〈I’ll stay here for the time being.〉
Dane lay in the darkness and thought about what Joshua had said before he left.
〈If anything happens, contact me anytime. I’ll check around that guy first.〉
In short, he was saying that he would watch until Grayson didn’t seem suspicious. Even after saying that, Joshua still didn’t seem to completely believe Dane.
Damn, you idiot, you’re just being quick-witted.
Tsk, Dane clicked his tongue and patted Darling, who was in his arms, as she tossed and turned. He listened to the cat’s deep breathing as it fell back to sleep, and he fell into thought again. It wouldn’t last long anyway. If something was going to happen, it would have happened a long time ago.
Even as he thought that, something kept bothering him. What the heck.
Haa, he sighed and forced himself to sleep.
... ... Now that I think about it.
Suddenly, he remembered the question that had occurred to him just before Joshua came. How did Ezra know? That Grayson had been terrorized here.
He had no idea. He tried to ignore it as if it was nothing to do, but his mind became clearer and clearer, and eventually the day dawned.
“Hello, Dane.”
“Hello.”
Dane, who had simply waved his hand to his colleagues who were greeting him, strode briskly across the locker room to his cabinet. He was changing into his usual work shirt when the door opened and someone came in.
“Oh, Ezra.”
“Hello.”
Dane could tell who it was from the words exchanged. His hands, which were pulling out his uniform, gradually slowed down.
“Uh, hello?”
Ezra, who had returned to the cabinet, found Dane and greeted him first. His noticeably haggard face had an uncut beard, and dark shadows under his eyes. His eyes were as wide as Dane’s, as if he hadn’t slept a wink all night. Dane, who had been staring blankly at his face, opened his mouth.
“......You look tired.”
“Huh? Uh uh...... Well, I didn’t sleep well.”
Ezra was startled by Dane’s words and stuttered a laugh. Was it because I was suspicious of him that even his attitude seemed awkward? Dane opened his mouth, thinking to himself.
“Ezra, I’ve been thinking about it, but I just can’t figure it out.”
“What?”
When he briefly tried to talk, Ezra opened the cabinet and asked dryly. Dane fixed his gaze on him and opened his mouth.
“How did you know that the place where Grayson was attacked was the parking lot of the hotel where I was staying?”
At that moment, Ezra stopped moving.
Suddenly, there was a chilling silence. The other guys were laughing and talking, and he could hear them from afar. Dane stood there, waiting for Ezra’s reaction, hidden behind the open cabinet door. One second, two seconds, three seconds. After a few seconds that felt so long, Ezra poked his face out the door.
“Well? You didn’t tell him?”
Dane denied it, looking at his usual smiling face.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Really? Then Grayson must have told him.”
Ezra deftly took the words. Dane watched him change his clothes, humming a tune. He still felt uneasy, but there was no reason to pursue the question any further. In the end, he stopped asking questions and put on his uniform and left the locker room.
After confirming that he went out of him, he had to take a deep breath with a trembling heart. He shouted at Ezra! The water is not reached at all! Suddenly, Ezra shouted loudly. For a moment, DeAndre was flustered, and the guys around him also turned their heads in surprise. However, Ezra ignored them and continued to swear and push DeAndre away.
“Get out of the way, you piece of shit! Get out of here!”
DeAndre, who had backed away awkwardly, blinked in bewilderment. He looked around as if wondering what was going on, but the other guys were equally bewildered. At that moment, Dane, who happened to be nearby, saw them and strode over. DeAndre stood there hesitating, and immediately, without saying anything, he grabbed Ezra’s arm and lifted him up. The water from the hose gushed out.
“What the heck, you punk......”
Ezra turned his head with a fierce expression and swearing, then was startled. Dane just looked down at him with a blank expression. Surprisingly, Ezra avoided eye contact and obediently raised the hose and sprayed water. Dane, who patted his shoulder as if he was done, quickly returned to his seat, and DeAndre looked at them in bewilderment.
“Isn’t Ezra a little strange?”
After barely putting out the fire, the guys who had finally caught their breath gathered in small groups and whispered. Another guy nodded in agreement as he looked at Ezra, who was organizing his equipment on one side.
“You’ve been like this for the past few days? You’ve become overly sensitive.”
“That’s understandable. How can you be in your right mind when your wife is sick? You haven’t even shaved properly lately and you seem absent-minded.”
A different opinion slipped in. But DeAndre immediately retorted.
“No matter what, didn’t you see Ezra yelling and swearing at me earlier? That Ezra!”
At those words, everyone fell silent and looked at each other. DeAndre couldn't control his anger and kept raising his voice.
"That's not all, you didn't say a word to Dane? You cursed and pushed me, so why can't you do anything to Dane? Huh?"
He was furious and kept yelling.
"This is unfair!"
"Yeah, yeah. You're right."
The other guys quickly consoled DeAndre. In fact, everyone had felt it. Ezra had become overly sensitive in recent days. He was often startled and visibly nervous. They couldn't help but be flustered when he finally cursed and yelled at him. Ezra was usually gentle and rarely got angry, so he was called the mediator in the fire department.
"He only knew Sandra. He's taking care of the kids, so it's understandable that he's tired."
In the midst of the bewildered atmosphere, a voice took Ezra’s side, and soon another guy spoke up.
“That’s true. Let’s understand.”
“Right, how hard must it be for you alone? I saw you worrying about the hospital bill last time, so you must be having a hard time with this and that.”
“He got mad at me too. It was just a joke, but he suddenly started yelling and swearing... I thought he was going to get hit.”
“I felt like he was weak only to Dane, but... it must be a coincidence.”
“Dane’s not feeling well these days, so maybe that’s why?”
“He’s weird too, he doesn’t seem to go out much.”
“Well, Ezra is probably having a hard time right now.”
The guys who had tilted their heads along with him looked at Ezra far away with sympathetic eyes. DeAndre, who got caught in the crossfire, felt wronged, but he couldn't just blame his colleague who was in a difficult situation. In the end, he roughly said, "Eight," and turned around.
*
What the? That bastard.
Dane, who was loading his used equipment into the car, suddenly frowned at the sight of a man. Ezra was cleaning up the area with a serious expression. His expression, which seemed somewhat exhausted or troubled, was full of worry, but considering the current situation, it was only natural.
The problem was his attitude.
Dane also felt that Ezra had become strange. He often got angry and started fights, but what was even stranger was that he was different.
The incident earlier was the same. Ezra's attitude, which had been yelling and getting angry at DeAndre, suddenly changed the moment he saw Dane. For Dane, who had been watching Ezra for years, this was a situation he couldn’t understand. From his experience, there was only one reason that came to mind. There had to be something related to Dane that he couldn’t say.
But he had no idea what it was. That’s why Dane was waiting for the right time to come and watched him. It would be best if Ezra had the courage to confess first.
〈Dane, Dane!〉
Suddenly, a memory he had forgotten came to mind. Dane sighed and stood there blankly, then swept his hair back from his forehead.
I hope you’re doing well.
It was only natural to feel empty when the guy who had been following him around all this time was nowhere to be seen. Dane shook his head and buried the memory that had briefly occurred to him. Believing that it would disappear with time.
It was that evening, around the time he was leaving work, that he found out that Joshua had contacted him. Dane, who had checked his phone only after getting in the car, frowned when he saw that he had received three calls from him. He immediately made a call because of the unusual atmosphere.
“What’s going on?”
Joshua immediately got to the point when he asked out of the blue.
- Grayson is gone.
Dane paused for a moment.
“......What?”
Joshua continued speaking after a pause.
- He’s nowhere to be found. He’s completely disappeared.
“Wait a minute.”
Dane furrowed his brows and collected his thoughts.
“Didn’t you say there’s a tracking device? Everyone in the Miller family....”
- There is. But there isn’t.
Joshua’s voice became faster as if he was anxious.
- I can’t catch him. There must be something wrong. The secretary team said it seems to be broken... ... .
For some reason, at that moment, Dane instinctively thought of Ezra.
