Chapter 47
I glanced at Lawton. His face was stony, but he said nothing. Chucky, meanwhile, had given up on the cat and was straining toward a group of elderly power-walkers coming toward us.
I glanced back to the porch. In one hand, the man held a briefcase. In the other, he held a large manila envelope.
I turned to Lawton and said, "I'll be right back."
Before he could respond, I dashed ahead, jogging down the Parkers' long driveway and hurrying up to the house.
The stranger, an overly tanned man with poufy blonde hair, stood legs apart, hands on his hips. He lifted a wrist to study his watch. It looked like a Rolex.
"Can I help you?" I said.
Slowly, he turned to face me. "Chloe Malinski?"
"Yes?"
"I assume you have I.D.?"
I froze. When someone comes to your door and demands I.D., it was never a good thing, especially when they looked like a parody of some celebrity lawyer.
"Do you have I.D.?" I said.
His gaze narrowed. "Are you the house-sitter or not?"
I glanced at Lawton, suddenly wishing I'd asked him to come with me. Something was definitely off with this guy.
The guy followed my gaze. He spotted Lawton, who was watching us with an expression I could only describe as hostile.
The man cleared this throat. "Sorry," he said, "it's been a hell of a week."
"You have no idea," I said.
"Anyway," the man said with another quick glance toward Lawton, "the Parkers sent me."
"Why?"
"Because I've got your money, and I'm supposed to deliver it."
"What money?" I said.
The man looked at me like I was a world-class moron. "Bounced checks, bank problems, any of this ringing a bell?"
"Of course it's ringing a bell," I said, "but I wasn't expecting someone to show up here in person."
"Yeah? I wasn't expecting to be running my ass all over town today, but here I am. So I guess we're both surprised now, aren't we?"
"By any chance," I said, "are you the brother-in-law?"
His gaze narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind," I said.
"Yeah? Well, don't believe everything you hear," the guy said. "I did everything I was supposed to. It's not my fault if it got all messed up."
"Of course," I said.
"So like I said, I've got your money." He gave me a deadpan look. "But obviously, I can't just fling it at whoever comes up the driveway claiming to be the house-sitter. I need to see some I.D. Got it?"
Grudgingly, I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out my slim travel wallet. I retrieved my driver's license and handed it over.
He gave it barely a glance before handing it back. Then, he pulled the envelope from under his arm, undid the clasp, and reached inside to remove a small sheet of paper.
That done, he held out the envelope toward me. "Your money," he said.
I took the envelope and peered inside. I saw a neat stack of bills. I was thrilled to get it, but utterly confused by the method. "Cash?" I said.
"Yeah. The Parkers were pretty ticked. They figured you wouldn’t trust a check. By the way, this covers the next month's expenses too, so don't be trying to cash any of those old checks."
"Should I count it, or—"
"Yeah, and I've got to watch, because if any of it goes missing, I'm not getting the blame this time. Besides, you've gotta sign a receipt." He glanced toward the front door. "Wanna invite me inside?"
"Not particularly," I said.
"Suit yourself," he said, "but that's a big wad of money to be counting out here in the open."
"Yeah, well I'm not exactly alone," I said with a quick glance toward the street, where Lawton still watched with an ever-darkening expression. Obviously, this was taking way too long.
I pulled out the money and started counting, adding as I went. Mentally, I compared the amount of cash to the total of all those bad checks.
When I was done counting, I felt myself smile. It covered everything – the checks, the overdraft fees, and, as Mrs. Parker had promised, a nice bonus. I wouldn't be splurging on a spa treatment, but a new car battery was definitely in my future.
I felt like a huge weight had lifted from my shoulders. And to be honest, I felt more than a little guilty for not giving the Parkers the benefit of the doubt.
"By any chance," I said, "do you know anything about their lease?"
"Yeah, that got all screwed up too," he said. "That'll be my next stop. Lucky me."
I pulled the money from the envelope, rolled it up, and stuffed it in the front pocket of my jeans. Still smiling, I handed him back the empty envelope. "Got a pen?" I said.
He pulled a shiny gold pen from his lapel pocket. He handed it over along with the receipt. I checked the amount, signed on the dotted line, and then handed it back.
With raised eyebrows, the man glanced down at my front pocket. "You really planning to walk around with that?" he said. "Seems to me, you'd want to put it inside. Someplace safe and all."
I couldn't help it. I laughed. I pointed toward the street. "See that guy out there?"
The man looked and then gave a short nod.
"That's my bodyguard." I patted my pocket. "I think I'll be fine."
"Yeah. But who's gonna guard you from him?"
"Well, there is the dog," I said.
In unison, we turned to look. Chucky was flopped over Lawton's shoes, staring up at the clouds.
"Um, yeah. Good luck with that," the man said, turning to walk back to his car. A moment later, he got inside and drove off.
I shoved the cash deeper into my pocket and jogged back to where Lawton waited, his posture stiff and his expression stony.
"Sorry about that," I said.
Lawton didn't respond. He was still looking toward the house. His gaze narrowed.
"Ready to finish our walk?" I said.
"First," he said, turning to face me. "Tell me something. What's the money for?"