Chapter 2 - THE BLOOD ON THE METAL CASE
The photograph had been taken years earlier.
My first wife, Claire, was standing outside a hospital, smiling weakly while holding newborn Ethan against her chest.
Someone had circled the silver cup in the background.
Under the photograph, Amanda had written three words.
Find the original.
I looked at Ethan.
“Did Amanda ever ask you about your mother’s belongings?”
“All the time.”
His voice was barely audible.
“She kept asking whether Mom left me papers.”
“What kind of papers?”
“I didn’t know.”
I examined the metal case.
The blood on the corner looked old.
A small combination lock secured the lid.
Ethan stared at it.
“Dylan cut his hand trying to open it.”
That explained the stain.
“Did he get inside?”
“No.”
I carried the case downstairs and placed it on the kitchen table.
Then I called an old friend named Marcus Bell.
Marcus had worked security for my construction company before becoming a private investigator.
He answered on the third ring.
“Jack?”
“I need you at my house.”
“At six in the morning?”
“Now.”
He heard something in my voice and stopped joking.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
When Marcus arrived, I showed him the photographs from the file.
He studied them in silence.
Then he looked at Ethan’s bruises.
His jaw hardened.
“You need the police.”
“I need to know who Amanda is working with before she realizes we found anything.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Then nobody can know you came home early.”
He examined the metal case.
“It’s a cheap lock.”
He opened it in less than two minutes.
Inside were three old journals.
A bundle of letters.
A flash drive.
And a sealed envelope addressed to me.
The handwriting belonged to Claire.
My legs nearly gave way.
Claire had been dead for nine years.
I opened the envelope with shaking hands.
Inside was a single page.
Jack, if you are reading this, someone has finally found the cup.
I stopped breathing.
Ethan moved closer.
“What does it say?”
I continued reading.
The cup is not valuable because it is silver.
It is valuable because of what is hidden beneath its base.
We both turned toward the keepsake cup.
Marcus picked it up and examined the bottom.
There was a narrow seam around the base.
He twisted it carefully.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a tiny brass key.
And a folded strip of paper containing the name of a bank.
Below it was a safe-deposit box number.
Marcus looked at me.
“Whatever Claire hid, Amanda has been searching for it.”
My phone suddenly rang.
Amanda’s name appeared on the screen.
I answered and forced my voice to sound normal.
“Hey.”
Music and laughter echoed behind her.
“Jack, where are you?”
“Still in Arizona.”
There was a pause.
Then Amanda’s voice became colder.
“That’s strange.”
“Why?”
“Because the security alarm says someone opened my bedroom window.”
I looked at Marcus.
He immediately checked the window.
It was closed.
Amanda continued.
May you like
“So I’ll ask again.”
“Where are you?”
