The Treasurer's Hidden Drawer

The desk gives a dry wooden groan as the drawers slide open, releasing the smell of dust, cedar, and old sealing wax. Most compartments contain the ordinary clutter of a careful administrator, but beneath the ledger tray your fingers catch on a hidden seam. The false bottom lifts to reveal velvet, brass, and folded papers arranged with deliberate precision. Among the modest valuables, one supplier's letter and a torn journal page hint that this desk recorded only part of the treasury's secrets.