Page 8 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay (Spotted Cottage #4)

It was like something out of a movie. If Addy hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it.

By the time Rick reached Mia, one of the guys had lifted her into the air.

“Look!” he yelled. “I caught the woman who single-handedly ruined the Apex Universe!”

She squirmed away and fell to the ground. In one swift motion, Rick grabbed both men by their shirts, picked them up, and tossed them to either side like paper dolls. They hit the pavement with a skid, groaning.

Addy rushed to Mia and squatted down next to her. “Are you okay?”

She stood, swiping at her knees and smoothing her hair. Her cheeks glowed. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s okay.”

One of the guys scrambled backward on his hands and knees. “Dude, what is your problem?”

Still laying on the ground, hands up, the other said, “Yeah, what the –”

“Do you want to try that again?” Rick said, his voice slow and steady. “Or do you want to leave?”

“We were just –”

Rick took a step toward him. He flinched.

“You were just leaving.” Rick knelt and picked up the dropped cell phone, never breaking his stare. “Right?”

The guy stood, joining his friend. “That’s my phone.”

“Not anymore,” Rick said. “Get out of here.”

Both men hesitated before quickly turning and walking off, casting looks over their shoulders once they were across the street.

Addy stood next to Mia, gripping Mia’s hand. She let go.

Rick turned to Mia. “Are you all right? Do you want to call the police?”

“No, no police.” She shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“It was assault.” He handed her the phone. “I think he was recording you. It should be easy to prove if you want to press charges.”

“I don’t want to prove anything,” she said, pushing the phone back into his hand.

“What was that about, Mia?” Addy asked. She took the phone from Rick’s hand. “Did you know those guys?”

She shook her head. “It’s about this superhero movie I was in. I had a small role. It’s really dumb. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

A crack ran across the center of the phone’s screen, splintering to the edges. The video floated dimly behind it. It was frozen on Mia’s grimacing face, her head bowed in a headlock, her hair flipped and mangled.

Heat flashed out from the center of Addy’s chest, reddening her neck. When she was younger, she’d let herself get pushed around, too. She knew the feeling. She knew the fear of speaking up.

Thank goodness she wasn’t young anymore.

Addy turned to Mia. “How about this? I’ll send the video to myself, then delete it from this phone. If anything comes up, we’ll have the evidence, but otherwise, no one has to know about it.”

Mia’s eyes darted to Addy, then across the street, then to Rick. “I don’t know. Sure, that’s fine.” She rubbed her elbow. “It’s really okay, though.”

“Of course it’s okay.” Addy smiled. She texted the video to herself, then deleted it from the phone. She went the extra step to delete it from the trash folder, too. “What should I do with this?”

Rick stuck out his hand. “I’ll take care of it.”

She handed it to him, and he drew his arm back and chucked it across the street. It cascaded into the water with a plop. “Have a nice day, boys!”

The guys stood, watching them from across the street. Like a pair of Muppets, they scowled in unison.

Mia and Addy burst into laughter. A half smile even crossed Rick’s face. He had the slightest hint of a dimple, which looked out of place on his rugged face.

“Thanks for that,” Mia said. She took a deep breath. “I’m going to get back into my car before they get any more ideas.”

“Good idea,” Adelaide said, jogging around the car to get into the passenger seat.

They piled inside, slamming doors.

“Sorry about that. People usually just try to get a picture. Those were the first guys who took it too far.” Mia said, clearing her throat. “It’s nice to meet both of you in person!”

“It’s so nice to meet you too, Mia!” Adelaide beamed at her. She looked so much like her mother, but there was a touch of Russell, too. Mostly in the eyes.

“You should consider carrying pepper spray,” Rick said, leaning forward.

Mia laughed. “You’re a good bodyguard, Rick. I don’t need it!” She turned to Addy. “The motel Lawrence is staying in is pretty close. Shall we?”

“Yes, please.” Addy’s phone dinged. It was a text from her mom.

Don’t like the boats tooting in the harbor. Is this all the time? Can you call someone about it?

She stared, then put it back in her pocket. Best not to engage.

It was a short drive to the motel. Mia pulled into the parking lot and Addy noted that the motel had two levels, with painted aluminum siding and a black, wire handrail along the second level.

“This isn’t nice,” Addy said in a low voice.

Rick chuckled, looking through his window. “You think?”

She smiled to herself. It was the first time she’d made him laugh.

They walked to door number six. Addy knocked.

“Coming!” a voice called out.

The door creaked open, revealing an older man in a white button up shirt and black slacks.

He grinned. “For a second there, I thought you were Marilyn!” He stuffed his hand into hers. “Spitting image of her.”

It was the first time she’d gotten that. Addy wasn’t going to take it personally. “Hi, Lawrence. I’m Adelaide.”

“Come in, come in! How are you? Can I get you something to drink?”

They all declined, but he fussed with an electric teapot balanced on a nightstand anyway. “How’s Marilyn? You’ll have to tell her I miss her.”

“She’s good.” Addy paused. He didn’t seem like a man who wasn’t trying to keep in touch with her mother. “I’ll pass your message along to her.”

“Please, sit,” he said, motioning to the neatly made bed.

Addy, Rick and Mia sat down. The bed sagged under their weight, with Rick in the center.

“I hope you’re hungry!” Lawrence picked up a paper plate and handed it to Addy.

The Ritz crackers nearly spilled over, some topped with hummus or thick cut yellow cheese, some with a pink spread and dill.

Addy balanced the plate before any escaped, selecting a cheese cracker before passing it on.

“She’s a real firecracker, your mom,” Lawrence said, beaming. “Why would she want to stay with me when I didn’t have anything? I don’t blame her.” He shook his head. “Oh, but I love her. I still love her. You have to know that.”

Addy glanced at Rick. He was staring at the plate. She cleared her throat, and he passed it to Mia without picking anything up.

“I have no doubt, Lawrence,” Addy said with what she hoped was a gentle tone.

The creases on his face broke into a smile. “I never meant to lose the house. This whole mess…”

“I’m hoping I can help both of you,” Addy said. “My mom tried to tell me about the deal you made for your house, but she didn’t know the details. Do you have the paperwork?”

“Yes!” He disappeared behind a door, reappearing with a manila folder. His hands shook as he handed it over. “I’ve got everything from Flex Knock here.”

“Flex Knock,” Addy repeated, opening the folder. There was a stack of papers, all legalese.

The tea kettle steamed and beeped. Lawrence talked on. Addy flipped through the papers, making sure to look up and nod occasionally.

Sheila had told her what to look for, and when she reached the end of the first stack, it was clear it was just what Sheila thought it was: a sale-leaseback. Flex Knock had bought the home from Lawrence and paid him a lump sum of fifty-eight thousand dollars.

Fifty-eight thousand for a home worth at least three hundred thousand!

The catch was with the lease. Lawrence was supposed to be able to pay back the fifty-eight thousand plus interest, along with rent, and eventually reclaim his home.

There was a rental agreement that followed, spelling out the cost of renting the home during that period.

In small, complicated language, it said rent was fixed for only the first three months, then it was to be increased “by market value.”

Hence the stack of overdue notices that followed. The company had increased Lawrence’s rent from one thousand dollars the first three months to twenty-three hundred in month four. Then twenty-five hundred by month six, and three thousand a month by the end of the year.

Criminal.

“Do you have the names of the people you worked with for this? Or who first came to the house?” Addy asked.

“Afraid not. It was always someone different. Though I did see the guys I first talked to walking around the neighborhood again last week. I went back to get a memorial stone from my garden. Luckily, they didn’t see me.” He spun around with a tin in his hands. “Would you like a cookie?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Addy had to get out of there before her heart broke in half. She took a butter cookie and popped it into her mouth. “Thank you so much for your help. I’m going to try and talk to the people at the company and figure something out.”

“Thank you, sweet Adelaide, you’re a lifesaver. Please send Marilyn my love.”

She forced a smile. “I will.”

Adelaide stood, and Rick and Mia shot to their feet.

“Nice meeting you,” Mia said, first one to the door.

Rick nodded. “Take care.”

They walked through the parking lot, silent as their feet plodded against the pavement. Once the car doors slammed shut, Mia spoke first.

“I feel so bad for Lawrence!”

Addy sighed. “Me too. My mom left out the little detail that she’d broken up with him.”

Mia gasped. “What? Why?”

“My mother…” Adelaide bowed her head forward. The pulsing intensified. “She’s a complicated woman.”

Addy pulled out her phone and navigated to Flex Knock’s website. There wasn’t much there. No site listing with salespeople. The business card had the name of the CEO: Cliff Atkin.

There was, at least, a phone number. She dialed out on speakerphone, and the ringing echoed endlessly in the car.

After a minute, she gave up and ended the call. “Weird,” she said. “I guess I can’t avoid talking to my mom about this. Do you mind if I call her now?”

Mia shook her head. “I’m invested. It’s like a soap opera.”

“Ha. It is.” Addy hit call again. Her mom answered quickly.

“Adelaide, you need to find me a quieter place to stay,” she said, breathless. “These boats are too loud and I can’t sleep.”

“If you stay outside of town, you won’t be able to walk anywhere,” she said.

“Then you’ll have to drive me!”

One problem at a time. “Mom, I just spoke to Lawrence. Why didn’t you tell me you’d broken up with him?”

“Does it matter?”

“Sort of, yeah.” She sighed. “What else aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing!” she squeaked, voice sky-high.

Adelaide knew this game. She waited.

“Well,” her mom finally said, “I don’t see what difference it makes, but…”

Addy kept her voice steady. “Yes?”

“I suppose when I got my money out of the bank, we weren’t fully together anymore, but I didn’t want to leave the house! They told me I could take over the payments.”

“Who told you that?”

She sighed. “The guys. I told you, the ones who came to the house.”

Ah, the mysterious guys who came to the house. Of course. “They told you that you could take over as a renter?”

“No, they specifically said I’d be buying it.”

There it was. Addy shot a look at Mia, who had covered her mouth with her hand.

“So you broke up with Lawrence, then tried to buy the house out from under him, and the mystery guys took your money and disappeared?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but technically, yes. If you’re being ungenerous.”

“Got it. Okay Mom, I need to find out more about Flex Knock.”

“Flex Knock! That was it! Yes, great work, Adelaide.” She cleared her throat. “I needed to talk to you about my neighbor here, too. I think she plays a harmonica at night and it’s extremely irritating.”

“Uh huh.” She looked down, glancing ever so quickly at Rick. His eyes were hidden behind black sunglasses, his head slowly scanning around the car.

If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was tuning all of this out somehow.

At least he was polite.