Page 36

Monterey

I’m dressed and out of the house early the next morning, making my way to the Dulfur Federal Penitentiary.

It takes me a good hour to drive through the valley before ending up at the prison. On the drive I’d rehearsed a million different scenarios of what I could say to the man who raised Danger, but in the end I came up with nothing.

I still have no idea what I plan on saying by the time I sign in and head into the waiting area before they lead me into the room to speak with Earl Wheeler.

I’ve never visited anyone in a prison before, and I’m not really sure what I’m in for. The prison isn’t as dank and dirty as I thought it would be. I’ve only ever seen movies where prisons look like they’re full of mold and mildew with rats in every corner. However, this facility is a lot cleaner than I was expecting.

I stop staring at the white walls when they call my name and I’m ushered into a room with plexiglass separating prisoners from their visitors.

I take a seat where they tell me, and stare in front of me. Then, a man parks himself across from me and we’re only separated by the thick acrylic wall.

He stares at me for a minute before picking up the red phone to his right.

I, however, can’t stop staring at his eyes. They’re so familiar. They’re just like Danger’s and I can’t turn away from the likeness this man shares to his son.

He points to my phone, and I grab onto it, for fear of chickening out.

“Who are you? Another reporter?” he asks me, his tone rough and rugged.

I shake my head, unable to find my voice.

He stares at me for a moment, studying me. “We don’t have much time. You gonna tell me why you’re here then?”

“I’m a friend of your son Danger. I mean, Dylan.”

He doesn’t react right away, and then a slow smile spreads across his face, and I have to look away for a second. “I heard he’s a big shot race car driver.” He laughs and the sound sends a burst of shivers up my spine.

“Yes, he is.” I try to cut right to the point, because he’s right my time is almost up. “Dylan’s missing, and he has an important race coming up and I’m just wondering if you knew where I might be able to find him.”

Earl Wheeler stares at me for a long minute, his eyes roaming all over me, making me feel quite uncomfortable. “What’s in it for me?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. What do I get out of this?”

I lean closer. “Well, do you know where he is?”

He leans back, like a man who has all the power, like he’s holding the winning hand in a poker match. Problem is, he doesn’t know how to bluff very well. I can see it in his eyes he has no idea where Danger can be. “I might.”

I decide to call him on it. “You have no idea. Truth is you’ve never been able to control your family.”

“Is that what he told you?” he says, shifting in his seat a little. “Did he tell you what a little piece of shit he was?”

I smile, and don’t say a word as I let him keep talking.

“Did he tell you how many times I begged for him and his sister to keep their mouths shut while playing? How I used to get headaches when I got home from work and my bitch of a wife wouldn’t put out.”

I blink, trying to remember if I ever read about a sister.

He continues, “You think you know me. Dylan thinks he knows me? He has no clue. He has no idea what it was like being me. All the shit I did for my family, and they couldn’t even thank me.”

“What was your daughter's name?”

He huffs a little into the phone, like he wasn’t expecting to be cut off. Like he has so much more to say on the subject of how he thinks he was wronged in life. But, I no longer care to listen to a lunatic rant.

He breathes, and then whispers into the phone, “Isabella.”