Every House Has a Secret - 13

 

 

That evening, as planned, Brady and Rand got ready to tackle the cracks in the plaster beside the fireplace in the living room.

 

"This is more than a crack," Rand pointed out, looking at a place right above the baseboard that was missing a wide swath of plaster. Enough that he could see the boards behind it.

 

"The inspector didn't seem worried about it, so we're good. We'll just replaster it in thin layers."

 

"Okay. That should work." Rand got one of the stiff-bristled brushes the man at the home improvement store had told them they needed and set to work cleaning off the accumulated dirt and whatever from the boards. He frowned when he though he felt one of the boards move. "We may have a problem."

 

Brady knelt beside him to see. "What?"

 

"This." Rand pushed the palm of his hand against the board, which was much shorter than the others. It was definitely loose. "Hand me something to pry with."

 

Brady gave him a small putty knife, which Rand carefully slid between the end of the board and the one next to it. When he put pressure on the handle, the board popped out.

 

"A hiding place?" Brady said.

 

"Looks like it. We need a flashlight."

 

"I'm not driving home to get one," Brady replied. He turned on the flashlight on his phone, aiming it at the hole. "Anything?"

 

Rand reached in cautiously. "Feels like something hard, wrapped in plastic." He eased it out. The plastic was dark—so they figured it was probably from a trash bag—sealed with duct tape. Whatever was inside was about the size of a cigar box.

 

"Let me have your knife, please." When Brady handed it to him, Rand carefully sliced through the tape and plastic at one end of the package then across the top, which allowed him to pull out a metal box, about ten inches by six by three, with a hinged top. "It's locked," Rand said.

 

"Let me see." When Rand gave it to him, Brady smiled. "There's locked and locked." He took a paperclip from his wallet, straightened it then bent the tip. "Never leave home with one," he said when, a minute later, he'd unlocked the box. "Well, this is interesting," he commented after opening it.