Chapter 6 - The SUV by the Lake
Derek made two phone calls from the porch.
Both quiet.
Both tense.
On the second one, he walked farther away, near the boat ramp, where he thought we could not hear him through the open window.
But sound carries over water.
I heard enough.
No, don’t file it yet.
It wasn’t used for business today.
Yes, I know it’s listed as commercial.
No, my boss doesn’t need to know.
I looked at Clare.
She looked away.
So she knew too.
The black SUV by the lake was not just Derek’s toy.
It was a company-leased vehicle he had been using personally, reporting as client travel, and bragging about as if it proved his importance.
My guitar was still broken.
That did not change.
But Derek had spent years mocking other people’s work while building his own image on paperwork that could not handle daylight.
My lawyer called back within the hour.
“Do not touch the vehicle,” she said. “Do not threaten. Do not move it. Take photos of where it is parked, the key bowl, the room, the guitar, and get witness names.”
So I did.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Like I was documenting a studio theft.
Derek returned from the porch looking pale.
“Look,” he said, voice lower now, “maybe I can pay something.”
“Eight thousand dollars.”
“That’s insane.”
“That was your position when the guitar was intact.”
He swallowed.
“I’ll give you two thousand.”
“No.”
“Marcus.”
“No.”
Clare snapped, “You’re really going to punish a child over a guitar?”
May you like
I looked at Tyler, who was hiding less now and listening more.
“No,” I said. “I’m finally making the adults pay for what they taught him.”
