Chapter 2 #2
“Excuse us, miss,” she called out to the girl who had started circling the car as if trying to decide the best way to attack it. “Are you all right?”
“Nay, I am not all right!” The young woman stamped her foot, then raked her hands through her shoulder-length auburn hair, which was highlighted with bright streaks of magenta.
“Fool that I am! I locked my feckin’ keys, my purse, and therefore, my phone and tablet in this rental that grinds and grumbles worse than my arthritic old granny.
” She stamped her foot again. “But unlike this beast, Granny hopped faster after a wee dram or two. Maybe I should pour some uisge beatha in this thing’s tank. ”
“Pour some what in it?” Lyla had a pretty good idea of what the girl meant, but she loved the lyrical sound of her accent and the way she rolled her r’s.
“Whisky. Water of life.” She tried the door handle one last time, then thumped the window with her fist before forcing a smile at Lyla. “I’m Keeva, by the way, and not usually so fratchetty.”
“Lyla Ibrams, and this is Jana Reedie.” Lyla pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Which rental place did you use? We can give them a call.”
Keeva fixed a forlorn look on the car. “I dinna ken the number. It’s in my purse.”
“What’s the name of the place?” Lyla felt for the poor girl. Nothing like being alone in a strange place and caught in a predicament like this. “I can do a search for it. Even if they’re a chain, maybe they can still find you in their system.”
“Hold that thought,” Jana said, “I have a vehicle lockout tool kit.”
“You mean a coat hanger?” Lyla eyed the rental. They didn’t need to damage it or poor Keeva could be liable for a bundle.
“No.” Jana fished her keys out of her purse, then handed it to Lyla. “An actual lockout kit. Remember Carl?”
“Carl-seven-years-for-grand-theft-auto-Carl?”
Jana grinned. “That’s the one. He’ll get out in four for good behavior. He gave me his kit to hold for him.”
“In other words, he wanted you to hide the evidence.”
“He didn’t say that,” she called back over her shoulder as she trotted over to her car and rummaged through the trunk.
Looking ready to run for it, the Scottish girl took a few steps away from her vehicle while keeping her eyes locked on Jana. “Is yer friend a car thief, then?”
Lyla stifled a groan. “No. More of an accessory. Carl is a guy she used to date—and she’s basically harmless. Just don’t get too close to her when she’s had a lot to drink.”
Keeva’s eyes went wide. “Is she violent?”
“No. Just clumsy. You know…spills food, knocks over drinks, trips you when you’re walking down steps.”
“I see.”
Lyla approved of the new level of wariness now coloring Keeva’s tone. For safety’s sake, it was necessary.
Jana returned with a black plastic case that some might take as a cheap briefcase.
She set it on the asphalt, opened it up, and pulled out a long, thin metal slat that she made even longer by attaching a red rubber handle to one end.
Armed with that and a curved wire, she tapped them together, making them clang. “Carl always said I was a natural.”
“Just don’t damage it,” Lyla said. “It’s a rental, remember?”
With the tip of her tongue sticking out of her mouth, Jana started working the instruments between the top of the window and the door frame. “Don’t worry. It’s all good.”
Lyla disagreed. It was never all good with Jana. But she tried to put on a brave face for poor Keeva. “So…are you from Scotland? I love your accent.”
Carefully edging closer to Jana, Keeva nodded. “Aye. Seven Cairns, actually. ’Tis a bit north of Inverness.” She pulled her attention away from Jana’s progress and glanced at Lyla. “Ever been?”
“I spent a few days in Edinburgh once.” Lyla didn’t mention her sold-out show at The Queen’s Hall.
She’d loved Edinburgh, and they had seemed to love her.
But that was over five years ago. Who knew if anyone even remembered her or her songs now?
Classical music enthusiasts weren’t nearly as rabid as fans of pop or rock.
They were just as passionate and devoted but followed their favorite artists in an entirely different way.
Lyla hadn’t been in the limelight since the botched surgery.
It was easy to be forgotten and pushed into invisibility by exciting newcomers to the scene.
“I loved Scotland. Maybe someday I’ll go back. What brings you to Kentucky?”
Before Keeva could answer, Jana cursed under her breath, removed the slat and the wire from the car, and glared at the vehicle. “You’re going to open, you stubborn son-of-a—”
“Was that part of Carl’s training, Jana? Intimidate the car into opening?” Lyla turned back to Keeva and tapped on the screen of her phone. “What was the name of the rental car company? I can do a search and come up with a number.”
“Och, give her another go,” Keeva said with a nod at Jana. “She’s trying so hard. I hate to stop her before she’s gotten good and started.”
“You know if she damages that window, the lock, or the alarm system that it’s going to be expensive, right?”
Keeva waved away her worries. “It’ll be fine. I’m just proud the two of ye found me.”
“I’m sure someone else would’ve helped you if we hadn’t.
” This area was relatively safe as long as normal precautions were taken, and most of the time, folks were friendly.
“Have you been here long?” Lyla meant waiting for help because asking the Scottish woman why she was in Kentucky had gone unanswered.
“Not long.” Keeva’s smile suddenly seemed strained. “Passing through, really. On my way to Cincinnati.”
“Well, you almost made it.”
The car clicked and honked once, startling both of them. Jana pulled her tools free, opened the door with dramatic flair, then crowed, “I told you I could do it!”
Squealing like an overjoyed teenage girl, Keeva tackled her with a hug that almost took Jana to the ground. “Thank ye so much! How can I ever repay ye?”
Jana bowed. “Pay it forward. That’s my motto.”
“Pay it forward?” Keeva frowned. “How’s that?”
“Next time you see someone in a jam, help them out,” Lyla explained, although she already had the feeling that Keeva would do so anyway. She didn’t seem the sort to walk away from anyone in need. In fact, Lyla hated parting ways with her now. Keeva had taken the strain off the outing with Jana.
“I’ll buy the two of ye dinner,” Keeva said.
“How’s about that?” She laughed and tossed her hands high.
“I feel like I was just getting to know ye. I hate for it to end.” She propped her arms on top of the car’s open door.
“Shall we cross the river into Cincinnati or do ye prefer a place on this side?”
“You don’t have to buy us dinner,” Lyla said, but she liked the idea of extending their visit a bit longer.
Jana nodded at Lyla. “We were about to grab a bite to eat in Cincy and then visit a psychic or get Lye-Lye a tarot card reading. Her career is at somewhat of an impasse, you might say.”
Lyla clenched her teeth. Not only did she hate being called Lye-Lye, a fact that Jana was well aware of, but she preferred to keep her problems to herself. “Jana—”
“Tarot and psychics.” Keeva grinned while rubbing her hands together.
“Love it!” She dropped into the driver’s seat and started the car.
“I’ll follow ye. Lead the way!” Then she lowered her window.
“On second thought, though. Mind if one of ye rides with me to give me directions? If we get separated in traffic, I might never find ye.”
“Good idea.” Jana closed her tool case and tucked it under her arm. “Lye-Lye says I have a lead foot and run too many lights. She can ride with you.”
“Gladly,” Lyla said through clenched teeth.
If she got in the car with Jana right now, she might strangle her.
Why was she purposely trying to provoke her by calling her Lye-Lye?
Jana knew she wasn’t in the mood for teasing.
Strangely enough, though, that’s when Jana always did it.
Yet another reason why time spent in each other’s company was better in small doses.
She rounded the car and slid into the passenger seat.
“Porters, Jana. Tell Lewis you need two parking spots.”
“Got it,” Jana sang out. She skipped over to her car, tossed the toolkit in the trunk, then slid into the driver’s seat and roared out of the lot after paying for the time they’d been there.
“Whew!” Keeva eased her vehicle out onto the road at a much more judicious speed. “I’m glad ye’re with me. I’d never keep up with that one.”
“Jana lives in her own little world. It’s better that we all stay out of it.
” Lyla punched the pub’s address into the car’s GPS so Keeva could easily follow the directions on the screen.
“Hopefully, she’ll remember what I said about getting us a parking space, but don’t bet on it.
When she gets that close to alcohol, that’s the only thing she thinks about. ”
“Slave to the drink, eh?”
“She enjoys it.” Lyla wouldn’t expound on her opinion that Jana was a high-functioning alcoholic. She’d said enough.
“Do ye not drink, then?” Keeva smoothly shifted gears and handled the traffic with amazing ease for a foreigner who usually drove on the left side of the road.
“I drink. It’s just not something I think about that much. If I have it, fine. If I don’t, that’s fine too.” Lyla wondered what Keeva had meant about the car grinding and grumbling. It purred like a well-fed kitten. Maybe grinding and grumbling meant something else in Scotland.
“I take it ye dinna like to be called Lye-Lye?”
Lyla couldn’t help but laugh. “You are correct. I forget that my face always shows my thoughts. Yet another of my fatal flaws.”
“Aye, well. We all have flaws.” Keeva shifted again as an increase in traffic slowed them. “She said yer career is at an impasse?”
“I’d rather not talk about that. Tell me about yourself.”