Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

The morning sun filtered through the blinds of the salon, casting a soft glow over the waterlogged carpet and the cabinets that had begun to warp from moisture. Brynlee anxiously awaited the arrival of Mr. Johnson, the insurance adjuster, hoping he would bring some clarity to the chaos that had unfolded.

At precisely 10:00 AM, there was a knock at the door. Brynlee hurried to open it, greeted by a middle-aged man in a suit, briefcase in hand.

“You must be Mr. Johnson,” she said as she held the door open. “Please, come in.”

“And you must be Ms. Layne.” The man offered a warm smile and extended his hand for a quick shake. “Sorry to meet under these circumstances.”

“I don’t know what happened,” Brynlee fretted. “I checked everything Saturday night before we left and it looked fine.”

“Let's take a look at the damage and get everything sorted out." Mr. Johnson stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the salon's interior.

Brynlee led him through the salon, pointing out the areas affected by the water leak. They stopped first at the reception desk where the computer, now a casualty of the incident, sat unplugged, the damaged cords wrapped up to be thrown away.

Mr. Johnson carefully inspected the computer and the desk, jotting down notes on his tablet. "It looks like the computer will definitely need to be replaced," he noted, his voice sympathetic.

“I actually replaced it last night,” Brynlee said. “I wanted to make sure we could get up and running as soon as possible.”

“Good idea,” he said as his gaze slid over the tiled floor. “Doesn’t appear to be too much damage to the flooring here since it’s tiled.”

He squared down to inspect the trim near the floor and around the doors, then made a few more notes on the tablet. Brynlee quietly watched as he made a slow circuit around the room, inspecting all the contents.

He used his pen to point to one of the dryers. “Has anyone tested this yet?”

Brynlee nodded. “Seems to be okay, at least for the moment. Fingers crossed it stays that way.”

He turned a concerned look her way. “Make sure to have someone take a look at it. The last thing you want is an electrical fire.”

“Of course.” She nodded emphatically. “I’ll call someone this afternoon.”

“Can you show me where the leak started?”

Brynlee led the way to the bathroom, explaining how she’d walked in yesterday morning to find an inch of standing water flooding the entire salon. She pointed toward the toilet. “I called a plumber first thing, who said the valve was leaking.”

Mr. Johnson knelt down and ran his fingers over the wall, the paint slightly discolored where the drywall had absorbed the water. "It's clear the water damage is extensive here," he observed. “Have you had any work done recently?”

“Aside from yesterday?” She shook her head. “No. I had someone check everything over last year before I signed the lease, but everything was okay.”

He nodded slowly, then stood. “Based on what I'm seeing, it looks like the damage was caused by human error, which unfortunately falls under your responsibility as the property owner."

Brynlee's heart sank. “What does that mean?”

“The report from the plumber stated that the valve had been loosened slightly.” He slid a look her way. “Those typically don’t come loose on their own, so it does look a bit suspicious. In my line of work, I’ve found that it’s not unusual for owners to experience… accidents… like these.”

She reeled back at his words. “You think I did this?”

She wasn’t making a huge profit off the salon, but she had no reason to sabotage it for money. Tears pricked her eyes, and she fought to blink them away. “Mr. Johnson, I swear. I don’t know what happened, but I had nothing to do with this.”

He closed the lid of the tablet and regarded her for a long moment before speaking. “I would check with your employees, make sure none of them noticed anything. Sometimes people see a problem and try to fix it themselves.”

Brynlee nodded, unable to form words over the lump that had formed in her throat. She’d already ordered the cabinets and carpet. If she couldn’t get the insurance company to reimburse her, it was going to set her back months, financially speaking.

“I understand this is disappointing," Mr. Johnson said gently, obviously sensing her frustration and disappointment. “Situations like this are never easy to deal with."

Brynlee nodded, trying to maintain her composure. "Thank you for your understanding. It's just been overwhelming. I had to fire an employee last week, and…” She trailed off, her mind suddenly whirling. The timing did seem suspicious. But Jessica wouldn’t have anything to do with this… Right?

Mr. Johnson eyed her critically. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” she respondedly honestly, still feeling more than a little off-kilter. “I don’t want to assume the worst, but… I know everything was fine Saturday night when I closed up.”

Was it possible someone—namely Jessica—had entered after they’d closed up and deliberately sabotaged the valve? The salon was located in a plaza, and though they had security cameras on the exterior, Brynlee seriously doubted they worked properly—or at all. She’d put in a request to install a security system several months ago, but Mr. Pollard had continually put her off. Now she regretted not pushing harder. Thank God the damage wasn’t worse.

The insurance adjuster tipped his head her way. “If you suspect it was tampered with, my suggestion would be to file a police report. That could potentially lead to a different assessment of the claim."

Brynlee nodded slowly, considering his advice. "I'll definitely do that.”

"In the meantime," Mr. Johnson continued, "let's get started on processing your claim. I'll do everything I can to assist you through this process and ensure you receive the support you need."