Then Charles threatened Jack.
So she left.
Jack had to stop reading.
He stared at the floor.
Lily touched his arm.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
Rachel looked away.
Jack continued.
Anna explained that Daniel had entered her life as a child.
She had taken responsibility for him.
She had raised him.
Then came the confession that shattered everything.
The motorcycle had never been stolen by a stranger.
Anna had taken it.
Jack leaned back.
For twenty-six years, he had blamed an unknown thief.
All that time, the thief had been the woman he loved.
She had used his motorcycle as a way to disappear.
She had changed its documents.
She had kept it hidden.
And eventually she had passed it to Daniel.
At the bottom of the letter she wrote:
If Daniel ever finds Jack, he must return what I took.
Jack folded the letter.
Lily looked up.
“Are you mad at Grandma?”
Jack looked at the old photographs.
“No.”
“You're crying.”
He touched his face.
He hadn't noticed.
“No,” he said again. “I'm not mad at her.”
“What are you?”
He looked at Lily.
“Late.”
“Late for what?”
Jack stared at the motorcycle key in his hand.
“Understanding.”
They opened the rest of the box.
There were photographs of Daniel as a child.
As a teenager.
As a young man beside the black Harley.
Jack studied his face.
Something about the boy's eyes seemed familiar.
He couldn't explain why.
Rachel found another envelope.
This one was written by Daniel.
JACK — READ THIS BEFORE YOU TRUST ANYONE.
The letter contained names.
Insurance agents.
Auction companies.
Repair shops.
Lawyers.
Police officers.
One name was circled several times.
Cole Brennan.
Jack felt his stomach drop.
Cole was his closest friend.
They had worked together for nearly thirty years.
Cole had helped Jack buy the shop.
He had stood beside him when Jack's wife died.
He had even driven Jack to the auction where the Harley was purchased.
Jack looked at Rachel.
“Do you know Cole?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Daniel knew him.”
“What did Daniel know about him?”
“I don't know.”
Jack looked at the letter.
There was one final line:
The person running the old network knows Jack.
The bike must reach him.
There is something inside it that Charles Reed spent thirty years trying to find.
Lily whispered, “The second heart.”
Jack looked at her.
“What?”
“Dad said every machine has a heart.”
She placed her hand on the Harley photograph.
“He said this one has two.”
When Jack returned to Mercer Motor Works, he found the front door unlocked.
He stopped before entering.
The alarm had been disabled.
One window was broken.
Drawers had been opened.
Nothing valuable appeared to be missing.
Whoever had entered had been searching.
Jack went directly to the rear storage room.
The motorcycle was still there.
But someone had taken it apart.
The seat had been removed.
One side panel was on the floor.
Wires hung from the frame.
Jack stared.
Then he heard footsteps.
He turned with a tire iron in his hand.
Cole Brennan stood in the doorway.
Both hands were raised.
“Easy.”
Jack didn't lower the tire iron.
“What are you doing here?”
“The alarm company called me.”
“You're still listed as my emergency contact.”
Cole shrugged.
“I suppose I am.”
Jack studied his face.
Cole looked exactly as he always had.
Red work shirt.
Shaved head.
Gray beard.
Nothing suspicious.
And yet Daniel's note had circled his name.
Three times.
“Did you know this motorcycle belonged to me?”
Cole's eyes moved toward the Harley.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Daniel told me.”
Jack tightened his grip.
“Did you help steal it?”
Cole sighed.
“My father did.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Cole nodded.
“Anna took it.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Not long enough.”
Jack lowered the tire iron.
Cole stepped inside.
“Daniel came to me nine years ago.”
“Why?”
“He had started investigating his father's past.”
“Charles?”
“No. Mine.”
Jack stared.
“Your father was involved too?”
“He transported stolen vehicles.”
“And your father knew Anna.”
“Yes.”
“Then why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn't.”
Cole looked directly at him.
“But I think that's what Daniel wanted you to understand.”
Jack frowned.
“What?”
“Don't trust anyone blindly.”
Rachel stepped into the room.
“Where is the helmet?”
Cole looked at her.
“Which helmet?”
“The black one. White stripe.”
Cole went still.
“Why?”
“Daniel left something inside it.”
Cole took a long breath.
Then he went outside.
When he returned, he was carrying a black motorcycle helmet.
Lily cried out.
“That’s Dad's!”
Cole placed it on the bench.
Jack looked at him.
“You said you gave this to Anna.”
“I did.”
“When?”
“Three days before Daniel disappeared.”
“Where is Anna?”
Cole didn't answer.
Jack stepped closer.
“Where is Anna?”
Cole finally said:
“She is alive.”
Rachel covered her mouth.
Jack felt the world stop.
“No.”
Cole nodded.
“She is alive.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You saw her?”
“Two weeks ago.”
Jack backed away.
There had been a death certificate.
A memorial.
A hospital story.
A funeral.
Except Rachel had never seen the body.
Daniel had never seen it either.
Everything had been based on assumptions.
Cole handed Jack the helmet.
“Search the lining.”
Jack did.
Nothing.
Lily pointed to the chin strap.
“There.”
A small section of thread looked different from the rest.
Jack cut it.
A memory card fell free.
They connected it to an old laptop.
This time, there was no video.
Only records.
Bank transfers.
Property ownership.
Insurance claims.
Vehicle titles.
The trail eventually led to a company Jack knew well.
Meridian Holdings.