Chapter 12 - THE ORNAMENT BOX

Police returned to the Miller house with a warrant.

Shawn came only because his mother begged him to retrieve one thing.

A handmade wooden angel his father carved the first Christmas after they were married.

Ortiz searched the attic.

Near the back wall were fifteen plastic bins labeled CHRISTMAS.

Inside one was a false bottom.

Beneath strings of lights and old ornaments lay a sealed envelope.

Blank signature pages.

Copies of notarized forms.

A handwritten checklist.

DAD - deed.

MOM - medical.

BOTH - store.

Beside each item was a date.

Maria sat downstairs when Shawn brought her the wooden angel.

She held it against her chest.

“I made the wings crooked.”

“Dad carved them.”

“He blamed me anyway.”

Don smiled. “Marriage requires teamwork.”

For a few minutes, the house sounded like home again.

Then Ortiz came downstairs holding another envelope.

“This was in the same compartment.”

Inside were photographs.

Shawn recognized himself immediately.

Leaving his office.

Entering a restaurant.

Walking through an airport.

Someone had been following him.

The oldest photograph was fourteen months old.

The newest was taken the week before Christmas.

Don stared at them.

“Why were they watching you?”

Shawn did not know.

Ortiz turned over the final picture.

On the back was a note in Mark’s handwriting.

S KNOWS TOO MUCH ABOUT ACCOUNT CHANGE. IF HE COMES HOME, USE PLAN B.

Maria whispered, “What is Plan B?”

No one answered.

Then Shawn’s phone rang.

His CFO Ben was shouting before Shawn could say hello.

“Your warehouse alarm just triggered.”

“What happened?”

“Someone broke into your records room.”

May you like

My Son Sat There While His Wife Slapped My 4-Year-Old Granddaughter Hold...

MY SON WATCHED HIS WIFE HIT MY FOUR-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER—BUT WHAT LILY WHISPERED NEXT MADE MY BLOOD RUN COLD.My four-year-old gr...

**My Wife Secretly Unplugged the Nursery Camera, Then Approached My 6-Mo...

My Wife Secretly Unplugged the Nursery Camera—Then I Saw Her Standing Over My 6-Month-Old Son With a Red-Hot Iron. But What She Sa...

I Came Home Early and Found My 5-Year-Old Daughter Eating Scraps Beside...

I thought I was coming home to an ordinary dinner.Instead, I found my five-year-old daughter sitting on the kitchen floor beside t...

Shawn looked at Ortiz.

Plan B had already begun.