Breaking Point Read Online Free

handyman. I knocked on the door and Iris Wilson opened it and invited me in.
                  The smell of vanilla and spices permeated the small house.
                  We sat side by side on a brown tweed sofa in the clean but sparsely furnished living room. I noticed a couple of nice pieces and commented on them. A small cherry secretary desk against the side wall had belonged to Iris' mother and had been in her family for years. In the corner was an upholstered rocking chair that looked to be made of oak. She said she'd bought it at an auction and refinished it herself. Other than that, the furnishings looked inexpensive but well kept.
                  Three cardboard boxes were stacked beside the front door. It wasn't much to show for a whole life, but that was probably most of Charlie Wilson's personal belongings. On the coffee table in front of us, Iris had placed a tray of Christmas cookies and some napkins. Excusing herself, she disappeared into the kitchen and returned with two mugs of coffee. The mugs had pictures of snowmen and reindeer all around them.
                  "What?" I said, "No Christmas tree?"
                  She laughed. "I know. I'm way too early for Christmas cookies. It's not even Thanksgiving yet. Every year it seems to come faster, so I just start earlier to enjoy more of the season. I'll freeze most of the cookies I make and bring them out in time for Christmas. Since you were coming down, I thought I'd bake some today."
                  The cookies were great. Crispy sugar cookies are among my all-time favorite sweets. We chatted a little about the holidays and made the usual small talk that strangers engage in when they're tossed together in a situation that invites some social discourse. After about a half hour the conversation turned to the task at hand.
                  "Are all of Charlie's things in there?" I indicated the boxes.
                  "All the small stuff. His suits and shoes and the coats on hangers are still in the closet. I didn't know if you'd need to take them. Do you want to see them?"
                  I did and we moved to the bedroom where the door had been slid to one side on the near closet, exposing a rack of men's clothes. Iris told me to go ahead and look through them and to take anything I needed.
                  I started at the floor and worked my way up. There were seven pair of men's dress shoes all of which looked expensive. Pulling them out onto the carpeting, I sat beside the pile and took a closer look. I was impressed. Each had all leather construction. The shoes ranged from tassel loafers in a deep cordovan shade to several wing tips in both black and shades of brown and tan. All of them looked fairly new, including the five pair of Nikes that were stacked in a box at the back of the closet. Three pair of high top hunting or hiking boots completed the footwear selection. This guy had more money in shoes than I had in my entire wardrobe.
                  The small room was getting warm. Apparently the furnace worked well, anyway. Reaching up to the side window, I shoved the lower sash upward and let some cold air in. The smell of pine blew in from the side yard. Opening each shoe, I felt around inside, searching for I didn't know what. All of them were empty. I checked the sizes, but they were too small for me.
                  I got up and started through the racks of clothes in the closet. The hangers were loaded with suits, slacks and sport jackets. At the far right, there were several top coats and all weather coats stuffed in at the end of the rod. It took some time to go through all the pockets and feel along the linings for hidden objects. Still, it was simpler to do it here than to drag all this gear back to my place.
                  I didn't find anything of interest in any of the clothing and leaned