These men… Who knows where they’re going, how far, and if I can really keep up on my bike if they go too far

The sleek, black Tesla turns the corner

and merges smoothly into traffic.

I narrow my eyes and put on speed, pedaling after them.

They’re in a car, but I have the advantage of being a kid on a bike. I can use the sidewalks and the bike lanes, skip the traffic jams, fall back when I want to, or put on a burst of speed to pass a bunch of cars waiting at a red light.

Four blocks over, though, I start having my doubts.

I must be crazy.

These men… Who knows where they’re going, how far, and if I can really keep up on my bike if they go too far.

And what if they realize I’m following them?

I don’t even have any idea who they are, if they’re really out to cause any trouble, if they had anything to do with the break-in the other night or the missing stuff from the study. Maybe they were totally unrelated, some old business associates of Abba’s or something?

Not that I’d ever heard of Abba having any partners or colleagues. I’d always thought he worked alone. Had a business, something in computers. That’s what he always said, anyway, vague stuff about computers and programming.

“Technical. Boring.” He’d laugh. “Now tell me something interesting. What did you learn today?”

The memory of those words, that laugh, hurts. For a moment, I actually think I feel something piercing in my chest and look down in alarm, but there’s nothing there.

Ouch.

Maybe some thoughts are best not thought about.