Chapter 8 — The Mystery Keys
Samuel set the heavy ring of brass keys down on the foyer table next to the shattered ceramic bowl.
He gave one last uneasy look around the room.
“Anyway, I’ll let you folks sort it out,” Samuel said, stepping backward through the front door.
He pulled the door shut behind him with a soft click.
Silence settled back over the hallway.
Brenda looked down at the brass keys resting on the wood.
She picked them up by the worn leather strap.
The metal felt cold and heavy in her palm.
Arthur stood rigid against the wall a few feet away.
He stared at the keys with a look of pure dread.
“Whose keys are these, Arthur?” Brenda asked.
“I don’t know,” Arthur muttered, refusing to look at her.
“They were on your front porch,” Brenda reminded him.
“And Samuel saw you tampering with the exterior frame ledge at two o’clock.”
Arthur swallowed hard.
“He’s mistaken,” Arthur whispered.
Brenda ignored his denial.
She walked past him toward the front door.
She tried the first brass key in the deadbolt lock.
It slid into the keyhole easily.
She turned it.
It jammed hard against the internal tumblers with a metallic screech.
The key did not fit the front door lock.
Brenda pulled the key back out.
She walked over to the back exit leading to the kitchen.
She tested the second key in the rear door lock.
The key was too small for the cylinder.
It spun loosely without catching anything.
Arthur watched her movements from the hallway.
His breathing grew shallow and ragged.
“They aren’t for the doors,” Brenda realized aloud.
She turned her gaze away from the exits.
She scanned the long, quiet hallway.
Her eyes landed on the undisturbed wall-mounted picture frame near the study entrance.
It was the exact spot where she had caught Arthur staring in panic earlier that afternoon.
Brenda walked straight toward the wooden wall paneling behind the frame.
She lifted the bottom edge of the heavy decorative molding.
She found a small, recessed keyhole hidden discreetly in the dark grain of the wood.
Brenda raised the third and final key from the ring.
She slid the brass blade into the hidden slot.
The key clicked smoothly into the secret compartment built directly into the hallway drywall.
The secret panel swung open a fraction of an inch, revealing stacked documents inside.