Chapter 2: The Dead Man's Patch
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Rain hammered against the pawn shop windows.
Wolf stared at Curtis.
“You were driving?””
Curtis lifted both hands.
“It was an accident.””
Ava's eyes never left him.
“That's what you told everyone.””
Something about the way she said it made Wolf's skin crawl.
Not what happened.
What you told everyone.
Wolf turned toward her.
“What do you mean?””
Curtis answered first.
“She means nothing. She's a grieving kid who has spent a year blaming everyone for everything.””
“A year?””
Wolf looked at Ava.
“When did Mike die?””
“Eleven months ago.””
“And your mom disappeared six months ago?””
Ava nodded.
Curtis scoffed.
“See? She's mixing things together.””
Wolf didn't see that at all.
He saw a father dead.
A mother missing.
A nine-year-old boy unaccounted for.
An uncle selling the dead father's possessions.
And one terrified fourteen-year-old protecting an old motorcycle jacket as if her life depended on it.
Wolf looked at Ray.
“Call the police.””
Curtis's head snapped around.
“No.””
That reaction was too fast.
Too frightened.
Wolf noticed.
“So now you care?””
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain.””
Curtis wiped his mouth.
“Mike had debts.””
Ava frowned.
“No, he didn't.””
“You were thirteen.””
“I lived with him!””
“You didn't know everything.””
Curtis pointed toward the jacket.
“That motorcycle wasn't some precious family heirloom. It was sitting around losing value. Same with the tools. Same with the truck.””
Ava's eyes burned.
“They weren't yours.””
“I was appointed guardian!””
“That doesn't make Dad's things yours!””
Curtis turned toward Wolf.
“You've got kids?””
Wolf's expression didn't change.
Curtis continued.
“Then you know raising them costs money.””
Wolf looked at Ava's worn sneakers.
Then at Curtis's expensive watch.
“Interesting argument.””
Curtis instinctively covered the watch with his sleeve.
Ray noticed.
“So is that Mike's too?””
Curtis's face reddened.
“No.””
Ava stared at it.
Wolf saw recognition cross her face.
“Kid?””
Ava's voice became faint.
“That was Dad's.””
Curtis immediately pulled his sleeve lower.
Ava stepped forward.
“You said you sold it.””
“I did.””
“Then why are you wearing it?””
Curtis said nothing.
Ava looked devastated.
“You lied.””
Curtis exploded.
“I HAVE KEPT A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD!””
Ava flinched.
Wolf stepped forward.
Curtis lowered his voice.
“I've fed you. I've dealt with schools, social workers, bills—everything your mother abandoned.””
“Where is she?”” Ava asked.
Curtis blinked.
“My mom,” she repeated.
“Where is she?””
“I don't know.””
“You always say that.””
“Because it's true.””
“Then why did she leave her purse?””
Curtis froze.
Wolf caught it.
“What purse?””
Ava's voice shook.
“The police said Mom probably left voluntarily.””
She looked toward Wolf.
“But she left her purse at home. Her medication. Half her clothes.””
Curtis rubbed his forehead.
“She wasn't thinking clearly.””
“And she left Noah?””
Curtis's expression tightened.
Ava shook her head.
“My mom would never leave Noah.””
Wolf looked toward Ray.
Ray was already speaking quietly into his phone near the entrance.
Curtis saw him.
“You people have no right to hold me here.””
“Nobody's holding you,” Wolf said.
Curtis stepped toward the door.
Marcus moved aside.
Curtis seemed surprised.
Wolf nodded.
“Go ahead.””
Curtis reached for the handle.
Then stopped.
Because Ava wasn't following him.
He turned.
“Come on.””
“No.””
“You're a minor.””
Ava gripped the jacket.
“No.””
“You are coming with me.””
Curtis walked toward her.
Wolf stepped between them again.
“Police are coming.””
Curtis stared at him.
“You really want to destroy what's left of this family?””
Wolf's voice stayed quiet.
“Looks like somebody already started.””
Curtis's face twitched.
That was when Ava suddenly felt something beneath her fingers.
She looked down.
The inside lining of the jacket had folded near the waist.
There was a seam.
A strange seam.
A memory surfaced.
Her father sitting in the garage.
Ava had been maybe ten.
Mike had been repairing the lining while she watched.
She remembered laughing because he had stabbed his thumb with the needle.
Then he'd shown her something.
A hidden pocket.
“Every good riding jacket needs somewhere for the things you can't afford to lose.””
At the time, she'd assumed he meant cash.
Now her heart began pounding.
Wolf noticed.
“What?””
Ava didn't answer.
She turned the jacket inside out.
Curtis's eyes widened.
“Ava.””
She ran her fingers along the lining.
There.
A nearly invisible zipper.
Curtis moved.
Fast.
“Give me that!””
Ava screamed.
Wolf intercepted him.
Curtis tried to push past.
Deacon and Ray grabbed his arms.
“LET GO!””
Ava backed against the counter.
Her fingers found the zipper.
She opened it.
Inside were two things.
A small brass key.
And a folded piece of paper.
Curtis went wild.
“GIVE ME THAT!””
That was all Wolf needed to see.
“Hold him.””
Curtis struggled.
“That's mine!””
Ava stared at him.
“No.””
Wolf took the folded paper carefully.
“Can I?””
Ava nodded.
He unfolded it.
The paper contained an address.
A storage facility on the south side of Louisville.
Unit 317.
Beneath it was one handwritten sentence.
Wolf recognized the handwriting.
Even after fifteen years.
Mike Bennett had once written emergency contact information on a napkin and shoved it into Wolf's saddlebag before a cross-country ride.
Same sharp M.
Same crooked T.
Wolf read aloud:
“If anything happens to me, Curtis knows why.””
Nobody moved.
Curtis stopped struggling.
Wolf looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
Curtis's face had turned gray.
“Mike was paranoid.””
Ava whispered:
“My dad wasn't paranoid.””
“He thought everyone was after him.””
“No, he didn't.””
“He was having problems.””
Wolf stepped closer.
“I knew Mike.””
“Fifteen years ago.””
“Long enough to know he didn't scare easy.””
Curtis laughed nervously.
“You bikers think you knew him because you drank beer and rode motorcycles together?””
Wolf's eyes hardened.
“I knew him well enough that when he wrote something like this, he had a reason.””
Curtis looked toward the door.
Sirens could now be heard faintly beyond the rain.
He became desperate.
“You don't understand what you're getting into.””
Wolf held up the brass key.
“Then help me understand.””
Curtis remained silent.
Wolf looked toward Ava.
“Do you know what's inside the unit?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
A voice came from behind them.
“I do.””
Everyone turned.
Ben, the pawn shop employee, stood behind the counter.
He looked pale.
Curtis stared at him.
“No, you don't.””
Ben crouched.
He opened a drawer.
“I didn't know what it meant before.””
He pulled out a receipt.
“But three days ago, Curtis came here asking whether we'd buy everything from a storage unit as one lot.””
Ava looked at Curtis.
“You found it?””
Curtis said nothing.
Ben placed the receipt on the counter.
“I told him we'd need an inventory.””
Wolf unfolded it.
The list wasn't long.
Two lockboxes.
Old family documents.
Cash—amount unspecified.
A cellphone.
Several boxes of personal belongings.
Wolf continued reading.
Then stopped.
Last item.
Child's backpack—blue.
Ava made a tiny sound.
Wolf looked up.
“What?””
Her face had drained of color.
“Noah.””
“What about him?””
“His backpack.””
Ava's voice broke.
“It's blue.””
Curtis closed his eyes.
Ava stared at him.
“No.””
She moved toward him.
“No, no, no.””
Curtis opened his eyes.
“Ava—”
“WHERE IS HE?””
She lunged.
Wolf caught her gently around the shoulders.
“Tell me where he is!””
Curtis looked away.
Ava sobbed.
“You said he was with friends!””
“He is.””
“WHICH FRIEND?””
Curtis didn't answer.
“Which friend, Curtis?””
Nothing.
Wolf's voice became dangerously calm.
“Where is the boy?””
Curtis swallowed.
“I don't know.””
Wolf held up the receipt.
“You were at that storage facility three days ago.””
“I didn't see him.””
“Then why is his backpack listed?””
Curtis shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Ava's knees nearly gave out.
Wolf steadied her.
Outside, red and blue lights appeared through the rain.
Two police cruisers pulled into the parking lot.
Curtis looked toward them.
For the first time, Wolf saw genuine terror on his face.
Not anger.
Not embarrassment.
Terror.
Ava saw it too.
And suddenly she understood something that frightened her more than anything Curtis had said.
He wasn't afraid of being accused of selling the jacket.
He was afraid of someone finding that storage unit.
Two officers entered.
“Everybody stay where you are.””
Wolf raised his hands slightly.
Curtis immediately started talking.
“These men attacked me.””
Ava screamed:
“He's lying!””
The officers separated everyone.
Questions came quickly.
Names.
Relationships.
Who hit whom.
Why they were there.
Then Wolf handed over Mike's note.
The atmosphere changed.
One officer read it twice.
Then examined the storage receipt.
“Mr. Hale,” he said to Curtis, “when did you last see Noah Bennett?””
Curtis swallowed.
“Friday.””
It was Monday.
“Where?””
“At home.””
Ava shook her head.
“No.””
The officer looked at her.
“When did you last see him?””
“Thursday night.””
Curtis stared at her.
Ava continued.
“He was gone Friday morning.””
The officer turned toward Curtis.
“You said you saw him Friday.””
Curtis's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then—
A ringtone shattered the silence.
Everyone looked around.
Curtis's phone was ringing.
He stared at his pocket.
Didn't move.
The officer said:
“Answer it.””
Curtis shook his head.
“Probably spam.””
The phone continued ringing.
Ava looked at the screen through the fabric opening of his jacket pocket.
She gasped.
“Noah.””
Curtis reached for the phone.
Wolf was faster.
He pulled it free and looked at the screen.
NOAH.
Ava covered her mouth.
“Answer it!””
Wolf looked at the officer.
The officer nodded.
Wolf accepted the call.
Speaker.
“Hello?””
Static.
Then breathing.
A child's breathing.
“Ava?””
Ava rushed forward.
“Noah!””
The voice on the other end trembled.
“Ava?””
“I'm here!””
“I found Mom.””
Every person in the pawn shop froze.
Ava's face crumpled.
“What?””
Wolf leaned toward the phone.
“Son, this is Wolf. I'm a friend of your dad's. Where are you?””
Silence.
May you like
Then Noah whispered:
“Inside Dad's storage unit.””
