Chapter 9 : South Station
974 Words
By the time Ethan parked near South Station, it was already morning.
The drive from his apartment had taken longer than he expected.
He stayed in the car for a moment instead of getting out.
On the passenger seat, the storage locker receipt lay beside his notebook.
217.
South Station.
November 2009.
The same question had been running through his mind the entire drive.
Why would Claire put something here?
South Station wasn't close to the university. It wasn't anywhere near the areas where Whitmore usually spent his time.
If all she wanted was to store some ordinary research material, there was no reason to come this far.
Ethan picked up the receipt and looked at it again.
November 2009.
He had no idea what was inside the locker.
He also had no idea why Whitmore had never written down the answer in his notes.
But at least now he knew where to look.
Ethan opened the car door and stepped out.
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed toward South Station.
Ethan walked into South Station.
The morning rush was heavier than he'd expected.
Following the map on his phone, he made his way through the main hall and toward the locker area.
Rows of metal lockers lined the wall.
He took out the receipt and checked the number again.
217.
He followed the numbers along the row.
214.
215.
216.
Ethan stopped.
Then looked at the next locker.
217.
This was it.
He stood in front of it but didn't reach for the door.
The locker looked ordinary. The gray metal was worn with age, but there was a noticeable scratch around the lock.
Ethan crouched down for a closer look.
There were a few dents around the keyhole.
It didn't look like normal wear.
And the lock itself looked newer than the rest of the locker.
Ethan frowned.
A voice came from behind him.
“Sir, what can I help you with?”
Ethan turned and saw a station employee standing a few feet away.
“Nothing. My friend stored some things here a long time ago.”
“He lost the key and asked me to see if there's any way to get them back.”
Ethan handed him the receipt.
The employee looked at it and frowned.
“Wow. This is pretty old. I can't tell if the locker has been opened since then. Let me check the records in the office.”
He looked at the receipt again.
“And I'm not even sure if this was a short-term or long-term rental. We don't use these rental forms anymore.”
“Okay.”
Ethan followed the employee toward the office near the locker area.
About twenty minutes later, the employee called Ethan into the office.
“Okay, we checked the rental records.”
He turned the computer screen toward Ethan.
“This locker was first rented in 2009. The rental period was for one year. The last renewal was in November of last year, so there's still three months left.”
Ethan stared at him.
Last year?
Claire had renewed it just last year?
Unless…
The employee continued.
“There's one more thing. Someone broke into the locker recently.”
Ethan looked at him.
“We tried calling the phone number the renter left with us. We wanted to make sure there wasn't anything important inside and see if they wanted us to call the police.”
The employee shook his head.
“But we couldn't get through.”
Ethan asked immediately,
“Was the locker rented under the name Claire Morgan?”
The employee looked confused.
“No, sir. The renter's name is Daniel Whitmore.”
He glanced at the computer.
“This is the phone number we have.”
He handed the number to Ethan.
Ethan looked down at it.
It was Whitmore's cell phone number.
So it wasn't Claire.
“I see.”
Ethan paused.
“He was my professor. He passed away recently. That's probably why you couldn't reach him.”
The employee looked apologetic.
“I'm sorry.”
He hesitated for a moment.
“Do you know what was in there?”
Ethan shook his head.
“No. I don't.”
He glanced toward the locker area outside the office.
“But even if there was something inside, I assume it's probably gone by now, right?”
“Not exactly.”
The employee's answer made Ethan look up.
He looked at the computer again.
“There were still a few things inside when we opened it.”
He stood up.
“Give me a second. I'll get them for you.”
A moment later, the employee handed Ethan a clear plastic bag.
Ethan took it.
Inside was a pen.
And a small notebook.
He opened the bag and flipped through the notebook.
The first few pages were blank.
He turned several more.
Still blank.
Then, halfway through, his hand stopped.
There were only two things written in the center of the page.
MR-17
215957
Ethan stared at them for several seconds.
No date.
No explanation.
Nothing else.
He turned a few more pages.
The rest of the notebook was blank.
“That's everything?”
The employee nodded.
“That's all we found.”
Ethan closed the notebook.
His mind kept circling back to the two strange entries.
MR-17.
215957.
No matter how he looked at them, he couldn't figure out what they meant.
“One more thing. Is there any way to find out who opened the locker?”
“Sorry, we don't keep records like that. But I can check some of the older files. Maybe there's something there that could help.”
“Thanks.”
Ethan left his phone number.
“If you find anything, give me a call.”
He put the items away and left the office.
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