Page 14 of Knight

He takes off at a run as the three of us walk to the garage where I keep the Jeep. "This is a manual," I remind D. "You're gonna grind them, and it's gonna sound like you're killing it, but this is where you're gonna learn."

"Okay," he nods. "I just don't wanna do anything to hurt it. RiRi will never forgive me."

I laugh loudly. "I'll work on her for ya if you do. Let's do this."

We all get into the Jeep, and like always, I'm flooded with the memories inside. The first date I went on with Rina, the times we've snuck out here to be alone when that wasn't an option indoors when Kels was a baby. The night I decided to apply for Chief of Police, we came out here and had a discussion about how that would change things for us. This has been a safe place for us, and now I'm allowing my grandson into it. He's sitting in the driver's seat, and he's looking at me for instructions.

"I can do this, right?" he questions.

"You can do anything you want, D. I promise."

Those words seem to settle whatever nerves he has. The unsure look is wiped from his face, and almost right in front of me he becomes resolute and seeming to accept the instruction I'm about to give him. "Okay, I'm ready."

He's sitting in the driver's seat, looking at me to teach him. I haven't been this nervous since I taught Kels how to drive, but I'm as ready for this as he is. "Alright, put your key in the ignition, but don't turn it on yet. Look down below at your pedals. You're gonna see three. On the far left is the clutch, in the middle is the brake, and over to the right is the accelerator. Do not get these confused."

He nods, looking down, tapping the pedals with this feet. "Clutch, brake, and accelerator. Got it."

"Now that you know the difference between those, I'm gonna teach you how to start it. First, make sure you press in on the clutch, and put it in neutral, you don't want it in gear yet. Once you have it neutral, we're ready to start it. Now keep the clutch depressed and turn the ignition on."

Darren does as I've asked, grinning when the Jeep starts. "Now what?"

"We wanna put it in gear and start to drive. So put it in first, slowly take your foot off the clutch, and start giving it gas. When you're at what's called the biting point, you'll start to move forward. At the end of the driveway, come to a stop. You'll need to depress the clutch, along with the brake. If you stall out, it's okay," I assure him.

We come to a textbook stop, and I beam with pride.

"I'm assuming I go the same way I started, just make sure I'm not in neutral?"

"Correct," I check both ways as he pulls out. "Now, start accelerating. Once the engine sounds like it can't go any faster, press in that clutch and move it to second gear without taking your foot off the accelerator." The shift is rough, grinding slightly when he does it. "That's okay. These gears have been grinded more than you know."

He keeps at it. The next shift is smooth. "Good job!" Caleb says from the back.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I watch the two of them as Caleb gives him pointers. This is what it's all about.

Chapter Eleven

Menace

One of the last things I ever thought I would be doing is sitting on the couch, eating popcorn with Rina, and watching surveillance footage.

"Is this what you normally do in your office?" she asks, taking another handful. "Be honest, you're really watching YouTube aren't you?"

"God, I wish," I sigh heavily. "This is one of the most important parts of the job, but also one of the most tedious. Sometimes I have to watch it numerous times before I see anything. My attention to detail isn't the best," I admit to her.

She reaches over, patting me on the leg. "That's why we're married. I'm the teacher; I have to have attention to detail."

An hour later, we're moving on to another one of the videos, this one showing the front of the school. "Goddamn," I rub my eyes. "The chances y'all take with these kids. When I write up my report for the Principal, she's gettin' an earful."

"Mason!" she gasps.

She never calls me by my full name. "No, I mean it. There's a lot here that can be improved upon; should've been improved upon before Taylor was taken."

"I know, and I fully agree with you, but that car," she points to one that's pulled alongside a bus. If I'm not mistaken, that's the bus Taylor rode. "It was in the footage from the bus. When it stopped for Taylor to get off, the car was at the intersection. It was a couple days before this, and then I saw it every day afterward. I figured it was someone who got off work around the same time Taylor was dropped off, but why would they be at the school?"

"Holy fuck, Rina. If this is true... you just broke my case open. Do you remember where you first saw it?"

"No," she shakes her head, "I'm sorry, but it was consecutive days."

With shaking hands, I click the remote, going back to the drive we have the videos on. Randomly I go back five days, to the one labeled her bus. Fast-forwarding I go to where the bus stops to drop her off. There in the corner, I see the same car Rina saw. "There it is," I point, for the first time feeling like we have something to go on here. "Wonder if we can get a look at the back of the bus. Does it stay there? Does it wait for her to cross the road?"

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