Page 25 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay (Spotted Cottage #4)

Huh, so that was it. He was really going to walk out on her like that.

Addy picked up the frying pan and slammed it onto the stove. She spun, pulling at the fridge, glasses clanking in the door.

She shoved the milk aside. Where were the eggs? Were they seriously out of eggs?

Shane had spoken to her like she was a child. A scared child, telling her to grow up, to stop making this about her. She slammed the door shut.

“Is everything okay?” Sheila asked, standing at the end of the kitchen island.

Addy looked up. “Everything’s wonderful. Why?”

“You look like one of those women photographed in the Dust Bowl during the depression.”

She was just hungry.

Sheila took a step closer. “Where’s Rick?”

“Rick’s gone.”

Sheila looked around as if she didn’t believe it. “Gone where?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care.”

Sheila crossed her arms over her chest. “Aw, a lover’s quarrel?”

“Not lovers, Sheila!” Addy snapped. “We had a professional disagreement.”

Except it didn’t feel professional. It felt like she wanted to throw up. Her ears were hot and her sweater was too tight.

Sheila put her hands up. “I’m sorry. I’m just kidding.”

Addy sighed. “I don’t know if it’s a disagreement. He decided to tell everyone except me that his protection contract had ended.”

“Hang on. He’s not going to be your bodyguard anymore?” Sheila’s mouth dropped open. “How does that make sense? I thought he was trying to get more help out here, not less.”

“That’s what he told us he was doing, but who knows what he actually did?” Addy pulled two slices of bread from the toaster. They were hard and cold. She tossed them into the sink.

“What did that bread ever do to you?” Sheila asked, biting her lip.

Addy cracked a smile. “Nothing. I forgot about it when I was arguing with Rick and now it’s gross.”

Plus one of them had been for Rick, but he wasn’t going to need it. He’d gotten his walking papers and stormed off.

“So he told you he was pulled off the assignment and walked out? Just like that?” Sheila scrunched her nose as though something stank. “That doesn’t seem like him.”

“He didn’t tell me anything. I got a call from Shane. He was livid that he had to hear about this at all, then blamed me for being dramatic.”

“Wait, heard about it from who?”

Addy put her hands over her face. “Rick. He called Shane and told him it was inappropriate for the company to end his contract, that I needed to be protected. “

“Oh.” Sheila nodded slowly. “I see where this is going.”

The tightness in her chest eased. Finally, someone was listening to her.

Addy took a breath. “Yeah. Then Shane called and scolded me, told me I’m a child, and said he’s done indulging me.”

Sheila’s eye twitched. “He said what?”

“I know.” Addy shook her head. “It’s embarrassing, but maybe he’s right.”

“No, he isn’t! Your brakes were cut . Those guys are after you, Adelaide.”

“Yeah, and that was my own fault,” Addy said. “Apparently, if I leave them alone, they’ll leave me alone, too. It had nothing to do with Shane’s case. None of that even mattered.”

“Shane’s being a jerk and you know it. He’s always done stuff like this. He’s probably having a bad day and took it out on you.”

Addy stared at the floor. He had sounded very annoyed, and he was terrible at handling his emotions. To everyone else, he was a stoic judge, ruler of all, but to Addy, he was a man who couldn’t deal with getting the wrong cheese at a restaurant.

“I said gorgonzola,” he’d once hissed through gritted teeth. “What’s the point of going out to eat and paying for things when you don’t even get what you want?”

He could be ridiculous sometimes.

“Shane’s the child. You know this,” Sheila said gently. “Don’t let him get to you. Not anymore.”

Rick had treated her like a child, too. Going over her head, excluding her.

She’d thought he was different. She’d thought he’d seen her for who she was.

Ah, unless…

Maybe he did see her for who she was, and that person couldn’t be trusted. She was foolhardy, and reckless, and…

“I can’t believe Rick called him,” she went on, shaking her head. “We were arguing about it and he just turned and walked out the door.” She walked to the window and peered out. “His car is gone, too. I guess he’s done with me.”

“I’m sure he’s not done with you. Why don’t you call him?”

Addy rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to call him. He can apologize when he’s ready.”

A smile crept across Sheila’s face. “Looks like this is about something else.”

“No, it isn’t. It’s about respect.”

Sheila did a little dance with her shoulders. “Respect. Right.”

Addy stared at her. “What are you getting at?”

“I think you wouldn’t be this upset about him if you didn’t care about more than just respect. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. You went on that romantic kayak excursion and came back as giddy as two kids after a night at a theme park.”

Addy put a hand up. “I’m not having this conversation.”

“All right, that’s fine.” Sheila cackled a laugh. “I have to run anyway. Joey’s flying me to Seattle. I’m supposed to record three more songs for my album today.”

Addy sucked in a breath. “Are you serious? Can I come? Or at least hear the songs?”

Sheila shook her head. “I’m not ready to share. The album will only be done if they’re good. If they’re not good, then people can wait.”

“I thought you needed to get the album done before Russell’s movie came out?”

She pulled her coat on. “I do. I mean, I’m supposed to, but you can’t rush art.”

Addy smiled. Such integrity, her sister. Addy always admired her for it. “Well, good luck. I’m rooting for you.”

Russell came downstairs, rushing by to put on his coat and catch a ride to Stuart Island.

Addy was on her own.

She hadn’t been alone in weeks and, to be honest, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Outside, the sky hung above her head, a monotone gray. There was no sign of the sun. She got in her car and drove to town, parking in an open spot on the street.

She walked until she found a café overlooking the harbor. Addy walked up the wooden stairs, and inside the cozy warmth of the shop, ordered a breakfast sandwich and the tea latte of the month.

It came out quickly and she sat at a cold metal table outside, enjoying the beautiful drink drizzled with caramel, whipped cream, and cinnamon.

Her napkins kept trying to escape in the wind. She weighed them down with her phone, then picked up the breakfast sandwich. A bagel, egg, and cheese for $14. The beautiful drink had been an extra six.

Her phone rang out and her heart leapt. It had to be Rick.

“Hello?”

The napkins took off, dancing on a gust.

“Hey, Addy. It’s Mia.”

She really needed to start looking at who was calling before she answered. “Hey, Mia. How are you?”

“Good,” she said slowly. “Hoping you won’t be mad at me.”

Addy smiled and took a sip. It tasted like fall. Maybe once in a while it was okay to get a six-dollar drink if it warmed her like this. “I doubt that will happen. What’s up?”

“Well, I didn’t want to tell you about this unless it panned out, but I think it has panned out.” Mia cleared her throat. “I have this friend from college who became a private investigator.”

“Okay.” This was going to take a while. Addy took a bite of sandwich. It was good, but she liked her own sandwiches more. And the ones she made didn’t cost $14.

“He’s an interesting guy. He was a programmer and worked in cybersecurity for a while, but he transitioned into being a private investigator. Not a traditional one, though. He’s a digital private investigator.”

“Digital,” Addy repeated.

“Yeah, like, everything he does is online.”

Another bite. The bacon was a nice addition. “Oh.”

“I asked him to look into your guys and Flex Knock.”

She set the sandwich down. “Did he find something?”

“Yes, but the way he found out may not have been entirely legal, if you know what I mean.”

A laugh escaped from Addy. “Am I part of a crime?”

“No, nothing like that. Let’s just say he found the owner of Flex Knock, saw his bank statements, and found out he likely paid off a judge.”

“A judge?” She sat up. “What was the judge’s name?”

“Judge Kearn,” Mia said.

“Oh.” She settled back into her seat. Not Shane. Even a midlife crisis wouldn’t make him accept bribes.

“He ruled on a case where Flex Knock was being sued for unfair business practices, and guess what? Flex Knock won.”

“Of course.”

“Your two guys were involved! Their accounts cleared a lot of money.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Yeah, likely money laundering. At least, that’s how it looks.” Mia was speaking faster now, her words running together. “My PI was able to get access to their text messages, too.”

“Should I even ask how?”

“Better not,” Mia said, “but what’s important is that they said where they stashed your mom’s money.”

Her heart jumped. “Where is it?”

“It’s at the office for a boating insurance company, which the owner of Flex Knock also owns. It’s called Lighthouse Bay.”

“Lighthouse Bay,” Addy repeated. She needed to commit that to memory. Rick would want to know and –

Wait. Except he wouldn’t. Her heart sank. Addy set her sandwich down, her stomach rolling.

Mia spoke again. “They’ve had a lot of lawsuits dismissed against them. The office is in Bellingham if you wanted to check it out.”

Addy bit her lip. She shouldn’t do it. Rick wouldn’t approve.

Then again, Rick was nowhere to be found. He’d gone behind her back and left her to fend for herself.

She could do this. She could stop by, casually look around, figure out what was going on. She was capable of doing this by herself. Shane and Rick might not believe it, but she did.

“Where was the money being hidden?”

“There’s a safe, apparently. They texted each other the combination.”

A laugh escaped from Addy. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. They argued over where eight thousand ended up, but it seems like the rest is still there.”

This was too good to be true. She could put an end to this, once and for all.

“Can you send that to me? The address and the combination?”

Mia squealed. “You’re not mad?”

“Not at all. Thank you. I’m going to get right on this.”

“Yay!” Mia let out a sigh. “Please assure Rick this guy I’m working with is legitimate. Uh, even if some of his techniques aren’t.”

“Sure,” Addy said, picking up her plate and mug. “He won’t mind anyway.”