Chapter 5 - MASON CAME TO WADE’S HOUSE WITH COFFEEMason arrived at 8:10 the next morning.
Uninvited.
Two coffees in a cardboard tray.
Wade saw him through the door camera.
For fifteen years, Wade would have opened the door without thinking.
That morning he texted Lena first.
He’s here.
Her reply arrived immediately.
Do not accuse.
Wade opened the door.
Mason smiled.
“You look like hell.”
“Second person to tell me.”
“Ortiz?”
Wade looked at him.
“How’d you know Lena was involved?”
Mason shrugged.
“She’s your partner.”
“Sergeant.”
“Whatever.”
He held up the coffee.
“Peace offering.”
“For what?”
“For showing up when you said you were busy.”
Wade let him inside.
Not because he wanted to.
Because people talked when they believed they were still trusted.
Mason walked into the kitchen.
He looked exactly like the man Wade had always known.
Forty-two.
Broad shoulders.
Gray beginning in his beard.
Lake Erie Riders sweatshirt.
Small memorial patch on the sleeve.
LIAM MERCER — RIDE FREE.
Wade stared at it.
Mason noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
They sat.
Mason pushed coffee toward him.
“So.”
Wade waited.
“What?”
“The robbery.”
“What about it?”
“You going to tell me what happened?”
“I told you.”
“Pregnant woman.”
Wade watched him.
Mason realized.
“Fake pregnant woman.”
There it was again.
Wade said:
“I never told you fake.”
Mason stopped.
Only a fraction.
Then laughed.
“Dude, it’s online.”
“Show me.”
Mason pulled out his phone.
Scrolled.
Too long.
Then said:
“Must’ve been deleted.”
Wade almost admired the confidence.
“What did they want?”
Mason asked.
“Wallet.”
“Bike?”
“No.”
“Phone?”
“Yes.”
Mason nodded.
Too quickly.
Wade sipped coffee.
“Why do you care about the phone?”
“I don’t.”
“You asked yesterday too.”
“Because phones are valuable.”
“My bike is worth twenty times more.”
Mason leaned back.
“You’re suspicious of everybody after something like this.”
“Probably.”
Wade watched his friend’s eyes.
“Mason.”
“Yeah?”
“What happened to Raymond?”
Mason’s entire body changed.
Not dramatically.
His shoulders tightened.
His smile disappeared.
“What does Raymond have to do with this?”
“He stopped for a pregnant woman.”
Silence.
Mason looked toward the window.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus.”
Wade waited.
Mason rubbed his face.
“Then maybe there’s some crew targeting riders.”
“Maybe.”
“You should look at the clubs.”
“We are.”
Mason nodded.
Then said:
“Raymond had enemies.”
Wade frowned.
“Who?”
“Financial stuff.”
“Explain.”
“He accused people.”
“Who?”
“Me, for one.”
Wade let silence work.
Mason continued.
“Raymond got weird before he disappeared.”
“Weird?”
“Obsessed.”
“With missing donations?”
Mason looked directly at him.
“So Erin talked to you.”
Wade had never said Erin.
Another slip.
“How do you know?”
“Who else?”
“Could’ve been old records.”
Mason’s jaw tightened.
“Fine.”
He stood.
“You want to question me, question me properly.”
“Sit down.”
“I’m not a suspect.”
Wade looked at him.
“Did I say you were?”
Mason laughed bitterly.
“You don’t have to.”
Wade’s voice stayed quiet.
“Forty-eight thousand is missing from last weekend.”
“It’s not missing.”
“Where is it?”
“Pending expenses.”
“Show me.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Monday.”
“It’s Thursday.”
“I’m busy.”
Wade nodded.
“What about the other two hundred thousand?”
Mason went completely still.
There.
The room changed.
“What two hundred?”
“Raymond’s number.”
Mason looked at him for several seconds.
Then sat again.
“He didn’t understand emergency disbursements.”
“Who got them?”
“Families.”
“Names?”
“Privacy matters.”
“Not when donor money vanishes.”
Mason’s expression hardened.
“You’re acting like a cop.”
“I am a cop.”
“At home?”
“Right now I’m a board member asking where money went.”
Mason stared.
“After everything I did for Liam?”
Wade felt anger flash.
There it was.
The shield Mason always carried.
Liam.
“You don’t get to use my dead brother as an accounting exemption.”
Mason’s face changed.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then don’t say his name.”
Silence.
Mason looked wounded.
Wade hated that part of him still responded.
Fifteen years of friendship did not disappear because evidence became ugly.
That was what betrayal meant.
You still remembered the good person while staring at what the same hands may have done.
Mason stood again.
“Anything else?”
Wade looked at his phone lying on the counter.
Mason followed his eyes.
Only for a second.
“Yeah,” Wade said.
“One thing.”
“What?”
“Did you know Darnell Pike worked for you?”
Mason froze.
Then shrugged.
“Years ago.”
“You remember.”
“Sure.”
“Why didn’t you mention it when I told you about the ambush?”
“You didn’t tell me Darnell was there.”
Wade stared.
“I didn’t.”
Mason’s face emptied.
He realized it.
Too late.
Wade slowly stood.
Mason stepped backward.
“Wade—”
“How did you know Darnell was there?”
“I assumed.”
“From what?”
“Group chat.”
“Show me.”
“Stop.”
Wade said nothing.
Mason’s breathing changed.
Then he smiled.
Not friendly.
Not anymore.
“You really should’ve let the ledger go.”
Wade felt his entire body go cold.
Mason walked toward the door.
Wade did not stop him.
Not yet.
As Mason reached the entryway, he turned.
“You think you know what you found.”
“What did I find?”
Mason looked at him.
“You found numbers without understanding what they paid for.”
“Then explain.”
Mason opened the door.
“No.”
Then he said something worse.
“Ask Erin why Raymond needed so much cash before he disappeared.”
And left.
May you like
Wade stood alone.
Because for the first time, Mason had stopped pretending there was nothing to explain.
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