A gray rain began before he reached the Sterling property. The houses grew farther apart, their driveways curving behind stone walls and ornamental trees. The road ended at a set of iron gates flanked by pale brick columns. Beyond them stood a house of glass, limestone, and carefully measured light, its windows reflecting a sky darkening toward evening.
Daniel parked near the visitor entrance and approached the guard booth with the bag held against his jacket. A broad man in a gray security uniform stepped out, his identification badge reading MARCUS. He took in Daniel's worn boots, the damp canvas coat, and the aging pickup parked along the road before asking what he wanted. Daniel answered that he had found something belonging to Victoria Sterling and hoped to return it in person.
"You can leave deliveries at the service entrance," Marcus said.
"It's not a delivery. It's personal property she lost today. I'd rather place it in her hands, if possible."
Marcus narrowed his eyes. "You know Ms. Sterling?"
"No, sir. That's why I'm explaining."
Marcus made a call, waited, asked Daniel to repeat his name, and made another call. The rain grew heavier, beginning to drip from the edge of the booth's awning onto Daniel's shoulder. He considered returning to the truck, but the guard had asked him not to move until authorization came through. Daniel stayed where he was, watching water collect along the gate's lower track.
Inside the house, Linda Whitfield was finishing a discussion with Ethan about the missing wallet. The police had not recovered it, the bank had finished freezing the cards, and Victoria had retreated to the upstairs sitting room. When Marcus reported a stranger claiming to possess her belongings, Linda's first reaction was suspicion. She demanded a description and seemed satisfied when she heard that the visitor was a man in work clothes carrying a paper bag.
"Keep him there," she said. "I'll come down."
Ethan looked up from his tablet. "It may actually be the wallet."
"And it may be someone who found her address and decided the reward would be worth the trip. Either way, we don't let him wander through the house."
Ethan wanted the property returned as badly as anyone, but he also understood security procedures. "Then we can verify it without accusing him of something," he said. Linda gave him the patient look she reserved for colleagues she considered too soft, and walked toward the front hall.
At the entrance, she found Marcus guiding Daniel along the sheltered walkway. Linda wore a navy dress and a narrow gold watch; her hair had been pinned into a neat twist that remained almost perfectly in place despite the humidity. She looked Daniel over, then at the paper bag. "You claim you found our chief executive's wallet," she said, making the claim sound like a charge. Daniel nodded.
"I found it downtown. I think it fell near the convention building. Her identification is inside."