Chapter 5: The Evidence Michael Left Behind
The police station smelled of burnt coffee, disinfectant, and wet coats.
Ava sat in a small interview room, wearing a borrowed sweatshirt that was too big for her.
Her father's jacket rested across her lap.
She had refused to let anyone take it.
Preacher sat beside her.
His forehead had been cleaned and bandaged, but he hadn't complained once.
Across the table, Detective Harris opened a folder.
He was in his early fifties, with tired eyes and a voice that sounded as though he'd spent decades delivering bad news.
“Ava, I know this has been a difficult day.””
Ava stared at him.
“Where's my brother?””
“He's safe.””
“And my mom?””
Harris paused.
“She's receiving medical attention. She's alive.””
Ava stopped breathing.
“Alive?””
“Yes.””
Ava looked at Preacher.
He nodded gently.
For three months, she had imagined every possible explanation for her mother's disappearance.
Maybe Sarah had abandoned them.
Maybe she had been sick.
Maybe she had died somewhere nobody could find her.
But alive?
That possibility had never seemed real.
“Can I see her?””
“Soon,” Harris promised.
Ava lowered her head.
Then the tears came.
She pressed her face into the leather jacket.
Preacher placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Your mother is coming home, sweetheart.””
Ava looked up.
“Why didn't she come before?””
Preacher didn't answer immediately.
He knew there was more to the story.
And he wasn't going to pretend otherwise.
In another room, Sarah sat across from Detective Harris.
Noah was asleep in a chair beside her, wrapped in a police blanket.
Wolf stood near the door.
Sarah's hands trembled around a paper cup of water.
Harris opened a fresh notebook.
“Let's start with the night Michael died.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“It was raining.””
“Where were you?””
“In Michael's truck. We were returning from the garage.””
“Was Curtis following you?””
She nodded.
“He had been calling Michael all evening. Michael told me not to answer.””
“What did he want?””
“Money. Documents. He wanted Michael to sign something.””
Harris leaned forward.
“Sign what?””
“A transfer of ownership. Curtis had been taking money from Michael's repair business for years. He wanted Michael to sign papers that would make it look like he owned part of the company.””
Wolf folded his arms.
“Michael would never have agreed to that.””
“He didn't.””
Sarah looked down at her hands.
“Curtis had forged some signatures. Michael found out and confronted him. That night, Curtis followed us.””
Harris wrote something down.
“What happened next?””
Sarah swallowed.
“Michael pulled over because he thought Curtis had a problem with his truck. He got out to speak to him.””
“Then?””
“I heard shouting.””
She looked toward Noah.
“He was in the back seat. I told him to stay down.””
Harris nodded.
“Go on.””
“Curtis got into his truck. He drove straight at Michael.””
Sarah's voice broke.
“I screamed. Michael tried to move, but…”
She couldn't finish.
Wolf looked at the floor.
Harris waited.
“Did Curtis stop?””
“No.””
“Did he call emergency services?””
Sarah shook her head.
“He drove away.””
“Why didn't you report it?””
Sarah gave a bitter laugh.
“I tried.””
She pulled a small folded paper from her purse.
It was a police report.
Harris examined it.
“Three months ago?””
“Yes. I went to the local station two days after Michael died. Curtis told them I was unstable. He said I'd been taking medication and imagining things.””
Harris's expression hardened.
“And they dismissed your statement?””
“They said there wasn't enough evidence.””
“Why did you disappear?””
Sarah looked toward Noah.
“Because Curtis came to my house the night after I filed the report. He told me if I spoke again, Ava and Noah would suffer.””
Wolf's jaw tightened.
Sarah continued.
“I took Noah and ran. I thought I could keep him safe while I found the documents Michael had hidden.””
“Why didn't you take Ava?””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“I went back for her the next morning. Curtis was already there. He told me he had taken her somewhere.””
Ava's name seemed to hurt her.
“I believed he was watching her. I couldn't risk leading him to Noah.””
Harris closed the notebook.
“We'll investigate all of this.””
Sarah shook her head.
“You don't understand. Curtis wasn't working alone.””
Wolf looked at her.
“Who else?””
Sarah hesitated.
Then she whispered a name.
“Gordon Price.””
Wolf's expression changed instantly.
Preacher, who had just entered the room, stopped in the doorway.
“Say that again.””
Sarah looked up.
“Gordon Price.””
Preacher's face turned gray.
“No.””
Wolf slowly turned.
“Who is he?””
Preacher pulled out a chair.
“He used to be the club's treasurer.””
Wolf stared at him.
“What?””
“Years ago. Before you became president.””
Sarah nodded.
“He was the one who helped Curtis move the money. Michael discovered their connection.””
Wolf rubbed his beard.
“Gordon left the club eight years ago.””
“He didn't leave,” Sarah said.
“He was forced out after Michael caught him stealing.””
Preacher sat down.
“Michael never told us.””
“He wanted to handle it privately. He thought Gordon would stop.””
Wolf looked toward the jacket.
“And now?””
Sarah's eyes filled.
“Gordon has been helping Curtis sell everything Michael owned. He has access to the business accounts. He knows where the documents are.””
Harris immediately stood.
“Is Gordon Price still in contact with Curtis?””
Sarah nodded.
“He called me yesterday.””
Wolf stepped closer.
“What did he say?””
Sarah took a breath.
“He said Curtis had made a mistake by leaving Noah alive.””
Nobody spoke.
Then the detective reached for his radio.
“I want a unit at the pawn shop. We need to locate Gordon Price immediately.””
But Wolf was already looking at Preacher.
“Call the club.””
Preacher nodded.
“What do I tell them?””
Wolf's voice was low.
“Tell every member that Michael Bennett's children are under our protection.””
An hour later, Ava finally saw her mother.
Sarah was sitting in a hospital room, her wrist bandaged and a blanket pulled around her shoulders.
Noah was asleep beside her.
The door opened.
Ava stood in the doorway.
Neither woman moved.
Then Sarah whispered:
“Ava?””
The girl took one step.
Then another.
“Mom?””
Sarah started crying.
Ava ran.
She crashed into her mother's arms so hard that the hospital chair rolled backward.
Sarah held her daughter like she was afraid the world might take her away again.
“I thought you were dead,” Ava sobbed.
Sarah kissed her hair.
“I know, baby. I'm sorry.””
“You left me.””
“I never wanted to.””
“You didn't even call!””
Sarah held her tighter.
“I couldn't. Curtis was watching.””
Ava pulled away.
“Why didn't you tell someone?””
“I tried.””
“You could've told me!””
Sarah's eyes filled.
“I was afraid he'd hurt you.””
Ava looked down at the jacket.
“Dad knew something was wrong.””
Sarah touched the leather.
“Yes.””
“He left a note.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“I know.””
Ava frowned.
“You know?””
Sarah looked at the hidden pocket.
“Michael told me he was leaving something important inside that jacket. He said if anything happened, I should make sure you found it.””
Ava's heart began racing.
“What is it?””
Sarah glanced toward the door.
“Did anyone open the lining?””
“No.””
Sarah slowly reached for the jacket.
“There's another pocket.””
Ava turned it over.
“Where?””
“Near the inside collar. Your father stitched it himself.””
Ava searched carefully.
Her fingers found a small raised seam beneath the leather.
There was a second snap.
She opened it.
A tiny memory card slipped into her palm.
Ava stared at it.
“What is this?””
Sarah's face went pale.
“Michael's backup.””
“Backup of what?””
Sarah looked at Wolf, who had been standing quietly outside the room.
“Everything.””
Wolf stepped inside.
“Everything?””
Sarah nodded.
“Bank records. Forged documents. Audio recordings. Names.
Dates. Transfers. Michael said he had enough evidence to put Curtis and Gordon behind bars.””
Ava held the tiny card.
It seemed impossible that something so small could contain so much.
Then Sarah said something else.
“He also told me there was a video.””
Wolf looked at her.
“What video?””
“The night Michael died.””
Ava's fingers tightened around the card.
“Dad recorded it?””
Sarah shook her head.
“No. He installed a camera in his garage after someone broke in.””
She looked toward the jacket.
“Curtis didn't know it was there.””
Wolf slowly nodded.
“Then we need to see what's on this card.””
Before anyone could answer, Detective Harris appeared in the doorway.
His face was serious.
“We have a problem.””
Wolf turned.
“What now?””
Harris held up his phone.
“We just found Gordon Price's vehicle.””
“Where?””
“Outside the hospital.””
Sarah's face drained of color.
Ava grabbed her mother's hand.
Harris continued.
“He's been sitting in the parking lot for twenty minutes.””
Then the lights in the hospital room flickered.
Once.
Twice.
And went out.
Ava screamed.
From somewhere down the hallway came the sound of a door slamming.
Wolf immediately moved toward the entrance.
“Everyone stay behind me!””
A second later, the emergency lights came on.
And through the narrow window in the hospital room door, Ava saw a man standing in the corridor.
He was wearing a black leather vest.
And on his chest was a patch she recognized from her father's old photographs.
*BLACK RIDGE RIDERS.*
But it wasn't Wolf's patch.
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It was Gordon Price.
And he was holding a photograph of Ava.
