Chapter 10
The house was dead silent as Arthur walked down the long, dimly lit hallway toward the study. The flashing red and blue lights from the federal cruisers outside filtered through the front window blinds, casting rhythmic, bloody stripes across the polished oak floorboards. Every footstep felt heavy, as if he were wading through thick, black water.
He reached the heavy mahogany door of the study, pushed it open, and stepped inside. The room smelled of old paper, leather, and stale tobacco. Without turning on the overhead light, he crossed the room to the dark wood paneling behind the large executive desk, exactly where Eleanor had indicated.
Using his fingertips, he found the small, recessed seam in the wood paneling and pressed hard. A hidden spring clicked, and a small square section of the wall popped open, revealing a dark, dust-filled cavity cut directly into the drywall.
Sitting inside the cavity was a small, heavy steel lockbox painted industrial gray. Across the lid, engraved in neat, cursive brass lettering, were the words: David Hayes – Final Ledger.
Arthur’s heart hammered against his ribs like a caged animal. His hands shook as he reached into the dark recess, lifted the heavy box out, and placed it squarely on the center of the mahogany desk.
He picked up the small silver key Eleanor had given him, slid it into the brass keyhole of the lockbox, and turned it. With a satisfying, mechanical snap, the latch released.
He slowly lifted the heavy steel lid.
Inside sat a thick stack of handwritten notebooks, a small gold pocket watch with a cracked glass face, and a microcassette tape labeled in his father’s own handwriting: Play this if I don't make it home.
Arthur swallowed hard, his throat dry as sandpaper. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the small digital audio recorder he used for his investigative work, and carefully popped open its micro-cassette adapter slot. With trembling fingers, he transferred the tiny tape from the metal box into his device, plugged in his headphones, and hit play.
The static hiss of an old magnetic tape filled his ears, followed immediately by his father’s familiar, weary voice speaking in a quiet, rushed whisper.
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"Arthur, if you’re listening to this, it means Richard found out that I was recording his conversations..."
Arthur stopped breathing as the next words out of his father's mouth completely rewrote everything he thought he knew about the past.
