but after consulting with a structural engineer, he learned that the older vaults were actually harder to break into – unless their locks had never been upgraded. But Capital Savings had spared no expense, installing a dual-control combination lock that worked in conjunction with a separate time lock that denied any access during non-business hours.
Since the bank had just opened, Keller was the first visitor of the morning. A citrus scent lingered in the air, as if the floor had been waxed the night before. Hundreds of brass locks lined the left- and right-hand walls. Several of the boxes were only as wide as a brick; others were much larger. The biggest boxes filled the far wall. A few of them were so massive they looked like they could hold caskets. Keller had always wondered what treasures were hidden within: gold, jewels, stacks of foreign currency. Whatever it was, he knew it had to be valuable because a box of that size cost thousands of dollars to rent.
By comparison, his box was a bargain. It measured two feet by two feet and never cost him a cent since it was financed by the mysterious trust fund. A long time ago, he had tried to track down the original source of the revenue, but the paper trail stopped cold the same year that his family had taken ownership of the box, way back in the 1800s.
Keller stared at the box wistfully, reflecting on his visits over the years. Then, with a lump in his throat, he entered his combination using the brass dial for the final time.
7… 2… 15.
As the tumblers fell into place, he pulled his safe-deposit key from his pocket and shoved it into the lock. Twisting the key to the right, the metal door popped open with a click.
Keller smiled at the sound; a mixture of joy and relief filled his face.
The big moment was finally here.
After three decades of waiting, thirty-plus years of stress and anxiety and sleepless nights, he was about to fulfil the promise that he had made to his dying father.
After all that time, Keller could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But not until he followed the instructions within.
2
Saturday, 12 December
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dressed in black, the shadowy figure trudged through the blizzard on the nearly deserted campus. Six inches of snow had already fallen, and three more were expected by midnight, thanks to a storm that blanketed the region. Although the evening’s temperature was in the upper-twenties, it felt much colder due to the harsh winds that whipped down the empty streets, pelting everything with ice.
Lowering his head, he continued onward, unwilling to stop despite the tiny crystals that had formed on his hair and clothes. He had lived in the city for several years, so he knew Forbes Avenue was up ahead, and beyond it, his final destination.
Dedicated in 1937, the Cathedral of Learning towers above the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) campus. The sand-coloured skyscraper stands forty-two storeys high and contains more than 2,000 rooms. Its steel frame, overlaid with Indiana limestone, is Gothic Revival in design, similar in style to the Palace of Westminster in London and St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.
Simply put, it is one of the most breathtaking buildings in the world.
On most nights, the golden lights on top of the Cathedral can be seen for miles, but because of the snow, he could barely see the building from across Bigelow Boulevard.
Five minutes later, he tramped up the stone stairs behind the panther-head fountain, then stomped his feet outside the main entrance of the Cathedral, trying to clean his dress shoes the best he could. After brushing the ice from his clothes and hair, he straightened his bow tie and pushed his way through the giant revolving door. A surge of warm air greeted him inside the building, as did two female students who were manning the registration table.
‘Good evening, sir,’ said the blonde. ‘May I take your coat?’
The black man nodded as he took off his overcoat, revealing a tuxedo underneath. He wasn’t used to fancy clothes. In fact, the last time he had worn a tux was at his senior prom, nearly twenty years before. But because of the formality of the event, he had promised to wear one. Not that he was happy about it. If he’d had his way, he would have been on the other side of campus – near the building where Dr Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine – settling into