Elizabeth Basque - Medium Mysteries 02 - Silver Lake Read Online Free Page B

enough to find. Pete went through job aftah job. He was fired every month or so for not showing up, but he could always get another one easily.
    “Me, I saved my money and spent time at the more formidable bahs, and made connections with more serious people. Mind you, I did love the girls, but I could not stand all the drugs. Pete was in the habit of smoking pot and partaking in other drugs. I just didn’t enjoy it. The pot made my mind hazy, and the other drugs scared me. So, I got to know a few wealthier people, and stayed away from all that hippie stuff as much as I could.
    “ A man hired me on in construction. He owned a construction company, but he was also into real estate. I showed up eahly each day and, having been brought up with a hearty wahk ethic, I learned quickly. I stayed after wahk, and asked him all I could think of about how to invest in real estate. After a few months, he asked me if I’d saved any money. I had. I’d saved every penny I could, looking for opportunity.”
    Julie and I listened to Mack’s story, spellbound. He’d never said one word about his life up until now, and here he was telling his life story to us. We couldn’t wait to hear how his life would turn out, although I suspected that it might have a sad ending.
    “He offered to let me in on a property deal. I would put up twenty-five percent of the puhchase. He told me it was a steal, and that we could sell it within a few months and triple ah money. I trusted him, and I did it. And, I tripled my money.”
    “ So, you were able to buy your mother a house, and send your sisters to school?” Julie asked.
    Mack guffawed. “Hahdly, Julie. It would take much more than that to achieve my goals.”
    I poked Julie to hush her up. “Let him talk,” I whispered. Now that we had him on a roll, I didn’t want to interrupt.
    “ I was very, very lucky to have met this man. Once he saw that I was serious, even though I was young, and that I really wanted to make a fahtune, he took me under his wing, and taught me everything I needed to know. He taught me how much to save, what and when and where to invest, and why and how to walk away from a deal. You have to understand, this was long ago. Credit scores didn’t mean as much as cash. I learned from one of the best how to buy propahty. I rented out much of it, and I sold some. I made mistakes and lost money sometimes, but he taught me to pick myself up by my bootstraps and carry on. It was the price of doing business, he said.
    “ I studied areas of Los Angeles that weren’t yet developed, and invested mainly there. He’d already bought a good deal of Hollywood, so I had to make my own stake. I decided on Silver Lake.”
    “ Ah,” Julie and I said at once.
    “ There wuh some older homes in Silver Lake, but there were also large areas of undeveloped land. I decided that I would buy as much of it as I could, and make my riches there.
    “ Took me several yeahs of hahd work, of wheelin’ and dealin’, as they say. And I was able to take care of my mothah and sistahs during that time. I’m at least thankful for that.”
    “ I’m guessing it wasn’t all milk and honey,” I offered.
    “ You’re guessing right,” Mack answered. “Even back then, real estate investment was a shahk’s game. You had to be a step ahead, always. And although I tried to be as honest as possible, I had to be savvy. There was no one to look out for me but me.”
    Mack sighed. I took advantage of the moment and hurried into the kitchen. It was now evening, and after gulping down the water, I saw no harm in opening a beer. I brought one for Julie, just in case.
    “Thanks,” Julie said, setting the beer on a coaster on the coffee table. I knew from experience that Julie would let it rest there until it was warm, and then she wouldn’t want it anymore. It irritated me. How could people just let a drink sit there? A perfectly good beer?
    Get over it, I told myself silently. Listen to Mack.
    “ So, did you