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I climb back down the ladder and set it on the workbench. “That’s it,” Erik confirms. “Never did open it. Couldn’t bring myself to.”
“I can do this alone.” I can only imagine the pain of losing a child. This has got to be dredging up old wounds and hurt feelings. He’s conflicted. His head wants to know if there are missing pieces to his daughter’s death, and his heart has already mourned her death.
With a heaviness in his tone, he says, “I can’t.” He turns and walks back through the door to the house, leaving me to it.
I slice the tape with a box cutter in the toolbox and lift the lid. It’s as Penny described: a plastic bag containing clothes spattered with Clarissa’s blood. As I open the bag, a flood of memories of a young Clarissa with a vivacious laugh and a zest for excitement comes to mind. A senseless death due to drugs.
A short plaid skirt, worn and threadbare, a pink crop top, ripped in various spots, a pair of three-inch black stilettos, a small purse. No key. I try the purse. All I find are several condoms and a lipstick. I run my hands along the inside of the lining, but it seems smooth and untampered with.
Fuck! I was counting on it being here. No ID, no money, just a fucking lipstick. Clarissa’s shade was hot pink. She had a thing for lipstick, and she had every shade of pink, but hot pink was her favorite. I hold it and take off the cap.
“Holy fuck!” I growl. No lipstick, but there is something lodged inside. I shuffle through the toolbox and find a pair of needle-nose pliers. It’s a tight fit, but I manage to pull out the object.
It’s the smallest gold key on a simple thin gold chain. “This can’t be it,” I say aloud, though there’s nobody here to hear me. How the hell is this a key that leads to a fortune?
TWENTY-ONE
It’s a Relief
THUNDER
Ituck the gold key and chain into my pocket. My gut prompts me to scan the items once again. I feel like I’m missing something. I run my hands over the material of the top, then the skirt. I hear a crinkle, like paper being crumpled.
There’s something in the hem of the skirt. When I turn it inside out, I notice that parts of the hemline have been restitched. Carefully, I pull apart the thread to reveal folded bills of money. Clarissa was hiding money from her pimp, which is probably what got her killed. I pull out over a thousand dollars in cash with a note neatly folded, mixed in with the cash. “RD” is printed in capitals.
I fold and place the clothes back into the plastic bag as neatly as they were, then back into the box, firmly closing the lid before I climb back up the ladder to put it back where it was. Then I take out my phone and make my call.
Guard answers on the first ring. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. You won’t believe this.”
“You found it,” he says, and I can hear the sigh of relief in his tone.
“I got it,” I confirm. “Something’s not right, though. No way on this planet does this key open shit. It’s a gold charm on a thin gold chain. It’s not worth much of anything. You would get a couple hundred bucks at most for it, and that’s being generous.”
“Can’t put a price on sentiment,” Guard says. “Reno called Risk and wants to meet. I’m going with him. We’re meeting at the cabin in the woods. Reno wants us out of sight and away from any ears. I think he’s got the missing answers to this puzzle.”
“Listen, I know we found what we wanted and could be on our way back tonight, but Erik and Penny are freaked. I couldn’t keep them in the dark. I want to give them another night with Rose before coming back.”
“That’s fine. By that time, I’ll have had the sit-down with Reno. I’ll alert Hawk. He’ll be there by noon to take you back to the plane,” he says. “Stay alert.”
“You got a feeling?”
“No, but we’re close to the finish line, and I don’t want to take any chances.” He chuckles.
“The sooner this is over, the better.”
After disconnecting, I slide my hand back into my pocket, tightening my fist around the charm. Hard to believe that this insignificant piece of jewelry has caused so many deaths and so much damage.
Erik is sitting in his armchair, staring out of the window deep in thought, when I come back into the house. I can hear Penny in the kitchen with Rosie. Erik must sense that I’m in the room because he turns to me with a pleading expression, silently asking me if I found what I was searching for.
I nod. His eyes turn to the heavens, offering a wordless thank-you. By this time, Penny and Rose have joined us, and I ask them to take a seat. I take my place beside Rose and tell them what I’ve found.
“A thousand dollars. Do—do you think she stole it?” Penny asks.
“I don’t know. Rightfully, it belongs to you, but I’d like to hold on to it until this is sorted out,” I tell her.
“Can I see the necklace?” she asks. I take it from my pocket and place it in her palm. “This isn’t something she would buy for herself.” Penny shows Erik, who takes it from her and studies it carefully.
