The goal was reasonable security and a practical response plan, not permanent fear.
I appreciated the answer.
We replaced the lock and reviewed who had a key.
Daniel returned his spare so we could issue a new one.
Elena kept hers because I wanted her to have it.
The distinction was important.
A secure home was not a home nobody could enter.
It was a place where entry depended on consent.
That evening I sat on the couch while Elena made tea.
I still glanced toward the clock.
Then I stayed seated.
It was a small victory, but it belonged entirely to me.
Chapter 37: The Man in the Silver Car
The first time I saw Wesley Pike outside an office, he was standing at a gas station near the interstate.
I recognized the silver car from Helen’s description before I recognized the man.
Its rear taillight had been repaired with a white patch that did not match the surrounding paint.
I was returning from the clinic and had stopped for fuel.
Pike was speaking into his phone beside the pumps.
I stayed in my car and did not approach him.
Instead, I called Sato and told her where I was.
She advised me not to follow him or interfere with his movements.
I took no photograph because I did not want to create a confrontation in a public place.
As Pike drove away, I noticed a cardboard box in his back seat.
It was similar in shape to the carton visible in Helen’s recording, but I had no basis to say it was the same one.
That distinction had become important to me.
Months earlier I would have told Daniel we had caught the man.
Now I knew that recognition was a lead, not a verdict.
Sato thanked me and said investigators would handle any follow-up.
When I reached home, I wrote the time in my notebook.
I also recorded the fact that I had not spoken to Pike.
The note felt absurdly formal for an ordinary trip to buy gas.
But ordinary moments had become the places where important details appeared.
Chapter 38: The Shop Floor
Daniel invited the employees to a meeting about the shop’s future.
He did not tell them about my private investigation because there was no reason to expose my personal life.
He explained that the proposed sale had been suspended and that we were exploring refinancing.
The machinists asked hard questions about wages, overtime, equipment repairs, and retirement plans.
