The idea of seeing Shay strongly appealed to me. “I will later. I have a couple friends stopping by in a few minutes.”

“Who?”

“You don’t know them. Their names are Richard and Chuck.”

“They new at church?”

“No…I met them through Shay. They live on the streets.”

If that information fazed my son, he didn’t show it. To this point, he had yet to look up from the video screen, intent on slaying dragons or some creatures from outer space, I couldn’t tell which.

A couple minutes later, just as I’d said, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to Richard and Chuck. Richard came into the house, but Chuck stayed on the other side of the threshold.

“I’ll keep watch,” Chuck announced.

Richard looked hard at his friend. “You said—”

“I’ll stay out here,” Chuck insisted. He peered inside the house, and that seemed to be enough to dissuade him from coming inside. The more I’d come to know Chuck, the more I realized that he was uncomfortable in enclosed spaces. He preferred sleeping outdoors even on the coldest of nights rather than going into a shelter. Both Richard and I had tried to reason with him, to no avail. I didn’t know what had caused this with Chuck and he wasn’t talking.

Even when it came to visiting Shay at the hospital, Chuck hadn’t been by once. Richard had mentioned it all had to do with the elevator and that his friend preferred to wait outside.

“I won’t be long,” Richard said as he came into the house. He removed his knit cap, which had several holes.

He looked a bit uncomfortable himself, I noticed. Without asking, I poured him a cup of coffee, added cream and sugar, and set it on the kitchen table.

Richard’s gaze scanned the room.

“That’s my son, Mark,” I said.

Mark sat with his back to us but raised his arm in greeting.

“Hi,” Richard said shyly, as if he didn’t want to disrupt Mark’s game. Pulling out a chair, Richard took a seat and cupped the mug with both hands while staring down at the brew.

I took the seat across from him and had my own cup. “I understand you’re the one who’s been keeping an eye out for Shay’s brother?”

Richard nodded. “Didn’t know it would lead to this.”

“Of course not. None of us would have guessed something like that would happen. Don’t blame yourself. Hurting Shay is on Shooter, no one else.”

Richard cocked his head to the side. I knew he wanted to believe me but felt terrible that Shay had been hurt.

“What made you want to find Caden?” I asked.

Rotating the knit cap in his hand and keeping his gaze focused down, Richard mumbled, “Shay brought me coffee. She didn’t need to do that. That guy, Frankie, who owns the café, he didn’t want me around. I wasn’t hurting nobody. There’s this grate there, see. It has warm air coming out of it, and nights when I can’t get in the shelter it’s the warmest place to be.”

“I understand.”

“Didn’t think there was anything I could do for Shay, to thank her, you know. I don’t have much and what I got I need.”

“Of course,” I agreed.

“One time she mentioned her brother. Told me she hadn’t heard from him the whole time she was in prison and I thought, you know, that maybe if I found him that I could help him, steer him toward folks who could get him help. I mentioned it to Shay once and she thanked me real nice, but then she said it would be best if Caden sought the help on his own.”

“Caden needs to want to get well himself,” I told him.

“I know,” Richard was quick to tell me. “But I’ve lived on these streets. I know how down a man can get when you start to believe there’s no way out, no one who cares. I’ve been there. If anyone can reach Shay’s brother it would be me. I wanted to do that for her to thank her.”

“It was a thoughtful thing to do.”

“Never knew it would lead to her getting hurt.”

“How’d Shooter ever find her?” That question had played heavily on my mind.

“Think it was an accident that he did,” Richard said. “Like I explained, I put the word out, but I promise you I never gave anyone information about Shay. The only thing I can figure is that Shooter had come looking for me and got lucky when he happened upon Shay that morning. No siree, I had all contact come to me. Not Shay.”

Richard had worried some might place the blame on him for what had happened to Shay. I didn’t, and I doubted anyone else had, either. Especially Shay.

“What did Shay tell you about Caden?”

Richard shrugged as if unwilling to share confidences.

“I know he’s the one she stole the money for.” Although she’d never justified her actions, Shay had to have known at the time that she’d be prosecuted. She’d sacrificed herself for the sake of her brother.

“I know that as part of her own recovery, Shay has decided it would be best to keep her distance from her brother, and frankly, I agree.

“Have you had any success in finding him?” I asked Richard.

“Nope, sorry. I found out what I could, which wasn’t much. Last I heard he might be living in San Francisco, and that’s a big might. The guy who told me was high at the time so I wouldn’t count him as a reliable source.”

“Keep your ears open if you would. Caden is a threat to Shay. My top priority is to keep her safe.”

“I agree. If I hear anything you’ll know about it.”

“I appreciate that.”

Richard drank down the rest of his coffee and stood. “Got a cup of that I can take to Chuck? Not a fancy mug like this, a throwaway one?”

“Sure thing.” I prepared a cup for Chuck the same way that Richard liked his coffee, thinking his friend would as well. All I could find was a disposable cup meant for cold beverages. Richard didn’t seem to mind, though.

Seeing that Richard had already been on the search for Shay’s brother and found nothing but dead ends, it left me wondering who else I might be able to ask about Caden’s whereabouts, not only to be assured of Shay’s safety but also to help her brother if he was willing.

—

The following Wednesday before basketball with my guy friends, I asked to speak with Kevin Forester at Hope Center.

“What’s up?” Kevin asked when I entered his office. He appeared surprised to see me, knowing we were only minutes away from meeting on the court.

Scooting out the chair across from his desk, I took a seat, indicating that this might take a few minutes.

“Everything going okay with Shay since she’s out of the hospital?” Kevin asked.

“She’s doing great. Eager to get back to work and her classes.”

Kevin leaned back in his chair. “I told her she’s got a job here as soon as she finishes her schooling.”

“She told me.” The faith and trust Kevin and the others had placed in her and her ability had gone a long way toward the emotional healing that had taken place in Shay.

As was his habit after small talk, Kevin patiently waited for me to get to the crux of my visit.

“I need you to do something for me.”

My friend didn’t hesitate. “Sure. Anything.”

Kevin didn’t even know what I was about to ask and had already agreed. That said a lot about him as my friend and about the strong bond we shared. I didn’t have a lot of close friends. I worked with the elders at the church and was friendly with others, but there remained a separation, a distance, between us. Not so with Kevin. We were on an even playing field, comfortable enough with each other to share confidences, our fears and concerns. Had the situation been reversed, I would do whatever I could to help Kevin, should he ask.

“What do you need?”

“Shay has a brother. He was the reason she was attacked. I want to find him. Get him off the street if possible.”

Kevin folded his hands across his stomach. “I know about Caden.”

“You do?” Encouraged, I sat up straighter.

“Richard thought he might be living in the San Francisco area.”