I open a couple of cupboards and look into the drawers.
Was he a hunter? There are no guns in the house, and there is no indication that he was.
No hunting. Fishing, maybe? I don’t think so.
He liked the outdoors, so he must’ve used this place to make trips in the woods. I find a storage room in the back.
An acrid smell drifts from inside when I pull the door open.
I step back and cover my nose. Old boots, raincoats. Rags. Why would they keep that crap?
No reason.
I drop the door closed.
There is nothing of interest in this house. Has it all been removed? Was there anything of interest to begin with? Probably not. The man came here to relax. He had a radio, some food, and a bed.
Nothing to read?
Again…
What was he doing that day? His last day on earth?
He wasn’t planning to do what he ended up doing or appeared to be doing.
I walk around the place when I notice a hidden door. It’s not easily noticeable. I open it. Another storage room.
This one doesn’t smell that bad. I notice a few boxes, an old backpack, and an antiquated computer. I lift a lid. Dusty folders.
Work? That’s most likely. He had to pass the time somehow in the evenings when he returned from his daily trips.
I leaf through them. Business reports. Documents. They’re all old. A ziplock bag with shredded documents. I check a few. Old tax returns. I lift another lid. Another stack of documents.
More reports. Accounting documents. Numbers…
Numbers.
I freeze.
No.
No way…
My heart pounds faster, and my breaths are shallow at the realization.
I can’t believe it.
I just can’t.
But…
This is it.
The linchpin of all this.
This is the key.
They are looking for numbers. My father is looking for numbers.
Andrew worked with numbers.
Andrew is gone.
And so is Raven’s father.
Andrew, Raven’s father, and my father were best friends.
The question is…
What the hell happened? And why is my father on a hunt for a piece of paper filled with numbers?