I had to keep exhaling and inhaling on purpose in order to force calm into my body, catching the bob of my foot at the end of my crossed legs before I could kick the desk in front of me one
more time. My fingers, wound together tight enough I felt the impression of the key they held embedding itself permanently into my flesh, refused to unlock or let it go while I waited, heart pounding, for Tom Brackshaw to return.
With the safety deposit box my grandmother left for me.