Grim gave Keene the general location and asked that the precise address remain restricted to those who required it. Keene agreed, with the reminder that nothing was protected merely because someone wished it to be. "We need Sarah's account, and we need her to receive medical care," he said. "We will not make her testify today. First we make sure she and the children are safe. Then we build something a court can examine without depending on your reputation or Mercer's."
When Grim hung up, Millie had already opened the kitchen for breakfast. The first customers of the morning were two construction workers and an elderly man who came daily for oatmeal, none of whom knew why the waitress behind the counter looked as though she had slept in her clothes. Danielle had gone home for two hours and returned because she could not stop thinking about Rosie. Walter was making pancakes with the resigned dedication of a man who knew the diner would be busy whether he was tired or not. Ordinary life had resumed its claim on the building.
"Good news?" Millie asked. Grim considered. "The federal people have an investigation already," he said.
"They know some of the names. They're coming for Jesse's evidence." Millie nodded, but her attention remained on his face. "You sound like somebody told you not to try to solve all of it yourself." Grim took his coffee. "Something like that."
Marco called a few minutes later from Laughlin. His voice was low, but there was warmth in it that had not been present on the road. "Everybody arrived," he said.
"Linda was waiting with towels. Sarah got examined at a clinic, and they've told her she needs rest and follow-up care. She has bruised ribs and some injuries around her eye, but she's sitting up and talking. Rosie ate pancakes until Linda had to take the plate away so she could breathe."
Grim let himself exhale. "Ethan?" he asked. "He's trying to help everyone," Marco said.
"He tried to wash the dishes, sweep the floor, and ask Linda whether her windows lock. She told him the windows have locked since before he was born and sent him to sit with his sister." A short laugh sounded through the line. "He's sleeping now. First time I've seen him stop looking at a door."
"Keep them there until somebody official coordinates the next place," Grim said. "And Marco, don't let a good breakfast convince you nobody will come looking." "I know," Marco answered.
"Linda knows. She threatened to hit me with a frying pan if I woke the children without a reason, so I'd say the situation's under control for now." Grim almost smiled. "I'd listen to Linda."
After the call, he stayed at the counter for several minutes without speaking. Danny drank his coffee on the stool next to him, shoulders stiff from sleeping badly. They had worked together through debt disputes, broken-down motorcycles, funerals, and nights when some club members believed anger was the same thing as courage. Danny had watched Grim become slower to act and more exact about why he did. He wondered how much of that change came from age and how much came from the son nobody mentioned aloud.