Page 191 of Fly's Path

“More than that.” I would do this a thousand times over for her. Though I could really do without her ever getting kidnapped.

“Well then, get to it. I’ll make sure you aren’t bothered.”

What? Did that little old lady just promise to keep the cops away? “Thank you.”

“Do you need help getting into her car? It’s locked.”

“No, ma’am.” I learned how to not only break into a car, but also hot-wire one by the time I was eight.

She nods. “You seem like a smart boy. Be respectful.”

“Yes, ma’am. I will be.” After popping the lock, I start sifting through things, returning everything exactly where I found it.

My hand stops on an old cigar box. The kind they haven’t made in decades. There’s even a hint of smell left in it. I flip it open and find dozens of envelopes, all from the exact same sender. Each and every one of them unopened.

I slide one open and pull out the single piece of paper in it.

“That’s a cashier’s check. You’re holding twenty-five thousand dollars in your hand.” It seems the old woman is determined to help.

Are they all the same? I open one other, and another check for twenty-five thousand dollars drops into my hand.

“Why is Sheridan living in her car when she has millions of dollars?”

That’s a good question, but better ones are: why didn’t she open them, who sent them, and why is someone sending her millions of dollars? “I don’t know.” But I aim to find out. I put the cashier’s checks back and stick the box back where I found it.

“You aren’t going to hang on to it? Keep it safe for her?”

“No, ma’am. I have more important things to worry about.”

“It’s a good thing Beach Haven is a safe town.”

“I really don’t care if it is, or it isn’t. It’s just money.”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “How much are you worth?”

“Enough that I don’t care how much is in here. Though even if I was penniless, I wouldn’t care right now either. What I don’t have is time for pointless questions.”

“They are far from pointless. And I might not look like I’m doing much, but right now every shop owner on Main Street is checking their security cameras to see if they got the perpetrator on video.”

Wow. “Ma’am, you scare me.”

“I like a man who respects his elders. Keep working.” She steps away from the car.

Item by item, I sort through Sheridan’s life. It’s hard not to start to understand why she ran. There are no cards from family. No presents. No tchotchkes.

Does Sheridan have anyone in her life outside of the women in Urbium? At least the townspeople seem to care for her here.

There isn’t even a gas station receipt that might help.

My last hope is behind the partially used roll of toilet paper.

Jackpot.

There’s an envelope filled with cash. I dump it out, and a letter drops into my lap.

“For someone with so many money problems, she sure has a lot of money hidden in there.”

The old woman isn’t wrong.