Several started descending.
The deputy raised one hand.
“Slow down. Emergency crews are working.”
A tall broad man near the front stopped.
“What happened?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Who is it?”
The deputy described the motorcycle.
The biker leader’s face changed.
He pushed past.
The deputy stepped in front of him.
“Sir.”
“That’s one of ours.”
“I understand. Walk.”
The man obeyed.
Barely.
Four riders followed.
The rest gathered near the guardrail.
The first biker reached the injured man.
His face went pale.
“Brother.”
The injured rider’s eyes remained closed.
Adeline looked up at the newcomer.
Then said his name.
Not “sir.”
Not “mister.”
His first name.
The man stopped.
Kendra’s head snapped toward her daughter.
The biker stared at the little girl.
“What?”
Adeline pointed toward another rider coming down the hill.
She said his name too.
The second man stopped so abruptly the rider behind nearly collided with him.
Adeline looked toward a third.
Another name.
Then a fourth.
Kendra felt the hair on her arms rise.
“Adeline.”
The girl continued looking from one rider to another.
Her expression held no pride.
No sense that she had done anything unusual.
The bikers did not react that way.
“How does she know my name?”
One asked.
Kendra shook her head quickly.
“She doesn’t.”
Adeline looked confused.
“Yes, I do.”
“How?”
The girl pointed vaguely toward the trees.
“She told me.”
Silence.
The tall biker leader stared.
“Who told you?”
Adeline looked at him.
Something softened in her face.
“The lady with the blue scarf.”
The leader’s entire expression changed.
He removed his sunglasses.
“What did you say?”
Adeline touched the biker’s shoulder again.
“She says you need to stop blaming yourself.”
The leader went white.
One of the other riders whispered:
“No.”
Adeline looked directly at him.
“Claire says you need to stop blaming yourself.”
Nobody moved.
The paramedics seemed unsure whether to continue working or ask what was happening.
The deputy looked from Adeline to the bikers.
Kendra stepped toward her daughter.
“That’s enough.”
But the leader raised a hand.
Not at Kendra.
At everyone.
“Wait.”
His voice trembled.
He crouched in front of Adeline.
“What did you say her name was?”
“Claire.”
The biker swallowed.
“What does Claire look like?”
Kendra interrupted.
“She’s six.”
“I know.”
His eyes never left the girl.
“Please.”
Adeline thought carefully.
“Brown hair.”
The rider beside him looked away.
“Blue scarf.”
The leader’s breathing became audible.
“And she has the little moon here.”
Adeline touched just below her left ear.
The leader sat backward in the grass.
The second rider muttered:
“Jesus Christ.”
Kendra felt suddenly defensive.
“What is happening?”
No one answered.
“What are you people talking about?”
The leader looked at her.
There was fear in his eyes now.