Chapter 10 - Drawer Seventeen
Margaret’s storage unit smelled like wet cardboard and old carpet.
She led Jake and Dana past metal shelves stacked with legal files.
“Drawer seventeen,” she said, stopping at a green steel cabinet.
The silver key fit.
Jake turned it.
Inside was one sealed envelope, a flash drive, and a handwritten log sheet.
Margaret frowned.
“I didn’t put these here.”
The envelope had one line on the front.
FOR JAKE OR MARGARET IF TODD EVER TRIES TO TAKE BEN.
Jake’s hands trembled as he opened it.
Rachel’s letter was only two pages.
She wrote that Todd had asked to borrow money after losing his construction business. When she refused to touch Ben’s education account, Todd became angry. Weeks later, she noticed someone had tried to access her online banking. She changed passwords, met Margaret, and created a paper trail.
Then came the line that made Jake sit down.
Todd told me if Jake ever comes home, he will make sure Ben is gone before Jake can get him back.
Dana read over his shoulder.
“That’s enough for me to request emergency action.”
Margaret plugged in the flash drive.
It contained scans of bank statements, copies of Todd’s debt notices, and a recording.
Rachel’s voice filled the storage unit.
“Todd, leave.”
Then Todd’s voice.
“You think prison boy is going to come save you?”
“Jake is Ben’s father.”
“He’s a felon.”
“He’s still his father.”
A door slammed on the recording.
Jake stared at the computer.
He had spent four years believing Rachel had stopped writing because she finally hated him.
Instead, she had been fighting for a future he did not know existed.
Dana was already on the phone.
“I need an emergency pick-up order and an interstate alert. Possible custodial interference. Child is eight. Guardian may be attempting to cross state lines.”
Jake stood.
“Can I go with you?”
“No.”
He slammed his palm against the cabinet.
“I’m his father!”
Dana faced him.
“And I am trying to keep you his father. If you chase Todd and something goes wrong, his lawyer will say you are unstable, violent, and violating parole. Do not hand him that story.”
Jake looked away.
His phone rang.
Ben again.
“Dad?”
“I’m here.”
“We stopped.”
“Where?”
“A motel. There’s a red number seventeen on the door.”
Jake looked at the key still in his hand.
“What’s the motel called?”
Ben whispered, “I can’t see the sign.”
Then Todd’s voice exploded nearby.
May you like
“Who are you talking to?”
The call ended.
