PART 9 — An unexpected twist
While Mark and Sarah were left defeated in the living room, I walked to the hallway to pull the front door shut behind me. But before I could touch the handle, I heard a loud knock on the front window pane. The sound was so abrupt that it startled me.
I turned around and saw through the frosted glass the contours of a figure peering inside. It wasn't a random passerby; the figure was gesturing frantically that I needed to open up.
Sarah hurried into the hallway, her face distorted with annoyance. “Who on earth dares to...?” She yanked the front door open before I could stop her.
Standing on the doorstep was no police officer, nor a neighbor. It was a young man in a wet coat, with a briefcase under his arm and a face bursting with excitement.
“Mrs. De Vries?” the young man asked out of breath. “Are you Anna De Vries?”
“Yes,” I answered in surprise. “Who are you?”
“My name is Detective Visser,” the man said, showing his badge. “And I need to speak to you immediately about another deed that came to light at the land registry today. A deed that concerns not only this house, but a secret your late husband carried with him all these years.”
Mark, who had also walked into the hallway behind Sarah, stared at the detective with his mouth open. “A... another secret? What on earth do you mean?”
Detective Visser briefly looked at Mark and then directed his attention straight back to me. “Mrs. De Vries, this is no longer just a simple civil matter. It concerns the past of your late husband, and the question... who truly paid for it.”
