Maria nods. “Okay, but I want you to text me when you get there and every hour.”
I laugh. “I’m not texting you every hour.”
“Then I’ll text you, and you better respond.”
I lean over and hug her. “Thank you for being a good friend. Now let me get you home. I’ve disrupted your day enough already.”
The rest of the drive is quiet, and thankfully, she doesn’t insist on coming with me. I swing by my place and grab a few things before hitting the road to my cabin. It’s actually the perfect spot to think over everything that has happened.
Bob, what the hell did you get yourself into? And why? He has a great real estate business. It’s not like he needs the money. None of this makes any sense. Maybe he was threatened into helping those guys. And now he’s in so far he can’t get out.
No, the why doesn’t matter. I can’t work for him. But I can’t afford to quit. Dammit!
On the way to the cabin, I stop and grab some groceries. As I’m carrying the last load into the cabin, my phone rings.
It’s Bob.
My hands shake, and I hurry to set down the grocery bag before I drop it. Did he see me and now he’s trying to find me? Only one way to find out.
“Hello?”
“Savvy, hello! It’s Bob. Look, I have a potential buyer coming in tomorrow, and I’m hoping you can show him a property out near Croton Falls.”
I sigh in relief. That’s actually not too far from where I’m at. “Yes, I can do that.”
“Great. Try to get there early. This client is very particular about promptness,” Bob says.
“I’m always early.”
Bob chuckles. “That’s true. A word of warning.”
My heart is beating so hard that I almost wonder if Bob can hear it through the phone. “Warning?” I ask.
“This client, Clinton, has a history of making offers and then retracting them after I’ve gone to all the trouble of filling out all the forms.”
That doesn’t sound like a good client. “Why are you still working with him?”
Bob sighs. “He’s a good guy. Unfortunately, he’s not as thorough as he should be. Tomorrow, make sure he looks at every aspect of the property, all right? I don’t want him second-guessing himself again.”
“Okay.” I can’t imagine ordering a client to look harder at a property, but I guess that’s what I’ll be doing.
A horn honking comes through the phone. Bob is on the road.
“Oh, and Clinton may seem creepy, but he’s harmless.”
Harmless? That’s not comforting. “Are you sure about that?” Now I’m worried about Clinton.
Bob laughs. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Pretend I never said anything. I’ll text you his contact information. Thanks for this.” He ends the call before I can ask any more questions.
I pull up the address for the property. It was once an auto shop, but I’m not sure what it is now. Based on the map, there appears to be a diner across the street. I dial it up.
“Hello, Main Street Diner,” a woman answers.
“Hello, could you tell me if there is an auto shop across the street from you?”
A bell dings, and I can imagine a bell above the door of the restaurant.
“There used to be.” She doesn’t say more.
