Page 411 of A Matter of Time

She winced. “It’s not like he doesn’t try, it’s just… He missed a promotion he was supposed to get after he and Taylor broke up… He’s just not in a good place.”

“Taylor?”

“His girlfriend.”

“Oh.”

“So both her sons are in no shape to⁠—”

“I meant Dane when I said her son would help. He can and will.”

Her face brightened. “Will he?”

“Oh, yes, ma’am.”

She passed me a small set of five keys and squeezed my shoulder. “You’ll talk to him, will you?”

“I will.”

“That’s great. Susan told me that your brother just dotes on you. I’m sure if you ask him, that will go a long way to convincing him.”

I nodded.

“And especially now.” Her brows furrowed as she shook her head. “They need help.”

I squinted at her. “Do you mean with just the business?”

She studied my face. “No, but if the business does well, maybe they will too.”

Daniel and Susan’s marriage was rocky? All the little secrets I was finding out.

“Now, dear, I have no idea what any of those keys are for,” she told me, “but they aren’t for the doctor’s files.” She pointed at a flat one. “I think that’s the safety-deposit box one. She banks at First United Credit Union, a block from us. But just call her and ask, and if she calls here, I’ll tell her I gave you the keys.”

I couldn’t very well tell her not to. How suspicious would that have looked? So I nodded, thanked her, and left. I just hoped Susan wouldn’t feel compelled to call work for some reason. As long as she and Nancy didn’t talk, I was fine.

The credit union was small and crowded with people when I got there. It was lucky, because the girl who helped me just took the key, walked into the vault, and came back hurriedly with the box. She motioned me to the cubicles behind her and sat me down before she put the box down. She left seconds later with orders to call her when I was done.

When I lifted the lid, I found a lot of the same contents that were in Daniel’s safe at their home. Copies of birth certificates. Their marriage certificate was also inside, and five hundred dollars in cash. There was also a set of two keys on a Tiffany key ring. It was the one Aja had given out at the wedding in her gift bags. One of the keys was a large square-top one with a Do Not Duplicate engraving on it. It looked just like the one I had for my security door at home. The other was a house key. I wondered why they were there instead of at her house with all the other sets I had seen there, hanging on pegs in the kitchen. There was nothing else in the box. I pocketed the keys, locked the box, and called the attendant back.

Back outside on the street in front of the credit union, I wasn’t sure what to do until I remembered Gwen. Maybe she knew what the key was for. As I walked back toward the office and farther, toward the campus—apparently sometimes Gwen walked to her mother’s office and had lunch during the week—I turned my phone on and called Dane.

“Jory,” he snapped at me, “where—yes, it’s him.” He sounded really exasperated.

“Hey, I gotta⁠—”

“Jory, where are you?” he almost yelled but stopped himself.

“I’m on my way to⁠—”

“I’m going to strangle you!” Sam roared into the phone. “Where the hell are you? Tell me now!”

“It’s really hard to talk to both of you at the same time, especially when you’re both yelling at me.”

“Dane and I just landed in Dallas.”

“Really?”

“Yes really!”