Chapter 5: What Nathan Knew
“Don’t answer him.””
Dad stood beside me, staring at my phone.
I read Nathan’s message again.
BUT THE BIGGEST LIE IS ABOUT YOUR MOTHER.
My thumb hovered over the screen.
“What if he actually knows something?””
“Then he can tell Daniel.””
“He contacted me.””
“Which is exactly why I don’t trust him.””
Another message arrived.
I HAVE SOMETHING LAURA GAVE ME BEFORE SHE DIED.
Dad’s face changed.
“What?””
I showed him.
His jaw tightened.
“Call Daniel.””
It was nearly ten at night, but Daniel answered immediately.
Dad explained.
Daniel was silent for several seconds.
“Do not meet him alone.””
“I wasn’t planning to.””
“And don’t give him information. Let him talk.””
Dad looked at me.
“Should Emily answer?””
“Yes. One sentence. Ask what he has.””
I typed carefully.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
Nathan replied almost instantly.
A KEY.
Then:
AND THE ADDRESS IT OPENS.
Dad leaned against the counter.
“Does that mean anything to you?””
“No.””
Nathan sent another message.
LAURA TOLD ME TO GIVE IT TO EMILY IF ANYONE EVER TRIED TO PROFIT FROM THE HOUSE.
A chill moved through me.
That was too specific.
Dad took the phone.
“How could he know about the rent?””
“Vanessa probably told him.””
“Then why mention your mother?””
I typed another question.
HOW DID YOU KNOW MY MOM?
The response took longer.
I worked for her father.
I frowned.
“Grandpa?””
My maternal grandfather, Thomas Mercer, had died when I was thirteen.
He owned several small commercial properties around the county.
Dad stared at the message.
“I remember a Nathan.””
“You do?””
“Maybe.””
He rubbed his forehead.
“Your grandfather had a young property manager. Nathan something.””
My pulse quickened.
Nathan sent a photograph.
A brass key lay on a white envelope.
Across the envelope was handwriting I recognized instantly.
Mom’s.
For Emily.
Dad sat down.
“Oh my God.””
I enlarged the photograph.
There was no mistaking those letters.
The slant of the E.
The loop in the y.
Mom had written it.
“Why would he have that?””
Dad whispered.
I typed.
WHERE?
Nathan gave us the address of a twenty-four-hour diner near the interstate.
Daniel insisted on meeting us there.
Forty minutes later, the three of us walked inside together.
Nathan was already waiting.
He looked nothing like the man I vaguely remembered from two years earlier.
He seemed exhausted.
Mid-forties.
Gray at his temples.
A scar beneath his chin.
He stood when he saw me.
“Emily?””
Dad moved slightly in front of me.
“You talk to both of us.””
Nathan nodded.
“Fair.””
Daniel sat opposite him.
“I’m Daniel Price. Attorney for the Laura Bennett Family Trust.””
Nathan’s face tightened.
“I know who you are.””
That surprised Daniel.
“How?””
“Laura talked about you.””
Nathan placed the envelope on the table.
Dad reached toward it.
Nathan covered it with his hand.
“For Emily.””
I took it.
Inside was the brass key.
Nothing else.
“Where does it go?””
Nathan slid a business card toward me.
An address was written on the back.
Daniel read it.
“Mercer Storage?””
Nathan nodded.
“Your grandfather owned it.””
Dad frowned.
“That facility was sold years ago.””
“Most of it.””
Nathan leaned forward.
“One private unit remained under a separate holding agreement.””
“Whose?””
“Laura’s.””
I stared at him.
“Why?””
“Because your mother discovered something before she died.””
Dad’s hands tightened.
“What?””
Nathan looked at him.
“That someone had been trying to borrow against this house.””
Daniel straightened.
“That shouldn’t have been possible.””
“It wasn’t. Not legally.””
My skin prickled.
Nathan continued.
“Laura believed someone had accessed copies of property records and trust documents.””
“Who?””
“She didn’t know.””
Dad shook his head.
“Why didn’t she tell me?””
Nathan hesitated.
“She planned to.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“She was sick, Richard.””
“You knew my wife?””
“I knew her father first.””
Nathan’s voice softened.
“Laura contacted me because I understood his properties.””
Dad stared at him.
Nathan continued.
“She asked me to store copies of everything somewhere outside the house.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“What everything?””
“Records. Correspondence. A few recordings.””
My heart started pounding.
“Recordings of who?””
Nathan looked at me.
“I never listened.””
Dad clearly didn’t believe him.
“Then how does Vanessa fit into this?””
Nathan’s expression became complicated.
“She found me two years ago.””
I remembered him at our house.
“You weren’t her cousin.””
“No.””
“What did she want?””
“The key.””
My fingers closed around it.
Dad whispered, “Why?””
Nathan looked toward the rain-streaked window.
“She knew the storage unit existed.””
Daniel asked, “How?””
Nathan slowly turned back.
“That’s the part I couldn’t understand.””
Dad’s patience snapped.
“Stop speaking in riddles.””
Nathan met his eyes.
“Vanessa knew details Laura had only told three people.””
“Who?””
“Me. Daniel.””
Then Nathan looked directly at Dad.
“And you.””
Silence.
Daniel’s face changed.
“I never spoke to Vanessa about the unit.””
Nathan nodded.
“Neither did I.””
Dad stared at him.
That left one person.
Himself.
“I never told her,” Dad said.
Nathan leaned back.
“Then somebody had access to information they shouldn’t have.””
Daniel stood.
“We’re going to the storage facility.””
Nathan shook his head.
“Not tonight.””
“Why?””
“Because Vanessa tried to get into that unit six months ago.””
My heart stopped.
May you like
Nathan looked at the key in my hand.
“And yesterday, someone tried again.””
