Chapter 4 - My Aunt's Warning
I stayed awake trying to explain how a dead woman could have warned me about a man she never knew.
Mara warned against assuming the photograph was authentic just because the handwriting looked familiar.
She arranged for the envelope to be documented and preserved.
The next morning I visited my aunt's oldest friend, Ruth Calder, who had helped settle the estate.
Ruth lived in a modest brick duplex and still kept a bowl of peppermint candies beside her front door.
When I showed her a copy of the photograph, she put her hand over her mouth.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was sent to my lawyer's office.”
Ruth studied the seven words and shook her head.
“Your aunt wrote that warning about a different man.”
She told me that years ago a contractor named Philip Voss had worked on the house during a renovation.
He became fixated on an old crawlspace beneath the stairs and insisted something valuable had been concealed there.
My aunt fired him after he tried to enter without permission.
“Celia Voss,” I said.
Ruth nodded slowly.
“His daughter.”
I felt the story tilt under my feet.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Your aunt considered it finished, and you had enough grief when she died.”
Ruth opened a desk drawer and brought out a faded binder.
Inside were photographs of exposed framing, receipts for repairs, and a letter from a lawyer stating that Philip Voss had no rights in the property.
On the last page was an inventory of items removed during the renovation.
Old ledgers.
A damaged photograph album.
A metal document box.
The document box was listed as returned to the owner, but no one had signed the return line.
Ruth said my aunt had once told her that the house was not valuable because of what could be hidden in it.
It was valuable because it was the first place she ever felt safe.
I understood that sentence better now than I had at twenty-four.
When I got back into Naomi's car, a message from Gavin appeared on my screen.
Mom says she'll tell everyone what you did unless you come home today.
I forwarded it to Mara without answering.
Then a second message arrived.
I found the box your aunt stole.
I had never told Gavin about the metal box.
May you like
Not once.
