Page 106 of Destiny

“How is she?” the man asks.

“How’s who?” Then I leave the bar, not waiting for his response.

Inside the manila envelope is a key to storage unit 528 at the facility.

So I drive. It takes about twenty minutes to hit the other side of Grand Junction, the industrial area.

U-Stor-It.

Cute.

Not.

I drive in. No one appears to be on duty, but why would they be? It’s an old facility. I pull into a parking spot and then walk through the rows of units until I find 528. It’s a larger unit with a garage door instead of a regular door. My God, what does she have in here? I inhale. All I smell is dust and gravel. No dead bodies… Still, I’m expecting to find the worst.

I breathe in deeply, grasp the key between my fingers, and turn it into the lock.

Then I open the garage door. It’s heavy, and it takes quite a heave for me to get it moving. Who knows the last time it was even opened?

I expect something horrid. Evil. Satanic.

I sure don’t expect what I see.

One lone box sitting in the corner.

A cardboard box, about the size for holding ten reams of paper.

I sit down on the cold concrete floor and open the box.

More manila file folders inside.

One is markedWestern Slope Family Planning Clinic. Inside are several papers, instructions on how to get to the clinic and who to ask for.

The second one is markedThe Fleming Corporation. Inside are leases, deeds of trust, and other things.

The third one…

Steel Trust.

I’ll be damned.

My familydoesn’town the town of Snow Creek.

Wendy Madigan does.

I pull the documents out. I’m no lawyer, but I’m capable of reading the first page of a trust.

Then I drop my jaw.

Because the beneficiary of the Steel Trust is none other than…

Ava Lee Steel.

My heart drops into my stomach.

All for me. The trust is administered by some law firm in Denver.

I don’t bother looking at the rest of the papers. I shove the lid back on the box, carry it to my car, and start driving.

---