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Waiting the entire week had been excruciating, so to come all this way and find nothing was more than disappointing.
She drove around the tiny expanse of downtown Newberry, then exited back onto the interstate, having no idea where else to go. Her frustration mounted with the passing miles as they had no leads, no clues whatsoever to guide them.
“You were right the first time,” she said. “This is ridiculous. We have no idea what we’re searching for. None! It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Abby scowled.
“There has to be some clue here, something to point us in the right direction.”
Though he was trying to be optimistic, his flat tone indicated even he was losing hope.
“Ugh.” Abigail made a sharp right and pulled into the parking lot of a dilapidated brick building that appeared to be an old car shop. “I’m calling Anna Gutman again. She must know something. If she’d ever pick up.”
She redialed Ms. Gutman’s number and waited. When the phone clicked, hope soared in her chest like it had the other dozen times but was quickly replaced with a wash of disappointment as the standard voicemail message clicked on.
“Voicemail,” she mouthed to Kaden, then inhaled at the beep and left a message. “Hi, Ms. Gutman, my name is Abby, and my grandmother was
Gloria Gutman. I believe you may have had contact with her some time ago. I was calling because I needed to talk to you. Please call me back as soon as you get this. My life depends on it,” she said, then pressed the end button.
“Your life depends on it?” Kaden lifted a brow. “A little dramatic, aren’t we?”
She chucked her phone on the seat and shrugged. “Hey, right now, it totally feels like it. And we need her to call me back.”
She covered her face with her hands. “Oh my gosh. I feel like I’m going nuts. Maybe Mr. Klein was right, and as much as I love GG, this was unfair of her. I mean, she’s no longer here.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” He reached out and pried her hands from her face, then squeezed her hand.
“No, it’s not okay. She’s dead, and there’s nothing I can do to bring her back. Not by following her clues or discovering her secret or...” Abby trailed off, mortified as her eyes filled with tears. Blinking them back, she rambled, mumbling about how much a lost cause this was when she noticed Kaden’s gaze lock on something outside her window.
His mouth parted, and his eyes widened. Leaning forward in his seat, he squinted, straining to see.
“What? What is it?” she asked.
Abby craned her neck. The ache in the back of her throat subsided as her eyes scanned the parking lot and the road in front of them but found nothing.
“Would you please tell me what you see?” She turned back to him and noted his gaze shifted upward, toward the horizon. She followed the direction of his line of sight one more time.
“The only thing I see is a billboard? For what? Newberry Safekeep Storage Units,” she read out loud. “What does—”
“Abby,” Kaden said, slowly. “What was the writing on the top of the key again?”
“What?” Abby scrunched her nose, confused.
“When we found the key in your grandma’s backyard, I looked it over, and there was writing on it.” He turned and caught her gaze. “It said something, and I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the word ‘Safekeep’ was written on the top of that key.”
Abby froze as understanding soaked into her veins. With a flourish of movement, she whipped around in her seat and snatched the large shoebox from the floor—the one that held all their clues—in search of the key.
“IT’S A STORAGE UNIT,” she whispered.
Abby gripped the key, her eyes glued to the tiny block script that read “Safekeep” on the top. Her breathing came in short, shallow puffs as they made their way back through town to the monotonous voice of her GPS.
Her hands shook as she clenched it in her hand and glanced over at Kaden who had taken the wheel and offered to drive when her stomach filled with too many nerves to press the gas pedal.
“This is it,” she said. “I can feel it. This is the key to everything.”
Kaden focused on the road, his expression placid, whether from nerves or fear or a combination of both, she wasn’t sure. If it weren’t for the frantic beat of her pulse as they pulled into a gravel lot of the giant steel building, she would’ve laughed at his stony expression.
He parked in front of the squat building and took a deep breath. “You ready?”
Abby nodded, then shook her head, unsure of herself. Staring out at the aluminum units, her mind reeled with possibility. Was she truly ready for whatever may be inside?
