Brad pulled out an evidence bag from his jacket. Inside was a small metal key attached to a plastic key chain.
Alex frowned. "A Master Lock padlock key. What does the key chain say?”
Brad nodded. "Key ring belongs to a storage unit company. They have a unit registered to a Victor Graves. The storage company stated that the rental fees have been paid without interruption. Apparently, when the Holloway Motel shut down, the belongings left behind from each room were stored there. They held the contents for a year, and after that, if the unit remained unpaid, the contents were sold at auction. This unit has been paid continuously since.”
"That’s impossible. Gideon had a rented unit at the time of his arrest, but we emptied it. And the owners tore it down about twelve years ago and built a drive-thru pharmacy," Charlotte said, her voice low.
Brad slid the key across the table. "Clearly, whatever their game is, it’s been in motion for a while.
Alex’s blood ran cold. “Where was the key found?”
“U.S. Postal Service. It was delivered to your house in yesterday’s mail, addressed to Victor Graves in care of Charlotte Everhart.” Brad pulled out a second evidence bag with the yellowmailing envelope inside. “I left the rest of the mail on your kitchen table. I picked this up from our crime lab on my way over here. No prints or DNA.”
Charlotte didn’t move.
Alex watched the shift in her posture, the way her breath came just a fraction faster. The past was flooding back.
"Where is the storage unit?" Alex asked.
Brad slipped his hands into his pockets. "We traced it to a place an hour outside Waverly Junction in the warehouse district.”
Charlotte exhaled. "Then we need to go."
Alex’s jaw clenched. "You’re not going. You’re not a cop anymore." It fell out of his mouth before he could control it. His desire to protect her was growing more intense by the minute.
She met his gaze, something unreadable flickering in her eyes. "I most certainly am."
Alex grabbed his jeans off the chair and pulled them on. “Not alone.”
Charlotte’s lips pressed into a thin white line. “I didn’t plan on it.” She glared at him.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered.
Brad turned for the door. "I have to pick up the warrant. I’ll notify Waverly County Police Department. Then, I’ll call Liv and Ethan. We’re going to need hands we can trust on this one. I want complete control over the scene." He looked between Alex and Charlotte. “You two okay?”
“We’re fine.” His brow rose. “I’ll call Noah,” Alex added.
Charlotte grabbed her clothes, moving with efficiency to the bathroom and shutting the door. But Alex saw it, the slight hesitation, the way her fingers trembled just slightly as she grabbed her bag. Something about this key had unsettled her more than she was letting on.
Alex reached for her wrist when she exited the bathroom dressed, stopping her. She looked up, and for the first time since yesterday morning, he saw it.
Fear. It had returned. Her pulse hammered, and a fine sweat broke out over her top lip.
Alex squeezed her fingers. "I’m with you."
Charlotte licked her lips. “I know."
This time, she didn’t pull away.
Alex drove.First, they dropped off Bailey at the house. Charlotte stared out the window, her expression flat. Noah followed behind them, his unmarked SUV keeping pace, Brad in the passenger seat. Olivia and Ethan were en route about fifteen minutes ahead of them.
The key sat between Alex and Charlotte on the center console, a quiet reminder that the past had never truly died.
Alex tightened his grip on the wheel, glancing over at Charlotte. "Talk to me."
She was thinking. Processing. Finally, she exhaled. "Storage units are supposed to be cleared out after nonpayment. Once he was arrested, there were no payments going out from Ward. The Holloway Motel was demolished, and they moved the contents of the rented rooms to storage. He was arrested in 1994. We emptied his rental under the name of Victor Graves and checked for anything under Gideon Ward. There were no other units. There should never have been a new unit.”
Alex nodded. "You were keeping track, weren’t you?”
