The muddy footprint was smaller than Marcus\u2019s.<\/p>\n
That was the first thing Daniel noticed.<\/p>\n
He crouched near the back door without touching the floor, studying the tread pattern beneath the weak yellow light from the hallway. The soil was still dark and damp in the grooves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came in from outside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n
The back door was closed.<\/p>\n
Not locked.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI locked that door before we left for the cemetery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered doing it. I had stood there with my coat already on, checked the deadbolt, and pulled the handle twice because Dad had always been obsessive about locks.<\/p>\n
Samuel moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould someone have had a key?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot one I knew about,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Marcus was staring at the footprint.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody had accused him.<\/p>\n
Still, he sounded as though he needed everyone to believe him.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet's keep everyone out of this hallway until we've checked it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He motioned toward his colleague.<\/p>\n
The other investigator remained near the study while Daniel followed the trail toward Dad's bedroom.<\/p>\n
I stayed behind him.<\/p>\n
Marcus started to follow.<\/p>\n
I held up my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked irritated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we don't know who was here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't need you to.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me for a moment, then stepped back.<\/p>\n
It was strange.<\/p>\n
A few hours earlier, I had believed Marcus was the greatest threat inside the house.<\/p>\n
Now I wasn't sure he was even the reason someone had broken in.<\/p>\n
Daniel stopped outside Dad's bedroom.<\/p>\n
The door stood open by several inches.<\/p>\n
I felt a chill travel down my back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI closed that,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't challenge me.<\/p>\n
He simply nodded.<\/p>\n
Daniel pushed the door wider with a gloved hand.<\/p>\n
Nothing appeared disturbed at first.<\/p>\n
The bed was still made.<\/p>\n
Dad's reading glasses rested beside the lamp.<\/p>\n
His old slippers sat beneath the chair.<\/p>\n
The framed photograph of our family remained on the nightstand.<\/p>\n
Everything looked exactly as it had that morning.<\/p>\n
That made the intrusion more unsettling.<\/p>\n
Someone had entered carefully.<\/p>\n
Someone had known what they wanted.<\/p>\n
They hadn't overturned drawers or thrown clothes across the floor.<\/p>\n
Daniel scanned the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't touch anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood near the doorway and looked around.<\/p>\n
Dad's bedroom had always been quiet.<\/p>\n
He kept the curtains half closed even during the day, saying bright sunlight made it harder to read.<\/p>\n
The room still smelled faintly of his shaving soap and cedar.<\/p>\n
I felt the loss again, suddenly and sharply.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel pointed toward the bookshelf.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere's something on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
One book lay several feet from the shelf.<\/p>\n
I recognized it immediately.<\/p>\n
Dad's old financial planning book.<\/p>\n
I had seen him reading it for years.<\/p>\n
Daniel crouched.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas this normally there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He examined the cover without opening it.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know why someone might search this book?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I picked it up carefully.<\/p>\n
Something slid from between the pages.<\/p>\n
A small brass key struck the floor.<\/p>\n
It made a tiny metallic sound.<\/p>\n
Marcus, standing behind us, stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
I bent down.<\/p>\n
The key was old, narrow, and slightly tarnished.<\/p>\n
I turned it over.<\/p>\n
No markings.<\/p>\n
Samuel came closer.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father told me about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot where it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said that if he died before explaining everything, I should tell you to look for a brass key.\u201d<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked slowly around the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it open?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know,\u201d Samuel said.<\/p>\n
I looked at the key again.<\/p>\n
Dad had hidden it inside a book that an intruder had apparently searched.<\/p>\n
That meant whoever entered the house might have known about the key.<\/p>\n
Or they might simply have been searching for the same thing Dad expected me to find.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to search the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
We checked the obvious places first.<\/p>\n
The desk.<\/p>\n
The bedside table.<\/p>\n
The drawers.<\/p>\n
The cabinet.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Daniel examined the backs of the paintings.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Samuel checked the floorboards near the bed.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Marcus opened the wardrobe.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad hated anyone touching this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ran his hand along the wooden frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it belonged to our grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the doors.<\/p>\n
Rows of Dad's clothes hung inside.<\/p>\n
Winter coats.<\/p>\n
Old suits.<\/p>\n
A few shirts still carrying the faint scent of his cologne.<\/p>\n
Boxes occupied the bottom shelf.<\/p>\n
Marcus moved one aside.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I crouched.<\/p>\n
The bottom of the wardrobe looked different from the rest.<\/p>\n
There was a narrow wooden panel.<\/p>\n
Almost invisible unless you knew where to look.<\/p>\n
I ran my fingertips along the edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel crouched beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cA seam.\u201d<\/p>\n
He examined it.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at the brass key.<\/p>\n
I held it toward the lock.<\/p>\n
It fit perfectly.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
I turned the key.<\/p>\n
A small click came from inside the wood.<\/p>\n
The panel released.<\/p>\n
Behind it was a narrow compartment.<\/p>\n
Inside was one envelope.<\/p>\n
My name was written across it.<\/p>\n
I felt my throat tighten.<\/p>\n
Dad's handwriting.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
I pulled it out.<\/p>\n
The envelope contained no money.<\/p>\n
No legal papers.<\/p>\n
Only a photograph.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
Dad stood outside a small farmhouse.<\/p>\n
Beside him was a woman I had never seen before.<\/p>\n
She looked to be in her late thirties in the photograph, perhaps early forties. Her dark hair was pulled back, and she had one hand resting against the wooden fence.<\/p>\n
Dad was smiling.<\/p>\n
Not his polite business smile.<\/p>\n
His real one.<\/p>\n
The smile I remembered from family trips.<\/p>\n
I turned the photograph over.<\/p>\n
A sentence was written on the back.<\/p>\n
Elena, if you find this, ask Marcus about the woman in the photograph.<\/p>\n
I looked at my brother.<\/p>\n
He had gone completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus didn't answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes remained fixed on the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father's old business partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad had business partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot like her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who was she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus sat on the edge of the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name meant nothing to me.<\/p>\n
Samuel, however, reacted.<\/p>\n
He looked at Marcus sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel's expression darkened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus rubbed his hands together.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad and Rebecca started a small investment company years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy have I never heard of her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's what Dad told everyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't leave,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was pushed out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His answer came too quickly.<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen by whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word landed heavily.<\/p>\n
Daniel straightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus took a long breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked with Dad and Rebecca when I was younger. She was smart. She understood the business better than I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't explain why you forced her out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe found something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancial irregularities.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn executive's.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad's company?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus continued slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca wanted to report it. She believed someone was moving money through one of the company accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you stop her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I thought reporting it would destroy Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe executive had threatened to expose several problems in the company. I had made mistakes too. I was afraid everything would collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you lied to Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her Dad knew about the irregularities and wanted her gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt anger rising.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lied to her to protect yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she left believing Dad betrayed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad ever find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found out later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't he tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he wanted me to fix what I'd done.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked again at the photograph.<\/p>\n
Dad had kept it hidden.<\/p>\n
Not destroyed.<\/p>\n
Not thrown away.<\/p>\n
Hidden.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever contact Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel walked to the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel picked up the photograph carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something written at the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned it over.<\/p>\n
A faded address appeared beneath the main note.<\/p>\n
I recognized the place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's Dad's farmhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one north of town.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had almost forgotten it existed.<\/p>\n
Dad called it his quiet place.<\/p>\n
He had bought it years ago and rarely spoke about it.<\/p>\n
I looked at Marcus.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew about the farmhouse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Rebecca stayed there?\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel studied the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe address is still valid?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe property remains in the estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the open compartment.<\/p>\n
The intruder had searched Dad's bedroom.<\/p>\n
They had moved the financial planning book.<\/p>\n
They had apparently been looking for something.<\/p>\n
The brass key had been left behind.<\/p>\n
The photograph had remained untouched.<\/p>\n
Or perhaps the person who entered had never found the compartment.<\/p>\n
Then the $75,000 transfer came back to my mind.<\/p>\n
A transfer made from this house.<\/p>\n
Using Dad's old phone number.<\/p>\n
I looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if the money went to Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad trusted her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr because someone wanted us to think that,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
He handed the photograph back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are too many unanswered questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the farmhouse address.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou'll stay with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus didn't argue.<\/p>\n
That frightened me more than if he had.<\/p>\n
We left the house before sunset.<\/p>\n
I locked the back door myself.<\/p>\n
This time I checked it twice.<\/p>\n
The road north stretched through fields turning dark beneath the evening sky.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke much.<\/p>\n
Marcus sat in the back seat.<\/p>\n
I could see his reflection in the window.<\/p>\n
He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
Not angry.<\/p>\n
Not defensive.<\/p>\n
Just tired.<\/p>\n
After nearly three hours, the farmhouse appeared beyond a line of tall trees.<\/p>\n
The place looked exactly as I remembered.<\/p>\n
Small.<\/p>\n
Weathered.<\/p>\n
Quiet.<\/p>\n
The front door was locked.<\/p>\n
Samuel tried the brass key.<\/p>\n
It turned.<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
Dust hung in the air.<\/p>\n
The house was almost empty.<\/p>\n
Then we heard a sound upstairs.<\/p>\n
A floorboard creaked.<\/p>\n
Marcus grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
For once, I didn't argue.<\/p>\n
Daniel raised his hand.<\/p>\n
We moved toward the stairs.<\/p>\n
Another creak came from above.<\/p>\n
Someone was there.<\/p>\n
And when we reached the top step, a bedroom door slowly opened.<\/p>\n
A woman stood inside.<\/p>\n
She looked older than she did in the photograph.<\/p>\n
But I knew her immediately.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Hart.<\/p>\n
She looked at Marcus first.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
Her expression held neither surprise nor fear.<\/p>\n
Only sadness.<\/p>\n
Finally, she said the words that made my heart stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father knew you would come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The muddy footprint was smaller than Marcus\u2019s. That was the first thing Daniel noticed. He crouched near the back door without touching the floor, studying the tread pattern beneath the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-readmore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3937"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3952,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3937\/revisions\/3952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}