Chapter 4 - The Watch

Ruth had carried the photograph for seventeen years without noticing the message. A strip of yellowed tape had covered the back, securing it inside an old album. She had removed the tape the night before the ceremony.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Emily asked.

"I thought it was a reminder about your father's watch. I gave that watch away with his uniforms after the funeral." Ruth rubbed her palms together. "I couldn't stand seeing any of it."

Emily didn't blame her. At eleven, she'd sat outside her mother's bedroom listening to the sounds of boxes closing. Grief made reasonable people do unreasonable things.

Vance assigned an investigator, Major Lena Ortiz, to check the storage receipt. Lena found an inventory from the veteran assistance center that had collected Daniel's clothing. The watch was listed in a sealed personal-effects packet, not among donations.

"The packet was requested by Mercer two months after the funeral," Lena said.

"On what authority?" Emily asked.

"A signature that looks like your mother's."

Ruth took the document. "I never signed that."

Lena photographed it and asked Ruth to write a sample for comparison. Emily watched her mother form each careful letter. Ruth's hand shook only when she reached the surname Carter.

That afternoon, Emily was ordered to turn in her access badge pending an administrative review of the accusation concerning her award. She complied. The soldier at the desk looked miserable.

"I know you didn't lie, ma'am," he whispered.

"Then tell the investigator when she asks," Emily said.

Outside, Emily found an unfamiliar woman waiting beside her car. She wore a gray coat, held no badge, and stood far enough away to give Emily an exit.

"I'm Nora Bell," the woman said. "Aaron was my brother."

Emily's pulse jumped. "Was?"

"He died last winter. Before he did, he made me promise that if the Carter family ever came looking, I'd give you this."

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She handed Emily a small padded envelope. Inside was a cracked wristwatch, its back engraved A.B.

And wedged beneath the band was a tiny brass key.