“Nope, it came in last night, and you’re the first person to check on it. Shame about the truck, it’s not an antique, but it’s a classic just the same.”
“Are you sure no one has been in here?”
“Yep, I signed it in myself last night, and I came in first thing this morning. What are you looking for anyway?”
“A book, well a journal really,” Susan placed a hand on her hip and gazed around her. “I know David had it with him when he left my grandmother’s yesterday.”
“You could ask the EMTs,” the mechanic said. “Maybe they picked it up, or maybe it fell out when they were moving your friend.”
“How can I get a hold of them?” Susan turned, her blue eyes inquisitive.
“Let me check the books,” the man disappeared back into the garage returning with a clipboard full of pink and yellow slips. “Here you go,” he said pointing at a sheet. “These are the guys who picked up the driver. They should still be on shift at the fire station if you hurry.”
“Thank you,” Susan grinned, taking note of the names. “I’ll head over to the fire station and see if they are available.”
“Good luck,” the mechanic called after her as she retraced her steps through the police station and back to her car.
“What do you mean you couldn’t find it?” David felt his mouth go dry as chills raced down his spine. “It was in the truck with me.”
“I know,” Susan could see the anxiety on David’s face and her heart clenched at the despair in his eyes. “I looked everywhere. I went over every single inch of that truck, but it wasn’t there.”
“Maybe it fell out when they picked it up. Did you call the tow truck driver? The police who interviewed me last night didn’t mention it.”
“I called everyone.” Susan walked toward the hospital bed where the young man sat, his hands clenched. “I tracked down the EMTs, the tow driver, the police on scene, everyone. One of the officers said he thought he saw something on the floor when they cut you out of the truck, but in all the confusion he doesn’t know what could have happened to it.”
“Did you search the area?” David pushed himself out of his bed bending to grab his mud splattered chino. “We’ll go there now,” he insisted as the room spun.
Susan bolted across the room, grabbing the man by the shoulders and pushing him back onto the bed before he toppled. His arms were tight, roped with hard muscle and warmth radiated from him, washing over her like heat waves dancing on pavement.
“You aren’t up to going anywhere.” Susan’s voice was sharp as she guided him back to his bed.
“You don’t understand,” David hissed through clenched teeth. “Everything I’ve collected over all the years is in that book. Every tiny detail, news clipping, interview: Everything.”
Susan’s heart sank as she listened to the man’s anguished voice. “We’ll find it,” she assured, feeling none of the confidence she tried to force into her tone. “We’ll figure it out.”
David opened his eyes meeting Susan’s blue gaze and the room finally stilled. His head was pounding, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He couldn’t fail now. He had to find the truth. He had promised his grandmother he would uncover the facts.
“Did you talk to all the officers?” David finally managed to squeak.
Susan released the man’s shoulders, pulling her phone from her pocket and tapped the screen to see her notes.
“It wasn’t easy,” she admitted. “Everyone is working and finding them in one place was almost impossible. There were two officers at the accident and then the EMTs arrived and brought you here. The tow driver arrived while both of the policemen were still there, taking reports from any witnesses.”
“There were witnesses?” David sat up again his eyes full of hope.
“Not really,” Susan hated the way the man slumped back into the bed. “They mostly arrived afterward. It was a quiet day and that street isn’t busy at the best of times.”
Silence filled the room as Susan scrolled through the notes she had taken searching for anything that might lift David Watkins from the depths of despair. “What if you tell me everything you remember from the notebook?” She lifted her eyes meeting his dark caramel gaze once more. “Maybe I’ll catch something?”
David sighed, the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders. He had collected every scrap of evidence, rumor, or titter in that journal, surely he could remember most of what it held.
Chapter 5
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25
Susan stood from the uncomfortable chair next to David’s bed, stretching her back. She had been typing notes hunched over her phone for what seemed like hours.
“I’m going to get some coffee,” she smiled. “Want some?”
“Sure,” David’s lunch sat on his table almost untouched. “I hope they let me out of here soon. I’d like to go back to the scene of the accident. I’m sure it was just that, probably a drunk driver who fled, but maybe we’ll see something.”
Susan knew that he was hoping to find his journal somewhere in the area, but something told her it wasn’t there. There was far more to the missing journal if only she could figure it out.
“What if someone really was trying to take you out?” She nibbled her lower lip, not willing to meet the man’s eyes. “What if you are getting to close to the truth?”
“Surely anyone who was involved in my grandfather’s disappearance is long gone,” David insisted. “It was more than fifty years ago.”
“What do you think really happened?” Susan looked up falling into the warm
