Chapter 17 - The Broken Alibi
The rain started just as they reached the western edge of the preserve.
Gulf storms moved fast; within minutes, the sky turned the color of bruised iron, and heavy sheets of rain drummed against the roof of the SUV. The dirt road leading to the mill had turned into slick, reddish clay.
Julian parked fifty yards away, concealed behind a thick wall of wax myrtle bushes. He handed Nora a heavy waterproof flashlight.
"Stay close to me," Julian said, his protective instincts on high alert. "If anyone is inside, we back out immediately."
They moved swiftly through the torrential downpour, ducking under the dripping branches of the live oaks. The mill stood silent, the broken chain on the door swaying in the rising wind.
Julian pushed the heavy door inward. The hinges groaned, drowned out by the thunder rattling across the marsh. Inside, the darkness was nearly absolute except for the pale grey light filtering through the roof slats.
Nora shone the flashlight into the crawlspace.
The rusted metal box was still there, sitting exactly where Hayes had left it. Julian dropped to one knee, ignoring the mud soaking through his trousers. He picked up the heavy iron box and turned it over.
Using his pocketknife, he jammed the blade into the seam along the bottom rim. With a sharp snap, the false floor sprang open.
Inside lay a tightly rolled cylinder of oilcloth, sealed with hardened black wax.
"He missed it," Nora breathed, relief flooding her chest so intensely she felt dizzy.
"He didn't just miss it," Julian said, inspecting the wax seal. "This carries the official stamp of the United States Department of the Interior, dated August 1968. This is the federal land boundary survey."
"Well, well. Look at the happy couple playing archaeologists in the mud."
Nora spun around, the flashlight beam cutting through the gloom.
Standing in the doorway, soaked to the skin, was Gavin Albright.
His expensive suit was ruined, plastered to his frame with ditch water and grime. His hair was wild, his eyes bloodshot and feverish. In his right hand, held loosely but deliberately down at his side, was a heavy steel tire iron.
"Gavin," Nora said, stepping instinctively between him and Julian. "Drop that. The police are already looking for you for bail jumping."
"Let them look!" Gavin screamed over the rumble of thunder. "Do you have any idea what they did to me, Nora? They froze my credit cards! My landlord changed the locks on my apartment yesterday! I had to drive a stolen rental car from Mobile just to meet Hayes here!"
May you like
He took a step forward, his knuckles white around the tire iron.
"Julian took my life! He took my status! And he took you! Hayes promised me five hundred thousand dollars cash from the Vance estate if I delivered that box today. Hand it over, Julian. Hand it over, or neither of you is walking out of this swamp."
