Page 10 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
“Finally, someone’s paying attention.” She sat back in her seat, resting her hands on the table in front of her. “I was living with Lawrence for almost a year.”
“Who’s Lawrence?” Sheila asked.
“My boyfriend, of course.”
“Of course.” Sheila rolled her eyes.
Russell leaned over and said in a low voice, “I’m going to stay out of the crossfire.”
Rick nodded. This was of no interest to him, but he’d been held hostage by duller exchanges.
Marilyn went on. “He was having problems paying his mortgage, and he found a company that would help him with it.”
Sheila raised an eyebrow. “Help him how?”
“I’m not sure of the details, but they worked out a deal so he could use the equity in the house.”
“Probably a sale-leaseback,” Sheila said. “I know where this scheme is going. They bought the house from him and then rented it out at twice the price.”
“It’s not a scheme,” Marilyn snapped. “Two nice young men came to the house and explained it to both of us, and he signed up. He got a good payment for it, too. Paid for a twenty-one-day cruise for the both of us.”
“I’m sure he got a payment,” Sheila said. “For a tenth of what his house was worth. Then they kept bumping up his rent until he couldn’t pay, right?”
“We don’t discuss money. It’s crass and ruins the romance.” Marilyn turned back to Adelaide. “I knew he was having some trouble, but the men came around the house again. They said if I paid off the remainder balance of the house, it would be all sorted. So I went to the bank –”
Adelaide groaned. “No, Mom, you didn’t.”
“I went to the bank and took out fifty thousand dollars.”
“Fifty thousand!” Sheila’s mouth dropped open. “How did you get that much money?”
“It’s my life savings, Sheila. I had to go to five different banks because none of them had that much cash on hand.”
Sheila’s hands completely covered her face.
“I gathered it all up, met with the men, and signed the paperwork.”
“What paperwork?” Adelaide asked, her voice muffled behind her hand. “Do you have a copy of it?”
“They were supposed to send it to me, but a week later, we got an eviction notice. I couldn’t reach them, and I started to wonder if they’d stolen that money from me!”
“We can’t help you, Mom.” Sheila shook her head. “Some guys off the street took you for a ride, and you gave them all of your money.”
“They weren’t off the street! They work for the company. Key House or something.”
“Do you have their names?” asked Russell. “Maybe we can talk to them and figure out what’s going on.”
“Was it House Key?” Marilyn tapped her chin. “I would ask Lawrence, but his phone is disconnected. We’re not talking anyway. I came here to get help from you girls before it’s too late.”
“That money is gone.” Sheila clapped her hands together. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“It can’t be gone! I bought the house, Sheila.”
“No, you didn’t. How could you buy it for fifty thousand dollars? Didn’t he get more than that for his payment?”
“Yes, I suppose he did.” Her lips curved into a frown. “This is what I get for trying to do good. Believe me, it’s the last time I’ll do anything good.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Adelaide said gently. “Give me a second. I’ll make some calls.”
