Chapter 6 - jack's bandaged knee)
Jack had not seen everything.
That was what had saved him.
It was also what Rick could not be certain about.
Tuesday night, after Maya ran toward her house, Jack ran behind the garage.
Rick chased him.
Jack slipped on wet concrete and struck his knee against the corner of a metal step.
Pain exploded up his leg.
Before he could stand, Rick grabbed him by the shirt.
"What did you see?"
Jack cried out.
"Nothing."
"What did she record?"
"I don't know."
Rick dragged him closer to the garage wall.
"Where's her phone?"
"I don't know."
Jack tried to pull away.
Rick's grip tightened.
Then headlights moved along the street.
Rick released him.
"Get inside."
Jack limped toward the house.
He was halfway to the patio when Maya appeared behind the hedge.
She had not made it home.
She had doubled back.
She whispered, "Jack."
Rick heard her.
Jack turned.
Maya ran.
Rick caught her near the garage.
Jack did not see exactly what happened.
He heard Maya scream.
Then a hand covered his eyes.
Rick's.
"You did not see that."
Jack struggled.
"Let her go!"
Rick pulled him around the side of the garage.
There was blood on Jack's knee now, running beneath his shorts.
Rick did not care.
He opened the side door.
For one second, before Rick shoved Jack away from the entrance, Jack saw the workshop.
A workbench.
A rolled rug on the floor.
A man's shoe protruding from one end.
And beneath the workbench, a black metal box.
The lid was partly open.
Inside were stacks of money.
Documents.
A handgun.
And something Jack recognized from the mantel in their living room.
His father's old silver wristwatch.
Daniel Bennett's watch.
The watch Laura believed had been lost in the accident that killed him eight years earlier.
Jack had stared at it in family photographs a hundred times.
Same cracked leather band.
Same engraving on the back.
D.B.
Rick slammed the door.
Then everything moved quickly.
He forced Maya inside.
He took Jack's phone.
He wrapped Jack's knee.
He told Laura that Jack had fallen while trying an old bicycle Rick kept behind the shed.
Later, when Catherine came searching for Maya, Rick behaved like everyone else.
Concerned.
Helpful.
Ordinary.
But after midnight he took Jack downstairs.
"You saw the box."
Jack denied it.
Rick smiled.
"You saw something."
"No."
"Good."
Rick crouched so their faces were level.
"Because what's inside that garage could ruin your mother's life."
Jack said nothing.
"Your mother thinks your father died in an accident."
Jack's stomach tightened.
Rick continued.
"If you start asking questions, she'll learn things she doesn't want to know."
"What things?"
"Things about your father."
Rick stood.
"And if you ever tell Tyler, I'll make sure he gets dragged into it too."
That was the part Jack had not told Maya.
Or Tyler.
Until now.
Tyler sat completely still as Jack finished.
"My dad's watch?"
Jack nodded.
"You are sure?"
"I saw the initials."
"Could be another watch."
"It's Dad's."
Tyler stood and walked to the window.
His father.
Daniel Bennett.
Dead eight years.
Rick had not known Laura then.
At least, that was the story.
Laura met Rick five years after Daniel's accident.
Or claimed she had.
Tyler turned.
"Did you tell Mom?"
Jack shook his head.
"Rick said it would destroy her."
"Rick lies."
"I know."
"Then why believe him?"
Jack's voice broke.
"Because Dad's watch is in his garage."
Tyler had no answer.
He remembered the funeral.
His mother crying.
The closed casket.
The police officer explaining that Daniel's car had gone off a rural road during heavy rain.
Tyler remembered adults saying it was instant.
He remembered his father's belongings arriving in a cardboard box.
Wallet.
Wedding ring.
Keys.
A broken phone.
No watch.
Laura had asked about it.
The officer said it probably came off during the crash.
Now, eight years later, it was apparently sitting beneath Rick's workbench.
Tyler pulled out Maya's phone.
"We need police."
"Not Gary."
"We go somewhere else."
"Where?"
"State police."
Jack looked uncertain.
"What if Rick moves Maya before they believe us?"
"We show them the video."
"It doesn't show her."
"No, but it shows him dragging a person."
Jack rubbed his face.
"What if he says it was equipment?"
"Then we tell them we heard Maya."
"They'll search?"
"They have to."
Tyler hoped that was true.
He did not tell Jack he was uncertain.
That afternoon Tyler drove twenty miles to a state police barracks.
He parked.
Jack stayed in the passenger seat.
"You coming?"
Jack stared at the building.
"I can't."
"Okay."
Tyler entered alone.
A receptionist directed him to an officer.
Tyler explained as much as he could without mentioning Daniel's watch.
The officer listened.
Then asked to see Maya's phone.
Tyler showed the video.
The officer replayed it.
"You're sure this was recorded Tuesday?"
"Check the metadata."
The officer did.
His expression became more serious.
"You said you've heard Maya inside the garage?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Today."
"Did you see her?"
"No."
"And your brother?"
"He heard her before."
The officer asked for Tyler's address.
Tyler gave it.
Then the officer stepped into another room.
He returned ten minutes later.
"We're contacting the local department."
Tyler immediately stood.
"No."
The officer frowned.
"Why?"
"Rick's brother works with them."
"Who?"
"Gary Mallory."
The officer wrote the name.
"Do you have evidence that he is involved?"
"No."
"Then we can't assume he is."
Tyler felt frustration rise.
"I'm telling you Maya said not to trust him."
The officer paused.
"She said that directly?"
"Yes."
That changed something.
The officer made another call.
Tyler waited.
Twenty minutes.
Thirty.
Then his phone vibrated.
Jack.
GET OUT.
Tyler stood.
Another message.
RICK CALLED ME.
Another.
HE SAID HE KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE.
Tyler looked toward the glass front entrance.
Across the parking lot, a dark pickup truck had just turned in.
Rick's truck.
Tyler stared.
Rick parked.
The driver's door opened.
Tyler looked toward the officer.
"That's him."
The officer turned.
But Rick did not approach the building.
He stood beside his truck and raised his phone.
Tyler's phone rang.
RICK.
Tyler answered.
"What?"
Rick's voice was calm.
"Bring my property home."
"Maya's phone isn't yours."
"I wasn't talking about the phone."
Tyler's stomach dropped.
Rick continued.
"I was talking about Jack."
May you like
Tyler turned toward the parking lot.
Jack was no longer in Tyler's car.
