Again, I frowned.
That was the one safe I’d never had the code for. We’d resigned ourselves to the knowledge that we were never getting it, so we hadn’t even tried. It was a fancy digital thing, and we weren’t sure we would be able to get in if we got it wrong.
I knew exactly which one it was, though, because it was the tiniest, stupidest safe I’d ever seen in my life. I’d always wanted to know what was inside it, but the answer had always been no.
Until today.
I wiped at my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed a moment to let this emotion settle down so I could breathe straight again. I hadn’t been ready for anything in that letter, and it’d hit me harder and deeper than I’d thought it would, despite his jokes.
I could hear his voice inside my head, saying all those things. Giving that advice to me on a quiet day over a cup of tea or a glass of whiskey, just slowly guiding me through the next step in my life.
But it wasn’t real, of course. It never would be real. That was all in my mind.
He was right, though. The best thing I could do for Eva was just be there, no matter how hopeless I felt. Uselessness was not a feeling I was accustomed to, but right now with all the changes she was going through, it felt as though there was nothing I could do to make it better.
I just had to be there, no matter what.
And I would be.
Right after I’d found out what was in the bloody safe.
I tucked the letter back into the envelope and folded it in two, safely hiding it away in my pocket. I would put that somewhere in my office where it would be safe for another day.
After checking my phone to make sure Eva hadn’t tried to message me for something, I left the library and headed for my office on the other side of the house. Jack appeared out of nowhere and trotted along after me. His little claws tapped against the hardwood floors, and he darted into the office before me, jumping up on the sofa close to the open fire.
It wasn’t lit, but he didn’t care. That was his spot.
I paused to give him some love before I turned my attention to the desk. It took me a few seconds to locate the stupid box from the bottom drawer, and I set it on the surface as I sat down.
The code was the best day of his life.
There were only two days I could think of—the day he married Mum and the day I was born.
I woke up the digital lock and tried their anniversary first, tapping it in on the screen. The beep was glaring, and the big red X on the screen told me I was wrong and had two tries left.
Goddamn his trickster ways. He couldn’t make it easy, could he?
With another deep breath, I carefully put in my birthday, making sure I didn’t accidentally select the wrong date.
It beeped, and the little screen turned green.
“Thank God,” I breathed.
The screen flashed up with a little box, and I leaned forwards to read the message.
Please press your fingerprint against the scanner on the right side of the screen. You have three attempts.
I sat back and stared at it.
When someone found a legitimate way to bring the dead back to life, I was going to kill my father all over again for this.
I had no idea how he would have gotten my fingerprint for this bloody thing, but I didn’t have any other options. I was going to have to hope that either my thumb or my pointer finger would unlock this.
If there was a third task, I was going to throw it out the window.
“You really didn’t want anyone other than me getting into this, did you?” I muttered, pressing my thumb against the outlined box.
It beeped again, and a green box came up.
I waited, but I wasn’t prompted to do anything else.
Had I done it? Was I in?
I reached out and pulled the little latch for the door. It clicked, and the door pinged open like it was on a spring. Inside there was a small box no bigger than a ring box and another envelope, albeit smaller than the first one.
I removed both things from the safe. I wouldn’t put it past the blasted contraption to lock me out after a certain amount of time. That would be just like my dad.
I opened the letter like I had the first time and unfolded the note inside.
Matthew,
Sorry about stealing your fingerprint while you slept. I promise I only used it for the safe and MI5 don’t have it on record.
Not from me, anyway.
Well, that explained that little mystery.