Chapter 5 - Robert Feared The Locked Footlocker
Police found Robert at a motel the next morning.
He had not fled the state.
He claimed he left Jack’s house because he wanted no part of Margaret’s
“ridiculous stunt.”
The recording contradicted him.
Investigators asked about the footlocker.
Robert refused to answer without an attorney.
That was his right.
Jack did not treat silence as proof.
Instead, he began searching legally through Daniel’s estate with the
executor.
Daniel had left a storage unit in Virginia.
Inside sat a green military footlocker.
Locked.
No key.
On top was an envelope addressed:
JACK CARTER — DO NOT LET MARGARET OR ROBERT OPEN THIS FIRST.
Jack stared at the handwriting.
Emily stood beside him.
“You decide.”
He appreciated that.
After consulting the estate attorney, a locksmith opened the footlocker.
Inside were photographs.
Letters.
Service records.
And a thick binder labeled:
CARTER FREIGHT — 2004–2007.
Jack recognized the company.
Thomas and Robert had operated Carter Freight before selling it.
Daniel had worked briefly as a logistics consultant after leaving active
duty.
The binder contained invoices for shipments moving through
military-adjacent contracts.
Several entries were marked by hand.
Duplicate weight.
False destination.
Missing equipment.
Jack’s stomach tightened.
This was not simply a family paternity secret.
Daniel had documented suspected fraud involving Thomas and Robert.
Then Emily found a smaller envelope.
Inside was a brass key.
Margaret had been searching for something already locked inside the very
box she wanted to open.
Jack frowned.
“What does this key open?”
Taped beneath it was a note.
SAFE-DEPOSIT BOX 417.
May you like
And beneath that:
THE TRUTH ABOUT THOMAS IS THERE.
