She had sixty-four dollars left in her checking account and less than six weeks to find the remaining eighteen hundred dollars before her delivery window closed.

Caroline folded the cash back into the paper envelopes and gathered up the green certified receipt slip.

She opened the bottom drawer of the wooden desk and pulled out her small steel lockbox.

She placed the money envelopes, the green receipt slip, and the returned envelope inside the dark steel box.

She pressed the heavy metal lid down until the front latch caught.

She inserted her small brass key into the keyhole and turned it to the right.