Chapter 3

Celeste put the phone back in her coat pocket. She crossed the showroom floor at an unhurried pace, and the room watched her do it.

"Mr. Banner."

He was leaning on the marble with both hands now, pleasant, in charge. "Ma'am."

"Your manager. Mr. Pruitt."

"Not in today."

"Then his number."

"He doesn't take customer calls." Wade straightened. "Look. I understand how this looks. But I've got a couple here who's ready to move, I've got a vehicle that isn't delivered, and you've got a van sitting in my guest bay in the rain. Let's do this the easy way."

"The easy way," Celeste repeated.

"I'll have Sonia pull the file tomorrow." He said it gently. That was the part that stung. He was being kind now, in front of witnesses, the way you're kind to someone you intend to forget. "You come back in the morning, we'll sort out your deposit-"

"It wasn't a deposit. It was the full price."

"-and if there's a car on this lot you like, I'll personally make sure you get a fair number on it."

The girl in the SUV had her window down. She was watching, and she had stopped smiling. The boy beside her was looking at the dashboard the way you look at something that isn't yours yet.

The salesman by the window cleared his throat. "Mr. Banner, maybe-"

"Maybe what, Curtis."

"Nothing."

Wade turned back to Celeste with the pleasant face still on. "Is there somebody we can call for you? Somebody to give you a ride home?"

Sonia made a small sound behind the desk.

Celeste looked at each of them in turn - the salesman, the couple, the girl's hand resting on the window switch, Sonia's knuckles white on the clipboard. Twenty years in a classroom had taught her exactly what a room looks like when it has decided who the loser is.

She didn't defend herself. She took out her phone, tapped the number from the plaque, and put it on speaker.

It rang twice.

Wade smiled wider. "Ma'am, the front desk doesn't-"

"Marcher Commercial Trust, property office." A woman's voice, brisk, unhurried, used to the rain. "This is Della. How can I help you?"

The showroom went absolutely still. Even the rain seemed to hold.

Wade's smile stayed where it was one full second too long.

"Good afternoon, Della," Celeste said. "This is Celeste Marlow."

There was a pause on the line, and then a completely different voice came back - warmer, faster, suddenly standing up.

"Ms. Marlow. Are you on site?"

"I am."

"Do you need me to come down?"

"Yes," Celeste said. "Bring the current lease and the deed file. And bring a notice form."

The young couple got out of the SUV. The girl left the door open behind her.

"Notice form," Della repeated, and something in the way she said it told every person in that showroom exactly what the form was for.

"Please hurry," Celeste said, and hung up.