Page 71 of The Harborer
“They didn’t look at it. Most customers, see, when they bring their vehicles in to be checked out, they stand around and want to point out what’s wrong with the car, even if it isn’t anything you can see right away.” He chuckled. “You know, they’re giving you the ‘It makes this clunking noise,’ which of course is sound not sight, but they still gotta point.”
“So this guy wasn’t doing any of that?”
“Nope. As soon as he got out of his car, Mick was there. They went into the office and shut the door.”
“What did he look like?”
Cade gave him a vague description of a dude who could have been Beanie Guy—disheveled, wiry, and wearing a dark knit cap. He also could have been one of thousands of people traveling through the county.
“Could you hear what they said?”
“Not exact words, but they sounded pissed. They were yelling and cussing and shit.”
“About what?”
Cade shrugged again. “No idea. I put my buds in and got to work on a rush order. Mick doesn’t pay if I don’t get shit done on time, and that’s been a real problem lately.”
“You’re not getting paid?”
Cade shook his head. “Not for the last two weeks, which is kinda weird, because I saw him take a wad of bills out of his pocket two days ago, like he was counting them. When he realized I was watching, he stuffed them back in his pocket, gave me an F-you look, and left. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’ve been busting my ass. These newer cars and their computers, every single one of them is different. I need more time to look stuff up and figure it out, you know? He doesn’t like it when I ask questions, but how else am I going to learn? And I don’t want to be charging people for half-assed work or pretending Ididwork when I didn’t. Sometimes I refer them to a shop in Durango or Montrose. Hereallydoesn’t like that.”
Micky was a tool, but to Shane’s knowledge, he’d never been blatantly dishonest with his customers. What had changed to make him act so sketch?
“Have you asked him about catching up your pay?”
Cade rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah.”
“What does he say?”
“That I’m not keeping up, and he’s not gonna pay someone to stand around and play on his phone. Bullshit like that. I’m on my phone because it’s the only way I can figure out what to do with whatever car I’m working on. It sucks. I’m gonna have to quit and look for other work if this keeps up, but I really like the cars. I don’t even mind most of the customers.”
“Understood. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Thanks. Was that all you needed to ask me?”
Shane hesitated a beat. “Yeah, but there’s something else I’ve been meaning to talk to you about since the Big Event.”
Cade tilted his head in question.
“What Micky did, yelling at Amy in front of the whole town?” Shane began. “Not cool. Don’t ever let me catch you doing that to your mom, your girlfriend, your boss. To any woman in your life.” Cade’s eyes went wide. “Not only is it massively disrespectful to her and everyone within earshot, but when your temper simmers down—and it will—you’ll realize how much you overreacted. By then, it’ll be too late because everyone will have witnessed you losing it. You’ll have so much egg on your face you won’t be able to scrape it all off. You’ll look like a total asshole. And if you own a business in town like Micky does?”
Cade stood frozen to the spot. “People might not want to deal with me.”
“Sounds like you get it.”
The kid opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again.
“What’s on your mind?” Shane prodded.
“Is that why Amy moved out on Mick? Because he yelled at her?”
“It was the final straw.” Shane tried to mask how relieved he was about her decision. “It’s our job as men to protect ourwomen and treat them right. That’s something I learned from my dad, and I’ve never forgotten it.” What Shane didn’t say was that he’d learned that lesson while watching his father mistreat his mother. Shane had grown up knowing hownotto act, vowing to never be like his dad. That’s why he would never become a state trooper, and why—unlike his father—he followed the letter of the law.
“So circling back to the keys for one last question. You don’t have one. Anytime Amy loaned you one, you gave it right back. Did you ever see her pass a key to someone else, especially someone you didn’t know? Maybe someone came to the back door, and she slipped out or—”
Cade’s gaze shot to somewhere behind Shane. A strangled gasp sounded. Shane didn’t have to turn to know who had stumbled onto their conversation. His heart sank.
“I was just … I needed to use the ladies room,” Amy apologized.
