“I thought Mrs. Haggerty was letting you use her Lincoln.”
He shrugged as I pried open the lid on the grocery-store bakery box and served him a slice of cake. “She said she needed the car to run an errand tonight, so I left The Eggplant in her garage.”
I blinked, wishing he hadn’t left me with that disturbing visual. “Any idea where she’s going?”
“She didn’t say.” He cringed around a mouthful of cake. “I just hope she’s careful. I used the last of my reward money on that paint job. I offered to help her with her errands before I go, but she said she was tired and needed to take a nap.” Cam looked a little glum as he scraped the last of the frosting from his plate. “I guess I won’t get to say goodbye.”
“Where are you going?”
“My grandma’s coming home from her cruise tomorrow, so I’ll be heading back to her house. You won’t have to worry about me starving at my uncle’s anymore.” Cam cleared his dishes and put them in the sink. “Tell Mrs. H I’ll come back in a couple of days to visit with her and we’ll take The Eggplant for a spin. I’ve got to get back to my grandma’s place and clean it before she gets home. I want it to look nice when she gets there.”
A car honked outside. “That’s my ride. Thanks for dinner, Mrs. D.” He kissed my cheek, picked up Arnold Schwarzenegger, and was out the front door before I could give him money for his Uber. Though I was betting he had already used my Venmo to pay himself, and he had probably included a generous tip.
“What was all that honking outside?” Vero asked, coming into the kitchen and peeking in the spaghetti pot.
“Cam’s Uber. He said Mrs. Haggerty needed her car tonight.” Vero and I exchanged a long look. I leaned against the counter, remembering Mrs. Haggerty’s late-night visit to Sally’s mailbox. “Hurryup and finish your spaghetti. I’ll ask my mother to take the kids for a sleepover. You and I will be running errands with Mrs. Haggerty tonight.”
Vero and I fed and bathed the children, packed their overnight bags, and drove them to my mother’s house. She had been more than happy to babysit when I’d told her that Vero and Javi were going out on a date and I needed to meet with Sylvia over a late dinner to go over some contracts.
Vero and I had driven straight to Sally Mullen’s house from there, parked the Charger down the street a few minutes before nine, and had been staking out her driveway ever since.
Sally’s house was atypically dark for the early hour. Every porch light was off, even the coach lamps beside the garage, as if everyone inside was long asleep. Every few minutes a shadowy figure peeked out from behind the curtains.
It was just after midnight when we finally heard the rumble of The Eggplant’s engine. We ducked low in our seats as Mrs. Haggerty’s Lincoln rolled slowly to the red sign at the end of the block. The purple paint glittered as it passed under a streetlamp and came to a complete and dutiful stop before continuing on to Sally’s house. The driver pulled alongside the curb and killed the headlights, then the engine.
I held the binoculars to my eyes and adjusted the focus. Mrs. Haggerty (thankfully) wasn’t in the driver’s seat. Kathy Sanderson, the cleaner, sat behind the wheel. Another figure was in the back seat. From the staff photos I’d seen on her hospital’s website, I was pretty sure it was Lola de la Rosa.
“What do you think they’re waiting for?” Vero asked.
“I don’t know.”
A few moments later, a white van rolled past The Eggplant with its headlights off. It braked before reversing into Sally’s driveway, inching back slowly until it was nearly touching the garage. I watched through my binoculars as the driver killed the engine and the taillights cut off.
The vehicle was devoid of markings except for the flowers stenciled along the side. The interior lights remained off as Gita Chaudhary climbed down from the driver’s seat. Vero and I ducked as Gita looked both ways up the street before signaling to the others. Elizabeth Chen got out of the passenger side and quietly shut her door.
The curtain in the house peeled back as the rest of the women filed out of The Eggplant and hurried up the driveway. A moment later, the garage door opened. No lights, no motor. Sally braced the door in both hands and gave it a final heave, locking it in place. The women walked past her into the house. Sally followed them inside, wringing her hands.
“What are they doing?” Vero asked, sitting up in her seat.
I adjusted the binoculars’ focus. “I don’t know. They’re all inside the house. They closed the door. I can’t see.”
“I’m going to get a closer look.” Vero plucked her keys from the ignition and got out of the car before I could stop her.
I followed her, careful not to slam the car door. “Don’t get too close,” I whispered as we shuffled to Sally’s house and hid in the bushes. Vero crept out of the hedge and peered into the back of the open van.
“It’s a reefer truck,” she whispered.
“A what?”
“A refrigeration truck.” Her voice became harder to hear as she hauled herself inside. Her phone light flooded the dark interior in a harsh, white glow. “There are insulated compartments in here. Bigones. They’re filled with those fancy little potted spruce trees. The ones with white lights and cinnamon-scented pine cones glued all in them. This must be the truck Gita uses for her deliveries.”
Muffled voices came from inside the house. “Someone’s coming!” I hissed. Vero killed her phone light as the doorknob to Sally’s kitchen began to turn. I ducked back into the bushes, pressing myself flat against the side of the house. There was a thump in the back of the truck. I waited for Vero to scurry into the bushes with me, but she must not have had enough time to get that far.
The door creaked open. I peeped out from the hedge as the women began to file out of the house. Lola appeared first. She staggered backward toward the van, her arms looped around something heavy. Destiny hobbled after her, both women bent low at the waist, grunting and breathing hard as they hauled a dark bundle between them. The long parcel was wrapped in something that looked suspiciously like tree netting.
Where the hell was Vero?
I peeked between the bushes, searching for her as the two women hauled their parcel into the back of the van.
