Mabel Brought The Deposit Receipts To Our Fleet Inventory Meeting

Mabel arrived carrying a yellow folder and a bag of clementines.

"Evidence and lunch," she said.

"It's four in the afternoon."

"You look like you skipped both."

Dana met us outside the workshop. Rain had frozen along the edge of the roof, and the lot had the gray shine that made everyone walk slowly.

Inside, Eric had cleared my tool shelf.

My notes were in a cardboard box marked WAX.

I looked at it, then at the racks.

"All six frames are here," I told Dana.

"Count the outriggers too."

Eric stood behind the counter.

"I hope we're not billing a lawyer to count poles."

Mabel put a clementine beside his keyboard.

"Something to do with your mouth while the adults count."

"Mabel."

"Eric."

Dana asked him to step back so we could take pictures. She photographed the room first, then each frame from both sides.

I tilted S01 on its padded stand. The stamped number sat behind the seat mount. Under it was an old scratch shaped like a narrow V.

"Loading ramp," I said. "Before we opened. I caught it on a bolt."

My dated garage photo showed that same scratch. I had sent the photo to the supplier to ask whether the mark affected the frame.

The supplier had told me it was harmless.

Now it was useful.

We checked six frame numbers and twelve outrigger pair numbers. The outriggers had short skis at their tips, grips sized for different hands, and cuffs I had shaped for each setup.

They were equipment with a history. They weren't furniture that had grown out of Neal's floor.

On O07, a narrow cuff sat beside a wider one. Eric pointed to the difference as if he had found a flaw.

"That pair doesn't even match."

"The student's arms don't match," I said. "His right forearm needs more room."

Mabel checked the number against her list.

"And he asked us to keep this pair for next month."

Dana photographed both cuffs. I put them back together on their hook, grips facing out, ready for the same hands.

Mabel opened her folder.

"Six current rentals. Six deposits. No missing money."

She showed Dana a bank statement with the other entries covered. Then she showed the receipts.

Equipment Owner: Shahbaz Abbasi.

Booking Agent: Thawline Adaptive Workshop.

Deposit Custodian: Mabel Chen.

Eric leaned forward.

"Those are old forms."

"This one's from Tuesday," Mabel said.

"You didn't update them."

"You approved the current packet in October. Your email is behind the receipts."

Dana asked for a copy. Mabel handed her a second folder.

"I didn't come with one copy," she said.

Eric looked at me.

"So this is what you did yesterday. Called everyone against me."

"I called my lawyer. Mabel called because students were worried."

"Students come because I fill the calendar."

Mabel's face changed. She had been almost cheerful until then.

"Students come because they trust the people who hold their equipment steady. You put that trust in a mass email and kicked it downhill."

For a moment, the only sound was water dripping into the tray beneath the boot dryer.

Dana turned to the loan list.

"Who is the borrower?"

"My new company. Lund Access."

"Did Shahbaz approve any pledge of partnership property?"

"We're discussing his equipment now."

"Did he approve it?"

"No. He wasn't interested in growth."

I had never heard of Lund Access before that week.

"What did you tell the lender about Schedule B?" Dana asked.

Eric folded his arms.

"A bunch of old paperwork doesn't cancel three years of my work."

I felt heat climb into my face. I wanted to name every early morning he had missed and every Saturday I had stayed late.

Instead, I picked up a loose adjustment screw from my boxed tools.

I held it in my palms.

Cold threads caught when people forced them. I knew that much.

Dana asked whether he would promise in writing to leave the fleet in place while we sorted out ownership.

"I'm opening another location," he said. "I can't let him hold my future hostage."

"A yes or no will do."

"No."

She wrote that down.

Neal came in through the connecting door. He had read Dana's letter. He looked tired.

"Eric, you told me the partnership bought those things."

"It did, in every way that matters."

"That's not an answer about a purchase."

Before Eric could reply, a woman knocked on the glass door. She wore a dark coat and carried a thin case.

"June Avery, Green Hollow Cooperative Credit," she said. "Eric, you said the fleet would be ready for an early inspection."

Dana introduced herself and offered the signed schedules.

June stopped taking off her gloves.

"Is there an ownership dispute?"

"There is," Dana said.

June looked at Eric, then opened her case.

"Then we need to discuss the ownership certificate you already signed."