Читать книгу The Caretaker - Glenn MacFarland - Страница 5

Chapter 1

It all started when I first met Mr. Oliver at my grandfather’s funeral. Mr. Oliver was a very successful corporate business man. His hobby, among others, was collecting foreign cars and flying his private planes. The used one is for business and a smaller one for pleasure.

My grandfather was an expert on restoring and assembling engines for unusual and exotic cars. He worked on several cars for Mr. Oliver. I inherited some of my grandad’s talent with cars so, Mr. Oliver hired me to maintain his auto collection. My first day was filled with anticipation, wondering what to expect and eager to get started. As I was driving out to Westerfield County, I thought, What a beautiful serene, tranquil countryside. Beautiful estates, rolling hills, and well-maintained acreage were on both sides of the road.

Mr. Oliver had a beautiful, historic estate and lots of open space. His property also contained a huge 1800s barn. It contained a car lift, which was a great help working on the cars. A smaller garage was turned into a paint shop.

I also had a landscaping experience, so I took care of sixty-five acres. Early spring was time to prune the many apple trees in the orchard. My brother, who is a funeral director, is an accredited herbalist. On his day off, he set up a herb garden for Mrs. Oliver. That grew to be a very rewarding project.

Every Sunday in the fall, my mother, dad, and brother and his family rode out to the farm to make apple cider. The apples in the orchard were plentiful. It turned out to be a fun day for Mr. Oliver. He enjoyed drinking the homemade cider. He enjoyed it every day; it works like a tonic for him. We used an old-fashioned press that belonged to my grandfather, The gang and I made at least eighty gallons on a Sunday. The boss had two freezers in the basement which held gallons of the cider. We all enjoyed making it and of course drinking it!

Mr. Oliver’s other hobby was flying his plane. In many occasions, he took me with him to the nearby airport. We always had lunch and then took off into the wild blue yonder!

After a few years, Mrs. Oliver, who was a homebody, became quite ill and passed away. By then, Mr. Oliver was retired but did some consulting work at home in his office. When he needed a break, the “boss” would pick me up to take one of his supercharged cars for a spin. A few times, his speedy cars would lure him into going too fast, and occasionally he lost a “jaguar” into the weeds. I always followed to make sure he was safe.

During this time, the woman who lived on the neighboring property started visiting the boss with the pretense of helping out. She befriended Mr. Oliver and became a regular visitor for a few hours every day. She really pushed her way into his household. She was a very smooth talker and very aggressive. She had her own agenda. After a while, she was trying to manipulate Mr. Oliver’s daily routine as it became more and more obvious, I mentioned it to the family. They completely ignored what I told them.

After a time, Sue, the neighbor, told the family that she would look after their father and take him food shopping and to doctor appointments. By this time, Mr. Oliver showed signs of some dementia and was easily taken in by Sue. As time went by, Sue was really running the boss’s life. She used his credit cards and wrote checks for Mr. Oliver to sign to pay for food for him, as well as her family. She also paid her veterinarian bills for her animals with his checks.

A few months went by when Sue hired two professional caregivers for the nighttime hours. I was there most of the time and could see what was happening, such as any covert actions. Sue had the caregivers take Mr. Oliver to his bedroom very early after his dinner to watch TV. In the meantime, she took this opportunity to take some antique books from the library and silverware from the dining room. One of the caregivers happened to notice what she was doing and told me about it the next morning. The family was then informed by me that she was a thief, but no attention was given to that! They did not want to be bothered. The son and daughter knew that eventually they would inherit the property which was worth a few million!

After a time, these professional caregivers proved to be too expensive. Sue heard of a woman who cleaned houses for a living. She needed a job, so Sue hired her. This very pleasant woman turned out to be the best helper for the boss.

I met the new caregiver one morning. Her name was Darna. She had quite an accent but I could understand her by watching her work and give Mr. Oliver excellent care. After a few days, I knew she was absolutely a true caregiver and a very caring person. I would make time every day to check in with Mr. Oliver and learn what was on his agenda for the day. Perhaps he had a doctor’s visit or just take a pleasant ride. Over a short period of time, Darna proved to be an excellent help and a good friend.

As time went by, Sue, the neighbor, took over, driving him somewhere every day. The routine developed into a “brainwashing” time. At bedtime, when Darna took Mr. Oliver to his bedroom to watch TV, Sue slipped into the basement and helped herself to extra food and goodies from the freezer for her family. Little did she know that Darna observed her a few times. All this food was paid with his credit card.