The lock had rusted, but Evelyn produced a key from the blue sugar bowl.
This time, everyone noticed the strange detail.
The pantry key had once been kept there too.
Daniel opened the case.
Inside were three fountain pens, a bottle of dried blue ink, several old receipts, and a bundle of documents held together by twine.
The top page was a blank version of the agreement Elena had received.
Beneath it were photocopies of Daniel’s signature taken from insurance papers.
Evelyn sat heavily on the bed.
“So Walter did it.”
Daniel lifted the documents one by one.
“It looks that way.”
At the bottom of the box was a sealed envelope.
On the front, Walter had written:
For Leah. Keep this until Daniel is ready.
Leah was Daniel’s younger sister.
Silas’s aunt.
The same aunt who had told him that Evelyn had always been forgetful.
Daniel reached for his phone.
