Page 76 of Out on a Limb
“It’s nothing you need to worry about.” He tried to cut me off like usual. “Go back to the gift shop. I’ll handle this.”
I wasn’t going back to the gift shop, and I sure as hell wasn’t letting him handle this. Not when he’d disappear tomorrow and I wouldn’t see him for another six months.
“Just tell us what it is and we can help you look for it.” I moved in to stand beside the chairs where I’d been sitting less than twenty-four hours ago, waiting for him to show his face.
“Did you find the key yet?” Alan stopped short when he saw me and Andrew. “Morning.”
Andrew shifted on his feet, moving in an odd way as his eyes held mine. “We’ll go and let you two find what you’re missing.” Andrew didn’t look away from me as he seemed to twist a little in place. “We have work to do anyway.”
I looked back at my granddad.
He straightened, staring me down. “Listen to the man, Pickles. He knows what he’s talking about.”
The vein in Andrew’s head started to throb and his jaw looked tight enough to cut glass.
I might not be the only one who wanted to punch an old man right now.
I managed to take a deep breath and did my best to unclench my teeth. “Okay.” I turned and went toward the door. “Let me know if I can do anything to help.”
“Actually,” Alan stepped into my granddad’s office and picked up a piece of paper. “Could you sign this real quick before you go?”
He slapped the paper down and shoved it my way, his hand holding it in place.
“What is it?” I eyed Alan.
“We just had to update our employee disclosures.”
I reached for the paper. “I’ll take it with me.”
Alan snatched it away. “We can do it another time.” His lips curled in a smile that I would call more of a sneer. “I’m sure you have important things to be doing in the gift shop.”
Andrew pressed one hand to my back. “She does.” He shoved a little, pushing me out the door Alan paced in and out of last night.
I glanced back, watching the odd way he was walking. “Why does it look like you suddenly have swagger?”
“I’ve always had swagger.” Andrew pushed me along, getting me to one of the many treelines on the property and tucking behind it, before bending down and grabbing a clump of mud stuck to the boots he always wore to work. He lifted it up, knocking bits of dirt and debris away.
To reveal a key.
Chapter Sixteen
Andrew
“HOLY SHIT.” COLLETTE stared at the key I’d managed to embed in the mud still clinging to my boots from yesterday’s work. “That’s a key.”
“It’s to a safety deposit box, and I’m guessing it’s also the key they’re looking for.” I glanced up, making sure no one was around. “Your grandfather seemed pretty desperate to find it.” I held it out to her. “Any idea what might be in the box?”
She shook her head. “Probably money.”
“Would he really be freaking out over money?”
“I don’t think so.” Her brows came together. “Couldn’t he just go to the bank and get another key?”
“It’s not that simple.” I came from a family that had a healthy love for safety deposit boxes. I’d heard it a thousand times.Don’t touch the safety deposit keys.
“The bank doesn’t keep copies. That’s the whole point of the box.” I did another check to make sure no one was around. “If a new key has to be made then the owner has to be verified and they have to call a locksmith. It’s a pain in the ass and expensive as hell.”
Collette turned the key over. “How do we know where it’s from?”
