Chapter 4 - THE MUSIC BOX
Lily lived in a small apartment near St. Anne’s Hospital because her treatments made long travel exhausting.
Clara arrived before dawn.
Lily opened the door in sweatpants, pale and irritated.
“You look insane.”
“Good morning to you too.”
“What happened?”
Clara entered and locked the door.
“Where’s Dad’s music box?”
Lily frowned.
“What?”
“The brass house.”
“In my closet. Why?”
“Get it.”
“Clara.”
“Please.”
Lily studied her sister.
Then went.
The music box was smaller than Clara remembered.
Brass walls.
Tiny windows.
A roof that lifted to reveal a mechanical cylinder.
Lily set it on the table.
“I haven’t opened this in years.”
Clara turned it over.
Nothing.
Then remembered Michael tapping the chimney when he gave it to Lily.
She pressed it.
Click.
A tiny panel opened beneath the roof.
Inside was a narrow metal strip engraved with numbers.
Not a key.
Not exactly.
Lily whispered:
“What is that?”
Clara photographed it and sent the image to Agent Sloan.
Then she noticed something else.
The music cylinder itself could be removed.
Underneath sat a microSD card.
Lily backed away.
“Oh my God.”
Clara looked at her.
“Dad hid this.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Lily’s face hardened.
“You do know something.”
Clara could not tell her half.
So she told her enough.
Arthur Sterling had records on both of them.
Their father had investigated him.
A man believed dead was alive under Sterling’s house.
Lily stared.
Then laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
“Your life is stupid.”
“Correct.”
“Who’s the dead man?”
Clara hesitated.
“Luca Moretti.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“The mafia guy?”
“Yes.”
“Under your boss’s house?”
“Yes.”
Lily sat down.
Then looked at the medical papers Clara had brought copies of.
“Why does Sterling have my records?”
“I think Dad knew something Arthur wanted.”
Lily’s voice became quiet.
“And he paid for my treatment?”
“Yes.”
Her face changed.
The anonymous grants had allowed her to survive without medical debt crushing them completely.
Now each payment felt contaminated.
Lily whispered:
“So I owe him.”
“No.”
“He paid.”
“You did not consent to being leverage.”
That came out sharper than Clara intended.
Lily looked at her.
Then nodded.
Agent Sloan called.
“The number strip is a one-time recovery key.”
“For what?”
“We don’t know yet. The microSD may tell us.”
“Can I bring it?”
“Not to the field office.”
“Why?”
“Sterling may be monitoring you.”
Clara froze.
“How?”
“Your phone, car, hospital records, maybe none. We assume risk until proven otherwise.”
Lily looked terrified now.
Clara reached for her hand.
Then the apartment intercom buzzed.
Both sisters jumped.
Lily whispered:
“I’m not expecting anyone.”
Clara looked through the peephole.
A man in a dark suit stood outside.
Not Arthur.
Someone younger.
He held a bouquet.
Then looked directly at the peephole and smiled.
May you like
“Miss Higgins,” he said through the door.
“Mr. Sterling asked me to collect something that belongs to him.”
