His expression changed when he saw the cash.
“Everybody step away from it for me.”
Caleb grabbed my hand.
Another officer photographed the box.
They didn’t act as though we were in immediate danger, but suddenly the whole scene felt much less magical.
Officer Reeves put on gloves.
He carefully lifted the photograph.
Then he began counting the bundles.
The final amount was $24,800.
Twenty-four thousand eight hundred dollars.
Inside was also a sealed envelope I hadn’t noticed beneath the money.
Officer Reeves opened it.
There were bank withdrawal receipts.
The cash had been withdrawn two days earlier from a local bank.
There was also a notarized letter.
That letter changed everything.
The first line read:
My name is Walter Bennett. If the police are reading this, I suppose leaving nearly twenty-five thousand dollars on someone’s lawn was not my brightest decision.
Officer Reeves actually smiled.
The letter continued.
