Chapter 5: The Second Key
“Ethan, Claire left something that belongs to me.””
Richard Grant’s voice carried through the front door with the calm confidence of a man who expected doors to open for him.
Sophie grabbed my hand.
“Daddy.””
“I’m right here.””
Daniel stepped beside me.
“Don’t let him in.””
Richard rang the bell again.
Mom whispered, “Maybe we should call the police.””
“And tell them what?”” Daniel asked.
“That Claire’s former attorney is standing on a porch holding a key?””
“I can tell them he’s frightening my granddaughter.””
Richard spoke again.
“I know Daniel Mercer is inside.””
Daniel’s expression changed.
I looked at him.
“How?””
“I don’t know.””
“That answer is getting old.””
Richard knocked three times.
“Five minutes, Ethan. Then I leave.””
I opened the door but kept the chain secured.
Richard smiled.
He was probably sixty-five now. Silver hair. Tailored charcoal suit. Polished shoes.
He looked like the man families trusted to write wills.
“Ethan.””
“What do you want?””
“To prevent a misunderstanding.””
“You mean the misunderstanding where someone stole money from my daughter?””
His smile disappeared.
“I see Daniel has been filling your head with theories.””
“Claire found the transfers.””
“Claire was extremely ill.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“You’re the second person today who’s used that excuse.””
Richard glanced past me.
“May I come inside?””
“No.””
“I knew Claire since she was twelve.””
“Then you should understand why I’m saying no.””
His eyes dropped toward my hand.
“You found her recorder.””
It wasn’t a question.
Behind me, Daniel muttered, “Close the door.””
Richard heard him.
“Mr. Mercer.””
Daniel moved into view.
“Grant.””
Richard’s mouth curved slightly.
“You’ve aged.””
“You haven’t changed.””
“Still dramatic, I see.””
“And you’re still following dead women’s families.””
Richard’s eyes hardened.
I stepped between them.
“What does your key open?””
Richard looked at the brass key in his hand.
“A safe-deposit box.””
“Which bank?””
“That isn’t important.””
“It became important when you came to my house.””
He slipped the key back into his pocket.
“Claire took documents from me shortly before she died.””
“What documents?””
“Confidential financial records.””
“About Sophie’s trust?””
A pause.
Small.
But enough.
“Claire misunderstood those records.””
“Then explain them.””
“I’d be happy to.””
He looked at the chain.
“Inside.””
“No.””
Richard sighed.
“Ethan, your wife was frightened. Terminal illness can make people desperate for explanations.””
“Careful.””
“I’m not insulting her.””
“You’re standing outside her house calling her paranoid.””
“I’m saying she reached conclusions without having all the facts.””
Daniel laughed.
“Funny. You told me she knew too much.””
Richard’s head snapped toward him.
Silence.
Daniel smiled without humor.
“Remember the parking garage?””
Richard said nothing.
“You didn’t know I heard you.””
I turned to Daniel.
“He was there?””
“After you left.””
Richard’s composure cracked.
Only slightly.
But Claire had taught me something without meaning to.
Watch what people do when they think nobody is looking.
“Tell him,” Daniel said.
Richard stepped backward.
“This conversation is finished.””
“No,” I said.
“Now it’s starting.””
He looked at me.
“You want answers?””
“Yes.””
“Ask your mother-in-law why Thomas changed his trust three days before he died.””
Mom gasped behind me.
I turned.
“What?””
Richard walked toward his car.
“Richard!””
He stopped beside the curb.
Then looked back.
“Claire discovered the theft because she was looking in the wrong place for the right reason.””
“What does that mean?””
“Ask Margaret.””
He got into his car.
I closed the door and locked it.
Then I faced Mom.
She looked twenty years older.
“What did Thomas change?””
“Ethan—”
“What did he change?””
Sophie flinched at my voice.
I lowered it immediately.
“Mom, please.””
Margaret wasn’t technically my mother.
But after Claire and I married, I had started calling her Mom, and after Claire died, the word became permanent.
She sat down.
“Thomas didn’t trust Richard near the end.””
“Why?””
“He never told me.””
Daniel pulled out a chair.
“Think.””
Mom looked at him sharply.
“I am thinking.””
“Did Thomas discover missing money?””
“No.””
“Forged documents?””
“I don’t know.””
“What changed three days before his death?””
Mom looked at Sophie.
“His executor.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“From who?””
“Richard.””
“To Claire?””
Mom shook her head.
“To Ethan.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“Thomas named you successor executor and co-trustee.””
“That makes no sense.””
“He trusted you.””
“Then why didn’t I know?””
“Because Richard told us the amendment was never properly executed.””
Daniel swore softly.
“Did you see it?””
“No.””
“Did Claire?””
“I don’t know.””
I remembered Daniel’s earlier words.
According to amended paperwork, I controlled Sophie’s trust.
Except I had never signed anything.
“Someone replaced the amendment,” I said.
Daniel nodded.
“Or altered it.””
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
For one terrible second, I expected another video.
Instead, a message appeared.
YOU’RE ASKING THE WRONG QUESTION.
Daniel looked over my shoulder.
“Same number?””
“Yes.””
Another message arrived.
CLAIRE DIDN’T HIDE THE KEY FROM VANESSA.
SHE HID SOPHIE FROM THE PERSON WHO OWNED THE OTHER KEY.
I looked toward the window.
Richard’s car was gone.
“Who keeps sending these?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
“You knew about the first message.””
“I knew someone had recorded Vanessa. I didn’t know who.””
A third message appeared.
ASK SOPHIE WHAT MOMMY TAUGHT HER ABOUT NUMBERS.
I turned.
Sophie sat on the floor with her rabbit.
“Bug?””
She looked up.
“Did Mommy teach you something about numbers?””
She nodded.
“What?””
“A game.””
“What kind of game?””
She placed the rabbit on the carpet.
“Mommy said numbers remember where secrets sleep.””
Daniel and I exchanged a look.
“Can you show me?””
Sophie ran upstairs.
She returned carrying her coloring book.
Several pages were filled with ordinary drawings.
A house.
A rainbow.
Claire holding Sophie’s hand.
Then Sophie turned to the back cover.
Four groups of numbers had been written in purple crayon.
317.
204.
119.
625.
I recognized the first immediately.
“The station locker.””
Daniel pointed.
“So the others are locations.””
Mom whispered, “Claire used her daughter as a map.””
“No,” I said.
I finally understood.
“She used things only Sophie would keep.””
Sophie pointed at 204.
“That one is Grandma.””
Mom frowned.
“Me?””
“Mommy said your birthday.””
February fourth.
204.
Mom covered her mouth.
Daniel pointed to 119.
“What’s that?””
Sophie shrugged.
“And 625?””
Her face brightened.
“Mommy’s flowers.””
Claire and I had married on June 25.
Our anniversary.
My phone buzzed again.
This time the message contained only three characters.
119.
Then:
FIND IT BEFORE VANESSA DOES.
A loud sound came from upstairs.
A drawer slamming.
Everyone froze.
Daniel stood first.
“Who else is in this house?””
“Nobody.””
Another sound.
Footsteps.
Sophie moved behind me.
I ran upstairs.
Claire’s old bedroom closet stood open.
Boxes had been pulled onto the floor.
The window was raised.
Cold air rushed through the curtains.
Someone had been inside.
On the carpet lay a single photograph.
Claire.
Vanessa.
Richard Grant.
And a fourth person whose face had been scratched away.
May you like
On the back, Claire had written one line:
119 — HE WAS THERE WHEN IT STARTED.
