I took David’s brass service wristband from around my neck and laid it flat on the top binder before setting the safe’s inner lock.

I pushed the safe door shut until the heavy steel bolts clicked home in the iron frame.

I spun the combination dial five times to wipe the tumbler memory, so that nobody could open the vault safe without the master command codes.

I picked up my nickel key, stepped out onto the cold stairwell floor, and pulled the reinforced vault door closed behind me.

The heavy lock caught with a sharp metallic click just as the electric clock on the basement wall ticked past three a.m.