Necessary Detour by Kim Hornsby

kid. If the boy got in the way and jeopardized everything, he’d have to be removed from the situation. Pete was so close now. Screwing it up would be idiotic. After this one, he’d be done. He had to be. His number would be up soon. Luck had followed him over the years, but he couldn’t ask much more from fate. Soon he’d walk away and never look back. A free man.
    ****
    The movie score was almost complete, and Nikki rewarded herself with a moment of solitude on the dock. Twirling her tanned legs in the water, she called Quinn for her daily check-in. Her daughter had been attending regular AA meetings with Julie, her sponsor, and all was well with her boyfriend and at school.
    “The guy next door is a little weird, turns out,” she said to Quinn.
    “Why? What?”
    “Mr. Fixit has a child over there and probably a wife, but they never come outside.” She went into more detail but didn’t mention the kiss.
    “They sound creepy, Mom. Don’t try to befriend them, okay? They could be hiding something or someone over there in that old house.”
    Nikki laughed at Quinn. “Okay. That was my last attempt to be neighborly.” She wouldn’t call them creepy but agreed to stop snooping. Why would a family rent an old log house at the end of summer and never go outside?
    Earlier Nikki had found a site online that sold amulet necklaces and had located the symbol she’d seen around Pete’s neck. “I bought you a necklace online.”
    “Thanks!” Quinn loved jewelry—like her mother.
    “It’s an amulet that provides protection. The Yoruba luck symbol from Nairobi is known for its protective properties,” she said. “It’s one of the oldest amulets on the African continent.”
    “Nice. What do I need protection from?” Quinn asked innocently.
    “I don’t know, sweetie. Bad marks?” They laughed.
    “Just wear it to appease your mother, will you?” It was impossible to not continually worry about Quinn’s safety, but she was trying to let her daughter lead a normal life, just like Quinn was trying to not worry about her mother alone at the lake. A thought jumped into Nikki’s head to make her blood quicken. “Quinn, please tell me that Pete Bayer is not someone hired by you or Merilee or anyone else on my staff.”
    “Not that I know. Besides, Merilee doesn’t know where you are.”
    “That’s right,” she said. No one knew but Quinn. Merilee wouldn’t go behind Nikki’s back to hire a security guard. She was loyal, like Elvis. And Security Steve had assured her that Pete wasn’t on his payroll. She’d already searched the name Pete Bayer online and came up empty. Nothing. She had another call coming in. “Have a wonderful day, my sweet girl, and call me if you need me.” This had always been their sign-off.
    “Mrs. Crossland? It’s P.I. Services in Seattle.”
    Nikki had been waiting for this call. “Did you find anything?”
    “No, I’m sorry. I’ve been unable to come up with anything for the name Pete Bayer with that description and the license plate number isn’t registered.”
    “What do you mean that plate isn’t registered?”
    “The number doesn’t exist.”
    “He’s got a plate and it’s not made out of cardboard.”
    “It probably means it’s an old plate. I’m guessing his name is an alias.” He said it so casually that Nikki wondered if a lot of people went around telling neighbors fake names and making their own license plates. If so, she had a lot to learn about how normal people functioned in the real world. No one knew who this guy was. It was like he didn’t exist. At least not under that name.
    Hanging up, she saw the Dickerson’s side door open. The woman and boy made circles around the garbage can area, hunting for something on the ground until a whoop sounded from them like a cry of victory. Whatever they’d been looking for must have been found. Nikki saw the mother try to hug the boy as he jumped up and down.
    Nikki stood at the end of the dock watching