“Tows are always late. It might be another thirty to forty minutes.”
Blade glances out the door. “I see them coming up the street now!”
I move briskly. “Blade, can you clean that oil spill? We can’t afford for any more people to slip on that and get hurt.”
“Where does that oil keep coming from?” Jimmy shakes his head. “It’s like there’s an oil fairy in here playing tricks.”
“That’s not important right now. Jimmy, can you get the logbooks from the cupboard in my office?”
“On it, Boss.”
“Carlos?”
“Yes, Boss?”
“You’re with me.”
I move closer to the shutters and watch as the Mack truck towing the vehicle releases it onto our lawn. I still prefer airplanes to vehicles, but those trucks are a beautiful sight to behold.
Once the car has been safely released, the Mack truck leaves.
The driver honks on his way out.
Carlos waves. “Thanks, ‘Berto!”
The doors on the familiar blue car burst open and two people step into view. I recognize the woman as our former client, but the man with the beer belly and bald head is new.
The woman’s husband slams his door shut and the entire car rocks from the force of it. He stomps up the incline to the door where Carlos and I are standing.
“Are you that scamming female mechanic who took money from my wife without fixing our car?” he snarls.
I notice Blade in the corner of my eye. His hand is tensing over the broom as if he takes personal offense to the man’s tone.
“I’m Riley Carter and this is one of our mechanics. Can you explain what happened?”
“You and these low-rate mechanics broke my wife’s car. That’s what happened.”
Carlos’s hands tighten into fists. “We fixed it good and proper. The brakes were working fine when she left.”
“Carlos.”
My mechanic backs off, but I can sense himsteaming.
The customer’s face turns a mottled red. “Are you saying we’re lying?”
“That’s not what we’re saying at all.” I turn slightly. “Carlos, do a scan while I talk to the customers.”
Carlos huffs outside with the scanning tool.
“Can you explain what happened?” I ask.
“The car malfunctioned when I was trying to stop,” the man snaps. “I slammed on the brakes, but it’s like someone else was driving. It wouldn’t respond.”
“Did you feel a tug or hear any noises?”
“There was no noise,” his wife answers. With a sheepish duck of her head, she mumbles, “He pushed on the brakes but, instead of stopping, the wheels continued to turn.”
“I almost crashed into the car in front of me! Your shoddy work would’ve cost me thousands!”
