Chapter 7.
Clark grumbled about the lack of legroom in the back of Chloe's car as they made their way over to Kevin's house. Lois had called shotgun much to his dismay and he found himself wishing he could use his super-speed without either of the cousins noticing. It didn't help that he'd had to squeeze himself over the front seat in order to get in given the lack of rear doors on Chloe's Beetle.
"You know, you'd have more legroom if you sat behind Chloe," said Lois, who was aware of Clark fidgeting in the back. She was beginning to understand why it was so tempting to give him a hard time.
"I think I'll live," he mumbled in annoyance.
Once they reached the house, Clark and Lois walked up to the front door while Chloe looked at the car on the drive. Clark rang the bell and Kevin's father answered, looking a little befuddled as though he'd just been woken from his slumber.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Sorry to bother you Mr Grady, but we're looking for Kevin," answered Clark.
Mr Grady looked at them both. "What's this about?"
Lois cut in. "Well, I'm missing about 9 months of my memory and we think your son might know something about it."
Clark interjected after noticing Mr Grady flinch, and decided a little more tact was required. He held up the membership card. "We found this card belonging to Kevin at the Talon. We just want to talk to him."
"My son is out of town at the moment."
Chloe walked up the porch. "And by 'out of town', you mean undergoing some kind of treatment at the Summerholt Neurological Institute. I'm sorry, I couldn't help but notice the parking pass on your windshield."
Mr Grady bristled at the intrusion into his family's private lives. "That is none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me."
He made to close the door but Clark held his hand out to stop him.
"Look, we don't know if he did anything, we just want to find out what he knows."
Mr Grady looked each of them in the eye as he pondered if he should tell them anything. He relented and opened the door a little more.
"Alright. Yes, my son is a patient at Summerholt. Last fall, I took both my boys hunting at Audrey Clearing. There was an accident. Kevin was holding his gun and…uh…I lost my son Dylan."
Clark and Chloe both looked at Mr Grady in sympathy but Lois stood there wandering what any of this had to do with her amnesia.
"Mr Grady, I'm sorry," Clark offered sympathetically.
Mr Grady continued to talk about how Kevin had struggled to cope after his brother's death, and about how he'd decided to get Kevin some treatment at Summerholt in a bid to erase these painful memories and be able to get on with his life. With that, he went back inside and closed the door, leaving Clark, Chloe and Lois to look at one another. Somehow they needed to find Kevin.
"I think we should go to Summerholt and see what we can find there," suggested Lois, heading back towards Chloe's car.
"Or maybe scope this place out first," suggested Chloe.
Lois stopped and walked back to the house, turning towards the gate at the side. Clark halted her by holding his arm out, which surprised her. Evidently he knew what she was like.
"You guys should head back to the Torch. The Sheriff wants to speak with Lois anyway. I'll stay here and see what I can find."
Lois raised her eyebrows at this. "And how do you plan on getting back? You came with us remember?"
Clark had to think fast and thought of the only thing that came to mind. "Uh…I can run back. I'm pretty fast and it's not that far really."
He could tell Chloe was staring at him. Chloe had witnessed his 'running' several months ago and was in no doubt that if he wanted to, he could beat them back to the Torch before they could even blink. She didn't say a word.
Clark moved to the side of the house and looked for a point where he could scale the fence while Chloe took Lois by the arm and coerced her back to the car. Lois was disappointed because amnesia or no amnesia, she loved to snoop around. Thinking it through logically, she accepted it was for the best that she'd didn't get involved because she already had one conversation pending with the local Sheriff, and she had no explanation to offer regarding the robbery in plain sight.
Unbeknownst to the cousins now sat in the car, Clark had been using his super-hearing and heard the sound of a rolling door being opened and keys being placed in the ignition of a vehicle. Once the key was turned, he heard an engine roaring into life. It was a motorbike, not a car. Leaping over the fence, he spotted the motorbike speeding away from the other side of the house towards the main road. Even if he could warn Lois and Chloe, they would never catch up in time. He used his super-speed to chase the motorbike as it raced down the road, at one point pulling up alongside to see if he could get a closer look. He didn't know what Kevin looked like but the rider was wearing an open-faced helmet and given the location and the sudden attempt to escape, it didn't take a genius to work out that the rider was the person they were looking to speak to. Kevin must have overheard their conversation with his father and made a break for it.