Chapter 7 - THE SECRET INSIDE A RABBIT
Maya refused to sleep without her one-eared rabbit. She called him Captain Buttons and introduced him to everyone at the safe house like he was a royal guest.
I sat with her on the bedroom rug and held him up. "Your daddy said you had something important. Did he give you a surprise?"
She thought seriously, then pointed to the rabbit's torn ear.
"Daddy fixed him."
A stitch of blue thread stood out against the old white fabric. I waited until Maya was distracted with crayons, then asked Rosa to help me open the seam carefully.
Inside was a tiny brass key wrapped in paper. Written on it was a locker number and three words: NOT THE BANK.
I called Naomi before touching anything else. We photographed the discovery and handed the key over for secure custody. By evening, Detective Quinn had determined that the number matched a private records facility outside the city.
"Julian rented a locker there under his own name," Quinn said. "We'll need lawful access, but it's a lead."
Rosa watched Maya draw a lopsided pink house. "I tried to protect her," she whispered. "Vanessa kept saying I'd lose my pension if I talked."
"You did talk," I told her. "That matters."
"Too late."
I looked at the child on the rug. "We're here now."
The next morning, Quinn and Naomi met me at the records facility. Inside the locker was a hard drive, a packet of ship logs, and a handwritten list of payments to shell companies.
At the top of the list was the name of the Swift Foundation, the charity my late husband and I had built.
May you like
Under it, in Julian's handwriting, was another name.
Mine.
