Chapter 6: The Locked Room
I called Aunt Susan back immediately.
No answer.
Again.
Voicemail.
“Call the police,” Laura said.
I already was.
I gave the dispatcher Susan’s address and explained that she had sounded frightened before the call disconnected.
The dispatcher told me officers were being sent.
“I’m going there.””
Laura grabbed her purse.
“I’m coming.””
“You don’t have to.””
She gave me a look.
“My husband was just arrested in your house after I discovered he’d lied about our marriage for eight years. I have nowhere else I’d rather be.””
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into Susan’s neighborhood.
A patrol car was already outside.
The front door was open.
My heart jumped.
I ran toward the porch.
An officer stopped me.
“Ma’am.””
“I’m Emily. I called.””
He held up a hand.
“Your aunt is okay.””
I nearly collapsed.
“Where is she?””
“Inside.””
Susan appeared behind him.
Her gray hair was loose around her face, and she was clutching a cardigan closed over her chest.
I rushed toward her.
“What happened?””
“I’m fine.””
“You said someone was here.””
“There was.””
“Who?””
Her eyes moved toward Laura.
“This is Laura,” I said.
“She’s involved.””
“That’s an interesting way to put it,” Laura murmured.
Susan didn’t smile.
“The back door was open.””
The officer said, “There are no signs of forced entry.””
Susan wrapped her arms around herself.
“I know I locked it.””
“Was anything taken?””
She hesitated.
The officer noticed.
“Ms. Bennett?””
Susan looked at me.
“Something was.””
“What?””
She glanced toward the hallway.
“A box.””
“What box?””
“Your father’s.””
My anger returned instantly.
“You kept something of Dad’s for twelve years and never told me?””
“I was protecting you.””
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Susan flinched.
“Your father made mistakes.””
“Was telling me my mother was dead one of them?””
The officer looked between us.
“I’ll give you some privacy, but don’t touch anything around the back entrance.””
When he moved away, I faced Susan.
“Start talking.””
She sat at the kitchen table.
Laura and I remained standing.
Susan stared at her hands.
“Your mother didn’t die in that accident.””
“I know that now.””
“The woman in the car was someone else.””
My stomach turned.
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I was told the identification was wrong.””
“By Dad?””
“Yes.””
“Then why hold a funeral?””
Susan looked at me.
“Because someone was trying to kill Margaret.””
The kitchen became silent.
Laura slowly sat down.
“Who?””
Susan shook her head.
“Your father never told me.””
“Then tell me what he did tell you.””
Susan took a trembling breath.
“Margaret discovered money disappearing from Bennett Property Holdings. Large amounts. Your father believed someone inside the company was stealing.””
“How much?””
“Millions.””
Laura and I exchanged a look.
“Did my mother know who?””
“She thought she did.””
“Who?””
“Your father wouldn’t say.””
I leaned over the table.
“What does Ryan have to do with this?””
Susan’s face changed.
“You mentioned Ryan on the phone.””
“I found a photograph.””
I placed my phone on the table and showed her the picture I had taken.
Susan stared at it.
“Oh, God.””
“You recognize it?””
“Yes.””
“Who was Ryan to them?””
Susan looked at me.
“He worked for Margaret.””
I felt sick.
“Doing what?””
“Errands at first. Filing. Deliveries. Your mother liked helping young people who needed a start.””
Laura gave a humorless laugh.
“That sounds like Ryan.””
Susan looked confused.
“He was charming. Very charming.””
“He still is when he needs something.””
I sat opposite her.
“Did Dad know Ryan?””
“Of course.””
“So Ryan lied.””
“Yes.””
“Did Ryan steal from the company?””
“I don’t know.””
“But Dad fired him?””
Susan looked startled.
“How did you know?””
“He said my father humiliated him.””
Susan nodded slowly.
“Thomas discovered Ryan had copied confidential files. He fired him immediately.””
My pulse quickened.
“When?””
“A few months before Margaret’s accident.””
There it was.
A connection.
“What files?””
“I don’t know.””
Laura leaned forward.
“Property records?””
“Possibly.””
“Bank accounts?””
Susan looked frightened.
“Possibly.””
I thought about the $250,000 transfer.
“After Dad died, you saw Mom.””
“Yes.””
“What did she tell you?””
“She told me not to contact her.””
“Why?””
“She believed someone was watching the family.””
“Ryan?””
“She never gave me a name.””
“Where did she go?””
“I don’t know.””
I slammed my palm against the table.
“You must know something.””
Susan jumped.
“I don’t!””
“You let me mourn her for twenty-seven years!””
Tears filled her eyes.
“Because your father begged me to.””
“My father is dead.””
“I know.””
“So stop protecting his secrets.””
Susan stared at me for a long moment.
Then she stood.
“There is one thing.””
She walked into the hallway.
Laura and I followed.
Susan stopped in front of a narrow closet.
She reached above the doorframe and removed a tiny brass key.
“What is this?””
“Your father gave me two boxes.””
My heart pounded.
“You said one was stolen.””
“It was.””
“And the other?””
Susan unlocked the closet.
Behind several coats was a small wooden panel.
She pressed it.
The panel opened.
Inside was a metal case.
Laura whispered, “You’ve got to be kidding me.””
Susan removed it and carried it to the dining table.
The brass key opened the case.
Inside were photographs, letters, an old ledger, and a sealed envelope.
My name was written across the front.
EMILY.
I recognized the handwriting instantly.
My father’s.
My fingers trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single handwritten page.
Emily,
If you are reading this, then either I failed to protect you, or you finally discovered the truth yourself.
Do not trust the official story about your mother.
Do not trust the company records.
And most importantly—
I stopped.
Laura leaned closer.
“What?””
The next line made my blood turn cold.
Do not trust Susan.
I slowly raised my eyes.
My aunt was no longer sitting across from us.
May you like
The front door was open.
And Susan was gone.
