Briefly.
In the chapter Steve hears a song and sings along with it. Who likes can listen to it while reading the chapter:-) All rights here belong to the performer. Search on YouTube: What if by Five for Fighting
Chapter 1
It's Saturday. Danny swapped the Camaro for the Silverado at Steve. Rachel has finally gotten around to moving back in with him. He is torn. On the one hand he's happy, he never stopped loving her, but on the other hand he's afraid he'll screw it up again. And this time, two kids would suffer. Danny sighs. Again, his glass is half empty. Steve is right, he urgently needs to change something in his attitude. He takes a deep breath and gives himself a chance to be happy.
Danny parks the Silverado in front of the house. The door is already open and a few boxes are already in front of it. No idea when Rachel already started packing and clearing. It must have been long before sunrise. Now she comes toward him, beaming.
"Good morning, Detective."
"Good morning," he looks around, "when did you start packing?"
"I didn't look at the clock. I couldn't sleep anymore, so I just started."
Danny lifts the first box onto the truck bed. Appreciatively, Rachel watches him go.
"That was a good idea to ask Steve about the truck. We should be able to get everything on there. And a little bit will go in the Mercedes, too. The furniture is staying here anyway." Danny nods. Steve had even taken off his box to make more room. He lifts the next box onto the wagon. Normally, Steve would have helped with the move now, too. But Rachel's decision had come so spontaneously that Steve had already scheduled the day with Lynn. Danny had to fight him tooth and nail not to cancel the day with her. All of a sudden, another box lands on the truck bed. Chin and Kono grin at him.
"Do you need backup, maybe?"
"Where are you guys coming from now?"
"Steve told me Rachel was moving today, and we didn't have anything better to do."
"I don't buy it, I'm still glad you guys are here."
"I'll go in and help Rachel pack inside, okay?"
"You're welcome, Kono, thanks!" Chin grins at him.
"What?"
"I'm just happy for you, can't I do that?"
"Sure you can."
Comfortably and with good mood Steve cruised with the Camaro along the coastal road. Steve has the music turned up loud and sings along. He is looking forward to the trip with Lynn. They want to hike to Manoa waterfall and he is supposed to pick her up in twenty minutes.
Suddenly he pauses. Wasn't the dark truck behind him a moment ago? Come on, Steve, you're already seeing ghosts. Still, he looks in the rearview mirror more often now. There it is again. Keeping an eye on the truck, Steve steps on the gas a little more. He approaches the cliff. Steve registers with relief that the truck is not dragging. It's all in his imagination.
Again he joins in the lyrics of the song.
"What if I were you. ..."
After a long sweeping curve, the truck is back. Closer than all the time. And it continues to catch up. Steve pushes the gas pedal as far as it will go on the curvy road.
An uneasy feeling spreads in the pit of his stomach. He's driving Danny's car, what if they realize they're chasing the wrong guy? He quickly texts the next number in his address book two words 'Danny, danger'. Looking in the rearview mirror again, Steve sees only the giant RAM emblem in the mirror and feels the concussion as the truck rams him. The Camaro starts to skid, Steve briefly gets it under control again, then the RAM rams him a second time. The Camaro skids into the rocks on the right, shoots across the road, breaks through the guardrail to the cliff and overturns down the rocks. The RAM stops briefly at the top, then continues as if nothing had happened.
Chin has just stowed the next crate on the loading area when his cell phone beeps. He pulls it out of his pocket. He's received a message from Steve. 'Danny, danger.' Very cryptic, but Steve would never write something like that without a reason. But why doesn't he just call? He dials Steve's number and lands straight on the mobile box. Maybe Steve doesn't have cell service right now. He wanted to hike to the waterfall with Lynn, and the network coverage there isn't that good. He doesn't tell Danny about the message at first, but when Kono comes out of the house with the next box, he takes her aside for a moment and tells her about the short message. She frowns, her boss is rarely wrong. Kono gets their guns out of the car for safety's sake and inconspicuously hands Chin his. They don't want to worry Rachel or Danny. Maybe it's nothing at all. As they are loading up the last crate, Stan's Mercedes pulls into the driveway. He gets out of the car and looks at Danny and his friends, somewhat confused, pulls out his cell phone, and then goes into the house without a greeting. Shortly after, Rachel appears, tears in her eyes. Danny is about to go to her when she waves her off and without another word gets into her Mercedes and drives off. Confused, Danny looks after her, then gets into Steve's car and drives after her. Chin and Kono follow them in their car.
When Chin and Kono arrive at Danny's house, Rachel and Danny are already standing outside. Danny is holding Rachel and apparently trying to calm her down. Alarmed, Chin looks at the two and gets out of the car.
"What's going on?"
"Stan made a stupid remark to Rachel."
"Stupid remark? He ... he said Danny was going to regret taking me back," tears streaming down her face, "how can you be so spiteful."
"Is that exactly how he put it?" Attentively, Chin looks at Rachel.
"Not exactly like that, but in spirit." Now it's Danny's turn to scrutinize Chin intently.
"Okay, Chin, what's going on, why are you asking like that?"
Chin reports the text message from Steve. Wide-eyed, Rachel looks at him and slaps her hands over her mouth.
"You mean Stan? Stan wants to do something to Danny?"
"I don't know, it's a funny coincidence though, don't you think?"
"Have you called Steve yet?"
Annoyed, Chin looks at Danny.
"Yeah, of course, I'm just landing on the box, though. I thought he was going to hike to the waterfall with Lynn. The coverage is really bad there."
Danny pulls out his cell phone and dials Steve's number. He, too, only lands on the box.
"Hmm, okay, let's unload first and then we'll think about talking to Stan for a few bars. Maybe I won't smack him right then, either."
Lynn sits waiting with her backpack packed in front of her house. Steve is already twenty minutes late. That doesn't suit him at all. However, things had not been going so well between them for a while. At least since his ex Catherine showed up again, he behaved differently towards her. But just not showing up, she found very impertinent now. She has tried to call him a few times now. Again and again she just ends up on the box. Right now she is just furious. She grabs her backpack, gets in the car and drives off. Then she makes the trip to the waterfall stop by herself. A guy is not going to ruin her day off.