Renovation Surprise

Renovation Surprise

BAM! BAM! Cai clobbered the closet wall with a sledgehammer. He was pounding out his monetary frustrations. The condo HOA fees were rising 20%, the most it had gone up in the 12 years he has lived there. The apartment was also desperately in need of renovations before his girlfriend, Raina, moved in June.

They had met on a dating app 18 months ago, and the friendship turned into a long-distance relationship six months ago. They were spending time in each other’s cities once a month and talking and texting every day, but it was difficult. The couple decided to give the relationship a real shot by living together over the summer.

“Cai? Where are you?” He heard his name called just as he had broken through the wall into the spare bedroom. As the dust settled around him, he noticed a small, black notebook lying on the floor between 2 studs.

“Spare bedroom,” he called to the female voice just as she walked into the room. “I thought you were coming until this evening.”

“I can see that,” Raina replied as she fanned the air in front of her. “I was given an unexpected early dismissal. My last school of the day was on lockdown. No one comes in, and no one goes out.”

“Ahh, the joys of teaching in an urban school.” He grabbed for her hand, intending to pull her into an embrace, but she was gracefully able to avoid him.

“You need to clean up this mess and shower before you get some loving,” she smirked as she glided out the bedroom door. “I’ll go unpack.”

“It will go faster if you help me,” he called after her as he enjoyed the view of her walking away from him. Her silence spoke volumes. Their rule had been, “You make the mess, you clean it up.” It had worked well for them until now. He placed the frayed notebook on the dresser and began to clean.

Raina walked through the gaping hole, imagining where the shelving, rails, and racks would in place to accommodate her things. She didn’t think this was all necessary, but when Cai got a plan in his head, it was hard to talk him out of it. Two of the qualities she loved about him were his planning skills and his determination.

“Perfect timing,” Cai sarcastically remarked as he placed the last piece of sheetrock into the large trash can. He clapped his hands over the disposal unit to remove some of the dust.

Raina stood as close to as she possibly could without getting dust on her and placed a hand on his chiseled chest. “Always,” she smiled right before planting a soft, flirty kiss on his powdery lips. “I’ll sweep up while you shower.” She walked past him out the door to grab the vacuum, broom, and dustpan. Raina felt his eyes sweep over her body and smiled to herself. The hard work in the gym was paying off.

The shower was going when Raina returned to the spare bedroom. As she plugged the vacuum into the wall, her gaze sweeps toward a small, black notebook coated in dust and a little frayed. Cai must have found it in the wall; she thought as she opened it. “I wonder how long it has been hiding?” She sat down on the bed cross-legged and began to read. She lost all sense of time as she read the diary. She was unaware when the shower stopped or when Cai, fully dressed, walked into the room and stood in front of her.

“Must be an interesting read,” he whispered, not wanting to startle her.

“It is fascinating,” she uttered as she slowly lifted her eyes to match his gaze. “How long have you lived here?” She questioned as she wracked her brain to find the elusive information.

“Twelve years,” he replied. “But the condo has been in our family much longer. My mom’s parents bought it when the building changed from rent-controlled apartments to condos in the 1980s.”

“This notebook predates your grandparents. Do you know who lived here before they did?”

“No, but I know someone who has lived here since they were a child in the ’50s.” Cai grabbed Raina’s hand and silently led her out of the condo and down two flights of stairs. He knocked on the door of 515.

“Hold your horses! I’m comin’,” yelled a grumpy old male voice from the other side of the door. When the door swung open, a short, balding man with a chubby belly was almost 70 years of age. His frown changed to a smile when he saw Cai. “Hey Cai, what brings you by today? I don’t have a chiropractor visit scheduled for today.”

“No, Mr. Saunders. I have a few questions about who lived in my condo before my grandparents.”

“Sure, Cai, but who is this lovely lady next to you? I have seen you two leaving the building a few times.” Saunders smirked. He knew this was Cai’s newest friend. He often spoke about her when they visited. It was still strange to see interracial couples in the neighborhood, specifically an Asian man and a Black woman. He shouldn’t be too surprised as his grandson was dating a Black woman.

“Sorry. Where are my manners.” Cai quickly introduced Raina to the neighbor she felt like she already knew. Cai often visited Mr. Saunders as his only child currently lived in California and only returned to New York 2-3 times a year.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Saunders, finally.” She reached out her had to shake his, but he grabbed and hugged her.

“Yes! Nice to meet you too. Come and sit down. What do you want to know about your condo?” Saunders leads them into a small living room.

“We found a little black notebook while doing renovations. Tell us everything you know about the tenant before my family moved into the unit.” Cai began.

Raina held up the notebook. “All I have been able to figure out is it was a man and his family. The notebook is only half-filled. Parts read like clues leading you on a scavenger hunt.”

Mr. Saunders began to spin a tale filled with sketchy characters and impoverished families who had once lived in the building. Apartment 717 was the home to a bank robber. The degenerate was imprisoned without anyone knowing where he stashed the money. Even his parents didn’t know; they didn’t believe their son was a crook. The pair lived in the apartment, awaiting their “wrongly convicted” son’s return until they both died. Their son was never released as he met a horrific end inside the big house.

Cai studied the notebook as Raina showered and prepared for bed. He noticed three numbers and a handful of words written in red ink instead of black. He took out a pen and wrote down the clues and numbers.

e“Have you figured it out yet?” Raina queried as she slipped under the covers beside him.

“What if the money is in the apartment?” He handed her the slip of paper with the clues written on it.

“Don’t you think the parents would have found it and turned it in? Someone in your family should have found it by now,” she answered skeptically.

“Nah,” he chuckled. “My family is cheap. You heard Saunders say they bought this place at a good price because no one wanted to live in a place two people died. The only renovation they have done is putting paint on the walls and updating the counters and cabinets in the kitchen.”

Raina read the note several times aloud before responding. “The item you seek lies in the room you gather for food and drink. The spot is marked by a symbol the opposite of what you think. The money is in the….”

“Dining room or kitchen,” Cai interrupted. But what symbol are we looking for?”

“Pirates marked the spot with an X.,” Raina thought out loud. “The opposite in tic-tac-toe are circles. That’s what marks the spot. I’ll search the dining room, and you go to the kitchen.”

“I say we look on the floor as the clue says “lies.” My family never replaced the flooring in any of the rooms.”

“Awesome! Maybe there is a weak or loose floorboard we can check.”

As they walked down the short hallway to the living room, Cai stopped dead in his tracks with a sudden memory. “I know the exact spot to look. There is a buffet over a corner spot where the floor squeaks. My Nainai didn’t want people to walk there.” He led the way as he talked, stopping momentarily at the hall closet to retrieve the crowbar.

They cleared the valuable family items off the top before moving the buffet. Cai stepped gingerly on the board with the knot in the middle and listened for the familiar squeak. His father had shown him the spot when he was a kid. He smiled. “Let's see what lies beneath.” Cai removed the boards to unearth a small metal box with a combination lock built into the lid and placed it on the table.

Raina’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as Cai wiped the box clean with a towel she grabbed on the way to the dining room. “The combination is 9-19-3.”

Cai turned the dial as she spoke. He heard the lock click as he landed on the last number. Inside were two bundles of $100 bills. Each bundle was worth $10,000. “We are going to have to turn this into the police with the notebook.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Raina said as she kissed his cheek. “We can do it in the morning.”

After restoring the corner to its original state, Raina tugged Cai’s arm and led him back to the bedroom. He placed the small box into a dresser drawer before making his way to bed.

The next morning, Cai and Raina dressed quickly and Ubered to the police station five blocks away. The lack of sleep and nervousness caused the ride to their destination to be silent. They didn’t dare speak to prevent giving hints to what lies in the black bag between them.

After telling their treasure-hunting tale to the police and handing over the evidence, Cai and Raina made an impromptu trip to the local hardware store. With the 10% finders fee, they purchased some of the needed supplies for the closet remodel. Raina spied a lottery machine as they exited the store, and a smile spread across her face.

“How lucky do you feel, Cai?” Raina giggled as she walked toward the glowing machine.

“Very lucky!” He replied as he followed behind her. “Very lucky!”