I took the brass key ring, unlocked the new deadbolt to test it once myself, then locked it again from the outside.

I walked around the side of the garage to the deck door.

The side door turned smoothly in my hand.

I walked into the kitchen, where the counters were still clean from the afternoon before.

The house was cold and silent except for the low hum of the refrigerator.

I walked into the home office behind the staircase and opened Daniel’s bottom desk drawer.

Behind three stacks of client tax folders sat a thick green accordion file.