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Mario stood. “We’re all going to lunch. You want to join us?”
Dalton shook his head. “We’ll be over in a bit.” He turned to his drivers. “Tatum, Hans, how was the morning session?”
“Lots to learn,” Tatum said, “but it was fun.”
“I’m rusty,” Hans added, “but Tatum is right. It’s fun.” The two men grinned like kids on Christmas morning.
Rory said, “We were just discussing going out in the rain this afternoon. The guys were wondering if it’s a good idea.”
Dalton pulled out the last empty chair at the far end of the table. “Going out in the rain today may not help necessarily with the race on Sunday since it looks like there’s only a twenty percent chance of rain for race day, but it’s always good to get some rain driving in.
“To be honest, if we were in the last part of the season, I would tell you not to bother, but guys, we’re on day two of the runup to the first race. Time in the car won’t hurt. Just take it easy.” He pointed to Timo and Rory. “They will do some lead and follow with you so you can get a feel for driving in the rain and get some pointers as it’s happening. Timo, Rory,” Dalton directed his gaze at them. “If it really starts to come down, bring them in.”
Both coaches nodded, and all four men headed out of the trailer, followed by Mario and the rest of the engineers.
Jordana came into the trailer. “Greer! It’s so good to see you!” The two women hugged.
Dalton let out a sigh. He’d forgotten Greer had been friendly with Jordana when they’d been dating. Jordana was about five years younger than Greer and had looked up to the woman. She’d been crushed when Greer had walked away so abruptly. Almost as much as he had.
“How’s your father? I heard he’s doing charity events now and again. He’s had a hell of a career,” Jordana said. A look of annoyance quickly flitted across Greer’s face but she smoothed out her features. Greer might be a lot of things but she wouldn’t be mean to Jordana. It just wasn’t her style even if she didn’t seem to want to talk about her father.
“Yes,” Greer agreed, but Dalton was pretty sure she was speaking through clenched teeth. There was something there that she wasn’t saying. Greer had a rough relationship with her father like he’d had with his, but there was something else going on. He pushed the unwelcome concern away. None of his business anymore. He couldn’t allow himself to think about it. Greer had always been able to get under his skin. If he didn’t keep her at a distance, he’d be screwed.
Gus walked into the trailer. “Greer, good to see you back at the track.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. She nodded at him but a hardness in her expression made the greeting seem cool. She’d always liked Gus, so the coldness was out of place.
“It’s nice to be here,” she commented.
Dalton made a mental note. Jordana and Gus had both mentioned her father, which had instantly iced her eyes. The old man must have done something major. Gus might know. Stop. Just stop. Not his business. God, he needed her to leave before he got sucked back without knowing what hit him.
“Dalton,” Gus said, “have you got a minute?”
“Sure.” He followed Gus through the rear exit of the trailer. “What’s up?”
“Greer getting back into racing?”
Dalton took a deep breath. “She is here as an insurance investigator. I have no idea if she’s getting back into racing.” Dalton did his best to keep his composure in front of the other man, but he wanted to shake his mechanic until the man’s teeth rattled. He did not want to have this conversation right now, or anytime really. “Was there something else you needed?” he asked. Now he was the one talking through clenched teeth. He tried to loosen his jaw.
“Yeah. I’m missing some tools.”
“What?”
“I know it sounds stupid, but I’m missing my favorite screwdriver. It’s not anywhere in the garage.”
Dalton just stared at the man. His whole world was falling apart, and Gus was worried about a screwdriver.
“Look, I know it sounds crazy, and it shouldn’t matter or anything, but you know I look after my tools. I’m superstitious about them. My screwdriver has gone missing. It’s a really bad sign.”
Dalton rubbed his face. He couldn’t take much more. “Okay, Gus. I’ll keep an eye out for it. Ask the guys in the garage if they’ve seen it, and I guess borrow another mechanic’s screwdriver if you need one.”
He turned and went back up the steps into the trailer. Jordana and Greer were gathered around Mario’s laptop, watching a video. It was the one from Moore’s car, and it ended when he rolled over.
“I’d like to see the one from your car,” Greer said, meeting Dalton’s gaze.
“Fine,” he said and gave a brief nod to Jordana, who loaded the next video.
His shoulders tightened but didn’t keep his stomach from hitting the floor. Greer was smart, one of the things that had drawn him to her. There was no way a seasoned driver like her would miss the oscillation on the wing. Holding his breath, he waited and watched the screen. Moore’s car sped around the last turn and accelerated down the straight and then he went up the incline and hit the turn totally out of control. Dalton watched the whole thing play out again with growing nausea. The likelihood of Hughes Racing surviving this was just about nil, but mostly his sick feeling was because a man was dying in front of them. He felt just as helpless now as he had when it happened.
The video stopped. No one said a word. Dalton risked a glance at Greer, but her face was blank. She seemed to be steeling herself for something. His knees went weak, and he reached out for the back of the chair in front of him.
