Chapter 2: The Man Who Called Rick Brother
Sarah locked the second glass door.
The deadbolt clicked into place.
Outside, the man in the dark jacket watched her with an almost friendly expression, as if she had made a minor mistake he intended to forgive.
Inside, Maya was shaking so badly that Sarah could feel it through the sleeve of her uniform.
“Stay behind me,” Sarah signed.
Maya nodded.
Rick hurried toward the entrance.
“Sarah, unlock the door.””
She turned to him.
“Are you out of your mind?””
“That's Damon Price.””
“Congratulations. You know his name.””
Rick lowered his voice.
“You don't understand who you're dealing with.””
Sarah looked through the glass again.
Damon Price was standing beneath the neon sign, his face fully illuminated. He had one hand in his pocket and the other resting against the door handle.
He pulled it once.
The locked door rattled.
Then he looked at Rick.
“Come on, brother. We've done this before.””
Rick glanced toward the two remaining customers at the far end of the diner.
An elderly couple sat frozen in their booth, a half-eaten slice of apple pie between them.
“Everybody needs to go to the back,” Rick announced.
“Kitchen. Now.””
The elderly man stood.
“What's happening?””
“Private matter.””
Sarah stepped between them.
“No. Stay where you are, and don't approach the doors.””
Rick rounded on her.
“I'm trying to keep people safe!””
“Then stop helping the man who's frightening a child.””
Outside, Damon laughed.
Even through the glass, Sarah could see how little the situation seemed to trouble him.
He took out his phone, glanced at the screen, and held it up toward the window.
Rick's pocket vibrated.
Rick froze.
Sarah noticed that, too.
Damon lowered his phone and mouthed two words.
Check it.
Rick pulled out his own phone.
He looked at the screen.
Whatever he saw made his mouth open slightly.
Then he shoved the phone back into his pocket.
Maya tugged Sarah's sleeve.
Her hands moved carefully now, each sign distinct.
Sarah watched her face as she interpreted.
“Damon came to our house,” Sarah said aloud, following Maya's signs.
“He was angry with your mother?””
Maya nodded.
“Did he hurt her?””
Maya looked toward the blue sedan.
Her lower lip trembled.
Then she signed again.
Mommy said run. Find help. Don't let him take me.
Sarah felt cold spread through her chest.
She knelt again.
“Did Damon hurt your mother tonight?””
Maya nodded.
Then she pointed at Rick.
Sarah looked up.
Rick had turned away from them, pretending to rearrange the napkin dispensers on the counter.
Sarah followed Maya's gaze.
“What about Mr. Rick?””
Maya's hands moved in a short, unmistakable sequence.
He knows Damon.
Then another sign.
He helped.
Sarah stood slowly.
“Rick.””
He kept rearranging the dispensers.
“Rick, look at me.””
“What?””
“She says Damon hurt her mother, and you helped him.””
The napkin dispenser slipped from Rick's hand and struck the counter.
“She's a kid!”” he snapped.
“You can't believe everything a scared child tells you.””
Maya recoiled.
Sarah immediately moved between them.
“Don't raise your voice at her.””
“I'm not raising my voice!””
“You just shouted at a ten-year-old.””
Rick rubbed both hands over his face.
“Sarah, listen to me. You have no idea what kind of trouble you're bringing into this building.””
“Then explain it.””
“I can't.””
“Can't, or won't?””
Rick's eyes flicked toward the front door.
Damon had stopped smiling.
He was now speaking into his phone, his face turned slightly away from the glass. His lips moved quickly. He pointed once toward the blue sedan, then toward the diner.
A second later, he ended the call.
He knocked on the glass with two knuckles.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Rick flinched at every knock.
Damon leaned closer.
“Rick,” he called through the door.
“You remember what we agreed?””
Rick didn't respond.
Damon's smile returned.
“Your daughter still goes to that school on Jefferson, right?””
The diner seemed to go silent.
Sarah stared at Rick.
His hands began to shake.
“Leave my family out of this,” Rick whispered.
Damon spread his arms, an innocent expression settling across his face.
“I'm just making conversation.””
Sarah's stomach twisted.
This wasn't simply a man trying to retrieve a child.
He was threatening the manager's family in broad daylight-bright neon lighting, in front of witnesses, because he expected everyone to understand that he could do whatever he wanted.
And Rick did understand.
He had probably understood for a long time.
Maya pulled Sarah down to her level again.
Her fingers moved.
He gave Rick money.
Sarah stared at her.
Maya repeated the sign, then pointed at Rick's pocket.
Money. Rick. Damon.
Sarah remembered the way Rick had reacted to his phone.
The vibration.
The sudden fear.
The way he'd begged her not to call the police.
She looked toward the counter, where Rick had left his phone beside the register.
“Rick,” she said quietly, “did Damon pay you to help him take this child?””
Rick's eyes filled with tears, but his expression hardened.
“You should mind your business.””
Sarah stepped back as if he'd struck her.
Outside, Damon finally lost his patience.
He seized the door handle with both hands and yanked hard enough to make the glass shudder in its frame.
“Open the damn door!””
The elderly couple cried out.
Sarah grabbed Maya's hand.
Rick moved toward the register.
“Don't touch that phone,” Sarah warned.
He stopped.
For a second, the three of them stood motionless beneath the fluorescent lights.
Then Sarah's phone buzzed.
The dispatcher was back on the line.
“Ma'am, officers are approaching your location. Can you tell me whether the suspect has any weapons?””
Sarah looked at Damon.
He reached into his jacket.
Maya screamed silently, both hands flying up in a desperate warning.
Sarah's heart hammered.
Damon pulled out a set of keys.
He held them up, smiled at Rick, and pointed toward the blue sedan.
Then he mouthed something Sarah couldn't hear.
Rick understood.
He looked toward the kitchen exit.
May you like
And Sarah realized that the man outside wasn't trying to break into the diner anymore.
He was waiting for Rick to let him in.
