Chapter 3: The Basement Ledger
Victor stared at the words.
Nobody joked.
Nobody breathed loudly.
Even the hum of the refrigerators upstairs seemed distant.
I gripped my walker.
"I have never seen that.""
Victor moved closer to the wall.
"Who wrote it?""
"I don't know.""
He rubbed a thumb across the faded paint.
"It wasn't written recently.""
His biker companion crouched beside a stack of boxes.
"Boss, look.""
He pulled out an old ledger.
The cover was cracked.
Dust fell from it in soft clouds.
Victor opened it.
Every page was filled with handwritten numbers.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Loans.
Property descriptions.
My stomach sank.
"What is that?""
He turned the ledger toward me.
At the top of one page was the name *Marlene Hart*.
Beside it were several amounts.
Then another name.
*Calvin Hart.*
I looked at my nephew.
He shook his head.
"I didn't do that.""
"You haven't even seen the pages," Victor said.
Calvin backed away.
"It's not mine.""
Victor flipped forward.
There were bank account numbers.
Property transfers.
Copies of checks.
And one notation that made my blood freeze.
*Blue Lantern — transfer after owner's incapacity.*
Beneath it was a date.
Seven years earlier.
I slowly sat on a box.
"My husband had just died.""
Calvin looked away.
Victor's jaw tightened.
"That's when they started?""
"I thought Calvin was helping me.""
"You trusted him.""
"He was my sister's son.""
Victor looked at the ledger.
"Where is Marlene now?""
Calvin snapped.
"Stop saying her name.""
Victor slowly lifted his gaze.
"Why?""
"Because she's dead.""
A female voice came from the stairs.
"Not quite.""
Everyone turned.
The basement door stood open.
An elderly woman stood there in a long beige coat.
Her hair was silver.
Her face was thinner than I remembered.
But I knew those eyes.
I knew that mouth.
I knew the little scar above her eyebrow from when she fell off our father's porch at fourteen.
My walker nearly slipped from my hands.
"Marlene.""
My sister smiled.
"Hello, Evelyn.""
I couldn't move.
Victor stepped in front of me.
Marlene looked at him.
"What a handsome young man.""
Victor didn't blink.
"You know who I am.""
Her smile faded.
Calvin rushed toward her.
"Aunt Marlene, you said this was handled.""
She slapped him.
The crack echoed through the basement.
"You incompetent idiot.""
Calvin staggered back.
"You told me she would sign.""
"I told you to make her afraid.""
Victor's expression became murderous.
I felt my chest tighten.
"So it was you.""
Marlene looked at me.
"Of course it was me.""
My sister's voice was terrifyingly calm.
"All these years...""
She walked slowly down the stairs.
"You really believed Elijah died.""
I stared at her.
"Did he?""
Marlene's lips curled.
"No.""
The word landed like a gunshot.
Victor's breathing changed.
"Where is he?""
Marlene looked at him.
"Closer than you think.""
Victor took one step forward.
"Where is my father?""
She smiled.
"You have his eyes.""
He grabbed the railing.
"Answer me.""
Marlene glanced at the pendant hanging from his neck.
"So you kept it.""
"My mother gave it to me.""
"No.""
Marlene shook her head.
"Your father did.""
Victor went silent.
I whispered, "You knew he was alive.""
Marlene looked at me.
"I knew everything.""
"Where was he?""
"Working.""
"For whom?""
She smiled.
"For people who don't forgive mistakes.""
Victor stepped closer.
"You sold him.""
Marlene's silence answered.
I covered my mouth.
"You sold your own nephew?""
"He was useful.""
"He was your blood!""
"He was a liability.""
I began crying.
"And Rebecca?""
Marlene looked at Victor.
"She knew too much.""
Victor's fists clenched.
"What did you do to her?""
Marlene shrugged.
"Nothing that hasn't already happened.""
He moved.
Fast.
One of his crew caught his shoulder.
"Boss.""
Victor jerked free.
"Don't.""
His voice was barely controlled.
Marlene smiled at him.
"You've got your father's temper.""
"Where is he?""
She reached inside her coat.
My stomach dropped.
She pulled out a small brass key.
"This opens a safety deposit box.""
Victor stared at it.
"What's inside?""
"Proof.""
"Proof of what?""
She looked at me.
"That your grandmother isn't the innocent victim she pretends to be.""
My blood ran cold.
"What?""
Marlene smiled.
"Ask Evelyn why Elijah stopped speaking to her before he vanished.""
Victor turned toward me.
His expression changed.
"What is she talking about?""
"I don't know.""
Marlene laughed.
"Still lying.""
"I am not!""
"You told him about the diner.""
My voice broke.
"I told him I wanted him to have it.""
Victor looked confused.
Marlene continued.
"And then your precious son told me he was going to expose the money you were hiding.""
I stared.
"What money?""
"You don't remember?""
"No.""
Marlene's eyes glittered.
"That's because Elijah did.""
Victor looked from her to me.
"What was my father planning to expose?""
Marlene stepped toward me.
"He found the ledger.""
She pointed at the book.
"He discovered that the Blue Lantern wasn't just a diner.""
I looked around the basement.
"What was it?""
Marlene whispered.
"A drop point.""
Victor's face hardened.
"For what?""
She smiled.
"For stolen money.""
Silence.
My heart hammered.
"You used my diner?""
"For years.""
"I never knew.""
"That was the point.""
Victor looked at Calvin.
"Was he involved?""
Marlene laughed.
"Calvin has been involved since he was nineteen.""
Calvin looked furious.
"That's not what you promised.""
Marlene ignored him.
Victor opened the ledger again.
"Where is Elijah now?""
Marlene stared at him.
Then she looked directly at the silver pendant.
"Same place he's been for thirty-nine years.""
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Where?""
She leaned close.
"Under a different name.""
My stomach turned.
She turned toward the stairs.
"Come tomorrow.""
Victor stepped after her.
"You're not leaving.""
Marlene stopped.
"You need me alive.""
"I need answers.""
"No.""
She looked over her shoulder.
"You need your father.""
Victor froze.
Marlene walked upstairs.
Calvin followed.
I heard the front door slam.
The bikers rushed after them.
But when Victor returned several minutes later, his face was grim.
"She got away.""
He held up the brass key.
It was no longer in her possession.
"I took this from her.""
I looked at the key.
There was a number stamped into it.
*417.*
Victor turned it over.
On the back was a tiny engraving.
*E.C.*
I reached toward it.
"E.C.""
Victor nodded.
"Elijah Carter.""
My heart skipped.
Then one of the bikers spoke.
"Boss.""
Victor turned.
"What?""
He handed Victor a small envelope.
"We found this taped beneath the ledger.""
Victor opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
A man standing outside a remote roadside motel.
He was older.
Gray-haired.
But the profile was unmistakable.
Victor stared.
I stared.
It was Elijah.
Alive.
May you like
And written across the bottom of the photograph was one sentence:
*HE HAS TWENTY-FOUR HOURS TO DECIDE WHETHER TO COME HOME.*
