She was practically sobbing with the sense of disappointment and anxiety she now felt.
There was only one thing for it, she realized. She was going to have to call Pete, the locksmith, and ask him to come out here.
He was now her only hope, the only person with the expertise and knowledge to be able to gain access to this old, rusted safe that was so stubbornly keeping its secrets.
Quickly, May took out his business card from her purse and dialed his emergency number, moving closer to the stairs to get a signal.
He answered within two rings, sounding wide awake, and May imagined he was already at work, either at his locksmith's shop, or else out on the road helping a customer.
"Pete speaking?" he asked.
"Pete, it's May Moore. You told me where the safe was located and I'm here now."
"You are, Deputy? And what's happened? Is there a problem?"
"There is! I broke it." May was breathing fast, feeling terrified he’d say that there was nothing he could do.
"What did you break? Explain to me?"
Luckily, his calmness was infectious. Forcing herself to regain control of her emotions, May replied, more coherently this time.
"I tried to get into the safe, but it was rusty and hard to open, and I ended up breaking off the key completely. The longer key is now stuck inside the lock. The shorter key, I haven't yet tried to open, but it's okay so far."
"Oh, dear. That is a problem."
May's heart sank. It sounded serious. "Can you fix it?" she asked.
"Yes, I'll be able to work on it, but it will take some time and some specialist equipment. I probably won't get to it this morning," Pete said. "If I can come through this afternoon, I will."
"Shall I leave the other key at the front desk for you?"
"Yes, you do that. And tell them I'll be along as soon as I can."
"Thank you," May said gratefully, but she hoped that he'd actually be able to fix the problem. He hadn't said he could. He'd just said he would try. She picked up her purse, took the other key out of the safe, and went back upstairs.
"There's been an issue with opening the safe," she told the attendant. "The key broke."
"It did?" The attendant tilted her head, as if she wasn’t sure she believed this story.
"Here's the piece of the key, and here's the other key. Would you be able to keep them here for me, please? Pete the locksmith will be here this afternoon sometime to work on it."
The attendant gave a heavy sigh as if this additional demand from May was really one favor too many.
"Okay," she agreed reluctantly.
May handed over the key and the broken fragment, quickly checking the time. It was already after seven a.m., and she needed to hustle to work now. As the county deputy, she liked to be at the police department earlier than her team. She couldn't let this personal mission interfere with her daily work.
But, as she handed over the keys to the attendant, May's phone rang. Quickly, she checked it, seeing that it was her boss, Sheriff Jack, on the line.
She answered hurriedly, "Morning, Jack."
"Morning, May," he said. "We've just had a crime called in. I'd like you to go straight to the scene. It sounds like a murder, but we’ll need to confirm that when we get there."
May's eyes widened. "A murder? Sure. Where's the scene?"
Now, she saw the attendant's eyebrows shoot up, and quickly moved away, heading outside as she got the details from her boss. She didn’t want to cause panic among the community by revealing case details.
"A woman's body has been found on the edge of a cornfield in the farmland between Chestnut Hill and Lakeview.”