Page 470 of Hidden Depths
What Tonya and I had shared was real.
It simply hadn’t been forever.
Storm was.
I found her that evening inside the yacht-building office.
She stood before Grandpa’s old desk.
The recovered metal case rested on top.
“What’s inside?” I asked.
She looked over her shoulder.
“We haven’t opened it.”
“I thought the investigators opened everything.”
“This is the case Nathan hid after Grandpa died. It was in a storage compartment aboard his trawler.”
The five sisters gathered around the desk.
Elanore stood beside Nathan.
Thomas sat in Grandpa’s chair with a blanket over his knees, complaining that he didn’t need it.
Frank and Rose waited near the windows.
For the first time, everyone was present.
Nathan placed the case on the desk.
“James told me it could only be opened after all five girls discovered Blackwater.”
Hazel reached for Storm’s hand.
Storm took Calle’s.
Calle took Ivy’s.
Ivy took Willow’s.
Willow reached for Hazel.
A circle.
Five sisters.
Nathan inserted the key.
The case opened.
Inside were five sealed envelopes.
One for each sister.
A sixth envelope carried Elanore’s name.
