Chapter 4 - THE QUESTION NOAH’S BIKE COULDN’T ANSWER
The bicycle had been sitting in Rachel’s garage since March.
She had almost thrown it away.
She couldn’t.
Noah had saved for six months to buy it with birthday and allowance money.
The bent wheel looked personal.
On Monday, Rachel took it back to the independent bike shop that had inspected it after the accident.
The mechanic, Luis Moreno, remembered her.
“You still have this?”
“I have a question.”
The manufacturer had compensated Rachel because a front-brake component belonged to a batch later recalled.
But Luis had been careful in his original report.
The part was defective.
That did not mean the defect caused Noah’s crash.
Rachel had overlooked the distinction.
“What do you think happened?”
Luis crouched beside the frame.
“I can’t tell you exactly.”
“What can you tell me?”
“The rear impact bothered me.”
“What rear impact?”
He showed her a deformation near the back wheel and frame.
“It took force from behind or from the side-back.”
Rachel felt cold.
“Could he have fallen onto something?”
“Possible.”
“Could a car have hit him?”
“Also possible.”
“Why wasn’t that in the insurance paperwork?”
“It was in my notes.”
Rachel stared at him.
“I never saw those.”
“You got a copy.”
“No.”
Luis checked his computer.
The report had been emailed five months earlier.
To an address Rachel recognized.
Ashley’s.
Rachel felt the floor shift under her.
“How did you get her email?”
Luis frowned.
“She was here with you.”
Rachel remembered.
The morning after Noah came home from the hospital, Ashley had driven the damaged bike to the shop because Rachel refused to leave Noah.
Ashley handled the intake.
Luis said, “She told us to copy her because you were overwhelmed.”
Rachel swallowed.
“Did she ask you anything about the rear damage?”
Luis looked uncomfortable.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“She asked whether we could tell what kind of vehicle caused it.”
Rachel gripped the counter.
“What did you say?”
“That we couldn’t.”
“And then?”
“She asked whether the police would need the bike.”
Rachel left with copies of everything.
At home, she found her original accident folder.
Hospital bills.
Police report.
Manufacturer settlement.
No mechanic’s report.
Ashley had intercepted the one document suggesting Noah might have been struck.
That night Rachel called the officer listed on the old report.
She did not accuse Ashley.
She explained the new information.
He told her the incident could be supplemented if she had credible evidence.
“Do you still have the bicycle?”
“Yes.”
“Keep it.”
May you like
After the call, Rachel sat in the garage staring at the bent rear wheel.
The cake was already becoming irrelevant.
Related Stories
