With the curtain pulled aside, Janet watched out the window for the rental van to arrive. “I think that’s them,” she said when a cranberry-colored Sedona and a car driving slowly behind it finally pulled to the curb in front of their apartment complex.
Gail peeked out. “You know you’re going to have to go out and deal with them.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve done this shit before, but I don’t have to like it.” Janet slipped on a pair of oversized sunglasses and snugged a wide-brimmed hat on her head. “Come on. You have to sign the papers for me.” Janet handed her wallet to Gail, who pulled out the fake driver’s license and credit card that had been created using the name of Janet St. James. They stepped outside and walked to the driver’s side of the van. The representative—who wore a name tag that read C. Noble—exited the van and introduced himself.
“Afternoon, ladies. I’m Carl. Right this way.” He escorted the women to the car parked behind them. “We have a mobile computer system set up in this unit so we can collect your information. We’ll email you a receipt when the paperwork is complete.” He pointed at the driver. “This is Chuck McBride.”
With a nod, Janet passed her driver’s license and credit card to him.
“Will you be the only driver, Ms. St. James?”
“That’s correct,” Janet said.
“Do you need additional insurance for incidentals, and do you want us to fill up the vehicle when you return it?”
“No to both questions. We’ve got it covered.”
“Very well.” Chuck gave the cards back to Janet. “I just need your signature in the three spots I’ve circled.” He handed the clipboard to Janet, who passed it to Gail. “Um… ma’am.”
Janet cut him off. “She’s my power of attorney and has legal rights to sign documents on my behalf.” She jerked her chin at Gail. “Go ahead, honey.”
Carl pointed at the van. “Let’s do a check of the vehicle and note if there’s any damage before you take possession of it.” He walked around the vehicle with Janet and Gail at his side.
“That looks like a door dinger.” Gail pointed at the front passenger-side door just below the handle.
“Good eye.” Carl put an X in that location on the diagram of the van. “See anything else?”
Janet took her time. She wasn’t about to be held responsible for someone else’s damage to the vehicle. “Looks okay.”
“Good, then we just need one more signature that the vehicle is satisfactory and we’ll be on our way.” He passed the clipboard to Gail, and she signed as illegibly as always then handed it back. “Any questions, ladies?”
“Nope.”
“All right. Have a nice day.”
They watched as he opened the passenger-side door of the car and climbed in. As soon as the men were out of sight, Janet locked the apartment, and they climbed into the van, with Gail behind the wheel.
Janet pulled up Cliff’s address and let the phone lead the way. They’d have a half-hour drive to Old Town.
“What are we going to do about the other van?” Gail asked.
“Who cares? Your name wasn’t on the paperwork, so they can’t hold you responsible. We’ll be long gone and in another state in a few months, and as far as my name and signature on it goes? It isn’t really me, anyway. I wouldn’t sweat it, honey, and that’s why they have insurance.”
Janet stared out the passenger window as Gail took State Street north all the way to Old Town. She turned left on East Division then made a right on North Sedgewick and then a final left on West Blackhawk. The house was a white brick two-story on the even-numbered side of the street.
“We’re looking for house number two twenty-four,” Janet said. “I’ll watch for it since the even numbers are on my side.”
“Mom?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“There’s a police cruiser parked along the curb up there on your side.”
“Where!”
“Four houses up. It has the spotlights on the sides and the big antenna. I can spot a police cruiser anywhere.”
“Stay calm and drive by slowly. I want to see if it’s Cliff’s house they’re at or if we’re worrying about nothing.”
Gail continued on as Janet watched the house numbers.
“Shit. The house coming up is two twenty-two. That means the next one is Cliff’s.”
Gail punched the dash. “And the one the cops are at, damn them all.”