Page 44 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
“Hey there!” Mia shouted. “I’ve been looking for you two.”
They were the blurry picture come to life – young guys, probably Phil’s age, though not as baby-faced. The shorter one had a shaved head and a gold hoop at the top of his ear. The other guy had blond hair—almost white—and rounded Muppet eyes.
“Oh yeah?” the shorter one said. A smile crossed his face.
Mia crossed her arms over her chest. “I heard you’re getting people good deals for their houses.”
Addy looked at her. How had she not noticed Mia was wearing a dress and heels until now? She looked like a model.
Addy looked down at herself. A raincoat and grey hiking pants that swished with every step. She looked like her daughter’s old school nurse, the one who’d quit nursing to become a nun.
“We’ve got the best deals. You live around here?”
“Maybe I do,” Mia said.
She smiled and both guys looked at each other, grinning.
A shudder crawled down Addy’s back. For the first time, she wished Rick was with them.
She stepped forward. “We’re having some trouble with our mortgage payments.”
The smile slipped from the short one’s face. Nothing like a non-flirty woman to ruin the mood.
“We can help you with that, ma’am,” Muppet Eyes said. “How about we go to your house and talk?”
“Hang on.” Mia held up a finger. “I need to see some ID first.”
Addy had to bite her lip. Mia was bold, yes, but she had a plan.
They both plunged their hands into their pockets and pulled out matching ID cards, blue and white, the Flex Knock logo seared at the top.
Mia leaned in. “Richard Callingford and Kenny Kingpin?” She tilted her head to the side. “These cannot be your real names.”
The bald one broke first. “Ha, yeah, we try to keep some anonymity. This can be a tough business.”
“I bet.” Mia crossed her arms over her chest again. “I don’t do business with fake people.”
The blond one dug into his pocket and pulled out a wallet, fumbling until he pulled out a driver’s license. “Here.”
“Sebastian Malone,” Mia said, tapping her chin. “And you?”
The bald guy sighed, but he too produced his driver’s license. His real name was Julian Tate.
Mia held up the licenses, and Addy managed to silently snap a picture of them.
If she called the police now, maybe they could arrest them on the spot. Maybe they’d admit to stealing the money!
It was too much. Too much tension, too much of creepy men leering at Mia. Addy had enough.
“Do you remember Marilyn?” Addy asked. “Little old lady who lived a few streets over?”
Julian shrugged. “We meet a lot of people.”
“She should be pretty memorable,” Addy said. “She signed a contract with you and handed over fifty thousand dollars in cash.”
Sebastian put his hands up. “Whoa whoa. That is quite an allegation. We don’t deal with the money.”
Julian shook his head. “We’re just the salesmen.”
