Page 50 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
“Thanks, Mom,” Addy said, staring at the table.
“I just got it washed and waxed for you,” Marilyn added.
The door opened and Rick walked in, his forehead glistening with sweat. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning the room.
“I pushed the car back into a parking spot,” he said, slipping into a seat next to Addy. “I’ll find someone to tow it. It doesn’t look like the tree suffered much damage, but your bumper has a crack in it.”
Addy nodded. “Thank you.”
“When you talked to those guys,” he continued, “did you give them your name? Or where you were staying?”
She shook her head. “No. There’s no way they could’ve found me. It must’ve been something else. There must have been…” Her voice trailed off.
Rats? Could rats chew through the brake line? Maybe some particularly aggressive sea otters?
Anything except the possibility that she’d behaved like a spiteful teenager to Rick, lashing out at his imagined Shane-isms when all along…he had been right.
“You think someone did this to Addy’s car?” asked Sheila, her voice low.
“I know they did,” Rick said. “I just don’t know who.”
Phil walked in, a smile crossing his face when he saw Rick. “Hey man. You’re back.”
Rick shot to his feet, crossing the room and stopping inches from Phil’s face. “Get out of here.”
He put his hands up. “Whoa, dude! What’s your problem?”
“My problem? It’s not my problem, it’s yours. You’re completely negligent. Adelaide’s car was tampered with. Where were you?”
“I was – I thought you were –”
Rick stepped forward, pushing his chest into Phil’s space. “Get out of here. Find yourself a new career.”
Phil stumbled backwards, catching himself on a chair before skittering out the door.
“That seems a bit dramatic, Rick,” Marilyn said. “My Adelaide has always been a terrible driver.”
“I got in one car crash when I was seventeen,” Addy said. “That doesn’t make me terrible driver.”
“Looks liketwocar crashes now,” she said, pursing her lips. “You really need to be more careful.”
Rick turned his fiery gaze onto Marilyn. “If you think –”
Sheila cut him off. “Wait. Mom, what did you say about washing Addy’s car?”
“It’s my little secret,” she said with a smile.
“It’s not a secret,” Sheila snapped. “Where did you have this done? Who did it?”
“If you must know,” she said with a sigh, “I got a call that I’d won a free car wash – a hand wash, mind you – with a custom wax. Now, seeing that I don’t have a car at the moment, I thought it would be a nice thing for Addy after she’s done so much for me.”
Addy shut her eyes. “Mom. You got scammed. Again.”
“No, I didn’t. The car was cleaned today, wasn’t it?”
“What number did they call you from?” Rick demanded.
“I don’t know. It said restricted. Now ,I normally don’t answer those numbers, but they left me a message telling me I’d won, so –”
