My fingers closed around something small, hard, and cold. I pulled it out.
"There you are!"
I held up the key. The number stamped on it said 317.
***
The next morning, I drove to the storage facility alone.
My hands were steady when I stepped out of the car, but they were trembling by the time I slid the key into the lock.
The lock clicked open, and I lifted the door.
I drove to the storage facility alone.
It all looked oddly normal at first.
The sides were lined with shelves. Plastic bins were packed neatly on top of them.
There was a folding table set up in the middle of the space. A few books and photos were stacked on top of it.
It was all neat and clean. Thomas must've come here regularly.
I lifted one of the plastic bins off a shelf and looked inside.
And I finally understood why my husband had hidden coordinates on his skin. It wasn't just so he wouldn't lose them; it was a failsafe.
It all looked oddly normal at first.
The box was full of a child's drawings. I lifted one out.
It showed a man and a little girl. At the bottom, in crayon, it said:
To Daddy. See you Thursday.
Thursday. Every week for as long as I could remember, Thomas had worked late on Thursdays. At least, that's what he'd told me he was doing.
I opened another box. Inside was a ledger.
I set it down on the folding table and paged through it.
At least, that's what he'd told me he was doing.
Thomas's handwriting filled the pages, documenting monthly transfers going back 31 years. I flipped further and found a deed for a condominium 40 minutes from our home, purchased in cash.
"This isn't real. It can't be."
But I couldn't deny the truth staring me in the face. Thomas had drawings here made by a girl, not one of our sons. He had a condo I didn't know about, and had been sending money to someone for years.
Thomas had been living a double life.
The sound of voices behind me snapped me out of my shock.
I couldn't deny the truth staring me in the face.
"Are you sure this is the unit?"
A second voice. "Yes. He said 317."
"Okay. We need to take everything."
A shadow filled the doorway.
"Oh."
I looked up.
A woman in her mid-50s stood at the entrance. A woman in her 30s stood behind her.
A shadow filled the doorway.
