Page 43 of Sea Breezes at The Beach House Hotel

Inside the foyer, we stood a moment while Nell checked the security system keyboard. “It’s been disarmed,” said Nell. “I guess the police left it like it was. I’m to call the security company.”

“Where do you want me to start?” I asked her.

“Let’s do a walk-through of the house. I need to make sure nothing else was touched,” said Nell.

We left our purses in the kitchen and walked through the rooms on the first floor, then the second floor, leaving Clint’s office to the last.

Nell opened the door, and we peered at the disturbance.

“What a mess,” said Nell. She lifted her cell phone and took photos from the doorway, and then we moved inside the room to record the scene with more photographs.

While we were there, Nell called Clint and put him on the speaker. “Ann and I are in your office. We’ve taken photographs. What else should we do? What would you like us to look for?

“I want you to go to the closet and see if you can find a key hanging along the side of the wooden trim behind the door. When you find it, I want you to take it to the garage and open a toolbox there.”

“Really? Okay. What will I find there?” Nell asked him.

“You’ll see,” said Clint. “There are personal papers. I put the paperwork in there in case something like this trouble came up. I’ll hang on while you search.”

Nell found the key, and we went into the garage and looked for a metal toolbox.

We found it under the workbench among some other items. Nell tried the key and unlocked the box.

Inside, several envelopes were marked and sealed.

“Okay,” said Clint, “I want you to remove the envelope called ‘Employee Agreement’. There should be another marked ‘Equity Agreement’. Find the one marked ‘pay stubs’ and the one marked ‘benefits package’. I want you to bring those to Florida when you return.”

“Why are they here and not with your other personal papers?” I asked Clint, too curious to let it go.

“The man who left the company due to his relationship with Claudine warned me to be sure to keep all original materials related to my employment with Everett, Shuster, and Donnelly,” explained Clint. “When he wanted to get his equity investment back on the project I’m now working on, the company attempted to screw him out of what percentage he was owed, saying he didn’t have the proper paperwork to back up his claim.”

“Are you leaving the company?” asked Nell.

“I want that option,” said Clint. “I’m not sure what’s happening. I just know I don’t like how the original project agreement is changing.”

“Let me know if you need anything else,” Nell said. “I’ll bring the toolbox with me because I’ve decided to drive your car to Florida. That way, I can pack what I want to keep safe.”

“Okay. Thanks. Do you have hotel reservations for tonight?”

“Yes, but depending on how fast we get packed up, we might not stay nearby. We might get on the road, away from here,” said Nell, with such urgency I realized she thought we might be in danger.

A shiver traveled down my spine.

“Keep me informed,” said Clint.

“Of course,” Nell said. “Love you.”

“I love you, too,” said Clint.

Nell ended the call and faced me. “Let’s work fast, Ann. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.”

“Okay,” I said. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“Will you work in the dining room?” Nell asked me. “There are empty moving boxes here in the garage. I want to pack up the family silver and other items you think I should keep safe. I’m going to box up jewelry and other items from the master bedroom. Then we’ll pack the kids’ things they might need.”

I grabbed some empty boxes and went into the dining room.

Nell came into the room and handed me some plain, packing paper. “This is left over from our move here. It works better than newspapers.”