My Grandmother was a Witch
Chapter 8
"Pete?" Kate asked the man where they were supposed to meet him.
"Kate, daughter of Jim Beckett?" he asked her.
Kate shook his hand as did Lanie. "Yes, I brought my best friend with me. If I don't like it she might."
"She's more than welcome. Are you two ready to start? I have a full day planned for you. I've done my best to stay within the range you gave me. A couple will be above that range. I'm going to do this so you can think about what you do and don't want and what you have to give up. I'm driving so follow me." Pete got started because he had a lot to show them.
"We'll begin in Manhattan so you can see what you can get here. Garment district if that helps," he told them as he drove. Kate and Lanie were in the back seat of his little Honda mini SUV.
"This is 360 West 36th street. This one like some of the others you'll see is a loft studio. Lines A, C, E, and trains 1, 2, and 3 are in this area. Line 7 is a few blocks away. Get you anywhere you want to go." Pete took them upstairs after getting the key.
"All open all the way around with closets, plural, in the very center. Painted wood floors, exposed electrical, new rads for heat though no A/C. Exposed painted beams, one wall of operable windows, small kitchen, and that door is your bathroom. There's an HOA. Here's the paperwork for you to keep. …Next." He had plans to show her a lot of places. Jim had paid him well so she was going to get her money's worth.
"This one is 431 Broadway. Hudson Square and Soho are both really close. This one is going to be above the range you gave me but I'm going to show you what you have to give up." He took them upstairs after getting the key.
"Bathroom's in front of you. Living and kitchen are right and bedroom with laundry are to your left." Pete watched amused as they each went a different direction.
"KATE! You have got to see this." Lanie walked into the bedroom with was bigger than her entire apartment.
"Holy shit!" Kate saw an incredibly long bedroom.
"Exposed wood joists, exposed electrical. That's your bathroom." He pointed at the exposed bathtub in the bedroom. Behind the door was the sink and toilet. "Paperwork." He handed over his one sheet of paper like the last one. He didn't know Kate was bringing someone.
"This is 470 West 24th street. We're in Chelsea now. Unit 4F. This one's different and at the very bottom of your cost range," Pete told them.
They saw a tiny kitchen just inside the door, two closets with one of them a walk-in that you had to enter to reach the bathroom. Next came a combination living and dining.
"No bedroom?" Kate questioned since she didn't see where it went.
"Pull that wall down," Pete told them and Kate and Lanie pull the wall down and find a Murphy bed.
"Now that is weird," Lanie stated. "This place is even smaller than my place."
Kate killed it and that told Pete not to show another like it.
"This is 2nd South End Ave. This one is in Battery Park City. The Financial District's that way. Second floor walk-up or elevator if you prefer. This one is at the lower end of your price range, however, the interior has not been updated for years," Pete warned them.
Just inside was a tiny closet, galley kitchen open to the living room with seriously old appliances. A wall divided the living room and bedroom. Both were about the same size. But it had a nice big terrace.
"Rads for heat and no A/C, no exposed electrical, and the bathroom is—"
Lanie exploded! "PINK! All of it. Even the toilet. How did they do that?" She didn't mind pink all that much but everything was pink.
_/\_
"Lunch break." Pete had selected a sandwich shop and everyone had to buy their own. "How am I doing?" He was curious.
"I liked a couple of them. That one with closets in the very center was different but nice, I guess. The other loft was better. The last one was far too old and the one with the Murphy bed was way too small. That was just wrong." She had the tiniest of closets.
Pete nodded thoughtfully. "Good to know. I'm thinking this next one might just sell you. There's actually more than one apartment available in case you both want one. We're going to move out of Manhattan and move just across the river to Brooklyn. You might even have a water view."
"Cool!" Kate liked the sound of that. "Cost?" That might kill it.
"A little below your upper range but within your price range. Brooklyn tends to be less expensive. However, there might be one deal killer so we'll see." It had one possibly major drawback.
_/\_
"This is 28 Old Fulton Street. I'm going to show you two here. One's above your price range and the other's just under it. You'll note that we're almost directly under the Brooklyn Bridge." Pete proceeded to point out the bad part of this place. "You can hear it from here."
"This first one is the top floor. It's a one bedroom unit and over your price range." Pete unlocked the door and let them in.
Right in front of them was the "U" shaped kitchen. "KATE!" Lanie was looking to her left and slowly walking that way. "IT'S A CLOCK!"
One wall had this massive glass clock in it. Minute, hour, and even second hands and the second hand was moving. "It works!?" Lanie was amazed.
Kate was looking up. "Look at the size of that skylight!"
Pete was reasonably sure this was it for Kate. "Exposed sprinkler system in all apartments, exposed electrical, central A/C. The floor is original wood floors that have been refinished."
Lanie was still gaping at the clock as Kate left her and headed for what had to be the bedroom.
"Closet, closet," Pete pointed out and Kate went through the door. "Walk-in closet." Except there was yet another door and Kate opened it.
"WOW!" She saw another giant skylight, a wall of low closets, closets on either side of the bed. One window, another walk-in closet to reach the bathroom that had a stacked washer and dryer in it. The bathroom was normal but nice.
"I can't afford it, Kate, but I wish I could. It's almost a million dollars and I don't have anywhere near that much." Lanie loved it for the clock alone.
"It'll wipe me out completely but I can afford it. Barely. HOA?" Kate looked at Pete.
"Building was built in 1893 and the remodel was completed in 1983. You won't be the first owner, naturally. HOA for this unit is $1,145 per month. That includes all maintenance inside and out, access to a complete equipment room, central garden with access to all tenants, your gas and water is paid for. All you pay for is the electrical you use."
"Ouch!" Kate wasn't sure she could afford that. She had only just started working in Vice with her new pay hike. So was that increased enough for this place? Plus it would wipe her out almost completely. Every dollar her mother had left her. Selling her grandmother's place was still out of the question.
"The other one that you can afford? There are actually two more in this building that cost 1.7 million with an HOA of $2,145 per month," Pete told them in case they thought he was showing them the most expensive unit in the building.
"That I can't afford." Kate knew that was way out of her price range. Seriously out of her price range.
_/\_
"Same building, different floor. This unit is a studio unit. Same open beam ceiling, exposed electrical, and ductwork. Forced Air A/C system. Same refinished wood floors. Same access to everything the other one has. It's under your maximum cost and HOA for this one is $675 a month with the same coverages.
"As you can see the only walls are your bathroom and closet and that's it. If you want separation you'll have to be creative. I've seen everything from folding Japanese screens to people hanging bed sheets or tapestries," Pete explained.
"Do you need to see more? I have two more I can show you. They will, however, take you further into Brooklyn where places tend to be a big bigger and less expensive. Just keep in mind this one is literally under the Brooklyn Bridge. You have no patio and that clock does not open while these windows do." It meant the road noise was a lot less.
In both places the A/C system was running and the windows were closed so they didn't hear the traffic.
"I've seen enough. What about you?" Kate looked at Lanie.
"I've seen enough." Lanie had made up her mind; she just wanted to talk with Kate.
"The clock is available, this is the only unit of this size, and there are the two at 1.7 million dollars. Otherwise the building is full," Pete said.
"Parking?" Kate asked him and saw him shake his head. She shrugged. "So no parking. Street parking or garage parking somewhere. Not a deal breaker. I don't have a car."
"Most of New York City doesn't," Pete agreed. "The clock may go fast. If you want it put down a deposit and negotiate with the owner which in this case is the owner of this building," Pete suggested. "I'll wait and drive you back to where we met or you can find your own way home."
_/\_
Kate was actually scared. She was putting down a deposit for a home that was going to stretch her to the breaking point. If she lost her job she was doomed.
She had already had one scare. Montgomery had found her where she had no business being and she knew it. But that was where the file about her mother's case was located and she was sitting on the floor reading it.
** Flashback to one month into her job as police officer **
"Are you lost, Officer?" Montgomery was down there looking for something. He had signed in just to get this far so how had she gotten in here? This place was monitored so that not just anyone could get in here.
"No, sir. Yes, sir. I mean sorry, sir." Kate was dead. She had been caught red-handed with her mother's case file spread out on the floor in front of her. She was even in her uniform. She had timed it perfectly and sneaked her way in there.
Roy held out his hand and watched as Kate frantically gathered up the contents of the folder and handed it to him.
"You were never down here, were you?" Roy questioned her.
Kate could feel her heart beating again. He wasn't firing her since he could and she knew it. "No, sir. I've never seen this place before."
Roy pinned her in place with a look. "And we will never meet each other down here again, will we?"
"No, sir, never!" Kate was going to run the second he let her and never come back down here ever again.
"I'm going to put this away. You won't be here, will you?" Roy said flatly.
"No, sir." Kate ran and he hadn't even moved an inch yet. Roy grinned, pleased that he had put the fear of God into her. He also knew he should fire her. But she was Katherine Beckett and he owed her more than he was ever going to be able to pay.
** End Flashback **
Kate handed over her card to pay for it and signed everything they'd asked. She had a week to come back, fill out all the other forms, and pay the agreed upon cost. Then she'd need to wait for the place to be emptied and cleaned and made ready for her. That might take up to 3 months.
Next she watched Lanie do the same for that studio space since it was twice the size of her current apartment. Lanie had to arrange financing to pay for it but the place was now hers provided she followed through. They both had one week.
_/\_
Kate looked anxiously at Lanie. "Did we just do the right thing? I've never been so scared in my life. I just agreed to spend over $900,000! This won't leave me much. I'm about to be broke."
"You're about to be my neighbor. Word of warning I'm going to come see you a lot just to look at that clock." Lanie grinned at her and Kate laughed.
Kate instantly felt better but she was still worried. This was all her mother's money that she had left behind. She needed her job to keep living here. That HOA was what hurt the most. Plus power bill, cell phone bill, insurance bill, and any other bill.
"Wait!" Kate went back inside to find out about the trash and was told it was part of the HOA as well. Just bring it down and drop it into the dumpster.
"We can go home now," Kate told Pete who was sitting there drinking a beer waiting for them.
_/\_
"Hi, Dad!" Kate came in and saw him sitting in the living room watching TV. Since he was doing this it meant he wasn't drinking so she felt great about that.
"How was your day off?" Jim asked her. "I know from Pete you were supposed to meet him."
"I did. I took Lanie with me. I bought one, Dad. Well, I put down a deposit on one. Now I need to arrange to pay for it. This one." She sat down next to him and handed him the piece of paper Pete had given her that talked about it.
"Brooklyn," Jim noticed right away.
"Barely. The building is almost directly under the Brooklyn Bridge. I don't hear anything so that isn't a problem. There's no parking. The HOA is terrible but I can afford it. I can barely afford it. It's actually a little scary.
"It sits right next to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Sports facility, running and bicycle paths, playgrounds, picnic area. There's even a marina where you can rent sail boats. And there's a ferry to take you to Manhattan. It's really nice, you should see it.
"This outside wall has this big glass clock in it. It even works. Hopefully I'm not paying to run it but it's really nice." Kate still couldn't believe she had done it. It was expensive.
"Oh and Lanie's buying a different one in the same building on a different floor. She has to arrange financing though." Kate just had to get her money together. "They said about 3 months to move in."
"So long as you're happy. I'm sure I'll love it. How big is it?" Jim went back to reading the paper. "It doesn't say the square footage," Jim mentioned while Kate took it from him.
"It doesn't." Kate wasn't expecting that. It didn't matter. She'd seen it and liked the size. "OH, NO! Now I need furniture." She hadn't thought about that. She was spending all her money on the place and didn't even have a bed.
Jim suggested some options. "Take everything out of your room and take it with you. Then go shopping for inexpensive or used everything. Try TJ Max or Marshalls or something similar. Maybe Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Rental places may have rental returns you can select from. Do it bits at a time, honey. It'll be fine."
Kate wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks, Dad." She had 3 months to save up enough money to try and buy something to at least sit on and eat off of.
"Now I know what to get you for your birthday," Jim said with a smile which had Kate laughing. She would even be moved in by then so it was possible.
_/\_
Work the next day was a trip to a pair of massage places to verify the types of services they were providing and remind them what would happen if they strayed from giving the customer more than just a simple massage for sore muscles.
"You think she was lying, Beckett?" Alex inquired on the way home to the 12th.
"Definitely. Did you see those ruby red lips? Part of that is lipstick but the rest is giving blow-jobs," Kate told him. She should know. She might not have had very many partners in bed but she'd given her fair share of blow-jobs in her history.
"Very good, Beckett. Care to guess what you'll be doing tomorrow?" Alex asked her.
"It won't be giving someone a blow-job, sir," Kate answered which had him laughing. "But I'll be here, sir."
"We'll teach you, Beckett. All you have to do is listen and learn. Maybe in the distant future you'll even make captain. Learn about drugs, gangs, and robbery and you just might make a good one. Now go home, you're done for today." Alex walked away from her.
"Yes, sir." She got to go home early and she liked that. However, instead of going home she went to find Lanie.
Lanie spotted her. "Hey, girlfriend."
"I'm going to borrow Dad's car on my next day off and do some shopping. I don't have anything except a twin bed and dresser that Dad says I can take with me. But I need everything else. So I'm starting with the kitchen. I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me?" Kate inquired.
"Help spend someone else's money? Absolutely! So where are we starting?" Lanie didn't have a clue.
"Habitat for Humanity ReStore over on Northern Blvd. Dad suggested it. If that doesn't work Goodwill is next. It's over on West 8th street," Kate said. "Look for everything since I need everything. Just so long as it fits in the car and up to my bedroom."
"I'm in just call me and tell me where to meet you. I really love that clock, Kate," Lanie told her.
"Yeah, so did I. Though I think it was the two massive skylights that sold it for me. All that natural light and did you see that I'll have a view of the Brooklyn Bridge out that clock window? Talk about a view." Kate was happy. It was still scary but exciting.
"I hadn't noticed. I was too busy watching the clock hands moving." Lanie laughed and got Kate to join her. "This is going to be fun. We can walk to the Ferry and cross to get to our work each day and back again. Forget trains."