I knew the key before Detective Harris finished placing the evidence bag on the desk.<\/p>\n
Ray had painted a thin blue stripe across its top with leftover enamel from our old porch swing.<\/p>\n
He did that because we once had six nearly identical keys hanging beside the basement stairs, and Ray grew tired of trying each one whenever a tenant locked themselves out.<\/p>\n
Blue for the master.<\/p>\n
Red for the garage.<\/p>\n
Green for the shed.<\/p>\n
The others changed over time.<\/p>\n
The blue one did not.<\/p>\n
Until it disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long has that been missing?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
I stared at Doug.<\/p>\n
He stared back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFive, maybe six.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug cleared his throat.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know?\u201d<\/p>\n
His face told me immediately that he knew more than that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you not saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn't the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are police officers standing six feet away. It is exactly the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris stepped back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can give you privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Doug looked miserable.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He glanced toward Bentley and Maddie.<\/p>\n
Bentley was listening despite pretending not to.<\/p>\n
Doug lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad knew Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt as though the chair beneath me had shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cRay knew Travis Nolan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWork.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father was a machinist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray had retired from Fulton Tool & Die at sixty-two.<\/p>\n
After that he repaired things, volunteered at church, argued with squirrels in the garden, and insisted that retirement was simply employment without supervisors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat work?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helped a friend with repossessions.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father repossessed cars?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDouglas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe handled paperwork, sometimes drove a second vehicle, helped locate addresses.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed from disbelief.<\/p>\n
\u201cRay hated paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer irritated me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were not broke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug looked at his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was helping someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan Recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became very quiet.<\/p>\n
Even Bentley looked up fully now.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis\u2019s company?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug nodded.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Ray would have told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug said nothing.<\/p>\n
That silence hurt more than contradiction.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few months before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had spent four years thinking I knew what secrets existed in my marriage.<\/p>\n
Apparently I had been wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad asked me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not make his request sacred.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris intervened gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was Mr. Whitaker\u2019s relationship to Nolan Recovery?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad knew the owner, Travis\u2019s uncle, Frank Nolan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis worked there later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad started helping Frank maybe eight years ago. Travis joined the company around seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing matched the key\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
My anger hardened into focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug looked at Bentley.<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake Maddie to the vending machines,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will know what concerns you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if all of it concerns me?\u201d<\/p>\n
That question sounded too old.<\/p>\n
I softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He took Maddie\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
They walked away.<\/p>\n
Doug waited until they were out of earshot.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad caught Travis breaking rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing information from repossession files for personal reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonal reasons meaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDebtors?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen.\u201d<\/p>\n
A chill moved across my shoulders.<\/p>\n
Harris leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople moved. Changed addresses. Tried to disappear. Travis could use vehicle records, references, employment info, emergency contacts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber.<\/p>\n
I knew before Doug said anything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Amber one of them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Ray?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe is not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only know what Dad told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Travis was using company access to track someone he shouldn't be tracking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne person?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmber?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never gave me a name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped me.<\/p>\n
Ray had been many things.<\/p>\n
Stubborn.<\/p>\n
Impatient.<\/p>\n
Too proud of his tomatoes.<\/p>\n
But scared was not a word Doug or I had ever used for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cScared of Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what Travis knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout all the properties. The keys. Tenant names. Addresses.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe master key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad thought Travis took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't he change every lock?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the station doors as though I could see our duplex miles away.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe changed ours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll exterior locks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why would that old key matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shouldn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris picked up the evidence bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless a lock was never changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought immediately of Amber\u2019s unit.<\/p>\n
Doug shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI changed hers when she moved in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Ray?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad was already gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen that key cannot open her door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the current deadbolt.\u201d<\/p>\n
The way he said current made me pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat can it open?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe basement entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Our shared basement had an old utility door accessible from the alley.<\/p>\n
Ray had replaced the upper-unit locks but never that interior cylinder because he planned to rebuild the door completely.<\/p>\n
Then he became ill.<\/p>\n
The project stayed unfinished.<\/p>\n
I whispered, \u201cTravis has been able to enter the basement for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris was already making a call.<\/p>\n
He ordered officers to secure the house and test the key against every lock.<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
For the first time since Ray died, anger at him arrived before grief.<\/p>\n
Not because he had made a mistake.<\/p>\n
Because he had hidden it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew this man was dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he left me in that house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought Travis was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan Recovery shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad died four years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what happened seven years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug hesitated again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad confronted Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the company yard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey fought.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysically?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled despite myself.<\/p>\n
Ray at sixty-six had still been capable of turning a broken water heater into a personal enemy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrank fired Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad found the master key missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he call police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn't think he could prove Travis took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed once.<\/p>\n
Sharp.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere have I heard that before?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris pretended not to notice.<\/p>\n
Doug continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad changed what he could. Then Travis disappeared for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil Amber.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug nodded.<\/p>\n
When Bentley returned, I looked at him differently.<\/p>\n
Not because he had changed.<\/p>\n
Because the shape of the story around him had.<\/p>\n
His mother had not randomly rented the half-duplex beside mine.<\/p>\n
There might have been a connection before she ever signed the lease.<\/p>\n
\u201cBentley,\u201d I said carefully, \u201chow did your mother find this apartment?\u201d<\/p>\n
He thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone tell her about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said someone helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she ever mention Ray?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the photograph of my husband that I kept in my purse.<\/p>\n
Then froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heartbeat quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Mom\u2019s drawer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cA picture?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that exact one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas your mother in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour husband and another man.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom said they were people who helped her once.\u201d<\/p>\n
The station seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
Amber knew Ray.<\/p>\n
Or knew of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't she tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn't talk about before.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was true.<\/p>\n
Amber had always been polite but private.<\/p>\n
I had mistaken silence for distance.<\/p>\n
Maybe it had been survival.<\/p>\n
We called her immediately.<\/p>\n
The nurse connected us.<\/p>\n
When Amber heard the question, she went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Ray Whitaker?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answer came softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helped me leave Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley was three then.<\/p>\n
Maddie did not exist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Ray do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber\u2019s voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was staying with Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVoluntarily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
The qualification told me enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took my phone. My money. My car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRay knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came to repossess a vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan Recovery?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd found you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe figured something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was Ray.<\/p>\n
Noticing was his particular form of stubbornness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe waited until Travis left. Then he came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tears stung my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave me cash and the number for a shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he tell police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI begged him not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBentley.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was terrified Travis would take him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray had kept her confidence.<\/p>\n
Perhaps too well.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Ray know where you moved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did you end up in our duplex?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave me a card.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat card?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor your rental property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug whispered, \u201cDad\u2019s old cards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said if I ever needed a safe place, call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho answered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoug.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug sat very still.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't recognize the name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber gave a faint laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used Collins by then.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained everything.<\/p>\n
And nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell me you knew Ray?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he said his family didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anger rose again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was true.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber\u2019s voice lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe figured out Ray helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the key in Harris\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
Maybe Travis knew more than any of us had realized.<\/p>\n
Harris asked to speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmber, did Travis ever threaten Mr. Whitaker?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat people who steal from him lose things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug stared at me.<\/p>\n
Ray had suffered a strange accident eight months after helping Amber.<\/p>\n
A fall from a ladder beside the garage.<\/p>\n
He fractured his shoulder and two ribs.<\/p>\n
We had always believed the ladder slipped.<\/p>\n
I remembered finding it on the ground.<\/p>\n
One leg bent.<\/p>\n
Ray had refused to explain why he was up there alone.<\/p>\n
He said he was repairing guttering.<\/p>\n
There had been nothing wrong with the gutter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Travis ever come to our house?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Amber hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cRay said he did once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands began shaking.<\/p>\n
There are moments when the past does not change, exactly.<\/p>\n
It rearranges itself.<\/p>\n
Old memories shift position until something innocent acquires a different shadow.<\/p>\n
Harris noticed my expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRay\u2019s ladder accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fell after helping Amber.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what it means and doesn't mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheck it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
That evening, police confirmed the brass key opened the basement utility door.<\/p>\n
They replaced the lock immediately.<\/p>\n
They also found scratches near the strike plate consistent with recent use.<\/p>\n
Travis had not merely held an old key.<\/p>\n
He had been using it.<\/p>\n
While officers worked, we stayed at Doug\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Bentley sat beside me on the porch after Maddie fell asleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas your husband brave?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about Ray.<\/p>\n
His secrets.<\/p>\n
His mistakes.<\/p>\n
His willingness to help a terrified young mother without asking what it might cost him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he get scared?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how was he brave?\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose two things often arrive together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley absorbed that.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe still left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the dark yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I\u2019m scared too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn't nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I squeezed his shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was true.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found something in Nolan\u2019s truck that you need to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA notebook.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAddresses.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDozens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmber\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOurs?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEntries going back seven years.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything recent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow recent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis week.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Bentley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour routines.\u201d<\/p>\n
The blood drained from my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat routines?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you turn off lights. When Doug visits. When Bentley knocks. When the school bus comes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
Then Harris added the final detail.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one entry from yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Three words.<\/p>\n
\u201cMOVE GIRL SUNDAY.\u201d<\/p>\n
I checked the day.<\/p>\n
Saturday.<\/p>\n
Whatever Travis had planned for Maddie was not distant.<\/p>\n
It was tomorrow.<\/p>\n
I knew the key before Detective Harris finished placing the evidence bag on the desk. Ray had painted a thin blue stripe across its top with leftover enamel from our … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7669,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7649\/revisions\/7669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}