Page 40 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
All he could hear was Addy sighing and shifting. She kept her eyes fixed on the window.
“Giving up is not an option,” she finally announced. “I may not have figured out what to do with the rest of my life, but I can’t live with my mother.”
He glanced over at her. “How isthatan option? What happened to boundaries?”
“She’s broke, and I can’t afford to house her anywhere else, so that’s where this is headed if I can’t find her money. I just got laid off and divorced at the same time. It’s almost as bad as handing over a bag of money to strangers, so I have to figure this out.”
“I’d say your way of losing money is different. Much more time-consuming.”
She sighed, a slight smile on her face. “It is.”
“Where do you want to go?” He asked. “Back to the neighborhood? Back to the ferry?”
She was staring again. Then she added a quiet, “I don’t know.”
He drove on. The sky opened in front of them, buildings easing into the background. A large red barn stood in the distance. Rows of apple trees lined the road.
“Want to go apple picking?” he asked, smiling.
“No, thank you.”
If they kept driving, they’d end up in Canada. “Listen, how about I look into Flex Knock? I can use my contacts and see if there’s anything else useful.”
“You said you didn’t have contacts.” She turned to him now, smiling, her eyes narrowed.
He tilted his head. “I said I didn’t have facial recognition technology. I never said I don’t have contacts.”
She laughed. “Ah, right. Yes, I’d appreciate it.”
“Consider it done.”
She uncrossed her arms. “Do you want to get something to eat? I’m starving.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He pulled off immediately where an underwhelming sign readFARM CAFE.
“I’ve got a good feeling about this place.”
She nodded. “Me too.”
After lunch, they went back to Lawrence’s neighborhood and sat in the car, watching.
No suspicious salesmen appeared. Rick didn’t mind. Addy agreed to listen to his audiobook, but after two hours of hearing about murderers, she was ready to get back home.
They left Bellingham empty handed except for the apple pie Rick had bought for Russell and Sheila.
It took a week and a half to hear back from his buddy in forensic accounting. Flex Knock was nothing but a shell company. They’d only been in operation for two years, and there was no owner and no real traces of assets. It led to another shell company, then another, before disappearing.
“They’ll probably close up shop when they get enough complaints,” his buddy told him, “then open under a new name, transferring all the contracts.”
“Would she be able to sue them?”
“Unlikely. They’d declare bankruptcy before moving everything over.”
“Great. Thanks for checking.”
“No problem.”
