Ali interrupts, talking a mile a minute, making his case: “But I wouldn’t be missing any school. And I know I can do it. I can ride around on a scooter and ask a few questions, check things out. Like being undercover. Who’d pay any attention to a kid like me?”
“Ali, that’s a wonderful gesture,” says Alex, “and as soon as we find Damon, we’ll let him know how much you wanted to be here.”
“If you say so.” Ali sounds disappointed.
“Besides, we need you there to help Nana Mama, especially now that Willow will be there too,” Bree says.
“Don’t worry about Willow,” Ali says. “She’s gonna be happy.”
“Oh, yeah?” says Alex. “Why’s that?”
“Because Jannie’s coming back from Howard. She says to tellyou and Bree that she’ll be here helping out Nana Mama until you guys find Damon and come home.”
Alex frowns. “But she has a track meet in Gainesville in two days!”
“She said, ‘To hell with the track meet, I need to be home.’”
Alex looks over at Bree. He can tell that she’s thinking the same thing he is.
What a blessing to have kids like this.
CHAPTER 22
THAT EVENING, AFTER A shower and a change of clothes, Bree and Alex head down to the Grotto Tavern, one of the oldest bars in Chapel Hill. The walls are covered with posters of past UNC star athletes, and four wide-screen televisions hang from the ceiling.
At the rear of the tavern, Melissa is sitting with a woman and two men, all apparently grad students in their early twenties, just like Damon. A half-empty pitcher of beer sits in the center of the round wooden table.
Alex thinks back to his own student years, first as an undergrad at Georgetown and then at Johns Hopkins, where he earned his PhD in psychology. He remembers knocking back beers in bars like this and trying to solve the problems of the world. But tonight, he and Bree are trying to solve one problem and one problem only.
Melissa makes the introductions as Alex pulls out a chair for Bree. They both sit down.
“Thank you all for coming,” says Bree. “We really appreciate it.”
“Glad to do it,” says Roger Walker, who has an intense academic look and wears wire-rimmed glasses and a blue button-down shirt.
“Anything for Damon,” adds Nia Williams, a striking young woman wearing bright red lipstick and a black-and-red BLM jersey.
“How can we help?” asks Carter Harris, a tall guy in a Tar Heels T-shirt. His bald head gleams under the bar lights as he picks up the beer pitcher, fills two glasses, and passes them over to Alex and Bree.
Melissa speaks up first, talking to the grad students. “Everyone is connected to Damon in a different way. I was thinking that maybe one of you remembered some conversation or detail that would give Dr. Cross and Chief Stone a clue about where Damon might be.”
Carter shakes his head. “Not me, sorry. I know Damon through volunteer coaching at the YMCA youth basketball camp. I’m sure you know what a great player Damon is. He’s also a great coach, always focused on more than just improving the kids’ basketball skills. He also wants to show them how important it is to be on time and be helpful.”
Carter takes a sip of beer and continues. “I asked him once why he didn’t try out for some of the local leagues. He just laughed and said he was taking a break from making basketball the center of his life. But Damon’s always first in, last out at practice. He helps scoop up the loose balls and sweeps the gym afterward. I mean, who’d want to hurt a guy like that?”
Across from him, Roger drains his beer. “I feel the same way. I’m one of the leaders at SALE—Student Action in Literacy Equality. We help kids with reading problems. Damon’s one of ourbest tutors. He’s always upbeat, never misses a session. He’s great with the kids.”
“He’s always been good at helping out with his little brother, Ali,” Alex says.
Under the table, Bree slides her hand into Alex’s and squeezes.
“What about you, Nia?” Alex asks. He can tell that she’s been holding back something. Nia pushes her napkin around for a few seconds, then looks up.
“Me and Damon, we work together in the Students of Color Movement.” Nia offers a shy smile. “I’m sure you two know this, but Damon’s a wonderful public speaker. He told me he had no training, he just learned it from growing up around opinionated people.”
Well,Alex thinks,that’s one thing you can definitely say about the Cross family: We’re opinionated.
Bree leans in. “Nia, do you think Damon’s activism might have attracted attention from the wrong kind of people?”
