“Not at all.”
He sets the basket down on the kitchen table and starts sorting his clothes into piles. And from the variety of colors, some of Serenity’s stuff is mixed in, which is really cute.
I drop our lunch plates into the sink and glance out the window. “Serenity had a pretty good turnout today.”
Frank laughs. “I gotta admit, I’m surprised some of those older ladies can bend their bodies like that.”
“You should try it! You did just have a big birthday so you may want to stay limber in your old age.”
“Ha, ha, very funny.”
My phone rings and I hesitate a moment since I don’t recognize the number, but ultimately answer it.
“Hello?”
“Aubrey, this is Hank Landry.”
“Oh, hi.”
“Listen, this is gonna sound strange, but can you grab that jewelry box Paul Granger sent you?”
That was not what I was expecting him to ask me. “Sure, hold on.” I walk back to my room and grab it off the top of my dresser. I glance around the room, and it’s covered in clothes with nowhere to sit, so I bring it back to the kitchen table. “Okay, I got it.”
“Turn it upside down.”
“Hold on. Let me put you on speaker.” I hit the button and put the phone on the table. “Can you hear me?”
“Yeah.”
Frank comes back out of the laundry room, puts his empty basket on the table, and watches me flip the jewelry box over. “Okay, what am I looking for?”
“There should be a small tab in the corner. Might be tucked in the seam.”
I feel around the bottom edge and run across a bump near one corner. “I may have found it but I’m not sure there’s enough sticking out for me to grab. How did you know about this?”
It’s a few seconds before he answers me. “Went to Angola today to talk to Paul. He had another box like that. Apparently he likes to put secret compartments in some of the things he makes.”
“Oh, wow…Okay.”
I work the little piece but can’t get any movement.
“Here, use this.” Frank has a pocketknife in his hand and pulls out the small set of tweezers.
“Thanks.” I take it from him and it does the trick. Just a few tugs later, the bottom pops open and something falls out, bounces across the table. “Oh shit! There was a USB drive in there!”
“Aubrey, Paul didn’t send you that jewelry box, but he did give Foster one just like that when he visited him.”
“What?”
“If it’s okay, I’m coming there. I’d like to see what’s on the drive.”
Part of me wants to hang up on him. I don’t think he’d be on my side if there’s anything on here that could harm Camille or her family, but then he didn’t have to tell me about the compartment. He could have just figured out how to take it from me.
My voice cracks when I ask, “Is this what I think it is?”
“I believe it could be. Can I please come there and view it with you?”
“Yeah, okay.” And then I end the call before he can say anything else.
