Tommy faced worse intimidation. A dark SUV followed him twice after school, moving slowly enough that the boy recognized the same driver. One afternoon an unknown man approached him outside the recreation center and asked whether he knew how easy it was to lose a college scholarship over a bad decision. Another day a message appeared on his phone suggesting that his mother would regret allowing him near Marcus.
Denise Washington arrived at the diner furious and frightened. "I believed you when you said he'd be safe here," she told Marcus, not because she thought he had made the threats, but because fear needed somewhere to land. "He's sixteen. I don't care what problems some developer has with you. My son is not going to get caught in it."
"You're right," Marcus said.
"That's all you've got?"
"He's your son. You make the decision. And I'm sorry my trouble reached your door."
Denise covered her mouth for a moment. "Tommy loves this place," she whispered.
"So do I. That's why I'm not asking him to take a risk I can't take away."
Tommy turned his back before Marcus could see his face. He left with his mother, his apron folded on the counter. Marcus did not call after him. The diner had once offered the boy a small measure of freedom, and now keeping him nearby might have cost him the ordinary freedom of walking home without looking over his shoulder.
Alicia received a warning of her own. Her captain informed her that Internal Affairs had received complaints questioning her judgment because of her friendship with a man supposedly under multiple business investigations. Nothing in her personnel file suggested misconduct, and visiting a diner was not prohibited, but the scrutiny was enough to make her cautious about what she said and where she said it. She requested that any allegation be put in writing, then transferred what she had collected about Derek to investigators who could pursue the matter without her personal connection becoming the issue.
"They're making the world around you smaller," she told Marcus during a brief evening visit. "Your suppliers, your friends, your customers. That's the point."
"I figured that out."
"Have you figured out what it means for you?"
He looked at Eleanor's empty memorial shelf. "It means somebody wants me to make a decision I wouldn't make if I had a choice."
Alicia nodded. "Then let's give you some choices."
She had already begun talking to other business owners, some of whom recognized Derek's methods. A tailor remembered sudden inspection complaints shortly before selling his lease. A florist described pressure on her suppliers, followed by an offer to buy her equipment for a fraction of its worth. None of them wanted their names attached to an accusation yet. Each said some version of the same thing: they had families, debts, and very little left to lose.