I knelt on the floorboards and took hold of the heavy brass latch with both hands.

I pulled as hard as I could, but the thick metal lock held tight and didn’t give a quarter of an inch.

I sat back on my heels and rubbed my left thumb across my right knuckles until they ached.

Mama never kept her keys on a key ring like ordinary people in town.

She always said a key ring was just a handy present for a burglar who wanted to take everything in one go.

She had her own secret way of hiding her important keys where nobody would ever think to search.