“What are y’all doing here?” I asked when I opened the door.
“We’re finished with Daphne’s car,” Ink said and held up her keys. “Can we come in?”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” I said and stepped to the side.
They followed me into the living room, where Diablo was sitting like a statue in front of Daphne. “Relax, Diablo,” she said. “They’re friends.”
Ink started to hand her the keys but changed his mind after he glanced at Diablo. Instead, he passed them to me to give to her. “We brought your car back,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate you taking care of the tire for me.”
“About that,” Ink said. “While we were replacing the tire, we noticed something else. It looked like someone tried to cut one of your brake lines.”
“What?” Daphne gasped and grimaced, causing Diablo to growl. She patted his head. “It’s okay, buddy.”
“There were marks on it like someone tried to cut it with scissors, but that’s not how that works. I don’t think the line was compromised, but we replaced it anyway.”
“You’re sure that’s what happened?” Daphne asked.
“I can’t say for sure because I didn’t see it happen myself, but I can tell you the damage wasn’t caused by an animal or anything that might have happened while driving,” Ink said. “We took pictures in case you want to add it to the police report.”
“Do you think I should?” she asked.
“Yes,” Byte said. “The only reason people tamper with brakes is because they want to hurt or kill the driver.”
At Daphne’s terrified look, Ink added, “Books and movies have created a huge misconception about cutting brake lines. Most people are going to use their brakes before ever leaving their driveway. If not, they’ll definitely use them and notice they aren’t working before reaching a speed high enough to seriously injure or kill them. You would have known before you reached the end of your street.”
“That’s good to know,” Daphne said. “And thank you for fixing the brake line. Do I owe you anything for that?”
“Nope. It’s all taken care of.”
Daphne nodded and yawned. “You guys are welcome to stay and hang out, but I’m not going to be awake much longer.”
“I’m going to head home,” Byte said. “Gabby’s family is coming over for dinner tonight.”
“I’ll stay and keep this one company for a bit,” Ink said.
Ink and I migrated to the back deck while Daphne napped on the couch.
7
DAPHNE
Andi and Jan were waiting for me when I arrived at the office on Monday morning. They both gasped when they saw me.
“It looks worse than it is,” I said. I’d done my best to cover up the bruises on my face, but they were still visible.
“Are you sure you’re up to working today?” Andi asked. “You can take more time off if you need to.”
“I think I’ll be okay. I have a pretty light load this week.”
“Let me know if you change your mind, and please take it easy.”
“I will,” I promised and headed to my office.
After catching up on emails and returning a few phone calls, I decided to give the club’s lawyer a call. To my surprise, she was in her office and available to take my call.
“Um, hi, my name is Daphne Clark,” I said, stumbling over my words. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting to actually talk to you. I thought I’d be leaving a message.”