Page 72 of Protecting Peyton

“Better now,” I explained. “It sounds like Jordy found my bike.”

“That’s terrific. Where?”

“I don’t know yet. It was listed on Craigslist in lost and found. I need to call the lady.”

Marci encouraged me to call right away and went back to her desk.

Nervously, I dialed the number.

“Hello?” a woman answered just as I got another incoming call.

“I’m calling about the bike you found?” I quickly checked the screen. March was calling in. I sent him to voicemail.

“Look,” the lady said. “I’ve had a dozen calls already. How do I know you’re the owner?”

I gave her the manufacturer and model number. “I painted it pink and engraved my name on it. Peyton Smith. Peyton with an E.”

“Well, that matches. How soon can you get here?”

“I’m at work now. I can come to you after I get off, say five-thirty?”

She huffed out a breath. “I’m leaving to visit my mother a half hour from now. Make it here by then or you can wait until I get back next month.”

Next month might as well be next year. “Give me your address, and I’ll be right over.”

She rattled off an address too quickly for me to write down, so I had her repeat it, then read it back to her from my message pad. “I’m leaving right now.”

“Don’t forget my reward,” she said.

Of course there had to be a catch. “I’ve got thirty dollars on me.”

She laughed. “Thirty bucks? Don’t bother. I’ll give it to one of those other people who called.”

“Fifty,” I countered.

“See you soon.” The line went dead.

On the way out the door, I borrowed twenty dollars from Marci. When I put the address the woman had given me into the Uber app, it told me I could be picked up in four minutes and the ride would take another twenty. Luckily, I had enough left on the pre-paid debit card I’d given the app to cover the fare.

I paced back and forth in front of our building, waiting for the car. It arrived on time, and I settled into the backseat, then pulled up my voicemail.

“Hi, Angel,” March’s voice said.

Hearing that put a smile on my face.

“We talked to your neighbor, Frank, and he lied to us about his time away from work. He claimed he was working all day except for thirty minutes at lunch, but his boss confirmed he was gone closer to two hours.”

I didn’t know how to interpret that.

“We’re going to sweat him after he gets off work to get the truth. The good news is that it looks like he probably broke into your condo. I know that doesn’t sound good, but it gives us a better shot at getting your money returned.”

Hot damn. I pumped my fist in the air, at least as much as I could inside a car. Things were looking up. First my bike, and now maybe my money. Plus, if Frankie was the burglar, that meant the mugging and theft were unrelated events, and March didn’t need to be so hyper-worried about my safety.

“Talk to you later. Bye.” The recording ended, and I put the phone down.

The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror. “You win the lottery?”

I smiled. “Good news, but not that good.”