Chapter 17
CINDY WALKED WITH Rob back to the car lot. She knew her way around the lot. She greeted Gary and Lillian casually. It was a familiar interaction.
Lillian turned to Rob and said, “Cindy here helps her family around the gas station when she’s home on breaks from college.”
Rob asked, “Where do you go to school?”
“Boise State. I guess you’re going to be one of the few New Yorkers who doesn’t say something like ‘At least it’s close by.’”
Rob smiled. “I was raised here. I know it’s almost an eight-hour drive. But I get what you’re saying. People in the Northeast have a hard time conceptualizing distance out west.”
Gary took Fido into the office, stroking the llama’s white fur and murmuring softly to him. Rob shook his head, recalling how Gary had treated him most of their lives: like most big brothers treat little brothers. It stung a little bit to see him fawn over this white llama.
Pops strolled into the office, grabbed a purple Popsicle from the freezer of a small refrigerator, plopped down on the office couch, and sat back.
Lillian was telling Cindy about the fire.
Gary asked, “Did you see or hear anything?”
Cindy shook her head. It made her long hair sway from one side of her back to the other. She looked at Gary and said, “You have security cameras out front. You should be able to see who did it.”
Without a word, Lillian turned toward the computer on her desk and started typing.
Within a minute they were looking at two different camera feeds.
Both showed the same thing: As a nondescript Ford pickup truck drove past, someone tossed a can with a burning rag sticking out of it into the Corvette from the truck’s passenger-side window.
About thirty seconds later, the Corvette was on fire.
Gary looked over at his brother and said, “You’re the expert. Do you see anything in that video we can use?”
Rob felt everyone’s eyes on him as he thought about what to say.
Finally, after considering it for a few moments, he managed to say, “The video doesn’t show a license plate, any of the people inside the truck, or any distinguishing characteristic about the truck.
It’d be hard to make a case against anyone based on this video.
But you should file a report with the sheriff’s office. ”
At that comment, both Cindy and Lillian let out laughs.
Gary shook his head.
Cindy said, “Maybe we don’t need any of the local cops if we’ve got Rob. He’s a big-city detective. He’ll figure something out.”
Rob had trouble meeting the young woman’s hopeful gaze.
Chet looked up from the couch at Cindy. He said, “Hello. What’s your name?”