Page 34 of Out of the Shadows
“Do you mind if I look through the stuff?”
“Go ahead.” Beth turned on a fan in the corner. “It’s not going to keep you cool, but it’ll circulate the air. I’m going to check on the kids—they have friends over, and while my oldest is generally responsible, I don’t want to leave them too long.”
“I’m good, thanks,” Margo said.
When Beth left, Margo opened the closest box labeled only with a date: 2018. Inside were file folders. Upon closer inspection, she realized they were legal files for Thornton and Hedge Law Offices, each folder for a different client. She took a picture of the top sheet of one folder that had the law office contact information and sent that to Tess and their mom—their mother, Ava Angelhart, was a lawyer, and while she didn’t practice much anymore, she knew most of the big attorneys in Phoenix.
Margo took more photos of the boxes and furniture. The thirty-seven boxes—she counted—were dated from 2002 through 2025—more than twenty years. The early years were doubled up—2002–03, 2004–05, then as the practice apparently grew, there were multiple boxes for some years—until 2023–25, which was in one box.
Why did Charlie have files from a law office? She was too hot to take the time to look through the files—it would take days to even skim all this information. She examined the furniture. It was dusty and a bit scuffed, but high-quality. The file cabinets were empty. The desk had some loose papers and pens—pens embossed withThornton & Hedge, Law Officeand their phone number. She pocketed one of the pens.
She stood back and assessed while she finished her water bottle. The furniture could be worth something—maybe a couple thousand dollars if real antiques. The boxes may have valuable information in them, but valuable to who? She needed information about the law firm and their clients. If there was financial information inside, maybe Charlie was involved in something nefarious... but where did he get these files in the first place?
Bob O’Neill would likely have asked Charlie about this stuff if he helped him unload it.
She went back into the house and found Beth in the backyard under a covered patio with misters going full blast. Eight kids were in the pool, part of which had a canopy to block the sun.
Beth stood and said, “Did you find what you needed?”
“How did Charlie bring all that stuff over? It wouldn’t have fit in his truck.”
“A U-Haul, can you believe it?”
“Where did he get it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does your husband know?”
“I’ll call him. He’s still at work.”
Beth glanced at the kids, then went back inside; Margo followed.
She picked her cell phone up from where it was charging on the kitchen counter and called her husband. A minute later he got on the phone. “What’s up? Need something at the store?”
“You’re on speaker, honey. Logan Monroe’s private investigator is here looking for Charlie. Laura is worried about him, can’t reach him. I showed her the junk in the garage, she has some questions.”
“It’s not junk,” Bob told his wife. “Charlie is going to sell it, and I promise, it’ll be gone by next weekend.”
“Mr. O’Neill, where did Charlie get the items?”
“An auction.”
“An auction? All of it? The files, too?”
“Yeah, the self-storage facility up off Happy Valley, west of Highway 17, auctioned off the contents of six units that were in default. He’s starting a new business, said he would be able to sell the items for far more than he bought them for.”
“How much did he spend?” And who would buy boxes of legal files? Margo wondered.
“I didn’t ask. He was excited, and he’s been really down lately, so I want to support him.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“No. I don’t think he works Mondays. Maybe home?”
“He’s not,” Margo said, “and he’s not answering his phone.”
“Well, he took a box with him, said he wanted to get something appraised.”
