Page 7 of Purr For Me
“Thatisgood work, but I beat you to it. I found a rental car company he used and yip, he dropped it off in Michigan. I’m already here on the ground. Hopefully, I’ll have news soon.”
No sooner than she’d hung up from Kevin, the detective she’d hired, her phone tinged.
She couldn’t read the text until she’d arrived home.
How’s dinner Tuesday night? Pick you up from Bad Boy Autos at seven – emoji wink, Pace.
She hugged herself all the way into the house, but the happiness died when she saw the “final demand” notice that had been pushed under the door.
She sank to her knees and with a shaking hand she picked up the envelop. “Please, please, let me find Jason… and soon.” Only empty silence answered her.
* * *
By the next morning, Lexie had her emotions under control. Before bed, she’d had a glass of wine—or two. Then she’d allowed herself the luxury of shedding a few tears, watched some funny animal videos on YouTube and gone to bed.
At five-thirty, she’d risen and gone for a short jog before getting ready for work. Unlike some people when they’re upset, Lexie was an emotional eater. She’d scarfed down a big breakfast, filled her giant travel mug with coffee, and headed for Bad Boy Autos. No Starbucks for her.
Every spare dollar went into what she called her Freedom Fund. It was a separate bank account she’d asked Tom to set up in his name in case Jason learned of it. She was listed as an authorized user on the account, supposedly for business purposes, but the money was all hers. They were the only ones who knew about its existence.
Lexie would use the money to pay off the other bills Jason had stuck her with. She’d done the math, and with careful management and being frugal as hell, she could be out of debt in five years.
Because she had no large savings, and to stop the foreclosure on her cabin, she needed at least nine months of hefty mortgage payments besides the other debts he’d left her to pay. Alternatively, she needed to find Jason and retrieve the money he’d stolen. Suddenly, thirty days seemed short.
Pulling her Jeep into the parking lot, Lexie smiled when Zip Chang stepped outside his bay to see who had arrived. The young Chinese man smiled and waved. Lexie returned his greeting as she got out and grabbed her backpack, which she used instead of a purse.
“Hey, Lex. How goes it?” Zip asked as she drew closer.
“It goes just fine. How about with you?”
“Good. I brought donuts. They’re in the break room,” Zip informed her.
“You know I’ll be all over them later on,” Lexie said.
The other bane of her existence, Marcus, sat at his desk with a cellphone to his ear, drumming his fingers on his desk blotter. His gray eyes met hers, and the frown on his handsome face deepened. Lexie ignored him and continued on to the break room.
Tom stood by the coffeemaker, pouring some fragrant brew into a mug. A huge yawn gripped him as he turned to look at Lexie.
She smiled. “Baby keep you up again?”
Tom and his wife, Kendra, had become the proud parents of a baby girl, Matti, four months ago.
He stirred sugar into his coffee. “Yeah. She’s living up to her name, ‘lady of the house.’ She started screaming at one this morning and woke Connor up. So, both of them were driving us crazy. Connor wanted to play, and Matti was fussy. We didn’t get back to bed until almost four.”
Lexie loved four-year-old Connor, who had adopted her as an aunt. She often babysat for him when Tom and Kendra went out.
“I’m sure Matti will settle into a routine soon,” Lexie said. “I’ll go get changed and get started. Don’t want my pay docked for being late.”
“Lex, I know you’re pissed at me, but we can’t afford to antagonize a man like Kade.” Tom’s eyes reflected his regret. “Journalists are notorious for using their platform when pissed.”
Lexie gave a curt nod as she put up the defensive walls around her heart. “I know. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it done and then I’ll get him—and hopefully his brother—out of my life. No worries. I’ll talk to you later.”
She didn’t wait for Tom to respond. A door at the back of the break room opened into a small locker room, complete with a shower and two changing stalls. Lexie grabbed her overalls from her locker and slipped them on over her jean shorts and turquoise tank top. She made sure her ponytail was secure and stuck her cellphone in her pocket.
Looking in the mirror over one of the two sinks, Lexie stared at her reflection and gave herself a pep talk. She had work to do, and she’d focus on the job, putting everything else out of her mind.
Only when the cellphone rang to say Kevin had found Jason would she breathe easy. Kevin and his team had tried to follow the money, but it looked as if Jason had it in cash, and that’s why they had to find him soon. Not only could Jason sniff the money up his nose, someone could steal it. Nine months. He’d had the money for nine months. Hope of getting any of it back was slim, but she prayed there was enough to see if the bank would let her continue on a payment plan to pay the rest back… a proper mortgage. Only she’d have to explain what Jason had done. Would that get him in trouble? She thought the bank might not like the publicity of being conned.
The sick feeling churning in her stomach wouldn’t go away. She may not have spent very much time at the cabin, but it represented the last fun time she’d spent with her mother, Clara, before the motor neuron disease ravaged her. It was also where, as Lexie sat holding her hand, Clara took her last breath.
She squeezed her eyes shut so the welling tears couldn’t escape. She’d speak to Kade and tell him what she had learned. Kade might know where Jason would stay in Michigan, or who he’d stay with.
That decided, she straightened her spine and went to restore Kade’s Alfa.
