“Hello, dear,” she said in a low, soothing voice. “I’m wondering what you’d like for this painting?”
Lexi squinted at it. The picture was an expressionist nude work. She wasn’t particularly fond of it.
“Five bucks.”
“That’s awfully generous, my dear.”
Lexi shrugged, not hiding her evil grin. “It really depends on your perspective.”
The lady laughed softly. “I don’t doubt it.”
Lexi tilted her head, examining the woman. She felt easy in her presence, like she was with a longtime friend. It was weird, but Lexi didn’t want the conversation to end. She felt like something important was about to happen.
“Is that your limo?” Lexi asked, gesturing toward the corner of the street. “If it is, I should charge you a truly ridiculous amount of money.”
The woman laughed heartily. “It is, and go ahead, my dear. I can spare it.”
“All right, I’ll tell you the truth,” Lexi admitted, leaning over to share her secret. “All this gear belongs to my ex, Chester. I’m breaking up with him. Take the painting for free, along with anything else you like. I’m not in this for the money.”
“I see that,” the woman said thoughtfully. “I’m Gerri, by the way. Gerri Wilder.”
She extended her hand, and Lexi took it, so they could share a brief shake. Gerri’s hand was very warm, her grip firm. She seemed like a rock-solid person, a friend you could count on no matter how bad things got.
“I’m Lexi,” she said, smiling at her new friend.
Don’t be ridiculous. She’s going to get in that limo, take off, and never look back.
There was a sudden, loud roar from down the street. Lexi grinned. She was familiar with that sound. It was accompanied by the squeal of tires and throbbing heavy metal music. A good two minutes after the over-amped engine had announced its presence, a huge, black truck came flying around the corner to a screeching halt right there on the pavement beside the yard sale.
Chester leaped out, hurrying over to Lexi with a smile on his face. “Hey, babe. Whatcha doin’? I was just thinking we … hey.” Chester paused, looking at the boxes and the people picking through them. “What the fuck? This is my stuff!”
“Yeah?” Lexi glanced over, surprise in her voice. “You think it is?”
“Don’t just stand there, do something!” he roared. “What the hell is going on here?”
Lexi shrugged, drawing out the movement for dramatic effect. Chester kept glaring at her, and Lexi blinked slowly. Chester’s face suddenly fell.
“You know, don’t you?” he demanded.
“That you cheated on me? Yeah, I have an inkling.”
Chester’s face turned seven shades of purple. He was so mad, he was about to explode. He obviously also knew he was in the wrong. “That’s mine!” he yelled, swinging a big hand in Gerri’s direction as he tried to swipe the painting from her.
“Yours?” Gerri asked, stepping away. She looked disdainfully between Chester and the painting. “I think not. This was stolen from the museum some time ago. I was just about to call the police and report it. If you’d like to explain to them that it’s your painting, be my guest.”
Chester’s cheeks colored even further. Gerri stared him down, even though Chester tried as hard as he could to intimidate her.
“You can be arrested for stolen property, or you can get out of here,” Gerri hissed. Her voice was soft, but it had weight. Chester turned and got back into his truck, punishing the tires and the pavement as he pulled onto the street and sped away.
Lexi enjoyed every moment, her grin getting wider by the second. She knew that she was punishing him pretty hard, but she also knew he deserved it.
I hope you got a shock as bad as I did when I found out you were cheating on me!
Hopefully, losing all of his possessions would show him what it felt like to have his heart ripped out. Lexi didn’t have much faith in that idea, but she did have hope.
“Thank you for that,” Lexi said, smiling warmly at Gerri. “Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to repay you.”
“Actually,” Gerri said, grinning. “I’m not finished doing things for you.”