Hammer agreed with that final point.
But he would no longer confuse fairness with silence.
The members voted to authorize an independent financial audit, suspend Rook's access to the relevant accounts, and cooperate with lawful requests for records.
Then Hammer announced something that surprised even Brick.
“I'll be stepping aside as president while my decisions are reviewed.”
The room erupted.
Men protested.
One younger biker stood.
“That's not necessary!”
Hammer raised a hand.
“It is.”
He looked around the room.
“I signed the checks. I ignored the warnings. I let personal loyalty become an excuse for avoiding my responsibility.”
For a moment, his voice broke.
“I don't get to decide my own conduct deserves forgiveness just because I finally admitted it.”
Brick looked toward him.
His expression softened.
Rook stared from the far end of the table.
Then he laughed bitterly.
“Look at you. Throwing away everything we built over a bunch of paperwork.”
Hammer looked toward him.
“No, Ray.”
He swallowed.
“I'm trying to find out whether we built anything worth saving.”
The following morning, Mara Bennett refused to let Hammer into Lucy's hospital room.
He hadn't come expecting otherwise.
He stood in the corridor holding a small paper bag containing the cranes Lucy had left behind in the courtyard. The little birds had been placed carefully in a shallow cardboard box so they wouldn't be crushed.
Mara emerged from the family consultation room.
Her face was exhausted.
When she saw Hammer, she stopped.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then she looked toward the bag.
“What do you want?”
He swallowed.
“She left these.”
Mara glanced inside.
Yellow.
Blue.
Green.
A small uneven crane Hammer had made with hands that seemed designed for engines rather than paper.
Her expression softened briefly.
Then the anger returned.
“You knew him.”
Hammer nodded.
“Yes.”
“You knew Rook before my sister got hurt?”
“Yes.”
Mara stared.
“And after she was hurt?”
Hammer looked down.
“I knew there were questions about the fund. I suspected he might be involved. I didn't know he was the man in the garage.”
Mara's eyes filled.
“You suspected.”
Hammer nodded.
“I should've told the detective everything.”
Her voice shook.
“My sister has been learning how to speak again.”
He said nothing.
“Lucy wakes up screaming because she thinks the man with the bird is coming back.”
Hammer closed his eyes.
Mara continued.