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Wednesday - September 15

"Did they get out of the car, Claire?" Aunt Ruth asks.

Trying to remember, Claire closes her eyes tightly, then says, "No. No, they didn't. I remember the car window opening, and a hand emerged wearing a black glove giving Daddy a package, or maybe it was an envelope. I'm not really sure what it was. But Daddy took the package and the black car drove away. Mommy just kept getting our picnic ready."

Claire takes a sip of her coffee, turns around, and sits back at the table. "Daddy put the package into the trunk of his car. Then he came over to where Mommy and I were. He bent down and gave me a kiss on my forehead and said, "Everything will be just fine, Claire." Of course, at that time I didn't know what he meant."

"What did you do after your picnic, Claire?" asks Aunt Ruth.

Trying to recall the entire day's event, Claire says, "Nothing. I mean, we went home. We had our picnic, we played on the beach, we went swimming, and then we went home. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. We just packed up our stuff and went home."

"Was there anyone waiting for you at home when you got there?" Aunt Ruth inquires deeper.

Trying to remember, Claire says, "No. There was no one. Expect..."

"Except..."

"Except for this man, a young man, who peddled his bicycle up the driveway and stopped when he saw Daddy. Mommy took my hand, and she and I went into the house while Daddy talked with this man. Mommy went into the kitchen, but I kept watching out the window at both of them. Daddy opened the car trunk, and gave him the package that he had gotten from the man in the black car at the beach. The man on the bicycle took the package and rode away. That's all I'm able to remember about that day, Aunt Ruth. The last time I saw the package was when Daddy gave it to the man on the bicycle."

"Well," says Aunt Ruth, "and you don't know who the man on the bicycle was?

Shaking her head, Claire says, "No. I don't know who he was, and I never got to see his whole face, just his left side. I do remember he wore glasses, and his bicycle had a horn, a gold horn, attached to the handlebars that he honked when he rode away."

"Okay. Well, if that's all you can remember, then I don't understand why I was given the impression that you, and only you, have knowledge of where the package is," says Aunt Ruth. "Are you sure you don't remember anything else, dear?"

Claire shakes her head no, and returns the key to the box. She then looks at her cup of coffee and decides to get another refill. As she walks over to the counter, she all of a sudden remembers something.

"Aunt Ruth!" she cries out, startling Aunt Ruth. "Aunt Ruth, what did Daddy do with his car? Do you know?"

"I don't know. It was an antique, and I don't know what happened to it after... you know."

"Yeah, I know. It was an antique and Daddy would never have sold it. He loved that car."

Claire then yells out, "Storage! He must have put it into storage! But where would the storage be?"

Since phone books haven't been printed since 2020, Claire dashes to her computer and types "storage units in Atlanta" in the search text box. Immediately, there are over 100,000 results. Claire decides to minimize the search. She types "twenty-eight storage units in Atlanta", and to her amazement, the first result says "Storage 28." Looking at the address, Claire says, "Damn! It's on the other side of town. I would have to walk eleven miles to get there."

Walking to the storage unit would be impossible. Claire looks at Aunt Ruth, and says, "Listen, Aunt Ruth, you and your pals know something. I don't know what, but I think the answer lies within that package my dad got that day on the beach. When the man on his bicycle came to our home, Dad didn't give him the package that was given to him by the man in the black car. Instead, he had another package, and Dad gave him that one. And when my parents faked their deaths, he kept the real package in the car and put it away in storage. Aunt Ruth, you have to help me get to that storage unit. I can't walk eleven miles in this weather. So, please, help me find a way to get there. Okay?"