Desert Slam

by Steven Barwin

  Ruby sat in front of me, legs folded. “It was very scary, but it also wasn’t your fault. What do your grandparents say?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You haven’t told them about the nightmares? You should.”

  “I’ve ruined their car. I don’t need to also ruin their holiday.”

  “And that girl, Laurie? Pregnant, then not. It’s really bugging me.”

  An older woman stopped in front of us, her wide-brimmed hat blocking the sun. “Are you Evelyn’s granddaughter, Maya?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m her friend Lillian. She told me all about your accident.” She smiled behind oversized sunglasses. “This is a small community. Word gets around. You know, the scary thing is that the same thing happened to me.”

  Ruby turned to her. “Really?”

  “This is my friend Ruby,” I said.

  “Well, I had gone to meet a friend for lunch. It was right after Christmas, and the roads were packed—you know, with all those Boxing Day sales. It’s so busy, but it really is the best time to shop. The deals are too good to pass up. Anyway, where was I?”

  “The accident,” Ruby reminded her.

  “Yes. We had a lovely lunch together, and then in the parking lot, this man backed out and stopped, and I went right into him. But let me tell you, it was not my fault.”

  “You weren’t hurt?” Ruby asked.

  “No, but he threatened to call the police. The last thing I want is for my insurance rates to go up. The strange thing was that a few weeks later I saw him in Palm Springs. He told me he didn’t recognize me, but it was him.”

  She left, and Ruby said, “See?”

  “See what?”

  “I’m not sure yet. But something’s not right.”

  I reached for my book. “That’s just a random accident.”

  “You mean a coincidence.”

  “Ruby, I never figured you as the conspiracy-theory type!”

  Another older woman in the pool swam up to us. “You talking car accidents? Hope you don’t mind my eavesdropping, but something similar also happened to me.”

  “Oh, really? What?” Ruby asked.

  “Well, this person suddenly stopped and I hit them. I got out and he said an animal just crossed the road. Luckily, I wasn’t driving that fast. The damage wasn’t too bad. And fortunately for him, a tow truck was right there to help out. People don’t know how to drive!” She shook her head and swam away.

  Ruby turned to me and said, “Was that a coincidence too, just a random fender bender?” I noticed people talking and looking over at us.

  “You keep asking questions, and we’re going to be the center of every small, sad story from an elderly driver.” I stood, slid into my flip-flops and grabbed my towel. “I’m getting out of here.” I moved to the pool gate, and Ruby followed me.

  “Maya, I know this all seems pretty weird, but I really do think we are on to something.”

  A voice called out behind us. “Oh, girls! I overheard what you were talking about—”

  An even older lady, hunched over a walker.

  “See what I mean? This is too much.” I told Ruby to keep walking.

  The lady persisted, inching her way toward us. “It happened close to the movie theaters,” she called.

  “Oh, come on,” Ruby said, stopping. “You can’t ignore her.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s so cute.”

  I reluctantly followed Ruby back to the lady.

  “The driver, out of nowhere, hit the brakes, and then crash.”

  Ruby whispered out of the corner of her mouth, “Be polite,” then bent down to get eye level with the woman.

  “Just terrible drivers out there,” the woman continued. “You can never be too careful.”

  Ruby said, “I’m sorry to hear you had an accident.”

  “Anyway, I didn’t want to bother you. As long as everyone’s okay, you know?”

  I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  Ruby asked, “Were you okay?”

  “Me?” she chuckled. “Oh no, it wasn’t me, dear. I’ve been driving for over fifty years, and I’m proud to say I’ve never been in an accident. It was the daughter of one of the people who clean my condo. She’s about your age.” I looked at Ruby, impatiently tapping my flip-flop.

  “The worst part was, there was a pregnant lady in the other car. People should be more careful. Anyway, I’ve got to get to my Zumba class. Toodle-oo.” The lady turned her walker and made her way back across the sidewalk.

  “If one’s an incident,” Ruby asked, “and two’s a coincidence…what’s three?”

  “A pattern,” I admitted.

  Ruby nodded.

  “Then what’s four?” I asked.

  “Something we need to investigate.”

  Chapter Five

  “Did she say anything else on the phone?”

  Ruby put her grandparents’ car in Park. “Just that she’ll be wearing a Los Angeles Lakers hat.”

  Through the parking lot we approached the Beach Cove Café. It was a regular strip-mall restaurant, decked out in a beach theme. A hostess dressed in Hawaiian shorts asked how many were in our party, and we said we were meeting someone. At an outdoor table under a beach umbrella, we found the Lakers hat.

  I asked, “Are you Cristina?”

  She smiled and invited us to sit on a bench made out of a surfboard.

  Cristina had straight, flowing black hair to below the collar of her blue-jean jacket.

  Ruby picked up a menu. “Thank you for meeting us.”

  “Truthfully, I was a bit nervous about who would show up.”

  We made quick introductions as a man appeared in a beach outfit. “Can I get you two a drink?”

  Cristina held up her colorful drink. “Ice smoothies are great.”

  We ordered two, and the man said they’d be right out. Then he sat down next to Cristina.

  She smiled. “This is my cousin Javier. He’s the manager and insisted we meet here. You know, for safety.”

  I stared at Ruby, her eyes on the menu. “Yeah, you can never be too careful.”

  She noticed. “Sorry—the menu looks so good.”

  “It is,” Javier agreed. “I’m the manager here, but I’m also a journalism student. So what’s your story? You got Cristina’s number from someone at the Tuscan Palms retirement community?”

  “Yes.” I decided not to share that we had to ask around to find her and then interrupted her Zumba class. My drink arrived with a paper umbrella sticking out of a strawberry.

  “My mom knows everyone there,” Cristina said. “She runs a cleaning service. Her company cleans most of the condos there.” She looked at us. “You two must be on vacation?”

  “From Vancouver,” I said.

  “And I’m from New York,” Ruby added.

  “So you called me because of a car accident?”

  We took turns explaining what had happened after the Indian Wells tennis tournament.

  I put my half-finished smoothie to the side. “It’s a long shot, but we’re hoping our accidents are connected. When did yours happen?”

  “A month ago. Kind of the same situation as yours. I was so frustrated, because I knew it wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t sleep.”

  I leaned forward. “Me too!”

  Javier said, “It’s been making her crazy. She wanted to hire a lawyer, but she paid them that night, and they disappeared.”

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “Same thing.”

  Javier kept an eye out on his restaurant. “I told her to let it go. There’s nothing to be done.”

  Ruby cleared her throat. “Well, that’s why we’re here.” She paused and put her fingertips on her temples. “Sorry, brain freeze. This drink is so good.”

  Javier smiled.

  Ruby continued, “We heard that there was a pregnant woman in the other car.”

  “Yes.” Christina nodded. “But I don’t get why that’s important.”

  Ruby held out
her phone, showing Cristina a picture of the woman at the scene of our accident.

  “That’s her!” Cristina said, excited. She slapped Javier on the arm. “I told you something didn’t add up!”

  I placed both my hands flat on the table and spoke slowly. “Cristina…that woman…her name is Laurie, and she’s not pregnant.”

  “Hold on,” Javier said, his journalist side kicking in. “What does this mean, and is there anything you can actually do about it?”

  “Well, we don’t exactly know,” I said. “But this is way too suspicious to be nothing.”

  Ruby added, “Laurie’s a liar, and she’s helping to scam people. We want to take her down.”

  “I understand.” Javier nodded. “But based on what I know from journalism class, there’s not enough evidence-based information here.”

  I turned to Cristina. Trying to convince her with her cousin around would be impossible.

  Javier pushed back in his chair. “Ruby, other than a photo, you have nothing. This is a long shot.”

  Cristina nodded.

  “And after everything you just went through, I would have thought you’d want to put all of this behind you.” Javier continued. He got up from the table and said as he walked way, “The drinks are on me.” Cristina followed him.

  When we pulled up to the gates to the condo entrance, Ruby asked if I wanted to go for a swim.

  “I’m not really in the mood.”

  Ruby’s phone rang. “Hello? Oh, hi…okay. The Desert Hills shopping mall. Okay.” She hung up and started backing the car out.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “You won’t believe this. That was Cristina.”

  “Really!”

  “She wants to help us find Laurie.”

  “And what about her cousin?”

  “She didn’t say.”

  We found Cristina waiting for us at the Coffee Bean kiosk.

  “Hi. Thanks for meeting me.”

  “Javier’s not here?” I asked, looking around.

  “He’s a good guy. Just a little overprotective. So where’s the store?”

  I walked her within view. We could see Laurie folding clothes in the back. Still not pregnant.

  “I have an idea,” Cristina said, walking quickly toward the store.

  We hurried to keep up. “What’s your plan?” I asked.

  “Simple. Let’s go get her!”

  “What are you going to say?” asked Ruby.

  “It’ll come to me when I get there.”

  Ruby shot a glance at me, but we followed her into the store.

  Cristina walked right in. I hid behind her. Ruby had her phone out, camera at the ready.

  We were just a few steps in when the mean manager blocked our way. “You two again. I told you that I’d call security. Guess you thought I wasn’t serious.” She turned to Laurie, now at the cash register. “Call security. Now!”

  Laurie looked at us, focusing mostly on me, clearly trying to place me. Then her eyes widened, and she took off to the back.

  The manager blocked us, so all three of us scrambled through the front door. Outside, I spotted Laurie veering past a massive potted plant by the outdoor escalators.

  “There she is!” Up the escalator steps two at a time, I led the race after her.

  Laurie zigzagged between the small carts selling jewelry and cell-phone cases. She made a sharp left down a hallway that emptied into a restaurant.

  “Stay on her!” Ruby shouted.

  We blew past the hostess and followed the top of Laurie’s head as she bobbed past some booths toward the restroom.

  Cristina called out, “We got her!”

  I creaked the door open slowly and we entered. It was empty. An angry Cristina pushed at the stall doors one by one. The third door didn’t budge. It was locked.

  Laurie’s voice rang out. “What do you want from me?”

  “The truth,” Ruby responded.

  “Well, I’m not coming out!”

  Cristina banged on the door with her shoulder. “And we’re not leaving.”

  “You’ve got the wrong person!”

  I asked, “Then why did you run?”

  There was no response.

  “Whatever,” Cristina said. “Let’s go, girls.” She signaled for us to follow her to the door. She pulled on it, and as it slowly closed, we tiptoed into the first stall. After a few uncomfortable moments of being squished together, we heard Cristina’s stall door open.

  We poured out all at once. Laurie let out a scream as Cristina blocked the exit.

  I said, voice low and laced with anger, “Why aren’t you pregnant?”

  Laurie was out of options. “You don’t want to know the real story. And yes, I remember the three of you.”

  We didn’t move, eyes on her.

  “I remember everybody.” She fixed her hair. “So what do you want? An apology? Okay. I’m sorry.”

  Cristina bit back with, “Not good enough.”

  Laurie was about to say something more but hesitated. She fought back a tear. “These people—they set me up, just like you. I crashed into them, but I couldn’t afford to pay. So this is how I pay them back.”

  “Hold it. Pay them back?” I asked.

  “The accidents. They aren’t real. They’re staged.”

  I felt a rush of equal parts happiness and anger.

  “I feel terrible, okay? But I don’t have family—no rich uncle to bail me out. I fake everything for them so they can get the money.” She let out a long sigh. “They say I only have to help them with two more stages. Then I’m free.”

  The three of us shared a look of shock.

  “The driver and the others are bad people.” Laurie looked at me. “Take my advice and stay away. Just move on with your life. Go back to Canada.” She turned to leave.

  Was she joking? “How can you say that?” I asked. “You’re taking advantage of innocent people. It’s dangerous, and one of these days someone’s going to get killed. And then you’ll wish you had done something to stop it.”

  Chapter Six

  The rays from the setting sun warmed the condo balcony. Drinks and leftover chips and vegetables with dip littered the table between my grandparents and me.

  I tilted back my cup, searching for the last drops of pear juice. Just ice cubes, so I crunched on them. “So not only did she admit to everything, but she refused to do anything about it.”

  “That’s terrible,” my grandmother said. “How does she sleep at night?”

  “I don’t think she cares about other people, Granny.”

  My grandfather shook his head. “I still can’t believe that entire evening was staged. They caused the accident. They ruined our night, and they could’ve really hurt us.”

  “We told her all that. She didn’t seem to care. And listen to this. I went online, and it turns out accidents like this are big business. This is a huge problem around the world.”

  “They’re criminals,” my grandmother said.

  “Yes. They damaged my car and took my money,” said Grandpa John. “And the worst part is, they made us feel horrible about it.”

  “They even have a catchy name for it,” I said. “Crash for cash.”

  “What a terrible thing! People will stop at nothing for money,” my grandmother said.

  We caught the tail end of the sunset, then packed everything up and headed inside. I helped with the dishes, and when the doorbell rang my grandfather let Ruby and Cristina in. I made the introductions and grabbed my purse.

  “I was just telling my grandparents that the accident was not my fault. Or yours, Cristina.”

  She nodded. “So we’re going out to celebrate that. We found the truth, only there’s not much we can do about it. We might as well have some fun!”

  “All dressed up.” My grandfather smiled. “What’s the plan?”

  “Well, being the local girl,” Cristina said, “I’m taking them to an authentic Coachella Valley celebration. We’re
going to glamtastic Palm Springs for its Thursday night Village Fest.”

  “Oh, that’s fun. Maya, leave your cell on, and don’t stay out too late.”

  With the roof down and the music up, we drove in Cristina’s silver VW Jetta.

  From the backseat, Ruby shouted, “What’s Village Fest?”

  “It’s a fantastic street fair where you can shop, eat and dance your heart out,” Cristina explained as we drove through the descending darkness. “You’ll soon see that Palm Springs is the real desert experience.”

  “Because?” I asked.

  “There are fewer snowbirds and retired people. It’s more hip.”

  Ruby leaned forward. “Are we hipsters?”

  Cristina took the Palm Springs exit. “We sure are!”

  The moment we entered the city, the number of people and cars overwhelmed me. It took a few laps around the block to find a parking spot. Outside the car, Cristina grabbed our hands, and we stood in a tight circle on the sidewalk.

  “Friends from NYC and Vancouver. We are gathered tonight for one thing, and one thing only. After all we’ve been through…after our newfound friendship…it’s time to celebrate. ¿Estás listo para divertirse.”

  Ruby and I looked at her.

  “Spanish for ‘Are you ready to have fun?’”

  “How do I look?” asked Ruby.

  “Perfect,” I said. “Yes, we are ready! Let’s go!”

  We broke our circle and followed Cristina. We weaved past cars and people onto a very jammed Palm Canyon Drive. The palm-tree-lined road was bumper-to-bumper with people.

  Our first stop was dinner. Cristina stopped at a food truck. “So this place is my favorite.”

  Tropical Flame ’N’ Grill was scrawled on the side of the truck in bright blues, reds and yellows.

  Ruby asked, “What do you get here?”

  “Everything’s good. But I usually order the cha-cha chicken.”

  Minutes later I was staring down at a bowl of chicken with black beans, brown rice and slaw. “This looks so good!”

  “Tastes better! And wait till you see dessert,” Cristina said before taking a big bite.

  I dug in. “Tastes incredible!”

  “I’m sorry that your holidays were ruined by what happened.”

  “It’s okay. I’ve been here lots. It was just bad luck. I still like it here.”