The Sealed Box

On Wednesday morning Fiona called Emma with an update from the storage company. Staff had checked the old note marked “Location changed”. It had been entered during a warehouse reorganisation in 2013. The company had moved records from one building to another and changed the codes used to describe their places.

“Does that mean you have found the authorisation register?” Emma asked.

“Not yet,” Fiona said. “The index connects the old box number to a newer location code. It doesn't describe what is inside.”

The company had also found a stock-check sheet from 2014. Beside the new code was a tick and a date. Fiona warned that a tick in a stock list did not prove every document in a box had survived.

Sarah was excited when Emma explained the news. “They must have the register, then.”

“They may have the box,” Emma answered. “Even that needs a physical check. We can't say the register is there.”

Fiona had asked the company to search its current shelves. Because the records belonged to the trust and could contain private student information, Emma could not visit the warehouse or inspect the box herself.

While she waited, she looked again at the four headings in her notebook: request, authorisation, transfer and receipt. If the missing book existed, it might show who had approved unusual payments. It would not, on its own, prove that the bank had sent the money.

Helen Ward sent a short message. Her cousin had nothing more to share at present. Emma thanked her. She would not treat an absent bank statement as evidence of a missing grant.

In the afternoon Fiona called again. The warehouse team had found a box carrying the newer location code. Its label included the old reference from the trust's transfer list. The seal was dusty but unbroken, according to the warehouse worker.

“So it is the right box?” Emma asked.

“It may be. We need to compare the references and check the contents properly. The company hasn't opened it.”

A physical box was more than a catalogue entry, but the identification was still provisional. Emma asked Fiona to ensure that anyone opening it recorded what was found, including any pages missing or damaged. She also asked that student details remain private.

Late that evening Fiona sent a final email. The trust and the storage company had agreed to arrange a supervised examination. They would first verify the box label, then record the contents before deciding what information could lawfully be shared.

Sarah read the message and smiled. “Tomorrow we might finally learn who signed.”

“Maybe,” Emma said. “First we find out whether the book is inside.”

She closed her notebook, then opened it once more and wrote: Found a possible box. Not yet found the truth.