Knock, knock, knock
The sound of knocking echoed.
Debbie, who was in the living room playing video games with Carl, hit the pause button and peeked out the window at the front door.
It was Kermit.
Debbie didn't recognize Kermit, so she wasn't about to open the door. She stood right behind it and yelled out, "Who is it?"
"Kermit," he quickly replied. "I'm a buddy of Frank's. Is he around?"
Hearing "Frank's friend," Debbie immediately decided the guy was trouble. "Frank doesn't have friends! And he doesn't live here! Beat it, or I'm calling the cops!"
Kermit hesitated for a second. "Fine, I'll just leave his stuff on the porch. Can you just tell him that I can't hang on to it for him anymore?"
Stuff? That didn't sound like someone looking for a fight...
Debbie was confused. "Okay."
Kermit didn't say much more. He dropped the two bags full of credit card statements he was holding, then quickly went back to his car, grabbed the other bags, and put them all by the door.
"I left everything right here. Make sure you bring it inside. I'm taking off," Kermit said, not sticking around, and quickly drove away.
Debbie stayed behind the window until she confirmed Kermit had driven off, then she ran out, opened the door, and dragged everything inside.
Carl glanced at the bags. "What is it? Is it money?"
"Like Frank would ever have money," Debbie scoffed at Carl. She then opened one of the bags and flipped through it. "It looks like credit card bills, and... they're all in our names."
Carl's eyes lit up. "I have a credit card? Isn't that money?"
Debbie felt like her dumb little brother was a lost cause. She rolled her eyes hard, then ignored him and focused on the bills. She knew a huge family blow-up was coming when Fiona found out. A look of worry slowly crept onto her freckled face.
Lip and Ian spent some time checking around the neighborhood and even stopped by a notary's office for information.
The result was depressing.
Trying to fight the will Patrick held was practically a lost cause, especially since they didn't have a real, legitimate will of their own.
If they were determined to prove Patrick's will was fake, it would mean hiring a lawyer and getting into a long, drawn-out legal battle—it just wasn't worth it. The lawyer fees, billed by the hour, would likely end up costing more than that beat-up old house was even worth.
"So, what do we do now?" Ian had zero ideas and looked to Lip.
Lip was stressed out, too. He was quiet for a moment. "We'll handle this one thing at a time. First, let's go sell the truck! Let's get the cash in hand before anything else screws up."
Ian usually just followed Lip's lead. "Sounds good."
The two wasted no time, hopping in the truck and driving off to find someone who buys stolen vehicles.
If Roberta's truck was sold legitimately, it would go for a decent amount, and plenty of people would want it. That kind of truck isn't a normal car; it's a tool for making money—the kind of tool that brings in serious dough.
Unfortunately, they couldn't sell it normally.
So, after running around for hours, they ended up getting only two thousand dollars for the truck.
Still, it was basically found money, and Lip was satisfied. In fact, carrying that much cash—given how narrow his view of the world still was—actually made him feel pretty good.
"You know, we should probably thank Roberta. She croaked, and we've managed to rake in a couple grand from the whole thing," Lip said, lighting a cigarette and smiling.
Ian agreed immediately, chuckling. "Yeah, she died at a great time."
"Come on, let's go grab some good food, and then we'll figure out how to deal with Patrick," Lip said with a smile. "I'll call Karen to come eat with us."
Hearing Karen's name, Ian's expression changed, and he hesitated. "Are you and Karen still dating, like serious or what?"
Lip shrugged dismissively. "Nah, man. We're just hooking up."
Ian was a little different from Lip on this stuff and sounded skeptical. "Is she thinking the same thing?"
"Absolutely," Lip said with certainty. "I'm not the only guy she hooks up with."
Ian had nothing to say to that.
Lip was actually right.
Ever since she met Dexter and effortlessly got the car she'd always wanted, Karen had, in a way, woken up—like unlocking a secret power. She realized she had endless possibilities.
Right now, Karen was hooking up with a married guy. She had quietly pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures. She was smiling happily, her mind racing with thoughts about how much money she could squeeze out of this guy.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Lip.
Seeing his name, Karen's smile grew wider, but she didn't answer the call.
After she finished up, Karen walked out like a total boss before finally calling Lip back. "Didn't see your call, what's up?"
Lip didn't suspect a thing and sounded cheerful. "I just scored some cash. Wanna grab dinner? My treat."
"Sure, where?" Karen readily agreed.
About half an hour later, they were in the restaurant bathroom.
Lip and Karen were getting busy.
Karen stared up at the ceiling, feeling like piles of cash were raining down on her.
Dumbass Lip was genuinely happy, completely unaware that Karen had changed.
—
8:30 AM
Dexter got up a little earlier than usual. He left the hotel, lit a cigarette, and strolled over to Dex Fruit Stand. It was his shop, after all, and since it was opening day, it was only right that he show up.
Talk about timing.
He got there just as Kevin, Veronica, and V showed up.
"Morning," Dexter greeted Kevin.
Kevin flashed his goofy grin. "Morning! Wow, this place is open already! It looks really great."
"Svetlana is good at what she does," Dexter replied with a smile.
Kevin nodded in agreement.
Svetlana was checking out a customer. Hearing her name, she smiled at the four of them but didn't say anything.
Veronica quickly took in the whole shop, which looked surprisingly high-end and polished. She was honestly impressed. In just a few days, Svetlana had made the place look legit.
For the first time, Veronica thought Svetlana, the "fixer," might not be so useless after all.