Page 67 of Revenge & Truth

Grabbing my phone, I called Jace, who picked up on the second ring. “Hey, babe, what’s up?”

“How fast can we make a copy of a key?” I demanded.

“Ah… like two minutes? We have our own key-cutting machine since the rate people lose keys is ridiculous,” Jace grumbled.

“Great, I need that like right the fuck now. Where do I go, and who do I talk to?” I pressed, trying to get him to realize this was time sensitive.

“Where are you now?”

“Just outside the front sitting room,” I shared.

The crackle of a radio sounded. “Gilbert, what’s your twenty?” There was a muffled response a moment later that I couldn’t make out. “Okay, Astin, do you know where the maintenance building is on the property?”

“No,” I said but looked over at Atticus. “Do you?”

“Yes, I can take you there,” he assured me.

“Perfect, so you’re going to meet Gilbert over there, and he’ll get you set with what you need,” Jace directed. “Call me back if anything comes up.”

“You’re the best, Jace. You might even be my favorite for the day,” I teased. He laughed as he hung up.

Atticus grabbed my hand, and we took off at a quick clip through the house, exiting out the back. We took a path around the pool and through a garden before I spotted the low building with three garage doors open, revealing the equipment needed to maintain a property this large.

An older gentleman in coveralls met us at the entrance of the building. “Lady Astin, I believe you need a key made?”

“Yes, two copies, please,” I answered, offering him the envelope to make sure I didn’t lose the original key.

“Won’t take but a minute. Make yourself comfortable wherever you can find a place to sit,” he instructed as he slipped on a pair of bifocals to examine the key. “Is this for a safe?”

Frowning at the question, I crossed my arms. “Does that matter?”

“Yes, different manufacturers add in a special notch I’ll have to hand file in since the cutting machine won’t be able to hit the right angle,” Gilbert explained.

“Then yes, it’s for a safe,” I revealed.

Gilbert grunted and shuffled off toward the back of the shop. I was impressed with all that filled this place. Clearly, Daddy made sure we had everything we needed to do maintenance on this property ourselves, which made sense, not wanting to add outsiders into the mix. True to the man’s word, he was done in about five minutes with two fresh keys and the original back in the envelope.

“Do you have red or colored duct tape?” I asked.

He looked at me over his glasses perched on the end of his nose and waved for me to follow. Weaving through a few rows of shelves filled with supplies, we stopped at a wall full of various kinds of tape.

“Feel free to use any color you like,” Gilbert offered before heading off.

Taking a quick look inside to ensure the key was there, I grabbed red tape and sealed the envelope. “Now Ivy will know if it’s been messed with,” I shared as Atticus gave me a curious look.

“That is incredibly smart, Asta,” he praised, giving me one of his rare smiles. “Can I correctly assume this is the key to the safe in the judge’s house?”

“Yes, it would appear that the judge is in a meeting with Harvey and a few other men. Apparently, this meeting happens once a month on a Saturday morning and lasts about two hours. Ivy was able to slip the key from the judge, so now we have access to both keys making this job even easier,” I explained as we returned to the house.

“I’m relieved this plan is working out so well. To me, it felt like there were too many variables to account for, but many of them have been negated, making your success rate rise,” Atticus admitted.

Smiling, I chuckled at his analysis. “What if I told you the challenge of the unknown is what makes this all so fun for me?”

“Then I’d say it’s a good thing you’re the one who’s doing the job,” he rebutted. “It’s always best to put the right person with the proper skills and mindset in charge.” To that point he was right, taking on tasks you weren’t skilled at would only bring disaster.

Stepping back into the sitting room, I offered the envelope to Dezie. “Here you are. This needs to be returned to Ivy the moment you get back. Did you drive here, or should I have one of my men drive you back to your destination?”

“No, I should have enough time to take the bus,” Dezie countered.