Jack looked at her.
Sophie continued.
“He called on my tenth birthday.”
“Said when I turned twelve, I should come here if he wasn't back.”
Jack felt something settle uncomfortably in his chest.
“What exactly did he say?”
Sophie lifted the toolbox.
“Take the blue box.”
“Find where it fits.”
“That’s it?”
“He said I'd know what to do.”
Jack looked toward the condemned building.
“And tomorrow they knock it down.”
“Yes.”
“So today is your birthday?”
Sophie looked at him.
“Yesterday.”
Jack nodded.
“Happy birthday.”
“Thanks.”
A pickup engine sounded behind them.
Both turned.
A white truck slowed at the gate.
Old but polished.
The man driving it looked at Sophie first.
Then Jack.
His face hardened.
He parked sideways across the entrance.
The door opened.
He was in his early fifties.
Thick torso.
Thinning brown hair.
Tan canvas jacket.
Work boots.
Hands that still looked like mechanic’s hands despite clean nails.
Sophie went completely still.
Jack saw it.
“You know him?”
“Yes.”
Her answer barely moved the air.
The man approached.
“Sophie.”
She tightened her grip.
“Mr. Pike.”
Gordon Pike.
Jack knew the name now.
David Carter’s former partner.
Jack had never met him.
But he had heard versions of the story years earlier.
Redline Hollow Garage had been respected.
Then suddenly suppliers stopped extending credit.
A bank note defaulted.
David Carter disappeared north.
Pike opened a repair business in another county six months later.
Rumors did what rumors always did.
They produced certainty without evidence.
Gordon looked toward Jack.
“Who are you?”
“Guy taking a walk.”
Gordon stared at the motorcycle twenty yards behind them.
“On a motorcycle.”
“Long walk.”
Sophie looked toward the gate.
“I need to get inside.”
“No.”
Gordon answered immediately.
The girl's jaw tightened.
“It’s my dad’s shop.”
“It was.”
“County owns the right-of-way now.”
“Demolition crew comes tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“Then you know there's nothing for you here.”
Sophie lifted the toolbox.
“My dad left something.”
Gordon looked at it.
For less than a second.
Too quickly.
Then away.
Jack noticed.
“What did he leave?”
Sophie said, “None of your business.”
Gordon laughed softly.
“You sound exactly like him.”
Jack watched Sophie.
That comparison did not hurt her.
It strengthened her.
Gordon noticed too.
His tone changed.
“Your father lost this place.”
Sophie stared.
“He left unpaid bills everywhere.”
“People lost money because he couldn't admit the business was dead.”
Jack spoke for the first time.
“She didn't ask for a history lesson.”
Gordon turned.
“This is private.”
Jack nodded.
“So is her father.”
“She brought it up.”
“No.”
“You did.”
Silence.
Gordon looked at Sophie.
“Your mother know you're here?”
Sophie did not answer.
“That’s a no.”
Jack’s voice remained calm.
“She's not leaving with you.”
Gordon stared.