there are the offices and rooms,” Ross said, pointing. I followed Rosie as she headed through the door into a corridorwith various doors. The first two opened into offices, and then there were four examination rooms. There were two operating theatres, and Rosie’s eyes widened at the equipment there. We found a locked pharmacy and a recuperation area. And way at the back was a set of kennels where overnight stays would be kept.
What shocked Klutz, Rosie, and me was that there was a shitload of expensive equipment left behind. It was as if people just got up and walked out. When I opened a filing cabinet drawer, I found patient records.
“What gives?” Rosie demanded, walking back out.
“The owner went bankrupt, and the bank foreclosed on it. Gambling issues, not lack of work. The bank was going to sell this off piecemeal, but never got around to it,” Ross said guilelessly. My eyes narrowed.
“The same bank Noah is manager of?” I asked, and Ross grinned.
“You intended this as a bribe to a veterinarian,” I guessed, and Ross shrugged.
“Opening a new practice is daunting and expensive. This one is ready to go. You’ll probably need to refresh the medications, but everything you require is here,” he said.
“You’re sneaky,” Rosie accused. “Klutz, let’s take a more detailed look.”
“How will this affect the sanctuary?” I asked, putting a hand out to her.
“The plan was to open the veterinary there. Being in town makes it easier for people to reach us, but I think we should have a smaller clinic there. We can’t exactly put a donkey here to recuperate,” Klutz said.
