Seaside Secrets by Cindy Bell Read Free Book Online

outside. It was the first time Suzie had seen him without his uniform, and in jeans and a t-shirt he looked much younger than she had first assumed.
    “ Hi there,” she smiled as she walked up to him. Jason didn't smile back, he glanced up at her nervously instead.
    “ I couldn't open the box,” he said quietly and lowered his eyes.
    “ Oh Jason, I'm sorry, was it too difficult for you?” she asked with a frown.
    “ No,” he replied darkly. “My father left a specific note with the manager of the bank, that I should not open the box. He named you as the only person who could open the box.”
    “ Me?” Suzie asked with a shake of her head. “This is getting a little ridiculous.”
    “ Not to me it isn't,” Jason said and narrowed his eyes. “This is how he always was. He kept things inside. When my mother died I was away on vacation and he waited almost two days to tell me. Two days of me living my life and enjoying myself, having no idea that...” his voice broke slightly and he shook his head. “Obviously he didn't trust me with whatever is in that box, so here,” he handed her the key. Suzie took it and then studied him intently.
    “ Do you want to come inside with me?” she offered awkwardly. She had no idea how to react to her uncle's dismissal of his son. She wished she could give the letter she had found to Jason, but she didn't feel as if that moment was the right time. The last thing she wanted was for Jason to throw the letter into the trash without reading it.
    “ No,” he sighed and then rocked back on his heels. “I'm going to go to the diner and have a nice early lunch, and forget about all of this. Good luck,” he added and turned to walk down the sidewalk.
    Suzie stepped into the bank. She hated to think of Jason feeling so hurt, but she was very curious about what might be in the safety deposit box.
    When she walked into the bank, the woman behind the counter was smiling in the direction of the door, as if she was waiting for Suzie to enter. Suzie returned the smile, though she was still a little troubled. As she walked up to the curved front counter the woman laid a clipboard with some forms clipped to it in front of Suzie.
    “ You must be Suzie Allen,” she said swiftly. “I just need you to fill out these forms, and I'll need to see some identification.”
    Suzie nodded and began filling in her information on the form. When she finished she handed the woman her ID and then glanced around the bank. It was a quiet place with thick carpets and floor to ceiling double paned glass windows. It had a sterile feel to it, but the atmosphere was courteous.
    “All set, Ms. Allen,” the woman said as she returned to the counter. “If you'll follow me,” she opened a small gate in the counter so that Suzie could step through. They walked down a long, narrow hallway to a secure room where the safety deposit boxes were stored. The teller walked over to the wall of safety deposit boxes, found the number that belonged to Harry's, and pointed it out to Suzie.
    “ I'll leave you to look through the contents, please let me know if there's anything you need,” she said as she walked back out of the door.
    Suzie stared at the box, then unlocked it with the key. She slid the metal container out from inside the small space, and carried it to the large wooden table in the center of the room. As she opened the lock on the box, she wondered what would be inside. What she found left her very surprised. Though the box was fairly large and could have contained several different things there was only a single envelope in the bottom of it. It was a thick envelope and felt heavy when Suzie picked it up. She opened the envelope to discover a pile of photographs inside and a USB flash drive.
    Suzie lifted the photographs out of the envelope. She laid them in a pile on the table beside the box. When she looked inside she discovered that the photographs and the drive were the only things that the envelope had