Thank God. “Kyle.”
The teen ran out and threw himself into Adam’s arms. He stood there holding the sobbing boy, terrified that he had arrived too late. His stomach lurched violently.
“Adam? What’re you doing here?”
He looked up into the eyes of a very stressed out Lena and Sofia. “I heard from Kenny. How is he? Is it…” Please don’t let me be too late.
“They’ve just taken him down to x-ray. Seems they think he’s broken his arm.” She wiped a hand over her pale face and the tears started. “I don’t know what I’d do if we lost him.”
“Shush, bella. Your papa isn’t going anywhere. He’s too stubborn to die yet.” Sofia looked up at Adam, and gave him a nod.
He let go of Kyle and reached for Lena. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed against his chest. He stroked her hair and used soft soothing words, words he remembered his mother saying when he was tiny. Sofia took a hold of Kyle’s arm and walked him toward the hospital cafeteria talking to him in a quiet voice.
Adam stood holding Lena until her sobs turned into small hiccups with the occasional sniff. He didn’t want to let go of her, but they needed to talk about what had happened and see if there was anything they could do.
Reluctantly, he released her when she tried to move out of his arms. “I’m sorry about that. I’ve made a bloody awful mess of your shirt.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue giving her nose a good blow.
As if I care. “You know I’m here for you anytime. Tell me what happened and how he is.” He slipped his arm over her shoulders and guided her toward the cafeteria. “Kenny told me what he could but I want your version.”
“Seems someone ran him off the road on the way home. Lucky for him he has a sturdy car. It could have been so much worse than it is.”
“Did he say anything about who it was?” Adam paused at the door.
“No. Why would he?” Lena looked up at him, confusion in her eyes.
Careful here. “Nothing. I just wondered if it was anyone he knew being local and all. Were the police involved do you know?” They soon will be. I’ll make sure of it.
She shrugged her shoulders. “No idea. You can ask him when he comes back from x-ray if you like. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to see you.” Lena squeezed his hand. “Thank you for coming, I appreciate it very much, Adam.”
“What are friends for if not at times like this? Let’s go and have a coffee and we can see what the damage is when he gets back.” And let’s hope it’s not too bad.
Chapter 25
“There was someone watching the restaurant yesterday when Kyle got off the bus after school.”
Ben winced and raised a bandaged hand to touch his face. The stitches pulled when he turned his head too fast and Adam felt for him. He’d taken a pretty good beating when the car rolled yesterday and now the aches were setting in. “Did he give the police a good description?”
“Seems a pretty generic sounding car to me so I don’t hold out much hope of finding whoever it was. I’m going to see Simon on Monday since you can’t. It’s time to get the truth about this before someone gets killed, don’t you think?” This is already out of control.
“Yes. Call in whatever favors you might have, Adam, because I have the feeling this is going to get nasty before it gets any better.” Ben reached for a glass of water and Adam stood to hold it to his lips. “Thanks.” He looked at the younger man. “I want you to do something for me.”
“Sure, name it and it’s yours.”
“I want you to stay at the café when Lena is there, especially at night. I’d hate to think of her there on her own.”
“I’d already planned on that before Kyle told me about the man watching her and your accident. Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of them. If I can get away early enough on Monday morning I can be back before it gets dark. Just as well she’s not open every night but I can keep an eye on the house for you if you’re not home.” I will anyway, even if they let you out.
“Doc thinks I’ll be out Monday if I can stand the pain. Should be okay and thanks, I really appreciate it.”
“How well do you know Simon? I know he’s Lena’s cousin, but are you guys close at all?”
“What’re you getting at?” Ben leaned back against the pillows and watched Adam’s face.
I’m trying to be tactful here. “Just wondering the usual things. How much debt was he in, did he have any enemies, that sort of thing.”
“I did look into that at the time. Seems he only had the normal amount of debt one would expect to find with a young family. Mortgage and school fees, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary. No enemies that we could think of.” He picked at the edge of the sheet. “Do you really think this is all tied in together? Lena’s restaurant and Simon?”
I hope not. “I’m starting to think so. It seems weird that she is getting hit upon and you’re being told to close the case, not look at it too deeply.” He glanced at the older man. “You know the old saying about there being no such thing as a coincidence?”
Ben gave a slight nod of his head. “If I find out that Cole is involved in what happened I’ll gladly string him up by the balls. He can attack me, but to touch my daughter is unforgiveable.”
“Stand in line, Ben. I want a
