Spirit (Blackwood Security, #10.5) - Elise Noble Page 0,14
thinking, but we’d worked together for over a decade and now she knew exactly what she needed to do. I grabbed my handbag from the back seat and climbed out of the car, angling myself so that when the pissed-off prick went toe to toe with me, he’d have his back to the Honda.
“What the fuck did you do that for?”
A drop of spittle landed on my chin, and I made a show of wiping it away.
“Sorry, but you stopped really quickly.”
“There was a red fuckin’ light.”
Wow, this guy swore more than I did. “Yes, but it caught me by surprise. Does that ever happen to you? One moment, you’re driving along thinking about work, and the next…boom. The stupid light’s changed.”
“No, because I watch the damn road. You’re gonna pay for this, lady.”
“Oh, sure. That’s what insurance is for, right?”
Dan was at the Honda’s passenger door now, motioning to Valerie. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. Thankfully, Valerie was switched on enough to roll the window down, and whatever Dan said had her opening the door seconds later. I sent a silent “thank you” to Bradley for my ridiculous new purse, which was about the size of a suitcase, and began rooting through it.
“Gimme your damn details,” the man demanded.
“I know I jotted the insurance information down somewhere. Just a second.”
The guy looked as if he wanted to take a swing at me, but now the witnesses were working to my advantage. A small crowd had gathered, ghouls who treated other people’s misfortune as entertainment, and the cell phone cameras were already out. Was I bothered? Not really. I kept my head tipped forward, my hair over my face, and I’d hit the Honda hard enough that the Porsche’s front licence plate had ripped free of its Velcro and fallen face down on the road. Velcro? But of course—Black liked to be able to change the car’s identity quickly if the need arose. He kept three spares in the trunk. If somebody looked hard enough, they’d find today’s version was registered to a shell company based in the Cayman Islands.
“It’s in here somewhere.” I passed the guy a packet of Reese’s Pieces and a scarf to hold. “Are you in town for the Christmas market?”
He tossed my stuff onto the ground. “I don’t give a fuck about the Christmas market.”
Valerie was out of the car now. Dan got her to duck down while she opened the back door. Again, the milling crowd helped us out when a group of teenagers stepped forward to examine the damage.
“So you’re a bit of a Grinch? Have you seen that movie? Did you think it was too short? I thought it was too short.”
“Are you always this dumb?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Well, that’s not a very nice thing to say.”
“You drove into my damn car.”
“It was an accident. Haven’t you ever made a mistake before?”
“Look, just gimme your insurance details.”
“Hmm, perhaps I saved them in my phone? The company sent me an email, I’m sure they did.”
I caught a glimpse of the kid in Valerie’s arms, a pale, terrified face under a shock of dark hair. Dan herded the pair of them away from us into the crowd. There was a department store close by. One minute and they’d be gone, vanished into a chaotic maze of fake snow, tinsel, and Christmas music.
The guy fidgeted as I pretended to scroll through my messages. Not to worry. He could leave soon.
“Ah, here it is. Let me write that down for you. Can you give me your information too? I should probably warn my insurance company that you’re going to call.”
Bradley had helpfully supplied me with a sparkly pen and matching notepad, and I carefully printed some fake details, trying not to smile. The moment I finished jotting the phone number, Mr. Impatient shoved my hand away and tore out the page. A second later, he’d scrawled his own name and number and thrust the paper into my hand.
Spencer Wallace, and the area code was from Iowa.
“You’re welcome,” I called as I stooped to grab the licence plate.
Thanks to the wonders of German engineering, the Porsche was still perfectly drivable, and by the time Spencer realised his passengers had disappeared, I was already halfway through a three-point turn. I even gave him a little wave as I sped into the distance.
Buh-bye, asshole. Nice knowin’ ya.
CHAPTER 8
“I REALLY AM so sorry about this.”
Those were the first words out of Valerie’s mouth when she