Chapter 4 – Dice
4
DICE
I didn’t know what to make of Daphne’s situation. It certainly sounded like someone was out to get her, but based on the limited information I got from her, I didn’t see an obvious reason why.
After leaving her room, I walked down the hall to Byte’s room and knocked on his door. “Come in,” he called and chuckled when he saw me. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you have.”
He opened his laptop and looked at the screen. “Phoenix asked me to look into the man who attacked Daphne, Daniel Garrison. He’s from Cedar Valley and has a rap sheet longer than a drug store receipt but hasn’t served any real time for his crimes.”
“So, he’s a snitch?”
“That’d be my best guess,” he said and leaned back in his chair. “I haven’t been able to find anything connecting him to Daphne. Do you have any information that might help?”
Sighing, I relayed all the details Daphne had given me.
“What’s the ex-husband’s name?”
“Technically, he’s still her husband, and it’s Sean Sanders.”
“I don’t think anyone will mind if we refer to him as her ex.”
“Agreed.”
“Okay, are there any other players in this game we should look into?”
“When I asked her if anyone was mad at her or might want to cause problems for her, she mentioned her mom, his mom, and his best friend.”
“Her mom?”
“That’s what she said, but I didn’t ask for details.”
Byte nodded and started typing. “I should be able to get her mom’s name, as well as his mother’s name. When she wakes up, see if you can get the name of his best friend.”
“I will. Anything else?”
“Not that I can think of. I’ll let you know if—” Byte said, then stopped abruptly.
“What?” I asked urgently. “What is it?”
“Has Daphne said anything about her father?”
“No, why?”
“Because her dad is Walter.”
“As in Walter and Buck from the diner?”
“Do you know another Walter?”
“Are you sure Walter is her dad?”
“I can double check her birth records if you want, but he’s listed as a possible relative on every amateur background information website, and he owns the house she’s currently living in.”
“Shit. Should I call him and let him know what happened?”
Byte shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you think there’s a reason she hasn’t called him herself?”
“Maybe she just hasn’t had a chance to. We showed up—” My words were interrupted by the sound of a commotion in the common room.
“Twenty bucks says Walter just arrived.”
“I’m not taking that bet,” I said and got up to go see what was going on in the common room. As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I knew Byte was right. I could hear Walter’s fear-filled voice echoing off the walls.
“My apologies, Walter,” Phoenix said. “We didn’t know she was your daughter. I think she’s asleep, but I’ll be happy to take you to her. Ah, here’s Dice. He can answer a lot of your questions.”
“Where is she?” Walter demanded.
“She’s in a room down the hall. I think she’s sleeping, but she’s okay. I mean, she’s banged up a little, but she’ll be okay.” I paused and shook my head. “No wonder she was able to fight him off. You must’ve taught her how to fight.”
Walter nodded proudly, and Buck bumped him with his shoulder. “You don’t get to take all the credit. Uncle Buck taught her a few things, too.”
“Dad?” Daphne said sleepily from the hall.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Walter said and rushed to her, with Buck on his heels. “Are you okay?”
“She’s fine,” Buck answered for her. “You kicked his ass, didn’t you, honey?”
“I tried,” Daphne admitted as she leaned against her dad. “He got some good hits in.”
“You broke his arm,” Walter told her proudly.
“How do you know that?”
“Because we stopped by the police station, and I broke his other one.”
“I got his nose,” Buck added.
Daphne chuckled and immediately clutched her ribs as she groaned in pain. “It hurts to laugh.”
Before I could offer her a seat, Diablo appeared out of nowhere, barking loudly.
“Oh, knock it off, knucklehead. You know I’m not hurting her.”
Diablo proceeded to headbutt Walter’s thigh until he reached down to pet him. “I hope you know you’ve spoiled this dog.”
“Looks like you’re the one spoiling him,” Daphne returned.
“Do you want to sit down?” I asked her.
“Yes, please.”
While Walter helped her to one of the couches, I ran back to her room and grabbed a blanket and pillow for her. She smiled when I handed them to her and thanked me.
Walter turned and gave me an appraising look. “Are you the one that brought her here?”
“Yes, sir. Well, Ink drove, but I convinced her.”
“Thank you,” he said and held out his hand for me to shake. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t want her going back home until we’ve figured it out.”
“Dad, I’m a grown woman.”
“You will always be my baby, even when you’re in your fifties and have grandchildren.”
“Dad,” Daphne gasped dramatically. “Don’t say the f-word.”
“Forty starts with f ,” Buck pointed out.
“I am not in my forties!”
“Oh good. That means I’m not as old as I thought,” Buck teased.
“All right, you two, that’s enough,” Walter said. “What are we going to do about this situation?”
“What do you mean?” Daphne asked.
“She’s going to stay here at the clubhouse for a few days,” I said.
Walter pointed his finger at me. “I knew I liked you.”
“Then what?” Buck asked.
“We haven’t gotten that far, but she’ll have our protection if she wants it,” I said.
“She wants it,” Walter declared.
“She’s right here,” Daphne said.
Walter turned and looked at his daughter. “Do you have a problem with this?”
“I’d like more information about what their protection entails.”
“It just means we’ll help keep you safe. We can accompany you to any showings, escort you home from work, make sure your house is safe, or whatever else you need. You don’t have to decide on anything right now. We can figure out the details later,” I told her.
“Thanks,” she said, followed by a yawn.
“You didn’t get to take much of a nap, did you?” I asked.
“No, but that’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” Walter said. “You need to get some rest. Buck and I can come back later. Unless you want us to stay.”
It was obvious to me that Walter wasn’t quite ready to leave his daughter. I was about to offer them rooms at the clubhouse when Daphne made her own suggestion.
“You could stay at the lake house. That way you don’t have to drive back and forth just to check on me.”
“That’s a great idea,” Buck said. “We can keep an eye on the house and do some fishing.”
“I suppose that’ll work. Are you sure you don’t need anything?”
“I’m sure. We went by the house before we came here.”
“All right,” Walter said and leaned down to kiss the top of Daphne’s head. “You call me if you need anything.”
“I will,” she promised.
Once they were gone, I helped Daphne back to her room. She moved slowly, and her body seemed stiff, but she didn’t complain. After a quick trip to the bathroom, she got settled in bed, with Diablo by her side.
“Do you need anything?”
“I think I’m okay for now.”
With that, I closed her door and left her to rest, though I would have much rather stayed with her.