SIXTY NINE

Ezra pressed the apartment bell three times and waited. He couldn't hear anything from inside the apartment and there was only silence. Ezra pressed the bell once again, but there was no response from the apartment owner. Ezra started to think the apartment was empty. So he was thinking of coming back later or tomorrow after he went to see the owner of apartment 502 before someone suddenly appeared behind him.

"What were you doing in front of my apartment?"

“You Mrs. Aubrey?"

The woman was old, maybe around sixty. There were two bags of groceries that she clutched tightly to her chest. Ezra stepped back and tried to be respectful in the presence of this old woman.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am. I was just wondering if you called in a plumber yesterday to fix your drains?”

"That's right. Robert Willey. It was Anette who recommended the man to me when I complained to her that my drains were a bit problematic. The pipes are dirty and need to be cleaned, so the water flow is blocked.”