Page 16 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay (Spotted Cottage #4)

She’d wanted to keep her word to Rick. Addy had intended to stick around the house and catch up on work while he was away. She hadn’t planned anything nefarious.

But then she got a call from Mia. What was she supposed to do, ignore an amazing opportunity to talk to the two guys who had hoodwinked her mom?

Time was of the essence. Mia’s neighborhood contact reported they were a few streets over, going door to door.

Addy dropped the frying pan in the sink. There was no time for eggs. Her new temporary bodyguard, Phil, had refused her offer anyway, retracting with horror at the word fried .

He was younger than Rick by about fifteen years, and had told her with complete sincerity, “I’m sure your cooking is great, but I don’t keep ten percent body fat by eating fried foods.”

She grabbed a granola bar and her coat. “We’re taking a flight!”

“Right behind you,” he said.

He didn’t stop to grab a coat, instead pausing by the door to steal a look at himself in the mirror before they left.

Addy jogged down to the dock. Joey was waiting, the seaplane tied off.

“Thanks for doing this. I know it’s last minute,” Addy said as she jumped into the backseat.

“Happy to help!” Joey said.

“Hey man, good to meet you,” Phil said, vigorously shaking Joey’s hand. “Cool plane.”

“Thanks.”

Addy looked down, pretending to focus on her seat belt. Was she just too used to Rick, or did Phil lack a certain cynicism, a worldliness one desired in a bodyguard?

It didn’t matter.

“I’m hoping we won’t take too long,” Addy said.

Joey climbed into his seat. “Don’t worry about it. I have to pick someone up from Bellingham in two hours anyway.”

“That should be plenty of time,” Addy said.

They took off. Addy debated filling Phil in on what was happening, but he spent the entire flight asking Joey so many questions that she didn’t have a chance.

He wasn’t curious about her. That was fine. Better, maybe.

They landed in Bellingham. Addy thanked Joey, then off she went in search of Mia’s car. She found it parked on the street.

Mia rolled her window down and stuck her hand out. She jiggled a black canister in her hand. “See that? The strongest pepper spray that’s legal in the US.”

Addy laughed. “Did Rick tell you to buy that?”

“He had it sent to my house!” she said. “How’d he even know where I live?”

Addy paused. That man had a lot of mysteries around him. “I have no idea. Have you needed to use it?”

“Not yet, but I feel more confident.”

Addy stepped to the side. “Mia, this is Phil. He’s covering until Rick gets back tomorrow.”

“Hi, Phil.”

“Take a seat,” Addy said, pulling open the car door. “We’ve got to hurry. I hope they’re not gone yet.”

“Friends of yours?” Phil asked.

“Not exactly.” Addy turned to Mia. “Who is this neighborhood lookout you’ve been talking to? Do you have spies?”

Mia laughed. “It’s this one lady I met by Lawrence’s old house. She’s lived there for fifty years. She knows everyone , and she felt awful about what happened to Lawrence. She and the other neighbors started a neighborhood watch for the salesmen.”

“Incredible.” Addy shook her head. “You’re like a detective.”

“It’s been great to have something to do. I check in there almost every day. It’s been a good distraction.” She lowered her voice. “I’ve been thinking about what you said, too.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but I had never considered anything else. It’s really made me think.”

Addy smiled. “I’m glad I could be of some use.”

They arrived at a neighborhood with streets arranged in an orderly grid. Mia cruised the first street slowly, scanning the houses along the way. “They were last spotted here. I guess they could be inside someone’s house…”

She gasped. “There they are! In the blue shirts.”

“Are these guys a threat?” Phil asked, leaning forward from the back seat.

“I don’t think so,” Addy said. “But they stole some money from my mom.”

“That’s not cool.”

Not cool indeed, Phil.

“Do you mind standing behind us and looking intimidating?” Mia asked. “I have a plan.”

“That’s what I’m here for!” Phil unbuckled his seat belt, a grin on his face.

He looked like a high school kid to Addy. Maybe it was best to leave him in the car…

“Follow my lead,” Mia said. “I’ve been practicing all week.”

Addy raised her eyebrows. As much as she wanted to talk to these guys, she hadn’t thought of what to say.

That was foolish. Poor planning on her part. At least Mia was on top of it.

“You have my full trust,” Addy said, getting out of the car, her heart pounding.

Mia led the way, her head high and her shoulders back. Addy walked next to her, Phil following closely behind.

“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.”

“I need to see the contract she signed,” Addy said.

“Ma’am, the old lady probably got confused. I’m pretty sure I’d remember getting a bag of money,” Julian said, smirking.

“Probably her old age messing with her,” Sebastian said, his eyes slowly scanning Addy from top to bottom, then back to top.

Oh, if Rick were here .

“I can assure you my mom is not suffering from any sort of dementia,” Addy said, clearing her throat, “and neither am I.”

“You don’t have the right to –” Sebastian said, raising a finger to jab Addy.

Phil swatted his hand away. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Addy smiled. At least he had good reflexes. “Why don’t we call the police and ask what they think?”

Julian spun, pulling Sebastian behind him. “Yeah, whatever. Good luck with that.”

They rushed off, clambering to a van across the street. Both men hopped inside and slammed the doors. In seconds, the van peeled out and disappeared.

Back inside their own car, Mia squealed and Addy burst into laughter.

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“I can’t either! I don’t know what came over me.” Mia fanned her face with her hand. “That was crazy.”

“They were convinced you were in love with them,” Phil said. “You’re a great actress.”

“Ha, thanks.”

“What should we do?” Addy asked. “If I have their names I can file a police report, right?”

“Maybe your mom needs to do it,” Mia said. “She’ll need to come out here.”

Addy sighed. “That’s true. Okay, so a little delayed, but we did it! We found those scum bags! They looked so guilty.”

Mia nodded. “So obvious.”

“Wait a minute,” Phil said, leaning forward and perching his head between them. “Are you actually an actress? Weren’t you in that movie?”

Addy shut her eyes. Rick couldn’t get back soon enough.