“They were supposed to fix those cars, Don,” Casey said. “Every one.”
“I know.” Her lawyer’s voice was even and quiet. “It was my understanding they did.”
“Well, apparently they missed one. And the guy’s dead.”
“Okay. Tell me where to find the information.”
Casey did. “It shouldn’t have happened, Don.”
“No. No, it shouldn’t have.” Casey could hear him ruffling some papers. “I’ll make some inquiries.”
“Have they been there?”
“Who?”
“The Pegasus people. Have they been bothering you?”
“No.” He sounded surprised. “Why would they?”
“Because they’re trying to find me. They won’t leave Ricky alone. And I’m afraid they’ll go after my mother.”
“What are they doing?” Don’s voice wasn’t so quiet now. “It was part of the agreement. No contact. You would both keep up your end of the settlement, and that was supposed to be that.”
“Yeah, but the agreement just talked about me. No contact with me. It didn’t say anything about Ricky or my mom.”
The silence on the phone was ominous. “Leave it to me, Casey. I’ll take care of it. And besides, if they’re trying to find you—which they shouldn’t be doing in the first place—what exactly are they going to do if not contact you?”
Casey wasn’t sure she wanted to think about that. “Ricky said he was going to send you some more papers for me to sign. You should get them in a day or two.”
“What are they?”
“Don’t know. But I’ll give you an address soon, where you can send them.”
“Where are you now?”
She smiled. “You and Ricky. You just won’t stop, will you?”
“Hey, a guy’s got to keep trying, doesn’t he? One of these days…”
“Yeah. One of these days it won’t matter anymore.” She looked across the picnic table toward the playground, where this time two fathers played with the children. She swallowed the large lump in her throat. “And don’t bother trying to call me back at this phone number. Ricky already called it from home, so I’ll have to ditch it.”
“Casey—”
“They’re not going to stop, Don. They’ll keep looking till they succeed, and I really don’t want to find out what they want.”
“It can’t be—”
“Thanks for everything. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. But Casey…take care of yourself, okay? Do you need money?”
Casey laughed. “Don, you’re the one who signed that agreement with Pegasus. You know I don’t need money.”
He sighed. “I know. But it’s the sort of thing one is supposed to ask.”
“Well, you don’t have to ask me. Good-bye, Don.”
“Good-bye. And Casey?”
“Yeah?”
“Call again soon.”
She pushed the off button and considered the phone. How such a small piece of equipment could betray her… She got back on her bike, taking a last look at the fathers and their kids. Reuben had never gotten to play with Omar at a playground. Never taken him to a ball game. Never got to hear that universal first word. Da-da.
She pointed the bike toward the highway, and began pedaling.