214 Wills novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: I Drove

At six in the morning I took the elevator down to the hospital parking structure and walked every row of level three.

I was looking for a gray sedan with a dent on the passenger side of the bumper.

I found it between two pillars, with a Garland Motors dealer frame around the plate.

The dent was small and old, and it was not from a mailbox.

A few blue wool fibers were caught in the seam of the bumper.

I took six photos with my phone.

Then I called my sister.

"I'm in the garage," I said. "Level three. Stay on the line and don't talk."

"Miles, what are you doing?"

"Something stupid. Listen."

I slid the phone into my shirt pocket, microphone out, and leaned against the pillar to wait.

He came at six-twenty with a coffee in each hand.

Rob stopped when he saw me, and for a second his face was blank.

Then it warmed.

"Miles. Good morning. Did you sleep?"

"I found your car."

"It's parked right where I left it." He smiled. "Did you want a ride home?"

"There's wool in your bumper, Rob. Blue wool. Callie was wearing her blue coat on Sunday."

The smile stayed on, but it got stiffer.

"I hit a mailbox last month. Ask anyone."

"It wasn't a mailbox."

"You're upset. I understand. Let me put these down, and we'll talk."

"I'm not going to talk," I said. "I'm going to tell you something, and you can say what you like."

He set the coffees on the hood of the sedan.

"Callie is remembering," I said.

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