On the day of the funeral, Joe played the grieving husband with disconcerting ease. Then he had slipped away. Sarah had found him alone in front of his mother's coffin, whispering words to him. She had distinctly grasped: "I have preserved our secret, Margaret. No one ever knew anything about it. It will remain buried under the red maple tree in your garden forever. »*
The metal box under the roots
That same evening, Sarah had taken the wheel back to her childhood home. The red maple: Margaret wouldn't let anyone get near it. She had even had a slab damaged by roots redone rather than cutting down the tree. An attachment that Sarah had always attributed to her mother's sensitivity.
She started digging. The shovel has encountered metal.
