Page 101 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“My name is Fly,” the man said. “And this here is my ball and chain, Mabel.”

“Humph,” Mabel sniffed at her husband and turned to Cat and Jared. “How do.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jared shook Fly’s hand. “I’m Jared and this is Cat.”

“Hi,” Cat said, trying to mask her embarrassment by brushing the excess mud off her clothing.

“Girl, you’re a mess,” Mabel said. “You can use the john in our RV if you want to clean up.”

“That’s awfully kind, but we don’t want to impose,” Cat declined.

“It’s not imposing,” Fly insisted. “It’s the least we can do to help out our fellow travelers.”

“Then we accept,” Jared answered for them. Cat frowned.

“Follow me,” Mabel said and began to walk away.

“Go ahead,” Jared gave Cat a little nudge. “I’m going back down to grab that tire for the family that’s stranded. Cat wanted to protest but she didn’t want to bicker again, especially in front of an audience.

Cat stopped by the van to check on Lucy and grab a change of clothes. She followed Mabel into the RV, while Jared and Fly walked back to the car in the ravine. Thankfully the tow truck that had just arrived. Thankfully, no one had been injured.

Cleaned up and in dry clothes, Cat examined the interior of the RV. It looked like something off of the showroom floor. There were no personal effects or homey knickknacks to be seen. Assuming Mabel and Fly must be fastidious housekeepers, Cat was careful not to track dirt anywhere. Sinking onto the soft sofa, she accepted a steaming cup of coffee from Mabel.

“Are you and your husband on vacation?” she asked, watching wide-eyed as the older woman lit a cigar off the stove burner. The pungent aroma of the tobacco filled the RV.

“Vacation? Sure, if you consider fishing in every watering hole in the United States a vacation. I hate fish.” Mabel frowned at the glowing end of her cigar.

“Oh.” Cat slurped her coffee as an awkward silence fell between them. Cat glanced at the door. Surely, Jared would be here soon.

As if answering her call, the door banged open and in strode Fly and Jared. “Right in there, son.” Fly gestured to the snug restroom Cat had just used.

Jared ducked into the bathroom and Cat gulped her coffee, hoping for a quick escape.

“So you kids are headed to Arizona?” Fly asked.

“How did you know?” Cat asked.

“The ‘AZ or Bust’ sign on the back of your van,” he said.

Cat gave a nervous laugh. “Oh, yeah.”

“Whereabouts in Arizona are you headed?” Mabel asked.

“Just outside Phoenix,” Cat answered. “I’m going to teach there. I’m doing a work exchange. What about you two? Where are you going?”

“Arizona.”

“Florida.”

Fly and Mabel spoke at the same time. Mabel cast Fly a peeved expression and said, “Florida. We’re going to Florida.”

“No, we’re not, sweetie,” Fly disagreed.

“Yes, we are, honey pie.”

“We’ve already discussed this,” Fly said through gritted teeth. “We have to stick as close to our investments as possible, darling.”

“But we don’t want the whole world to know our plans, snookums,” Mabel replied through an equally clenched jaw.