Chapter 16 - THE VAULT KEYS
Ten minutes later, Mr. Cole led Clara down a private service stairwell to the lowest storage vault of the hotel building.
The lower levels were quiet now, the fire department having contained the small smoke bomb Brenda had set in the laundry room.
Mr. Cole opened a heavy steel safe inside his private office, pulling out a small wooden box lined with black velvet.
Inside the velvet box lay two items: an old brass key stamped with a serial number and a recorded micro audio tape.
"This key opens Box 402 at the First National Bank on Michigan Avenue," Mr. Cole explained, setting it on the desk.
"Inside that box is Richard’s original, unedited will, along with legal proof of Julian’s financial fraud," he added.
Clara reached out, her fingers gently touching the cold brass surface of the key her late husband had left behind.
"What is on the audio tape?" Clara asked, looking up at the framed US flag mounted on Mr. Cole’s office wall.
"That tape contains Richard’s final message to you recorded three hours before his plane went down over the mountains," Cole answered.
Clara felt a lump form in her throat as tears blurred her vision, the lingering pain of her husband's loss returning in full force.
May you like
Before Mr. Cole could press play on the tape recorder, the heavy iron office door behind them suddenly clicked locked from the outside.
***
