Another silence.
This one worse.
The man opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Because somewhere deep down, he knew she wasn’t entirely wrong.
The highway roared behind us.
Bo remained pressed against me.
And for a moment nobody moved.
Then my phone rang.
A number I didn’t recognize.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Collins?”
“Yes.”
“This is Attorney Richard Bell.”
The lawyer.
The one Janine had mentioned.
The timing felt unreal.
“I understand you’ve located Walter Grayson’s dog.”
I looked at Bo.
“Yes.”
“Good,” he said quietly.
Then he added something unexpected.
“You should know there was a second instruction attached to Walter’s letter.”
The man immediately looked up.
“What instruction?”
The lawyer ignored him.
His voice remained calm.
Professional.
Measured.
“Walter requested that whoever found Bo receive a locked cedar box stored at my office.”
I frowned.
“A box?”
“Yes.”
“What’s inside?”
A pause.
