Chapter 8 – Dice
8
DICE
W e were almost back to Daphne’s house when Diablo abruptly stopped and let out a low growl. I looked in the same direction he was and thought I saw something near the back of the house. Before I could say anything, Diablo growled once more and took off toward the back yard.
The figure behind the house noticed the angry dog barreling toward them and started running toward the water.
“Go get Byte and stay with Gabby!” I yelled to Daphne as I ran after Diablo and the unknown person. I glanced back one time to see her running in the direction of Byte’s house.
I ran as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough. The person Diablo and I were chasing sprinted down the dock and jumped into a boat I hadn’t noticed. Diablo had just made it to the water’s edge when the boat sped away.
Seconds later, the dock and Walter’s boat were engulfed in flames.
“Diablo!” I called. He looked between me and the dock before deciding to come back to me.
“Holy shit!” Byte said as he joined me in the back yard.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Come on. We need to move back. I don’t know how much gas is in that boat.”
“Lead the way. Do you want me to call it in?”
“Yes. I’ll call Phoenix, then Daphne.”
“Call Daphne first. If they haven’t already seen the flames, they probably will soon.”
“Good point,” I said and tapped Daphne’s name.
“Is everything okay?”
“Not really. Your dock is on fire.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what happened. The person we were chasing took off in a boat, and then your dock went up in flames.”
“Is Diablo okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s right here beside me.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Stay at Byte’s house for now. Byte’s calling the fire department. I’m sure the police will show up and want to talk to you, but I’d rather you wait there until some of the club arrives.”
“Should I—” She was cut off by a loud explosion that echoed through the phone. “What the hell was that?”
“I think it was your dad’s boat. We moved around to the front in case that happened. What were you about to ask?”
“I was going to ask if I should call my dad, but obviously I should.”
“Yes, do that. And stay there until me or one of the guys come get you.”
“I will,” she promised. “Please be careful and please keep Diablo with you. I’ve heard too many stories about police shooting the family dog because they didn’t like the way it barked at them.”
“I won’t let anything happen to Diablo,” I promised. “Do you have a command that will make him stay with me?”
“Heel. Tell him to heel, and he will stick to you like Velcro.”
“Got it. Call your dad while I deal with this.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
I ended the call and started to call Phoenix, but Byte stopped me. “I’ve already called him. He’s on his way with a couple of brothers.”
“I can’t believe this shit.”
“Yeah, I don’t think any of us had an exploding boat on the bingo card.”
“What was the fucking point of setting the dock on fire? What could that possibly accomplish?”
“I have some thoughts on that, but let’s discuss it later,” he said and glanced at the time on his phone. “We should hear Phoenix’s pipes in about thirty seconds and the sirens in about two minutes.”
I didn’t time him, but if I had to guess, I’d say it was around thirty seconds later when we heard the sound of multiple bikes approaching. “How in the hell did you do that? Are you tracking his bike?”
Byte laughed. “I live right down the street. I know exactly how long it takes to get here from the clubhouse. As for the sirens, I’m familiar with their response time from when Flint almost got his head blown off in my driveway.”
To my surprise, Ink was the first one to arrive, coming to a stop in front of Daphne’s house. He turned off his engine but didn’t get off his bike. Instead, he raised his visor and yelled down to us, “Are the girls at Byte’s house?”
“Yes, they are.”
“I’ll go stay with them.”
When he reached for his keys to start his bike, I shouted, “Wait! Take Diablo.”
“What?”
I was already jogging toward him. “Take Diablo with you. Daphne’s worried about him.”
“If he eats me on the way there, I will come back and haunt the fuck out of you.”
“He won’t eat you. Daphne said to tell him to heel, and he’ll stay right beside you until you get to her.”
Ink sighed and climbed off his bike. “Fine. Come on, Diablo. Heel.”
I laughed when Diablo literally pressed his body against Ink’s leg. She wasn’t kidding when she said he would stick like Velcro.
Ink looked down at Diablo, then back at me. “He’s the weirdest dog I’ve ever met.” With that, they started walking to Byte’s house, looking like they were competing in a three-legged race.
Phoenix, Badger, Flint, Shaker, and Dash arrived next. “Ranger’s on his way to the girls.”
“Ink’s headed down there now.”
“I told him we had it under control, but he said, ‘None of you fuckers can outshoot me, so I’m going to watch over my grandbaby and our new friend, Daphne.’”
I shook my head and laughed. Ranger was fiercely protective of his family, and he wasn’t wrong—he could outshoot all of us.
“Let’s see what’s happening back there,” Phoenix said and walked to the side of the house. He let out a low whistle at the sight. The entire dock was engulfed in tall flames that danced toward the sky.
We were staring at the disaster when two fire trucks and three police cars arrived. As the firefighters got out and started preparing their equipment, Phoenix clapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s go tell them what we know.”
I didn’t want to talk to the police. Just the thought of it reminded me of the last time I had to speak with them—when I had to tell them what happened at the diner, over and over. I honestly don’t know how many more times they would have made me tell the same story if Phoenix and his friend, who happened to be the chief of police, hadn’t stepped in.
“Chuck,” Phoenix said and extended his hand. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Chuck pointed across the lake. “I live over there. I heard the explosion and saw the flames from my kitchen window. I was going to call it in myself when I heard the call come across the radio. I figured I’d ride over here and see what was going on.”
“I’m glad you did. There’s more to this story than this one incident, but I suppose we should start with this one.”
“It’s never something simple with you boys, is it?”
“Afraid not. We can usually deal with simple on our own,” Phoenix said.
“All right, tell me what happened tonight.”
I opened my mouth to tell him when Walter and Buck came to a screeching halt in front of Daphne’s house. They both jumped out of the truck and headed toward us at a fast pace.
Chuck changed his stance and placed one hand on his gun.
“It’s okay,” Phoenix said. “That’s the dad and uncle.”
“How bad is it?” Walter asked, though it sounded more like a demand.
“Pretty bad. I think the dock’s a total loss,” I said.
“What about Sheila?” Buck asked.
“Who’s Sheila?”
“The boat.”
“Oh,” I said. “Um, I’m sorry. I don’t think there’s much left of her.”
Buck walked to where he could get a good view of the burning boat and placed his hands on his hips. “I told you that naming the boat after that wicked woman would curse us. Now look what’s happened.”
“Oh, quit your bitching. I’ve got insurance. Unlike the real Sheila, I can get a newer and better replacement.”
“All right, fellas, let’s get back on track. What happened here tonight?” Chuck asked.
“Walter’s daughter, Daphne, lives here. We were walking home after having dinner at Byte’s house, which is just down the street. As we got closer to the house, I thought I saw movement in the back yard. Daphne’s dog growled and ran toward what ended up being a person. The person saw the dog and ran toward the dock. I chased after them but couldn’t catch them before they hopped in a boat and drove away. As they were leaving, the dock went up in flames. We called nine-one-one, and here we are,” I explained.
“Hey, Chuck,” an officer said. “Can you come take a look at something?”
“Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
Of course, we all followed him to see what the officer found. The officer led us to the back of Daphne’s house, where a partially empty five-gallon can of gas lay haphazardly on its side.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “They were going to set the house on fire.”
“That’s what it looks like,” Phoenix agreed.
“Can the homeowner confirm this wasn’t here prior to the fire?” Chuck asked.
Walter stepped forward. “My daughter lives here, but technically, I’m the homeowner. I can confirm that the gas can doesn’t belong to either one of us.”
“I took Diablo out before we left to have dinner at Byte’s house. I can also confirm that gas can wasn’t there,” I added.
Chuck sighed. “Any idea who might’ve done it?”
“Yes, and no,” Phoenix said. “Perhaps we should go inside and talk. This might take a while.”
While the firefighters dealt with the fire and the officers processed the scene, the rest of us filed into Daphne’s kitchen.
“Y’all go ahead. I’ll start some coffee,” Buck said.
“I’ll get right to the point,” Phoenix said. “We believe someone is harassing Daphne and trying to harm her, but we don’t know who it is. Several things have happened, but the most recent and most severe was a little over a week ago. She’s a real estate agent and was attacked at a house she was supposed to show. That happened in Cedar Valley, so the police report is with one of their departments.”
“Was the suspect apprehended?”
“Yes. He was arrested at the scene, but he refused to give any information, and we haven’t been able to find a connection between him and Daphne.”
“I see,” Chuck said.
“There’s more,” I added. “She’s going through a divorce, and her soon-to-be ex-husband is missing. I believe his mother filed a missing person report.”
“What’s the husband’s name?”
“Sean Sanders,” Walter answered, not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice.
Chuck gave him a quizzical look.
Walter laughed. “Don’t look at me like that. Sean was awful to my baby. He treated her like crap, and then he cheated on her. There’s no love lost for him as far as I’m concerned, but Daphne can’t be rid of him while he’s missing, so I’m all for him being found.”
“Do you know which police department is handling his case?”
“I would assume Cedar Valley, but I’m not sure.”
“I can find out. So, other than the ex-husband, is there anyone else who might be involved or want to hurt Daphne?”
“I asked her that same question after she was attacked. She mentioned the ex-husband’s mother, his best friend, and her mother,” I said.
Walter shook his head. “Her mother’s a bitch, but she wouldn’t do any of this. As for his mother and best friend, I don’t know either of them well enough to speculate.”
I made a mental note to ask Daphne about her mother. She hadn’t said much about her, but I wanted to know more about their relationship, or lack thereof. Walter probably would have answered any questions I had, but I felt like asking him would have been prying. Daphne had the right to decide what she did or did not want to share about her life.
“All right, I’m going to check in with the officers outside before I head out. I’ll put one of our lead detectives on this case. He’ll be in touch tomorrow,” Chuck said.
“Thanks, Chuck,” Phoenix said and extended his hand.
After Chuck left, Phoenix turned to me. “You and Daphne can’t stay here anymore.”
“I second that,” Walter said.
“Third,” Buck chimed in.
I raised my hands in surrender. “There’s no need to convince me. I wholeheartedly agree. I’m not sure how Daphne’s going to feel about it though.”
“It won’t be forever. It’ll just be until we figure out who’s trying to hurt her and put a stop to it.”
“Where do you think she should stay?” Walter asked. “I don’t want her somewhere by herself. Of course, she’s welcome to stay with me, but I’m assuming you meant somewhere that isn’t somehow connected to her name?”
Phoenix nodded. “That’s exactly what I meant. I was thinking she could stay somewhere on the farm. Even if someone figures out she’s staying there, they won’t be able to get to her.”
Walter gave me a pointed look. “Will you be staying with her?”
“Yes, sir, if that’s what she wants.”
“It’s what I want, so I’ll make sure she’s agreeable,” he said. “No offense to the rest of you, but I’ve seen him in action firsthand.”
“No offense taken,” Phoenix assured him. “Dice is a valuable member of the club, and Daphne feels comfortable with him.”
“I should probably head over to Byte’s house and let her know what’s going on,” I said.
“Go ahead. We’ll finish up here and head that way,” Phoenix said. “Ranger’s there. Be sure to call and let them know you’re on your way.”
“Good idea,” I said and pulled out my phone.
“You don’t need to stay,” Chuck said. “I think I have everything I need. If not, I know how to find you.”
With that, we locked up Daphne’s house and walked to Byte’s, after calling Ink of course.