text: Over the past few years, Mary Gardner began suspecting Tim was hiding something from her. Something big! While on his frequent business trips, he rarely answered her phone calls. She was lucky if her texts prompted a response. The only details he ever shared when he got back home were insignificant, like what he had for dinner or what kind of car the rental company gave him. Who cares about that? According to him, he worked 14-hour days on boring, but secret, projects. The locked briefcase he kept in his closet drove her crazy! He would never open it when she was around; moreover, whenever she asked him about it, he’d respond with something like “It's just paperwork and files” or “It’s boring work things that you can’t see but wouldn’t be interested in anyway.” She tried so hard to ignore it and trust him. After all, he never actually did anything that disputed his trustworthiness, but the secrets were driving her mad! She couldn't take it anymore. She decided today was the day she would finally see what was inside. She would discover the truth, once and for all. One hour after he left for work, Mary decided it was safe to proceed with her plan. She used a hammer and screwdriver to pry open the lock on the briefcase. Inside she found a bundle of paperwork, two passports, a gun, a large envelope full of money, and a key. She sat on the bed and started looking through the papers. They seemed fairly routine until she came upon a Marriage Decree and was surprised to see that the names recorded were Marie Snyder and James Hart. Then she noticed that all the paperwork was related to them. Who were they and why did her husband have their documents? She opened the passports and found they were also issued under the same names, but her heart skipped a beat when she realized the pictures on them were of her and Tim! What in the world does this all mean? Suddenly she realized that Tim was not the boring salesman he claimed to be! So many things flashed through her mind. Was he a spy? Could he be a criminal? Maybe he has a second family? And what in the world was he doing with a gun? Was Tim dangerous? She couldn’t decide if she was more angry, scared, or curious. But she was sure she had to confront her husband and demand an explanation. Mary put everything that was in the briefcase into her satchel, even the gun. She was too flustered to drive so she called an Uber to take her to Tim’s office. Twenty minutes later, she was on her way downtown. She was calmer now as she spent the drive time convincing herself that Tim was sure to have a reasonable explanation. So many different scenarios bombarded her thoughts. It seemed to take forever to get to the office building on Frontline Avenue. When they finally got there, she didn’t even thank her driver. She just jumped out of the car and ran up the steps into the building. The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor and Mary stepped out. The first thing she saw was a big sign saying that the office was closed for renovation. Why hadn’t Tim mentioned this? And, more importantly, where in the world was he? And the plot thickens..... Mary called a few of Tim’s friends and, without revealing the morning’s events, attempted to locate him. Since no one offered any helpful clues, she went back home to wait for him to come home. What she found when she got there stunned her! Her home was ransacked. Drawers upended, a broken lamp, and closets emptied but the strangest thing was that there was no noticeable way anyone got in. The door and all the windows were locked and intact. The only way they could have gotten in was with a key and how could that be? Only she and Tim had keys. And the plot thickens...... Her first instinct was to call the police and report the break-in but what would she actually tell them? There was no corrupted means of entry and, as far as she could tell, nothing was taken. The only casualty seemed to be the lamp that apparently got knocked off the table. Besides, how much should she actually tell law enforcement? Her mind was still processing all of this unimaginable data and hadn’t reached any conclusion as to which side of the law Tim was on. Even if he was a good-guy spy, she probably shouldn’t share any information. She decided to wait for Tim to get home. She waited and waited. Mary was surprised, and kind of embarrassed, to realize that she was glad to have a gun handy. She never wanted one in the house, but it helped her feel safer tonight. Finally, about 3:30 a.m., she dozed off on the couch with the gun resting on the pillow beside her. The phone rang and she woke up with a start! When she answered, the caller just hung up. The clock read 7:15. She ran from room to room looking for Tim, but he still was not home. OMG! He never did this before, and she was becoming terrified! What could she do but WAIT? Each hour felt like a day. When Tim’s brother called shortly after noon and said he had stood him up for lunch, she thought she would lose her mind! Mark was talking but she didn’t comprehend much and when he asked if she knew where Tim was, she started crying. She tried to cover it up, but he could tell and said he was coming over. She tried to refuse a visit, but he was determined. Secretly she was glad he insisted because she longed for a trusted opinion on what she should do; and, if she couldn’t trust Mark, who could she trust? He arrived about 20 minutes later and was shocked at the chaos he saw. She ran to him, and he gave her a hug and asked, “What in the world is going on?” She held on a moment longer and then backed away and began to explain. Mary composed herself and started with “Oh, Mark, I’m so scared and confused. I don’t think I know Tim at all! After six years of marriage, I have uncovered some baffling bits and pieces. I have felt for some time that Tim was hiding something from me and today I decided to investigate.” Mark queried, “What made you feel that way and what did you do?” “Well, it is extremely hard to contact him when he goes away on his business trips,” she answered, “and he has a briefcase he keeps in his closet that he clearly specifies as private and for his eyes only.” Mark says, “That would drive me batty and make me want to know even more.” “Right? Me too,” she blurts! “So, I decided to wait until he left for work this morning and I broke into the briefcase.” “Wow!” Mark responds. “And?” She hesitates. “I’m not clear as to what is going on. It might be dangerous. It might be classified. It might be nothing. Are you absolutely sure you want to be involved?” “If my brother is in trouble, I am all in. I have to help if I can!” “Okay,” she tells him. “This is what I know. The contents of the briefcase were a bundle of paperwork, two passports, a gun, a large envelope full of money, and a key.” “Holy cow,” Mark exclaimed. “I can’t even imagine your astonishment. Keep going.” “That is just the beginning,” Mary went on. “The paperwork and passports referred to a couple named Marie and James Hart. But the kicker is that the pictures on the passports were of Tim and me!” Mark was speechless, but the look on his face said it all. She held up her hand and continued, “I don’t know how much money is in the envelope, but it’s a lot!” “And the key?” Mark asked. “I have no idea. Honestly, I haven’t even started trying to figure that one out.” He said, “It looks similar to my safe deposit key, but I’m not sure.” “Next,” she began again, “I put all of it in my satchel and summoned an Uber to take me to see Tim at his office. When I got there, I was thunderstruck by what I found.” She started feeling shaky and sat down on the couch. “What did you find?” Mark asked excitedly. “No one was there, but there was a sign stating that the office was closed for renovation.” Mary told him. “I didn’t know what to do so I came home. That is when I found this mess! I cleaned up a few things, but I didn’t know how much I should do. I waited for Tim, but he never came home.” “Did you call the cops?” Mark asked as he sat down next to her. “No.” Mary told him. “Nobody broke in or stole anything as far as I can tell, so what would I tell the cops? And that leads to my most mind-boggling question: Is Tim a spy? Or a criminal? And, oh Mark, where can he be?” A tear slowly rolled down her cheek. He reached over and pulled her in for a hug and thought for a moment. “I don’t know, Mary, both are hard to believe, but I seriously don’t think he’s a criminal. I will stay with you, though, until we figure out this puzzle.” “Thank you, Mark. That makes me feel better.” Mary told him. “The only other thing I can think of that you don’t know is that I got a phone call early this morning and the caller just hung up when I answered. It was probably nothing.” Mary and Mark waited together and discussed possibilities and actions they might take. Other than the key, for which they had no idea how to find its counterpart, the other items in the briefcase were not really clues. So, they passed the time picking at some food and distractedly playing cards. Just after midnight, the phone rang. They both jumped and Mary grabbed the phone. This is what Mark heard: Mary said “Hello. Oh my God, where have you been?” After a pause, she said “Okay. But just so you know, Mark is here with me, and I opened your briefcase. You have a lot of explaining to do!” She listened for a short time without saying anything and then said, “I don’t understand, but okay. You’ll be there soon?” Once she hung up, she turned towards Mark’s worried face. “Tim said that I should pack a suitcase with the items from the briefcase and anything important or sentimental that I couldn’t bear to leave behind. Not to worry about clothes and things, just important stuff. He said that we are not safe here so we should hurry and go to your house. The people who detained him had taken his keys and were looking for him. They were most likely watching the house, so we are to be extremely cautious and be sure we are not followed.” And the plot thickens..... Mark’s face looked ashen and all he could say was, “Wow. What in the world is happening? What did Tim get himself into?” Mary shook her head, “I don’t know, but we will find out everything when he gets to your house. He said he’d get there as soon as he could.” With her direction, he helped her get her suitcase and pack it. Forty-five minutes later they were ready to leave. She looked around one more time and said, “Let’s go.” Quietly, they peeked out the window and then stepped out onto the porch looking around for anything unusual. Mary had given Mark the gun and he kept it handy, just in case. The coast looked clear, so they walked quickly to his car. Once inside, Mark wasted no time getting out of there. It was late so there were not many cars on the road. He took a roundabout route home and neither of them noticed any suspicious headlights following them. Once satisfied they were not followed, Mark pulled into his driveway and parked the car. When they were on the porch, Mary told him that Tim said to go inside but to keep the lights off and stay out of sight. “Tim said he would knock six times so we could be sure it was him at the door,” Mary advised. Again they waited, but this time in the dark. About an hour later, a man appeared on the porch. The couch stood in front of the window, and Mary hid behind it as she peered outside. By the glow of the streetlight, she could see that he was a very big man, tall and husky. He was white and had red hair. When he reached out to try to turn the doorknob, she saw a skull and crossbones tattoo on his forearm. She had never been so scared in her life! At the same time, Mark hid in the hallway and pointed the gun at the door. He had told her not to come out no matter what happened. Only seconds later, the brute of a man rammed the door in and entered the foyer, gun extended. Mark shot first but only hit the man in the shoulder. He was not so lucky. The intruder fired and shot him right in the forehead and Mark crumpled to the floor. The man looked around quickly, but probably assumed no one else was there because the house was totally dark. He pulled the door closed as best he could and left. Mary, in a state of shock, stayed in her hiding place waiting for Tim to show up. It was no use trying to help Mark as it was obvious, he was dead. She doesn’t know how long she would have stayed behind that couch because the decision to come out was made for her when the police showed up about 15 minutes later. Apparently, the gunshots did not go unnoticed by the neighbors. Is that why Tim never showed up, she wondered. At the station, she told the detective some of the details, keeping the contents of the briefcase and Tim’s phone call to herself. She told him that her husband was out of town, so she was staying at her brother-in-law’s house for the night. She gave a detailed description of the shooter, including the tattoo on his arm. By the time she finished working with the sketch artist, the detective had received a report from Bay General Hospital that there was a patient there with a bullet wound in his shoulder. He fit the description Mary gave to a T. As suspected, it was him. He was arrested for murder. As it turned out, he was a hit man for one of the biggest syndicates on the west coast, and Mary would have to testify against him. She had police protection around the clock for the next week. Tim never did come home or even call again. She would probably never know what happened to him as she was scheduled to enter Witness Protection next week. Was he a good guy or bad guy? Did he ever really love her or was it all an act? What in the world did that little key fit? Well, at the very least, she had enough money to comfortably start over. She never would become Marie Snyder-Hart. and she would never be Mary Gardiner again. She pondered what her new name would be and what her new life would entail. She learned many lessons during this life; hopefully, her next life will be absolutely wonderful! And the plot changes.....