Page 71 of June 7

Catching movement on the monitor, he caught Dio as he walked across the sidewalk and opened the door to the shop.

The bell on the handle jingled. Bane lifted his chin in greeting. He hadn't seen his MC brother all day.

"Hey." Dio strolled in. "What's up?"

"Finishing the last order for the day." He ran the tape roller over the box. "Where have you been?"

Dio took a piece of paper from his back pocket and slid it over to Bane. "Snoopin' around."

"What's that?"

"Take a look."

He unfolded the paper and scanned copies of several pictures on the sheet. "What am I looking at?"

"Daisy Hill's childhood home." Dio thumped his pointer finger on the top picture. "Notice the car across the street and down half a block. It's in each picture."

"There are neighbors around. The vehicle could belong to anyone." He studied the house. "Who do you think it belongs to?"

It was a large two-story house on the waterfront. Daisy's parents had been well-off. He could almost imagine Daisy coming home from school and having a nice place to relax. Maybe her mom was in the kitchen, making cookies for her. Her dad was at work, supporting his family.

But the ending never matched the pictures. A murder/suicide was something no one ever saw coming. A crime that destroyed Daisy's world.

"I think whoever owns the car is the man who stabbed me," said Dio.

Bane lifted his gaze. "Are you shitting me?"

"No." Dio paced in front of the counter. "After you told us Daisy's history so we could help protect her, I remember her saying people used to drive by her old house to gawk at the crime scene. Since everyone has the duplex covered and you're watching out for her while she works, I thought I'd do my own digging. It wasn't hard to ask around and find out where the house was located. So, yesterday, I hung around the area. I kept my distance and watched the traffic come and go."

"And that car?" He wanted answers now.

"I took those pictures yesterday. As soon as I started my Harley to get a closer look at the license plate, the guy took off." Dio whistled. "I spent all fucking day there today, and zilch. The fucker never showed up."

He held the paper closer. "Looks like a Ford."

"Yeah, an Escape." Dio exhaled. "Half the fucking population here has a black SUV. It would take weeks to pull up every vehicle, then try and find owners to match with the guy who attacked me."

"Are you sure it's the guy?" he asked.

"No, I'm not. But he looked similar enough, I'm not going to stop looking for him. Nobody comes after me with a knife and gets away with it." Dio patted his vest pocket. "Damn. I forgot my smokes in my duffle bag."

As Dio returned to the shop, Bane looked at the piece of paper again with the pictures of the car. It would be impossible to ride around looking for the same vehicle.

He walked over to the copier and printed off a copy of the photo. Then, he taped it under the counter. If he spotted the car near the pool, then he'd investigate.

---