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Derrick reappeared holding two black sweatshirts. “It’s cold out,” he said tossing one of the sweatshirts to Taylor, “we need to bundle up a little and dress in dark colors if we are going to sneak out.”
Taylor smiled brightly at her husband. “I love you,” she said as she pulled the hoodie over her head.
Derrick shook his head, trying to suppress his own grin. “Coercing me into bad ideas. My, how the tables have turned.”
They left the room and crept their way to the garage. Taylor clutched the letter from Cedric in her grasp. She was eager to see if the place on the note was actually a storage area and what answers lay there.
Once the doors opened to the garage, Taylor and Derrick scurried their way over to his car collection, only to stop short when Henry appeared from the side of one of the SUVs.
“And just where are you two headed?” he asked, his arms folded across his chest.
Taylor panicked, and did the only rational thing. “It was his idea,” she said pointing at Derrick.
Derrick loudly scoffed at his wife. “You liar, I told you it was a bad idea!” he defended, turning himself to Henry. “I told her it was a bad idea,” he told the large man before them.
Henry closed his eyes and shook his head. “You know your safety is in question,” he began.
“I know, I know, but I need to check this out,” she said shaking the letter at him, “and I couldn’t wait for you to finish whatever it was you were doing.”
Henry turned a dark red. “And what exactly is that?” he asked, pointing at the letter.
Taylor heaved out a breath and rattled off all the information she had obtained from Nan. “And then he sent me this, and I need to go here.”
“I googled the address and it came up as a self-storage area,” Derrick explained.
Henry took the paper from Taylor. “Taylor, I think maybe I should have this checked out before we go. There could be—”
“No, I want to go,” Taylor insisted, “and I want to go now.”
Aggravation crept onto Henry’s face. “Taylor, I am working on something tonight.”
“Is it a lead?” Derrick asked.
“No,” Henry answered slowly. Taylor could tell by the conflict in his eyes it was his relationship with Marty that was his top priority. And she saw her in.
“What is it? Is it because you know something I don’t? Are you not telling me something? Because if there is something you are keeping from me, then I could havetrustissues with you, Henry. It would be like if Derrick was keeping stuff from me and telling me not to worry about it,” Taylor said, watching Henry’s eyes light up with what Taylor was trying to say. “If he kept something important from me and wouldn’t let me in then I think that maybe I would feel like he didn’t trust me and without trust what can we have? Can we even have anything without trust?” she pushed.
“I do trust you,” Henry said, conveying to Taylor his understanding. “Is that what it, I mean this, this is about?”
“Uh, yes,” Taylor said as Derrick furrowed his brow in confusion. “But for now I really need to go there,” she said pointing to the letter. “Which car are we taking?” she asked him.
Henry sighed. “This one,” he said patting the back of the one he stood near.
“Okay,” Taylor said going around to get in the back seat on the driver’s side, Henry close at her side.
“I do trust her,” he whispered to Taylor as Derrick opened and shut his door on the opposite side.
“Then show her,” Taylor hissed back, climbing in and shutting the door behind her and grabbing her husband’s hand as they went off after answers, yet again.
* * *
The address tookthem to a self-storage unit located just on the fringe of Skid Row. Out front of the business was a sign, once lit up by neon it appeared, but the glow had since faded out to nothing. As they got closer, Taylor saw that the sign saidFrank’s Self Storage, Est 1973. She swept her gaze around the outside and saw sturdy-looking fencing, several times reinforced, with barbed wire wrapped around the top, giving the structure a prison feel. It looked practically abandoned, most of the lights on its perimeter no longer shining, either having been broken or the lightbulbs not replaced.
They pulled up to the keypad and Henry punched in the first set of numbers under the address on the now crumpled paper that Cedric had sent to Taylor. The gate before them slid open with a heavy whine, its reluctance to function clear as it jerked open to allow their car through.
As they pulled into the lot Derrick looked around. “I thought I would feel safer behind these gates, but I actually feel like I am part of a horror movie.”
Taylor rolled her eyes at her husband. “You are being so dramatic—” she started but was cut off by the sound of the gate whining loudly closed behind them, making her jump. She looked back to Derrick, and he just gave her a look that saidsee, I told you.