Chapter 6 - The Room Without Windows
“Where did you hear my brother say that?”
Celia’s eyes filled.
“On a call. Months ago.”
“Before the accident?”
She looked down.
Nora turned to Adrian.
“Before the accident?”
Ruth stepped between them.
“Celia needs medical attention.”
“And I need an answer.”
Celia suddenly bent forward, struggling for breath.
The investigator caught her before she slid off the stair.
Ruth called emergency services and described her condition.
Adrian backed into the office, speaking quickly into his phone.
Nora followed.
“What did you do to Ben?”
He ended the call.
“Nothing.”
“You keep using words that leave room around the truth.”
He looked exhausted now.
Good.
She wanted him exhausted.
She wanted him scared.
“My brother called me the night he disappeared. He said somebody had made a mistake and people were going to get hurt.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“He asked whether Mom was asleep. Then he told me he loved me.”
“I know.”
“How?”
No answer.
Nora slapped the phone out of his hand.
It struck the carpet.
“How?”
Ruth entered.
“The ambulance is coming through the rear. Celia’s conscious.”
Then she looked at Adrian.
“Tell her what you can prove. You’ve done enough deciding for other people.”
He picked up his phone.
“There’s an investigation into the foundation.”
“By you?”
“By federal authorities. I’ve been providing records.”
Nora stared.
“For how long?”
“Four months.”
“Ben died eight months ago.”
Adrian didn’t answer quickly enough.
Ruth’s expression sharpened.
“Adrian.”
“There are things I can’t discuss without putting someone at risk.”
“My family’s already at risk.”
“Yes.”
The word stopped her.
No excuse.
Just yes.
Ruth handed Nora a glass of water.
“Your brother rented a storage box at Mercer Records. Did he ever leave you a key?”
Nora remembered the envelope Patricia had insisted they keep.
An old birthday card.
A brass key taped inside.
Ben’s handwriting beneath it.
For when you finally clean out your junk drawer.
She had cried over that stupid joke for months.
“It’s at my apartment.”
Ruth shook her head.
“Your mother took his papers when she left. I asked.”
Nora looked toward Adrian.
“You knew about the key?”
“Ben told me the records existed. He never told me where.”
Ruth’s phone chimed.
Her investigator had sent a photograph of the card.
There was more writing inside the folded bottom edge.
Nora enlarged it.
May you like
Seven words.
If Adrian asks, don’t give him everything.
