“He kept household linens and old photo boxes in there.”

“Frank kept a lot of things where they didn’t belong,” Gene said.

He dragged two tall wardrobe boxes out of the kitchen doorway.

“I’ve got heavy-duty movers coming Thursday morning to haul out the rest of the household items and clear the floors.”

I reached out and touched the brass padlock.

The metal was cold and slick with fresh machine oil that left a dark smudge on my thumb.

“What happens to the boxes of papers at the back of that closet?” I asked.