Chapter 2: The Secret Inside the Leather
Preacher took the jacket from Wolf.
He was in his late sixties, with silver hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a pair of reading glasses tucked into his vest.
Unlike the others, he didn't look intimidating.
He looked heartbroken.
He ran his fingers over the stitching near the shoulder.
“Michael wore this every time we rode together,” he murmured.
Ava stepped closer.
“You knew my dad?””
Preacher nodded slowly.
“Better than most people knew him, sweetheart.””
“Why didn't you come to his funeral?””
The question hit harder than she intended.
Preacher lowered his eyes.
“We didn't know he was dead.””
Wolf turned sharply.
“Curtis never contacted the club.””
Curtis scoffed.
“Why would I contact a bunch of bikers? Michael was my brother, not yours.””
Wolf looked at him.
“Michael was more than a riding partner.””
He turned toward Ava.
“Your father pulled three of us out of a burning truck fourteen years ago. He stayed behind until every man was out.””
Preacher nodded.
“He gave up his motorcycle to pay the medical bills of a young rider whose family couldn't afford them. He never told anyone.””
Ava's eyes filled.
“That sounds like him.””
For a moment, the pawn shop didn't feel like a pawn shop anymore.
It felt like the garage where her father used to work.
She could almost hear him laughing as he wiped grease from his hands.
Then Curtis ruined the moment.
“Wonderful reunion. Can we finish this? I have somewhere to be.””
Wolf turned.
“You're not leaving.””
“You can't hold me here.””
“No. But you can explain why a nine-year-old boy has been missing for three days.””
Curtis pulled out his phone.
“I'm calling my lawyer.””
“Call the police first,” Ryder said.
He had already dialed emergency services.
Mr. Miller moved the ledger onto the counter.
“I've got something else.””
Curtis's eyes narrowed.
“Don't.””
Mr. Miller ignored him.
“Last week, Curtis brought in a motorcycle registration document. Said the owner was deceased and he'd inherited everything.””
Ava stared at her uncle.
“Dad's motorcycle?””
Mr. Miller nodded.
“The black Harley.””
Ava remembered it.
Her father had spent years restoring that motorcycle. Noah used to sit on it in the garage and pretend he was riding through the desert.
“Where is it?”” she asked.
Curtis rubbed his forehead.
“Sold.””
“To whom?”” Wolf demanded.
“Some guy.””
“What guy?””
“I don't remember!””
Mr. Miller shook his head.
“You remember. You gave me the buyer's number.””
He pulled a small receipt from the ledger.
Wolf took it.
The name on the paper was unfamiliar.
But the phone number was not.
Wolf stared at it for several seconds.
“That's not a private buyer.””
“What?”” Ryder asked.
Wolf folded the receipt.
“That's the number of a vehicle salvage company.””
Ava felt sick.
“Why would someone sell Dad's motorcycle to a salvage company?””
Nobody answered.
Preacher was still examining the jacket.
Then his fingers stopped at the inside lining.
“Michael used to hide things here.””
Ava looked up.
“What things?””
“Documents. Cash. Sometimes photographs.””
He felt along the lower seam.
“There should be a pocket.””
Curtis suddenly moved.
“Give me that.””
Wolf caught his wrist.
“Stay where you are.””
“It's my property!””
Ava stepped between them.
“No, it isn't!””
Her voice cracked.
“My dad gave it to me.””
Preacher carefully turned the jacket inside out.
Near the left side of the lining, he found a small opening concealed beneath a strip of leather.
He pressed his thumb against it.
A tiny snap came loose.
Inside was a narrow pocket.
Ava's breath caught.
There was something inside.
A small brass key.
And a folded piece of paper.
Preacher handed both to Wolf.
Wolf unfolded the note.
His expression changed as he read.
Then he passed it to Ava.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Her father's.
If anything happens to me, Curtis knows why.
Ava read the sentence twice.
Then a third time.
“What does it mean?””
Curtis started backing toward the door.
“That's nonsense. Michael was paranoid.””
Wolf folded the paper.
“Paranoid about what?””
“Ask him!””
“He's dead.””
Curtis looked away.
Preacher examined the key.
A small plastic tag was attached to it.
*UNIT 214.*
Ava recognized the handwriting on the tag.
Her father's.
“What's Unit 214?””
Wolf turned toward Mr. Miller.
The shopkeeper shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Curtis suddenly laughed.
It was a strange, desperate sound.
“You people think you've found some treasure map? It's a storage key. That's all.””
Wolf watched him carefully.
“Then why are you sweating?””
“Because you're threatening me!””
Ryder approached the counter.
“Wolf, I think I know the facility.””
He pulled out his phone and searched through an old message.
“There's a storage company on the east side. Michael used to keep his tools there.””
Ava looked at him.
“You knew my dad's storage unit?””
“Not personally,” Ryder replied.
“But I remember helping him move some equipment there years ago.””
Wolf looked at the key.
“What's the company called?””
“Cedar Creek Storage.””
Preacher nodded.
“That's it.””
Curtis suddenly shouted.
“You can't go there!””
Wolf slowly turned.
“Why not?””
“Because the unit was sold!””
Ava's heart skipped.
“What?””
Curtis realized what he'd said.
His face drained of color.
Mr. Miller pulled the ledger closer.
“Wait a minute.””
He flipped through several pages.
“Curtis came here three days ago asking if I'd buy the contents of a storage unit.””
Wolf stepped closer.
“What was in it?””
Mr. Miller read from the inventory sheet.
“Old mechanic equipment. Boxes. Personal documents.
A motorcycle helmet. Children's belongings…”
He paused.
Then he frowned.
“That's strange.””
“What?”” Ava asked.
Mr. Miller looked at the bottom of the page.
“One item was listed separately.””
Wolf leaned over.
“Read it.””
Mr. Miller swallowed.
“A child's blue backpack.””
Ava stopped breathing.
“No.””
Wolf looked at her.
“What is it?””
She shook her head.
“No, no, no…”
“Ava?””
“My brother has a blue backpack.””
Her voice became barely audible.
“It has a little dinosaur keychain on the zipper. Dad bought it for his birthday.””
Curtis suddenly shouted.
“Enough!””
He lunged toward the receipt.
Wolf moved faster.
He caught Curtis by the jacket and pushed him against the counter.
“Where is the boy?””
Curtis struggled.
“I don't know!””
“Where is Noah?””
“I said I don't know!””
Wolf leaned closer.
“Then why did you try to sell his backpack?””
Curtis stopped struggling.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then his phone began ringing.
The sound seemed impossibly loud.
Everyone looked down.
Curtis's phone was vibrating against the counter.
Ava recognized the ringtone.
It was the one she had chosen for her brother.
The screen lit up.
*NOAH.*
Her knees nearly buckled.
“That's him.””
Wolf released Curtis's jacket.
Ava reached for the phone, but Wolf gently stopped her.
“Let me answer.””
He pressed the green button and switched on speaker.
“Hello?””
For a moment, there was only static.
Then a tiny voice whispered:
“Uncle Curtis?””
Wolf looked at Ava.
“I'm not Curtis, son. I'm a friend.””
The voice trembled.
“Where's Ava?””
“She's right here.””
Ava leaned toward the phone.
“Noah! Baby, are you okay?””
A small sob came through the speaker.
“Ava?””
“I'm here. I'm right here.””
“I'm scared.””
“Where are you, Noah?””
The boy took a shaky breath.
“I found something.””
Wolf leaned closer.
“What did you find, son?””
There was a pause.
Then Noah whispered:
“A picture of Mom.””
Ava covered her mouth.
Her mother, Sarah, had disappeared when Noah was only four.
Curtis had always told them she abandoned the family.
He said she had moved away.
He said she didn't want to see them.
But Noah continued.
“She's here.””
Ava's eyes widened.
“Where?””
“Inside Dad's storage unit.””
Wolf's face hardened.
“What storage unit, son?””
“Unit 214.””
Ava looked at the brass key in Wolf's hand.
The boy whispered again.
“I'm inside Dad's storage unit.””
Then came a sound.
A heavy metallic bang.
Noah gasped.
May you like
“Someone's coming.””
The phone went silent.
