The Sinners - Ruby Vincent Page 0,83
What do I do?”
“You open it, Ember. Whatever is in there you’ll deal with it, but right now, you need to know.”
Taking a sharp lungful of air, I held on to it till my body made me let go, reminding me that it wanted to live, fight, and change.
I opened the letter.
A single white slip of paper was tucked between the folds. I drew it out, and my face crumpled in confusion.
“What the hell is this?”
Royal bent over me for a look. Typed on the paper we drove hours to find were three letters and a string of random numbers.
CMB
440059765985664128645
“What am I supposed to do with this?” I asked. “It doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“It could be a code,” he offered. “And the letters are a clue to help you break it.”
Groaning, I fell back against the mailboxes. “Come on, Dad. I got here to where the feds wouldn’t think to look. Couldn’t you have just given me the answer instead of another flipping question?”
“I’m guessing they were being careful in case Mrs. Henderson got curious.”
“No, wait,” I said, straightening up. “Mrs. Henderson left mail in her box that wasn’t hers and she would have given them her key. She knew I was coming for this. Mom and Dad must have told her why.”
“Think she’s home?”
“She’s always home.”
Just like that, we were in the car and racing up the street.
Mrs. Henderson’s home was a short drive from the main road. She built a gorgeous retreat back on the property. As we rumbled up her twisty drive, lights peeked through the trees. She was home.
Royal parked and let me out. “I’ll wait here. Rio called me twice. It could be about the dealer’s boss.”
“Okay. Be right back.”
I bounded up the porch, nerves jangling like her wind chimes.
My parents must have given her an explanation. Please, let me end this search here.
Mrs. Henderson opened up just as I lifted my hand for a third knock. Her powdered, wrinkly cheeks stretched into a smile. “Ember, oh my goodness. What a lovely surprise.”
“Hello, Mrs. Henderson.”
We hugged like long-lost siblings who found each other again. Mrs. Henderson smelled the same as I remembered—gardenia, flour, and hair spray.
“Come in, come in,” she said. “I was just about to sit down to dinner. Who is your friend? He can come too.”
“We can’t stay long.”
I let her hustle me inside. Lisa’s home was as inviting, warm, and lived in as I remembered too. Her grandchildren should’ve visited. They would have loved it here.
“I came because of this.” I presented the letter.
“Oh, good. I’m so glad you found it,” she said over her shoulder, shuffling to the couch. “I worried you weren’t coming after all this time.”
“You knew about this,” I confirmed. “What did my parents say about it?”
“Say about it?”
She sat and pulled a blanket over her lap. Mrs. Henderson patted the cushion for me to join her. She was relaxed and slow for a normal catching-up chat.
I sat, allowing her to drape the blanket over me too. “Did they explain when they asked for your key? It took me so long because I didn’t know what was going on. I still don’t.”
“I see,” she crooned. “How awful. I’m afraid I can’t help in that case. Frank and Nora didn’t explain much. They said that a lot would be said about them in the news but that everything would be okay once you had this letter. They told me you would know what to do.”
“Me? But I don’t understand what this letter means. How could I know what to do?”
Her shoulder rolled in a half shrug. “That’s all they said, dear. We’ve been friends for a long time, I trusted them.” She squeezed my knee. “And I trust you. You will figure this out.”
We talked for about twenty minutes. I asked for every detail of her last conversation with my parents. I even showed her their clue to see if she could make sense of it.
Mrs. Henderson had nothing more for me except for two containers of Tuscan chicken and garlic spaghetti. My empty stomach refused to turn them down.
“Thank you.” I kissed her leathery cheek over the threshold. “I promise to visit more often. Next time, I’ll bring Eli.”
“Sweet girl. I would love that.”
“Bye.”
Royal was done with his phone call. He started in before my butt hit the seat. “What’d she say?”
“Nothing. They didn’t explain. She doesn’t know what the weird letters and numbers mean. But she did supply dinner.”
“Not in my car. We’ll eat in your