The Man Who Can't Let Go novel · Chapter 14 of 24

Chapter 14: Changing the Locks

Tobias saw the white van first, double-parked in front of Madden Hardware with its flashers on.

He left the car in the road with the door open and ran the last half block.

Harvey stood in his own doorway in his canvas apron with both hands on the frame.

A man in a VanAlstyne Properties jacket was holding a clipboard in front of him, and behind the man a locksmith knelt at the lock with a drill.

"Mr. Madden, I'm only the property manager," the man was saying. "The account is three months in arrears. The lease allows re-entry."

"I paid you every first of the month for thirty-five years," Harvey said.

"I'm sorry, sir. The ledger says otherwise."

Tobias stepped between the drill and the door.

"Put it down," he said.

The locksmith looked up, saw his face, and looked at the property manager.

"Mr. VanAlstyne," the property manager said, going pale. "Your mother's office signed this."

"I know whose office signed it."

His hands wanted something badly.

He felt the old weight in his arms, the one he had carried through the townhouse every night for three years, and he put both hands in his pockets.

Virginia came up beside him, breathing hard from the run.

"Dad," she said. "Where's the checkbook?"

Harvey reached behind the counter with a shaking hand and brought out a long green book, soft with use.

He tore open the last three stubs.

"First of the month, every one, with a date and the amount," he said. "I take the check to the VanAlstyne Properties box myself, on the corner."

"Then the checks went in," Virginia said. "Someone just never cashed them."

The property manager looked at his clipboard.

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