Caleb spent the night searching for Eleanor Shaw. By morning, he'd found a retired attorney living in a small town outside Harrisburg. She was eighty-one, no longer practicing law, and apparently reluctant to discuss the past.
When Caleb introduced himself on the telephone, she became silent.
"Samuel Turner's son?"
"Yes."
"Is your mother still alive?"
"She died three years ago."
Eleanor sighed.
"I'm sorry. Your parents were good people."
Caleb explained that he had recently met Margaret Ellis and discovered the brass key. Eleanor listened without interrupting.
When he mentioned Richard Bradley, her tone changed.
"Caleb, where are you right now?"
"At home."
"Is anyone with you?"
"No."
"Then please don't approach Richard until we speak."
The warning frightened him.
Eleanor explained that Samuel had contacted her shortly before the accident. He believed financial documents connected to Ellis Family Diner had been altered after Margaret signed them. He wanted Eleanor to review the original paperwork and determine whether Margaret had been deceived.
"Did he give you any documents?" Caleb asked.
"No. He was supposed to meet me on a Thursday afternoon."
"What happened?"
"He never arrived."
Caleb knew the date before she said it.
It was the day his father died.
Eleanor continued.
"Samuel called me that morning. He said he'd found something Richard couldn't explain."
"What?"
"He wouldn't say over the telephone."
Caleb looked toward his kitchen window.
For fourteen years, he had imagined his father's final day as an ordinary workday interrupted by tragedy. Now he was discovering that Samuel had been preparing to expose possible financial misconduct.
"Do you think Richard caused the accident?"
Eleanor answered carefully.
"I don't know. The police investigated, and they concluded it was an accident. I never found evidence contradicting that conclusion."
Caleb appreciated her honesty.
He didn't want to replace one painful mystery with another unsupported accusation.
"Then why are you warning me?"
"Because Richard had powerful business relationships, and Margaret's original complaints disappeared into a confusing collection of transactions. Anyone reopening this matter needs proper legal support."
Caleb told Eleanor about locker key 214.
She became quiet again.
"Samuel mentioned a storage locker."
"Where?"
"I don't remember the location, but I kept a notebook from that period."
"Could you look?"
"I will."
Before ending the call, Eleanor asked one final question.
"Caleb, does Margaret still have the blue ledger?"
He frowned.
"What blue ledger?"
Eleanor's voice tightened.
"Then we have another problem. Samuel said it was the one thing Richard wanted more than the property itself."