Semi-Psychic Life (Glimmer Lake #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,27
Luxury Pro Autoworks, and he looked exactly like the kind of guy you’d trust to work on your hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle. His teeth were white and fiercely straight, and his skin was a golden brown. His technicians were wearing immaculate coveralls, but Steve was in a sharp red polo shirt with a logo on the breast pocket that matched the Luxury Pro Autoworks sign.
Val’d had a feeling she’d be dealing with someone along Steve’s lines, so she’d worn a simple pair of jeans and a flannel under her plum-colored parka. It was about as soccer mom as she could manage with a wardrobe that consisted of mostly black.
“I don’t know how much I can tell you, Mrs. Mason—”
“It’s Ms. Costa. Just Val. I’m Josh’s ex-wife, and I’m honestly not here to cause problems. I’m just asking around because I’m worried. He’s my boys’ dad and they’re worried, so I’m worried.” She spotted a picture on the console table behind the desk. “You’re a father, so I’m sure you understand.”
The manicured smile flashed. “If your kids are unhappy, you’re unhappy.”
“Exactly.”
She was sitting down for a friendly chat with the owner of Luxury Pro Autoworks while Robin and Monica did their best to get more information out of the ghost behind West’s garage.
“That said,” Val continued, “he’s also my ex. I have no illusions about what a great guy Josh is.” She shifted and flexed her ungloved hands on the arms of the chair.
Her medication was beginning to kick in, so the visions weren’t as fast or as furious. But there were several scenes she’d gotten so far. All were a mixture of excitement and twisting embarrassment. Luxury Pro was going to fix your vehicle, but they’d charge through the nose for the privilege. The emotions felt in this chair were all about feeling taken advantage of by the man across the expensive desk.
To say Val felt uncomfortable was an understatement. The emotions leaked into her until she folded her hands in her lap. She had the urge to wash her hands. Get some hand sanitizer going. Something.
Steve said, “As I said before, I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m just not sure I can tell you much that would be helpful.”
From the glimpses of memory and emotion, Val knew she was dealing with a savvy and clever businessman. “Josh was moonlighting,” she said. “How did you find out?”
There was a flash behind his eyes.
Oh, you don’t like being cheated, do you? You want to be the one with the upper hand.
“Unfortunately, I only learned about it when the customer came to me with the accusations of theft.” His tone turned to a carefully measured regret. “As I told him, that is why you hire a reputable company and not an independent operator. Especially not one who’s lying to his boss.”
“Did he have a noncompete clause in his contract?”
“All our technicians do.”
“Do you have other guys who could do the work that Josh did?”
Steve’s smile wavered only a second. “Josh had a very elevated opinion of himself. No one is irreplaceable.”
“But he was working on the high-end side, correct? Someone told me the client had a Maserati. You don’t find too many of those in Bridger City, right? Or many people who can work on them. Could Maserati parts run in the tens of thousands of dollars?”
Steve’s smile was frozen. “Possibly.”
“So why were the police so quick to jump to theft?”
“I believe it was because of the client.”
“Who was the client?”
“I can’t tell you that.” Steve’s genuine smile was back. He enjoyed keeping things from her. “Client confidentiality.”
I’m going to find out who it is anyway, dickhead. “Sure, sure, of course. Did Josh know you knew about the moonlighting?”
“I confronted him about it last week.”
“So he knew you were going to fire him before he disappeared?”
Steve paused.
Oh. Interesting. Was Steve not going to fire him? Hmmm.
“Josh was on probation here at Luxury Pro. Our human resources department has a process.”
A process? Or clients who needed Josh’s expertise. “Was it just the one client that he was working for on the side?”
“As far as I know, but…” Steve spread his hands. “People who tell one lie often tell another.”
“For sure!” She forced a sympathetic laugh, even though all this was rubbing her the wrong way. All of it. “Did Josh ever steal from you, Mr. Garcia?”
“He stole a client from my business.”
“But otherwise?”
The frozen smile was back. “As far as I know, he did not. But as I said, a person who lies