Chapter 4 - The Men with the Keys

Eli slid the toolbox toward me. "Back wall," he whispered. "Air vent. Big enough if we take the grate off."

"I'm sixty-three, not six," I whispered back.

"Then be a skinny sixty-three for thirty seconds."

While June jammed a screwdriver beneath the latch, I stuffed Robert's recorder and papers into my jacket. The unit door rattled. A voice shouted that the sheriff had a warrant. We didn't wait to see whether he really did.

The vent led into the dark service hallway behind the units. Eli lifted me through, then followed with June. We heard boots enter unit 214 as we slipped out a side exit and into the pickup.

"Drive," June said.

A black SUV turned after us at the first intersection.

Eli took the long way through the industrial park, cutting between loading bays. The SUV stayed close. At the railroad crossing, bells began to ring. Eli hit the gas, and we bounced over the tracks seconds before the barrier dropped. The SUV skidded to a stop on the other side.

I should have felt triumphant. Instead I thought about Daniel's voice on that recording. Fear had been in it, yes, but also guilt.

We hid at June's sister's empty farmhouse. I plugged the recorder into Eli's laptop. One deleted audio file remained in its memory. Eli managed to recover most of it.

"Dad," Daniel was saying, "I signed a transfer. Stacey told me it was temporary financing."

"Financing for what?"

"The north shore. The mineral rights. I didn't know the land was in Mom's name until the papers came back."

Robert swore softly. "Daniel, you just sold something that wasn't yours."

The file ended with a crash, then a frightened whisper I couldn't identify: "He's coming."

Wren called from an unknown number. I answered immediately.

"Grandma?" Her voice shook. "I can't talk long. Dad says they'll have a funeral even without a body."

"Where are you?"

"Home. Stacey took my phone, but I have an old one. Grandma, there's something in the garage. A box Dad told her to burn."

"Don't go near it."

"I already did. There's a photo of Grandpa the night he died. He's standing beside Sheriff Calder."

A door slammed on Wren's end.

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"Who are you talking to?" Stacey demanded.

The line went dead.