A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) - Brenda Novak Page 0,40
a quick move. Why don’t we drive to LA and stake out Ethan’s house, see if we can’t catch Tommy? Even if he’s moved, he might not have gotten all of his stuff, so we might be able to catch him.”
Emery pictured Tommy returning for a final load. It would be so great to get his side of the story, and the longer she waited, the less chance she’d have of Tommy being anywhere near Ethan’s house. “It’s worth a shot,” she agreed. “But you’ve already done so much for me...”
“My mother doesn’t need me at the school today. I have the time. And I think Ethan should be held accountable. If we can find Tommy and you can get a leg up on this thing, I stand to gain some personal satisfaction.”
If she hadn’t already put on her seat belt, she would’ve hugged him. Her life had steadily improved since he came into it. “You’ve been really good to me. Thank you—for not judging me and for...for believing me and supporting me.”
“Oh, I’m still judging you,” he said with a completely straight face, and they both started laughing as he pulled out and turned toward LA.
10
“That’s it right there?” As they rolled slowly down a densely populated street filled with small, single-story houses, Dallas pointed through the windshield at the address Emery had given him. White stucco and with a red tile roof, it reminded him of a Mexican villa, especially because it had palm trees lining one side of the property. There was also a large sycamore tree turning most of the front lawn to dirt and exposed roots, and a plethora of cars parked up and down the street.
Emery slid down in her seat as they passed by. “That’s it.”
Ethan went to such great pains to take care of his physical appearance that Dallas had expected him to live in a nicer place, but it was expensive to rent a house in LA. Dallas had also taken the time to Google the starting salary of a news anchor and knew that Ethan’s job didn’t pay as much as some might expect—maybe fifty to seventy thousand dollars a year. “That his car?”
She shook her head as he indicated a black SUV parked in front. “No, must be a guest of one of the neighbors’, because it doesn’t belong to Tommy or Tommy’s boyfriend. There’s rarely any on-street parking around here—at night, anyway—so people park wherever they can, and if they don’t get up and go to work, their car can sit around all day.”
“Does Ethan use the garage?” Dallas checked his watch. “It’s nearly three. He should be off work. Do you think he’s home?”
“He’s got to be off by now, but he doesn’t park in the garage. It’s filled with his mother’s storage. If he was home, his car would be in the drive.”
“Why does he have his mother’s storage in his garage?” Dallas asked.
“She downsized when she moved to San Diego, doesn’t have a big place. She’s planning to come back for it eventually, but who knows when that will be. He’s a Mama’s boy. In her eyes, he can do no wrong, and he adores her for it.”
“We’re lucky his garage is full,” he mused. “Now we’ll know when he’s home and when he isn’t. What does he drive?”
“A brand-new white Audi A4.”
Dallas brought his van to a sudden stop. “Are you serious? He’s living in this house with a roommate while driving a car that’s almost forty grand?”
She rolled her eyes. “I know. I was with him when he bought it. He spent way more than he should have. He always spends his money before he gets it. But his mother gave him the down payment, so that helped. It’s important to Ethan to keep up appearances, and more people see his car than his house.”
“What a pretentious fool.” Giving the van some gas, he went around the corner and weaved back through the neighborhood. He wanted to get a feel for the layout of the streets in case he had to drive off without warning. He didn’t trust Ethan. If Ethan figured out what they were doing and got angry, Dallas would have to protect Emery, not only himself. He figured he’d better be prepared. He didn’t know if Ethan owned a gun or some other weapon, and after what he’d been through with his father, no one was going to be harmed on his watch.