Darren twisted around and waved to his daughter as she tapped her palm against the window, her arm flying back and forth as she yelled hello from inside the house. Two seconds later, his wife appeared, wearing exhaustion like a comfortable piece of clothing as she mouthed ‘Sorry’ and carted the little girl away.

Darren unlocked the gate and swung it inward. ‘May as well come have a seat on the porch. This might take some time.’

As he spoke, a stiff breeze kicked the warmth of the day out, but even with the chillier air, sweat trailed down the sides of Darren Pease’s face, dripping into the collar of his shirt, staining it a darker blue.

‘I met Alex at Regal Cinema where we both worked. She was usually fairly quiet, more observant, I guess. As a former geek who got picked on, I felt bad that the rest of the staff treated her like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and I made it a point to include her or sit with her at lunch breaks or whatnot.’ He rubbed the back of his neck, twisting it from side to side as he did.

‘Then one day, she blurted out that she liked me. I didn’t want to lead her on, so I told her I didn’t reciprocate those feelings, that I had a girlfriend’ – he tipped his head back toward the house – ‘who’s now my wife. Anyway, she was clearly sad, but she said she understood. I was afraid things were going to be awkward, but the next day, everything seemed normal. Then about a week later, she approached me for a ride home, and I said sure.’

Darren stopped speaking long enough to reach down and open the lid to a cooler at his feet that Alyssa hadn’t noticed. He pulled out a beer, guzzled half, and set it down. ‘Um, I’d offer you one, but I have a feeling you’d decline seeing as how you’re on duty.’

‘Appreciate the thought, man,’ Cord said.

‘Listen, I can’t prove what I’m about to say, but I will go to my grave knowing in my gut that Alex tinkered with my brakes.’

‘What caused the accident?’ Alyssa asked.