Chapter 4: The Man Watching From Across the Street
Rhett took the phone from Caleb and studied the photograph.
It had been taken through the open garage door. Walter and Danny were clearly visible inside the office, standing beside the desk.
Whoever had taken it was close.
Very close.
“Caleb, lock the front entrance,” Rhett ordered.
“Mason, check the back.””
The two bikers moved immediately.
Danny grabbed Walter's shoulder.
“Dad, get away from the window.””
Walter barely moved.
He was staring at the message.
YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP EATING ALONE.
Someone knew about the breakfasts.
Someone knew about the diner.
And someone knew exactly where he was.
“Who could have sent this?”” Walter asked.
Danny shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“You must have an idea.””
“I've spent twenty-four years trying not to have ideas about the people who did this.””
Rhett looked up.
“That's not good enough anymore. Somebody has followed your father here.””
Danny's jaw tightened.
“There's a storage room behind the workshop. We should move him.””
Walter pulled his arm away.
“I'm not hiding.””
“Dad, please.””
“I spent twenty-four years believing my wife was grieving with me. I spent twenty-four years visiting a grave that contained nobody. I'm done hiding from people who think they can decide what I deserve to know.””
Danny stared at him.
Then he nodded.
“Okay. But stay behind us.””
Outside, a dark gray sedan was parked across the street.
Its windows were tinted.
Rhett stepped through the garage entrance and walked toward it.
The sedan's engine started.
Rhett broke into a run.
The driver accelerated, narrowly missing a parked pickup before disappearing around the corner.
“Damn it!””
Rhett pulled out his phone.
“Caleb, get the plate.””
Caleb ran outside and pointed his camera toward the disappearing vehicle.
“I got part of it!””
“Send it to me.””
Mason returned from the back of the building.
“Nothing behind us. Whoever it was came from the road.””
Rhett looked toward Danny.
“Does that car look familiar?””
Danny nodded slowly.
“Same model. Same color.””
“Where have you seen it?””
“Outside my house. Twice in the last month.””
Walter looked at him.
“You never told me you were being followed.””
“I didn't know for sure.””
“Danny, you have a wife and children. Why didn't you go to the police?””
Danny laughed bitterly.
“I did. Three weeks ago.””
Rhett frowned.
“What happened?””
“I filed a report about someone leaving photographs of my family outside the garage. The officer told me it was probably a prank.””
“Which officer?””
Danny hesitated.
“Officer Grant.””
Rhett exchanged a look with Caleb.
Caleb immediately searched something on his phone.
A moment later, he turned the screen toward them.
“Richard Miller.””
Danny went pale.
“What?””
Caleb pointed to the article.
“Officer Grant's full name is Richard Miller. He's a detective with the Millstone County Sheriff's Department.””
Walter looked from the screen to Danny.
“Eleanor's brother?””
Danny nodded.
“That's him.””
The room became silent.
Rhett slowly put his phone away.
“Now we know why your police report went nowhere.””
An hour later, the Iron Wolves had moved Walter and Danny to a small cabin outside town.
It belonged to one of Rhett's old friends and had no visible connection to the motorcycle club.
Danny called Sarah.
He stood near the kitchen window while the phone rang.
“Come on, sweetheart. Pick up.””
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Danny?””
“Sarah, listen to me. I need you to take Lily and Noah somewhere safe.””
A pause.
“What happened?””
“Someone knows about my past.””
“Danny, what does that mean?””
“Richard Miller is involved. I think he's been watching us.””
Sarah's breathing changed.
“Is this about your mother?””
Danny closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
“Oh, God.””
“Sarah, don't go home yet.””
“Where are you?””
“I'm with my father.””
Silence.
Then Sarah asked, “You found him?””
Danny looked across the room.
Walter was sitting in an armchair, holding the photograph of his grandchildren.
“Yeah,” Danny whispered.
“I found him.””
Sarah began crying.
“Then bring him home.””
Danny looked at Walter.
“I will.””
Before he could say more, Sarah spoke again.
“Danny, there's something I never told you.””
He straightened.
“What?””
“Someone came to the house last Tuesday.””
“Who?””
“A woman. She said she was an old friend of your mother's.””
Danny's grip tightened around the phone.
“What did she want?””
“She asked whether you still kept the old blue box.””
Danny stopped breathing.
“What did you tell her?””
“Nothing. But Danny…”
Sarah's voice broke.
“She knew Lily's school. She knew Noah's work schedule. She knew everything.””
Danny looked toward Rhett.
The biker was already standing.
“What did the woman look like?”” Danny asked.
“Older. Blonde hair. A pearl necklace. She had a scar beside her right eyebrow.””
Danny closed his eyes.
He knew that woman.
He had seen her standing beside Eleanor at the hospital twenty-four years ago.
And he had believed she was a nurse.
“Sarah, listen carefully. Don't open the door for anyone.””
“Danny, who is she?””
He swallowed.
“Her name is Margaret Collins.””
Walter looked up.
The name meant nothing to him.
But Rhett suddenly turned toward the kitchen.
“Margaret Collins?””
Danny nodded.
Rhett's face hardened.
“That's the waitress from Bellwood.””
Walter stood.
“Maggie?””
Danny looked at him.
“Your waitress?””
Walter slowly nodded.
“She brings me breakfast every Sunday.””
Danny's expression changed.
“Dad, how long have you known her?””
“Eleven years.””
Rhett looked at Caleb.
“Find out everything about her.””
Then Danny said something that made the room go cold.
“She's not an old friend of my mother's.””
May you like
He looked at Walter.
“She's the woman who helped carry me out of the hospital.””
