Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary of Shadows
The drive to Astoria was a blur of gray coastal rain and blinding headlights. I kept checking my rearview mirror every thirty seconds, half-expecting to see flashing police lights or the black SUVs of the Vance-Croft syndicate trailing behind my battered Honda Civic.
By the time I reached the northernmost tip of the Oregon coast, the sun had set, leaving the town of Astoria shrouded in a thick, ghostly fog that rolled in off the Columbia River. Following the handwritten directions Arthur had slipped into the bag, I drove up the steep, winding hills, past the historic Victorian homes, until the paved road turned into a narrow, gravel track overgrown with blackberry brambles.
At the dead end of the track stood the Montgomery Estate.
It was a colossal, three-story mansion built of dark stone and weathered cedar, perched precariously on a cliff overlooking the roaring river below. It looked like a monument to a forgotten empire. The windows were boarded up with heavy plywood, and ivy had climbed its way up the grand stone chimneys like strangler vines.
I parked my car hidden behind a row of overgrown pine trees, grabbed the hospital bag, and approached the massive oak front doors. My hands shook as I pulled the brass keys from my pocket.
The largest key fit perfectly into the ancient lock. With a heavy, metallic thunk, the deadbolt turned for the first time in three decades.
I pushed the door open. The air inside was freezing, thick with the scent of dust, old paper, and decay. I switched on my flashlight, the beam cutting through the darkness to reveal a grand foyer with a sweeping dual staircase, crystal chandeliers covered in cobwebs, and sheet-covered furniture that looked like a gathering of ghosts.
I walked deeper into the house, my footsteps echoing loudly against the marble floors. According to the ledger in Hazel’s bag, the family vault was located beneath the library in the basement level.
As I found the hidden door behind a false bookcase and descended the stone steps into the dark belly of the mansion, I heard a sound that made my blood run cold.
Outside, the gravel driveway crunched under the weight of heavy tires.
Two sets of car doors slammed shut.
They had found me.
I turned off my flashlight instantly, plunging myself into total darkness. My heart thudded so loudly I was certain whoever was outside could hear it. I retreated into the shadows of the basement, clutching the hospital bag to my chest like a shield.
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Above me, the heavy front door groaned as it was kicked open.
"Search the place," a gruff voice echoed down the grand foyer. "The lawyer said he’d head straight for the old man's vault. Find the rat, get the bag, and make sure he doesn't leave this house with those keys."
