“For a while.”
“What changed?”
Mom’s expression shifted.
“He found something in one of the boxes.”
“What?”
“A folder with your name on it.”
“Did he open it?”
“He called me.”
“Why not me?”
“Because your grandmother was still alive, and we didn’t know whether she wanted you involved.”
“She wrote that I deserved the truth.”
“Later.”
The word irritated me.
“Everything with Grandma was always later.”
Mom looked at me with a sadness that was almost unbearable.
“She was trying to keep you safe.”
“Safe from what?”
“She never said.”
I stood again, this time more slowly.
“I want to see the storage unit.”
Mom nodded.
“I thought you would.”
“Now.”
“I can take you.”
“No. I’m calling Mr. Ellis.”
“That’s fair.”
I took my phone from the counter and dialed. He answered before the second ring.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m with Mom.”
There was a brief pause.
“Is she telling you about the second account?”
“Yes.”
“What did you learn?”
I glanced at the note.
“There’s a storage unit. Grandma left instructions for me to go there. She said Daniel found documents connected to the account.”
“Daniel Mercer?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Ellis was silent for a moment.
“Did your mother say what happened to the funds?”
“Only that she transferred them to an account controlled by Daniel.”
“Controlled how?”
“She says it was protected.”
“Do you know the bank?”
Mom shook her head when I looked at her.
“No.”
“Not yet,” I said.
“Do not access the storage unit until I can meet you there.”
“Why?”
“Because if the records are relevant, you need someone to document what you find. Also, the facility may require authorization.”
“Can you come today?”
“I can be there in forty minutes.”
I agreed and ended the call.
Mom picked up her coat.
“I’ll drive.”
“I’ll follow you.”
She nodded.
Neither of us spoke as we left the house.
The storage facility sat behind an industrial park, its rows of metal doors stretching beneath a pale afternoon sky. A chain-link fence surrounded the property, and small security cameras watched from the corners of the buildings.
Daniel was waiting near the office.
He looked almost exactly as he did in family photographs, though older now, his hair mostly gray. He wore a navy sweater and held a key ring in one hand. When he saw me, he straightened.
