Then he remembered the note in his pocket and touched it to make sure it was still there.
It was.
"Are you going to find out what happened to Dad?" he asked.
Hawk turned off the stove.
"That's the plan."
"Will it take a long time?"
"I can't promise how quickly we'll find answers. But I can promise we won't stop just because the answers are uncomfortable."
Ethan nodded.
He liked that answer better than the promises adults usually made.
Hawk set a plate on the table.
"Eat something. We're going to have a busy day."
Ethan looked at the food.
There were eggs, bacon, toast, and a glass of orange juice.
He had not seen so much food on their table in weeks.
He sat down and began eating slowly.
Halfway through breakfast, Samuel woke.
He looked around the room, saw Hawk at the stove, and immediately began to rise.
"You don't have to do that."
Hawk looked at him.
"Do what?"
"Cook. Repair the house. Buy groceries. Whatever else you've decided to do."
Hawk placed another plate on the table.
"Sit down, Sam."
Samuel frowned.
"I mean it."
"So do I."
For a moment, they stared at each other.
Then Marcus intervened.
"Breakfast is getting cold, and none of us has the patience to listen to two old men argue before coffee."
Frank called through the open window.
"Speak for yourself. I've been listening to them argue since 1989."
The room filled with quiet laughter.
Samuel looked almost startled.
Then, slowly, he sat down.
For the first time since the telephone call about the house, he ate a full meal.
After breakfast, Hawk laid the documents on the table.
"We'll go to the storage facility first. Then we'll speak to an attorney who isn't connected to Cole."
Samuel glanced at the bank statement.
"What if the documents prove that I received the money?"
"Then we'll find out where it went."
"What if they prove I signed something I shouldn't have?"
"Then we'll deal with that too."
Samuel rubbed his face.
"I don't know if I can do this."
Hawk leaned back in his chair.
"Nobody's asking you to become a different man overnight. We're asking you to tell the truth about what you remember."
Samuel looked toward Ethan.
The boy was sitting quietly beside the table, listening.
"I've already done enough damage," Samuel said.
Hawk's expression softened.
"Then stop doing it."
Samuel looked at him.
Hawk continued.
"You can't change what you said to Daniel thirty years ago. You can't go back and open the door when he came home. But you can decide what happens next."
Samuel lowered his eyes.
"And if the truth makes everything worse?"
Hawk shrugged.
"Then at least the pain will belong to the truth instead of another lie."
Those words stayed with Samuel long after the men prepared to leave.
He had spent thirty years believing that the truth was dangerous.
Now he began to understand that lies were dangerous too.
They simply took longer to reveal the damage they caused.
Before leaving, Hawk approached Ethan.
"Do you want to come with us?"
Samuel immediately turned.
"He's a child."
"I know."
"He shouldn't have to deal with this."
Hawk nodded.
"You're right. He shouldn't. But he also shouldn't have to sit in this house wondering whether the people he loves are hiding something from him."
Samuel looked at Ethan.
The boy waited without speaking.
Finally, Samuel asked, "Do you want to come?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Samuel sighed.
"Then stay close to me."
"I will."
Hawk smiled faintly.
"Good. Let's go."
The storage facility stood on the eastern edge of Millhaven, behind a row of abandoned workshops and a disused railway siding. Its gates were secured with a keypad, and the entrance was monitored by a small security camera.
A sign above the office identified the business as Millhaven Secure Storage.
Marcus had already called the manager, who agreed to meet them at nine.
The manager, a nervous man named Peter Lawson, emerged from the office carrying a clipboard.
"Mr. Bennett?"
Hawk nodded.
"We're looking for records connected to the old electrical supply company that used to occupy this property."
Lawson frowned.
"That was a long time ago."
"We know."
"Most of those files were removed before we purchased the building."
"Most?"
Lawson looked down at his clipboard.
"There are a few boxes in the rear storage room. The previous owner left them behind. We contacted the company listed on the paperwork, but they never arranged collection."
Samuel stepped forward.
"Do you know whether the boxes contain financial records?"
Lawson studied him.
"I couldn't say."
Hawk produced a copy of the document showing the address.
"We'd appreciate the chance to examine anything connected to the Iron Hollow Community Relief Fund."
Lawson hesitated.
"I can't just let strangers search company records."
"That's fair," Hawk said. "We're not asking you to break any rules. We'll provide identification, and if you need authorization from the current property owner, we'll wait while you contact them."
The manager seemed relieved by the answer.