Double Edge | WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST + AMBYS 2023 WINNER

Chapter 03

The afternoon sun brightened Lurie's family park. Children hurried through the playground. They jumped and laughed; two boys at the other end swung their legs for momentum on the monkey bars. It would've been a good day to bring Maggie here if Brenda wasn't Brenda. I could've had just one more afternoon with my child.

But the park wasn't why I was here. The playground with happy children and chitchatting parents was just in front of my destination; I wouldn't have brought my baby girl here. Too dangerous.

Bruno's Car Shop was a small mechanic joint between two apartment buildings across the street. "You said I go in through the front of the side? There isn't one." I tapped into my communications and spoke to Kimi.

A minute passed. The quiet in my head turned into static, and I hissed. I rubbed my ear as a little girl ran past me to see her father seated on a bench. She jumped into his arms, squealing about strawberry ice cream. Her father grinned. And I frowned. Maggie, I should have brought you here; spent more time with you.

"Gio?" Kimi's voice sounded in my ear. "Sorry, I was getting coffee. Did you make it to the shop?"

My brows lifted. Coffee, huh? A little café con leche would be good right now. "I've been here for 'bout five minutes, Kim. Did you get my question?"

"Oh, um..." As I listened to Kimi clicking around with her mouse and keyboard, I kept my eyes on the father-daughter duo until I couldn't. I walked away. Nothing was normal in my life, and I wish I could fix that. Maggie deserved that.

Reaching the side of the street, I waited to jaywalk; I stared at Bruno's front door. "Well, I'm looking at the shop, Kim."

"Hold on. I'm tapping into Bruno's security cameras. Give me a second."

I snorted. A shitty place like this had cameras? Well, that wasn't good for me. I didn't want to be seen. With the footage, I couldn't be the dangerous, vengeful shadow they wouldn't see coming; no one needed to know that I'd laid hands on one of the boys who helped destroy my life.

"Fine." I eyed the streets and patted my pockets. Something clinked. I'd forgotten about the small gift Maggie gave me; I took it out of the bag, pocketed it, but in a rush, never opened it.

"Okay, so there are only three people inside, Gio," Kimi's voice echoed in my ear as I pulled Maggie's gift out of my back pocket. With a tug, I undid the ribbon that secured the box. The top fell off. Once I saw what was inside, I smiled.

"Ruben is inside getting his car looked at. It looks like he knows the cashier. The other person, the mechanic, doesn't seem to talk to him. Just business, I guess. Also looks like he's going to lunch."

I let the other half of the box fall as I pulled a small necklace free from pink tissue paper. On the golden chain was the left side of a broken heart. With cute bubbly letters, it read "always." I knew Maggie had to have the other half. I wondered what it said. As I crossed the street, I put it on. The chain picked up all surrounding light, and I smiled.

"Did you hear me?" Kimi asked.

"Yeah, one guy on lunch, Ruben, with the cashier, got it" Giving the necklace one quick pat for luck, I turned right on the sidewalk so I wouldn't stand in front of the shop. No one needed to see me. Not yet. "But what door do I go through?"

"Front door. Sorry, there is nothing on the side. I read the blueprints wrong."

I stopped. I looked at the building beside the shop, an apartment complex with an open lobby. There were mailboxes inside with a couple in front of them. The man slammed the little door as he dipped his head back with a deep breath. The woman behind him slapped his shoulder.