Abediah Thornton

Chapter 18 - Tuesday

She had finished all the jobs on the farm and had finished her lunch before she was ready for any more fact finding. She made her way back into the den. Although she'd been through the desk she hadn't previously seen the need to go through the drawers. Now there was nothing for it. She needed to search all of Frank's hiding places.

The top drawer was locked. She took the key from the top of the desk and found it turned easily in the drawer lock. There were two pictures sitting on the top of the drawer. One was obviously of Charlie and Rose, perhaps taken quite recently with someone she guessed was Rose's father. The other also had Charlie, but she was obviously much younger, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Beside her was a woman she had never seen before.

The woman in the picture was pretty, in a womanly sort of way. She had the same brown hair as Charlie and the same nose. She had a rounded figure, set off with a swingy dress. The two women were smiling. This must be the other Rose.

She stood the two pictures out on the top of the desk. Underneath the pictures the drawer was filled with what she guessed must be other mementos. Feeling like she was invading into a foreign country, Abediah started flicking through the papers. The first thing she found was a ticket to Dollywood. Frank had been to Dollywood? She felt a twinge of jealousy. She had always wanted to go and he'd said it was a waste of money. But he'd gone with them.

She didn't get much further. She found a birth announcement of little Rose, complete with a foot and hand print. There were several birthday cards. One said 'To my lovely Dad, Happy Birthday, Lots of Love Charlie' and she had obviously kissed the card. There was clearly no important paperwork in here. Digging no further, Abediah shut the drawer.

The last two drawers were just filled with the random stuff you accumulate through life. The bottom drawer seemed to be a bit of a tool drawer with a drill and hammer. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Frank fix anything, she kept her tools out in the barn.

Next, she stopped at the dresser in the hall. It was one of those old French dressers. In the top she had some fancy plates and jugs arranged. Underneath there was a big old cupboard and on the middle shelf, the safe. It was one of those small ones you get in hotel rooms. They had just bought it for important documents. The rest of the cupboard was filled with kitchen rolls and rarely used pots and casserole dishes. She remembered she needed to return the casserole dishes to Mrs Stratton. She turned and retrieved the dishes from the shelf next to the piano and put them on the kitchen table, planning to leave them at the church tomorrow when she went to her appointment with Winnie.

Abediah returned to the cupboard. She leaned in and slid the safe out slightly. She slid the numbers in the code on the top around then turned the key. But when she lifted the lid the whole safe lifted with it, it didn't open.

Assuming she must have put the number in wrong she lifted the safe out of the cupboard and put it onto the kitchen table. She put on her reading glasses and tried again. No luck. She shook the safe. It felt very light and sounded empty. But it couldn't be! All of their documents were kept in there: the marriage certificate; their birth certificates; the deeds to the farm; the box with her engagement ring; the insurance for the farm.

With a sinking feeling she knew for certain that none of those documents were in this safe. It was empty, and it wouldn't open.