Page 28 of Bullet

“I thought he was going to take my patch,” Crush says.

“You’re lucky he didn’t,” I mutter.

“I know,” he replies, resigned to the fact that he screwed up huge.

Thunder calls Vance, and after much persuasion, Vance agrees to let us come to the shop to speak with him. He tells us that he isn’t going to be alone and that he’s not going to suffer the same fate as his father. Thunder assures him that we have no intention of harming anyone and just want to discuss the information surrounding his father’s death.

As we enter the shop, I’m beginning to think we made a mistake. A least ten of Vance’s friends are waiting inside along with Vance. Thunder remains cool as a cucumber.

“Well, I can see that there are more people with trust issues,” he murmurs under his breath to me. If the situation weren’t so serious, I’d laugh. He directs his gaze to Vance. “Option one, your guys try to beat the shit out of us, and I do mean try because even ten to two, we’ll beat your asses. Or, option two, you hear us out, and we find out who really killed your father and why. Just so you’re aware, the Pride is just an added bonus. We’re an easy bunch to blame. Whoever did murder your father figured they’d blame it on the local MC, and we’re it.”

“Or you killed my father and want me to think otherwise,” Vance blurts out.

“If that were true, I wouldn’t be here right now. If the Pride had a beef with your family, you would have known about it way before now,” Thunder answers.

“All right, then. Where do we start?”

“We need to see your father’s office. We think there’s evidence in there the police didn’t get and that’s going to lead to a whole hell of a lot of answers for both of us,” Thunder tells him, completely ignoring the rest of his crew.

“Cops had an entire team out here and found nothing. What the hell do you hope to find?” Vance retorts.

“They weren’t looking in the right place,” Thunder replies. Vance is confused, and so he should be. He doesn’t have the information we have. “Show him the picture,” Thunder tells me.

I raise my hand to my jacket pocket, and his men leap forward. “Whoa! Just taking out the photo. See?” I use two fingers to grab the edge of the paper to take it out. I unfold the photo and hand it to Vance.

“What the hell am I looking at?” Vance asks.

“Someone scrubbed the video. Our tech guy was able to piece together a few images. This is one of them. The time stamp is the same night, just before your father’s death. Look at that closet, next to him. Door is slightly open, and there’s a hand. Someone saw the killer. We think that’s why Violet’s on the run,” I explain to Vance.

Vance squints, zeroing in on the area I circled for him. “Why would she be in the closet? This doesn’t make sense.” I can see his mind is whirling, trying to put it all together.

“Look, man, I want to prove once and for all that Satan’s Pride is not responsible for your father’s death. Our man Demon is the guy we want to take a look in that closet. If there’s a clue, he’ll find it. As a show of good faith, we’ll share everything we have. The only thing we ask is that the Pride’s name is cleared,” Thunder says. “What do you say?”

Vance looks around at his crew. The man next to him leans into him and whispers something. Then a little louder, he says, “Tell them. We’re working blind, Vance.”

Vance lowers his head, looking down and contemplating his options. He turns from Thunder to me, then mutters, “We’re getting weird calls. They hang up, but it’s like they’re waiting for someone else to pick up. First at the shop, then it started at my house. It was weird. I didn’t think too much of it. Then yesterday, a woman called the shop and said she was Violet’s aunt, and she was worried because she hadn’t heard from her in over a week.” He pauses. “Violet never spoke about her past, but there’s one thing I know for sure, the only living relative she had was her aunt, and she hated that woman. She’s the reason Violet took off right after graduating from high school. Violet would never be calling her regularly.”

“Did you get a name?” I ask.

“Nah.” He shakes his head. “I told her that she found another job and took off. She hung up immediately after. Thing is, it feels like we’re being watched. Not just me, but some of the guys.”

“Let us help. When this is over, you go your way, we’ll go ours,” I tell him.

“Yeah.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“I’m calling Demon. He’s waiting at the edge of the drive. Let him go in alone. The fewer people around, the easier it is for him to work,” Thunder says.

I mutter quietly for Thunder’s ears only, “We’re making progress.” He allows a grin to show on his face and turns to see Demon’s ride coming up to meet us.

Fifteen

Hiding in the Library

Amelia

It’s been a busy day, but nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of kids with skinned knees at the playground from not paying attention to their surroundings. Nothing that a couple of bandages and a hug doesn’t fix. The administrative paperwork is endless, and the report to the school trustees is due, which is just about finished. I’ll finish it tomorrow and have it out to them before the next meeting.

I glance up at the clock and see that the final bell is going to ring soon. I like to be out in the halls or the parking lot to make sure the kids file out in an orderly fashion and prevent accidents. As I’m coming out of my office, I see two large men speaking to Kate, our school secretary.