PART 3
Hawthorne Storage sat behind a row of auto shops on the industrial edge
of Charlotte.
Unit 108 was at the far end of a concrete corridor.
Naomi photographed the lock before Mason touched it.
She photographed the key.
She photographed the numbered door.
“Why are you doing that?” Mason asked.
“Because if what Arthur stored here matters legally, we document before
we disturb.”
Mason nodded.
Three years in prison had taught him what happened when people decided
what evidence meant before anyone examined it carefully.
He inserted the key.
The lock opened.
Inside were twelve banker boxes stacked against the wall.
An old laptop sat on a folding table.
Beside it was a fireproof document case.
Several external hard drives were sealed in plastic evidence sleeves.
A framed photograph rested faceup on the top box.
Mason picked it up.
It showed him and Arthur standing beside a fishing boat five years
earlier.
