I sighed and addressed the driver. “What’s your name?”
“Arlo Shumaker,” he said in a hushed voice.
“And you?” I asked the girl.
“Kaylee Knight.” She slid her gaze down the street. “I live in that yellow house down there with my parents.”
“If you live right there, what the heck are you doing out here?” I frowned. “It’s a chilly night.”
Kaylee sighed. “My parents don’t like Arlo. They won’t let him come over.”
“I don’t know why. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Arlo groused.
I snorted a laugh. “If I was Kaylee’s dad, I might disagree.”
Arlo grimaced. “We just wanted some privacy. I have roommates, so we couldn’t go to my place.”
“This your truck, Arlo?” I asked.
He hesitated. “Uh… yes?”
“Don’t lie to me, son.”
Arlo’s face twitched. “Okay, fine. I borrowed it.”
“From who?”
“A friend.”
I sighed. “I told you not to lie to me.”
Arlo just watched me, his eyes big.
“The truck is registered to Henry’s Car Rentals, Inc.”
He slumped. “Fine. I… I borrowed the car from where I work. It needs to be driven so its battery doesn’t die.”
I laughed. “Right. You were only doing a good deed by driving it?”
Arlo grimaced. “Are you gonna tell my boss?”
“No, you’re gonna tell him.”
“I can’t tell him. He’ll fire me.”
“You should have thought of that before you took the truck. You can’t just drive the cars on that lot without permission, Arlo. I’m sure you know that.”
He sighed. “What harm was there in borrowing it?”
“It’s not your property. What if you got in an accident?”
“But I didn’t get in an accident. Can’t you just… turn a blind eye, Sheriff?”
“I’m already giving you a break here, Arlo. I could drag you both in for public lewdness. You could both face up to one year incarceration and/or a fine of up to four thousand dollars.” I had no intention of doing that to either of them, but Arlo needed to understand he couldn’t just take his boss’s cars without permission.
“What?” shrieked Kaylee. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Kaylee, I think you should have a serious talk with your parents. Sneaking around like this doesn’t do you any good. If you think you’re an adult, act like one. Right now, you’re acting like a teenager.”
