A Cry in the Dark (Carly Moore #1) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,55
we found some other things too. Your timing belt needs to be changed and your brakes are about shot. Did you notice any problems on the hills?”
I grimaced. I had.
He must have taken my expression as my answer. “If you don’t change the timing belt, it could make it to Wilmington, but I’m hesitant to let you go without fixing the brakes. It definitely won’t pass any state inspection if you end up movin’ to North Carolina.”
My heart sank.
“I’ve gotta search around for parts,” he said, “but since it’s a Honda, it’s gonna cost you more.”
“Of course,” I said in a dry tone. When he looked insulted, I said, “That wasn’t an insinuation that I thought you were cheating me. Just that I know some car parts run higher than others. Give me a ballpark estimate.”
He hesitated. “Twenty-five hundred.” Then he added, “I’ll throw in the tow for free and cut as many costs as I can on the brakes. Like I said, I don’t feel good about letting you drive down the mountain as they are now.”
Holding on to the counter, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
“I might be able to find some used parts to lower the cost.”
“By how much?”
“Maybe a few hundred.”
The now-familiar burning in my eyes was back, but crying wasn’t going to help a damn thing.
“I’ll be upfront,” he said. “A good portion of that is labor, but Junior…he’s got a wife and kids. I’d give you a discount on labor, but he needs the money.”
I shook my head. “No. I’d never ask you for a discount on labor. If you do the work, you deserve to be paid for it, and of course I’d never expect Junior or his family to go without.”
“I’ll get you a revised estimate,” he said, his voice softening.
I slid off the stool. “Thank you. Well, I’d better go. I’m pulling a double today.”
I started for the door, but he said, “There’s one more thing.”
When I stopped and turned back to him, he looked uncomfortable. “I want to assure you that we’ll take care of this part ourselves.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
He grimaced. “Junior discovered that your car was broken into last night.”
My mouth dropped open.
“Did you have anything of value in it? If so, my insurance should cover it. The expense to fix the trunk as well.”
“The trunk?”
“They pried it open.”
I sagged into the desk.
“You okay?” he asked, sounding concerned.
“I don’t know,” I said, putting a hand to my forehead. “Do you have security cameras?”
He snorted. “It’s Drum.”
I shook my head, my irritation growing. “From what little experience I’ve had in Drum, they seem warranted.”
“There weren’t any cameras,” he said.
I found myself thinking of Seth, and of the video footage he had likely taken. Without knowing where to look for the footage, I was at a severe disadvantage—even though I hadn’t looked yet, I was pretty sure there were dozens, if not hundreds of camera companies with online storage—but I was hoping there might be some clue at Hank’s house.
“Carly?” Wyatt asked, his voice rising with expectation, and I realized I’d missed whatever he’d said.
“I’m sorry. What?”
“I said, do you want me to call the sheriff and file a report or do you want to do it yourself?”
If I reported the break-in, would it absolve me in the eyes of the sheriff’s department, or would it only add to their suspicions? “Um…I need to think about it.”
“You don’t want to file a report?”
“I don’t know.” When he gave me a curious look, I added, “I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle. I didn’t have much in there, and the thought of dealing with the insurance company…” I waved my hand in a vague gesture.
“My insurance should cover it all.”
But he’d have to report it to the authorities. “I still haven’t decided if I want to move forward with the repairs. If I end up trashing the car, there’s no sense fixing it.”
“True, but you can take the check and apply it to the new one.”
“But that could take weeks,” I said, “and I need a car sooner than that.” I shook my head. “Don’t do anything for now. I wouldn’t want your premiums to go up for no reason. I’ll give it more thought.”
He didn’t respond, just watched me with an emotionless expression. “Okay. I’ll work on gettin’ that estimate to you, but it might not be until tomorrow.”