I closed my eyes a moment. “I’m sorry Ethan. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble, but I really didn’t do anything. I wouldn’t accuse anyone of murder.” As soon as it was out of my mouth, I knew what he was going to say.
“Mia, you have accused people of murder in the past, and you know it.”
“Okay, you’re right. And I need to stop running around asking questions I guess, but I promise you I didn’t do anything this time. And if Amber told the chief of police or anyone else that I did, she’s lying.”
There was another silence. “Mia, I need you to stay out of trouble. Please. And tell your sister to stay out of trouble too.”
“I will.”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
He hit end before I could say anything else. I stared at the phone a moment and then looked up at Christy.
“So you’re in trouble?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “We are in trouble. And it’s all your fault.”
“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to cause trouble for you.”
I sighed and tucked my phone into my pocket. “Can you drop me off at home? I’m going to try to make it up to Ethan by cooking him dinner. He’s exhausted, and he needs some TLC.”
“Before we do that, can you go with me to the garage? I want to get my oil changed and maybe buy those tires I need. I don’t want to be left alone with Fred in case he tries to charge me more money.”
“What am I going to do about it if he does?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I just want backup is all.”
I didn’t think Christy needed backup. If she had the moxie to accuse someone of murder, then she certainly could handle things if Fred tried to overcharge her.
We headed out to Christy’s car, and she drove us over to the garage.
When we walked into the garage office, it was empty. After a moment Fred ducked his head around the corner of the door that led out to the garage. He grinned. “Well, hello ladies. Are you here to get that oil change and new tires, Christy?”
“I definitely want to get the oil changed, but I’ll have to see how much the tires are going to cost me before I make a commitment on those.”
He nodded and went to the front counter. “I’ll take a look at the size you need, and I’ll give you a couple different prices on tires. If we don’t have them in stock, I will get them ordered for you.” He began filling out a ticket and then handed the clipboard over to Christy to fill out her name and address.
“Do you sell a lot of tires?” Christy asked as she filled out the form.
“We sell a few. The tire shop over on Elm Street probably gets most of the tire business here in town, but we do sell some.”
She nodded. “That’s nice that you can handle just about anything a customer might need for their vehicles.”
“You can say that again.” He nodded, his eyes on the clipboard as Christy wrote.
Christy finished filling out the form, and she gave her keys to Fred and he went out to take a look at her car and drive it into the garage.
I wandered over to the coffee table by the couches that were there in the waiting room and looked at the coffee maker there. There were oil smudges on the pot and on the coffee maker and I decided I probably didn’t need any more coffee today.
“I don’t know about that coffee,” Christy said coming to stand beside me.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
We turned around as Fred came back into the office. “Well, Christy,” he said. “I’ve got a couple different prices for you for the tires.” He went behind the counter and laid the estimate on the top of it and we went back to the counter to take a look. “We’ve got these less-expensive ones here and they’re in stock, but I don’t really recommend them. Especially in the snow. You’d really be better off with these.” He pointed at the most expensive tires with the pen he held.
“Oh no,” Christy said shaking her head. “I don’t have that kind of money. I think I’m going to go with the least expensive ones.”
He frowned. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want a daughter of mine driving a car with those tires on her car. They’re just not the best for this weather.”
Christy looked up at him and shook her head again. “No, I just don’t have the money for the more expensive ones.”
I didn’t like the sound of this. I wanted to tell her that we should go and check with the tire shop over on Elm Street, but I couldn’t say it in front of Fred.
He placed both hands on the counter. “Christy, I think you’ll be safer with the more expensive tires. Now, I can give you a ten percent discount if that helps, but you should go with the more expensive tires if you want to be safe.”
“I think I’ll just wait then. I don’t have that kind of money.” Her eyes went to the paper again, and she shook her head.
He sighed. “Honestly Christy, it isn’t safe to go with the cheaper tires. And the tires that are on your car now have got a split in one of them. I can’t let you drive out of here on those tires. I wouldn’t feel right about it.”
“Well I’m not going to buy the expensive tires,” Christy said stubbornly. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
Fred gripped the pen in his hand. “Okay, but if you end up with your car plowed into a tree,
