Chapter 5 - So Grandpa Can’t See
Henry Carter had been dead six years.
Penelope asked Lily what she meant.
Lily pointed at family portrait above fireplace.
“Grandma says Grandpa can see bad people when they wear his watch.”
Children transformed adult sentences into strange things.
Penelope asked carefully.
“When does Daddy give Grandma watch?”
“When they go downstairs.”
“What happens downstairs?”
“They talk about Grandpa’s box.”
Lily was not describing supernatural belief.
She had overheard adults.
Michael later explained phrase.
Henry installed an old biometric safe in basement office.
Its access system used wrist proximity tag embedded inside his watch clasp.
After Henry died, Michael transferred tag into inherited watch.
“Grandpa can see” referred to safe audit log recording whoever used credential.
Michael sometimes gave Hattie watch so she could access old documents without him walking downstairs.
Penelope stared.
“So your watch is effectively a key.”
“Yes.”
“And you never thought that mattered?”
“To what?”
“The footage!”
Michael rubbed forehead.
“If Mother borrowed it, that could explain wrist.”
Hattie denied borrowing it that day.
Michael claimed he could not remember.
Another convenient uncertainty.
Police examined clasp.
A tiny RFID insert existed.
Safe logs showed credential used repeatedly.
Most recent:
11:42 a.m. on day Lily was dragged toward kennel.
Three hours before Penelope arrived.
Someone wearing Michael’s watch opened Henry’s safe.
Security camera showed Hattie in kitchen at 11:42.
Michael was supposedly at office.
Who opened safe?
Camera blind spot prevented view of basement hallway entrance.
Then forensic technician recovered partial safe audit image.
Henry’s system took a tiny still whenever door opened.
Image showed hand.
Silver watch.
Dark navy sleeve.
Michael wore dark navy shirt that day.
Penelope’s stomach dropped.
But timestamp conflicted with office logs.
Could Michael leave office undetected?
Parking garage showed car remained.
Phone remained.
Badge remained.
Someone could wear his shirt.
Hattie could not plausibly mimic larger wrist.
Then Penelope remembered Michael’s younger cousin:
Andrew Carter.
Similar build.
Dark hair.
Worked at Carter Development.
Had access to house years earlier.
Andrew denied visiting.
His phone placed him thirty miles away.
Again, no easy answer.
Then safe contents revealed another twist.
Nothing valuable missing.
Instead someone had added document.
A photocopy of Henry’s unsigned amendment.
Across top in red ink:
THE SIGNED ORIGINAL IS UNDER THE DOG.
“Under the dog” could mean kennel.
That explained search.
But who left note?
Henry?
No.
Paper manufactured two years after his death.
Someone alive wanted Hattie and Michael searching kennel.
Someone had deliberately reignited inheritance dispute.
Then police enhanced handwritten red note.
May you like
Penelope recognized lettering.
It looked almost exactly like Michael’s.
