Murder among the Palms Page 22

  “Need some help?” he asked.

  The stranded motorist held up his cell phone—the latest and most expensive model on the market, Noah noticed—with an exasperated expression.

  “No service out here,” the man complained. “Why do I bother paying for roadside assistance when it’s impossible to reach anyone in a crisis?”

  “The cliffs block the signal in certain spots,” Noah said, nodding at the hulking black rocks on the opposite side of the bay. “It’s kind of luck of the draw, depending where you stop.”

  “As you can see, I had no choice. My new tires are apparently no better than the cell phone reception here.”

  He went on grumbling about the high prices and poor quality of various products, but Noah tuned him out. “Do you have a spare tire?” he asked when the man paused to take a breath.

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I don’t suppose you know how to…?”

  “No problem. You’re looking at a certified mechanic—changing a tire is definitely something I can handle.”

  The man’s tense expression relaxed into a grateful smile. “Well, then, I would say it’s lucky you came along when you did.”

  “Looks that way.”

  Noah waited while the man touched his thumb to an electronic key that popped the trunk open with a high-pitched chirp. Since he only owned the one tie, he pulled it off and stuffed it in his pocket before he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. While he knelt on the ground and wrestled with the lug wrench, he noticed the man’s spotless pressed khakis and gleaming tasseled loafers. No surprise he didn’t want to crouch down in the dirt and smear his shirt cuffs with grease.

  While Noah worked, he made casual conversation about his auto classes at the voke, including the inevitable scarcity of jobs for recent graduates, whatever their specialty. The man nodded, watching Noah’s hands pull the old tire free and then reach for the spare.

  “You can put the ruined one back in my trunk, if you don’t mind,” the man said. “I shall be taking it back to my dealer and demanding a replacement.”

  “Good idea,” Noah said, suppressing a grin as he finished attaching the doughnut. No way would the dealer refund a tire some jerk had torn up by speeding down a bumpy coastal road, but that wasn’t his problem. “I wouldn’t drive too far on the spare if I were you. It’s kind of flimsy. Do you have a long way to go?”

  “That it is also inadequate for its intended purpose does not surprise me in the least,” the man said with an indignant sniff. “Everything is the same these days. Planned obsolescence is destroying this country, one defective product at a time. In any case, no, I do not have far to go. Just across the bay and I’ll be home.” He pointed at the water, which puzzled Noah for a moment until he realized the guy was indicating one of the elegant stone manors perched above the waves.

  “That’s your house?” he asked, too taken by surprise to worry about sounding ignorant.

  “Yes. Cliff House is mine. You know the place?”

  “Well, I’ve seen it from this side of the bay, of course. I’ve never gotten very close to it.” Noah felt his cheeks grow warm as he spoke. He must sound like a real rube to this guy—one of the obscenely wealthy people he had just congratulated himself on ignoring.

  Untroubled, the man pulled out his wallet. “I would like to compensate you for your time and consideration. What would you consider fair?”

  Noah saw him flick his thumb through a thick green wad, and his blush deepened. He realized he could ask for most any price—maybe even a week’s salary at a place like Dale’s Sea Shack—and this guy would toss it over like pocket change. What came out of his mouth next startled even him.

  “Not necessary. I’ll just consider it my good deed for the day.”

  Inwardly, he was promising to kick himself once the guy had driven away. He could have used the money, and flashing it around would have gotten his parents off his back for a while. Gentlemanly pride was way overrated, he decided.

  For a long moment the guy stared from beneath lowered brows, and Noah wondered if he’d offended him. He watched the guy’s thumb stray from the cash to one of the credit card slots in his still-open wallet.

  “Was I mistaken when heard you say you were looking for work?”

  “No mistake. I sure am,” Noah admitted. Belatedly he realized these rich guys had connections, and his pulse quickened. Maybe the guy owned shares in a garage or something—but no way was he ever that lucky.

  The guy’s thumb moved again, sliding down into the wallet. Next he extracted a business card and held it out until Noah took it.

  Lloyd Peterson, it read, followed by Cliff House and then the address and phone number.

  “I have…an unusual situation,” Lloyd Peterson said. He spoke slowly, as though weighing each word. “I am in need of a household employee who is experienced with cars as well as a good driver. I suppose you meet both of those qualifications?”

  Noah nodded a bit nervously, taken completely off guard. Was he on the verge of solving his employment problems? Realizing he might not have to beg Dale for the chance to peddle ugly t-shirts nearly made him giddy with relief.

  “No major accidents yet,” he blurted. When Lloyd Peterson frowned, he regretted his brash choice of words.

  Instead of dismissing him, though, Peterson nodded slowly. “Good. Meeting here was serendipitous after all. I believe you just might be the solution to my dilemma.”

  Noah had never heard a job vacancy described quite that way, but he didn’t dwell on the unusual choice of words. He remembered the manila envelope still lying on his passenger seat.

  “As a matter of fact, I have a resume with me,” he said. Clutching the business card, he hurried back to his car and grabbed one. Lloyd Peterson accepted it, scanned it briefly, and nodded again.

  “Noah Camden,” he read off the top of the page. He seemed to by taste the name as he rolled it over his tongue. Luckily it seemed to pass muster. “Very well, Mr. Camden. Come to my house tomorrow at nine in the morning. We can talk more then.”

  “I’ll be there,” Noah promised. “Nine sharp.”

  “You can find your way all right?” Lloyd tilted his head as if to examine Noah from a different angle. “The roads leading up the cliff can be difficult to navigate—even treacherous, some might say.”

  “I’ll be fine. Like I said, I’m a careful driver—and I can see the house from here, so I know I can find my way.”

  “Excellent. See you then. And thank you again for the good deed. You may find yourself performing a few more of those before the week is out.”

  With that, Lloyd Peterson turned and got back into his car. Noah watched him peel onto the road, driving much too fast, the doughnut screeching furiously in protest. Lloyd would be lucky if he made it home without suffering another blowout.

  But then, guys like Lloyd Peterson tended to be lucky. In most cases, that was how they got rich in the first place.

  Noah hoped some of that luck was about to rub off on him.