Chapter 6 - Four Years of Letters
Margaret Sloan’s office was above a bakery downtown.
Jake climbed the stairs at eight the next morning with the brass key in his pocket and no idea whether he was walking toward hope or another locked door.
Margaret was seventy if she was a day. Silver hair. Navy suit. No wasted words.
“You look thinner than your photograph,” she said.
“What photograph?”
“Rachel kept one on my desk for three years.”
Jake sat down slowly.
Margaret opened a file.
“Your wife came here six months before she died.”
“Why?”
“To change her estate plan and Ben’s emergency guardianship.”
Jake leaned forward.
“She did not name Todd Mercer.”
The room went still.
“Who did she name?”
“Her friend, Denise Cole, as temporary guardian if you were still incarcerated. You remained Ben’s father. Rachel was very clear that she wanted reunification after your release, subject to the usual court review.”
Jake pressed both palms against his knees.
“So Todd lied.”
“Possibly more than lied.”
Margaret slid a photocopy across the desk. It was a signed, notarized letter.
JAKE MADE A TERRIBLE CHOICE. HE DID NOT STOP BEING BEN’S FATHER.
Jake read the sentence twice.
“Where’s the original?”
Margaret looked frustrated.
“That is the problem. Rachel took the executed originals. She said she was placing them in a bank box along with the deed to the house and insurance documents.”
Jake pulled out the brass key.
Margaret stared.
“That looks like an old safe-deposit key.”
Jake’s heart kicked.
“Which bank?”
“First County. Main Street branch.”
At the bank, the manager checked old records.
“Box 214,” he said. “Rachel Carter.”
Jake exhaled.
Then the manager frowned at the computer.
“I’m sorry. The box was accessed eleven months ago.”
“By who?”
“I can’t disclose that until we verify authority.”
“Was it closed?”
The manager looked again.
“No. Still active.”
Jake showed the key.
After calls, identification checks, and paperwork that took most of the morning, the manager finally led Jake into the vault.
Box 214 slid out with a metallic scrape.
Jake’s hands shook as he turned the key.
Inside was a blue envelope, a copy of the deed, Rachel’s insurance policy, and a thick bundle of prison letters tied with a white ribbon.
All the letters Jake had written to Rachel.
Unopened.
On top of them lay a note in Rachel’s handwriting.
Jake,
If you are reading this, something happened before I could fix it myself.
Trust Margaret.
Protect Ben.
And please know this: I never stopped believing you could come home different.
Jake wiped his face.
Then he saw one more document under the letters.
A withdrawal slip.
May you like
Forty-eight thousand dollars had been removed from Ben’s education account.
Authorized by: Todd Mercer.
