Vicky rolled her eyes.
“Grown-up secrets.”
“Go do your homework.”
“I don’t have homework.”
“Then go invent some.”
She disappeared into her room.
Daniel waited until the door closed.
Then he reached into his briefcase.
He removed a small brass key.
I stared at it.
“What’s that?”
“Your father gave it to me eight months ago.”
Of all the things I expected him to say, that wasn’t one of them.
“My father?”
“He came to my office.”
“You knew him?”
“A little.”
“You never told me.”
“He asked me not to.”
Anger rose instantly.
“Everybody keeps telling me my parents wanted to protect me. Apparently that meant making sure I knew absolutely nothing.”
Daniel didn’t argue.
He placed the key on the table.
“Your father believed someone was trying to access the trust.”
“Howard?”
“Possibly.”
“Possibly?”
“He wasn’t certain.”
I picked up the key.
A tiny number had been engraved into it.
