Chapter 2

The page trembled above the open tin.

Bennett set his glass on the mantel.

"That isn't proof of anything."

Garrett looked up at him.

"It's Nathan's handwriting."

"It's one sentence on an undated page."

Elise pulled Sadie closer.

Bennett stepped away from the fireplace.

"Garrett, let's not do this in public."

He nodded toward the office behind the desk.

For a moment, Garrett stayed on his knee.

Then he closed the watch carefully.

He put it beside the page.

Both went back into the tin.

"Elise comes with us."

Bennett's hand paused over his jacket button.

"Of course."

Garrett turned toward the security guard.

"Nobody touches them."

Doreen moved forward.

"Sir, I was following-"

"You're finished supervising tonight."

She stopped beside the scattered angels.

Garrett carried the tin into the office.

Elise followed with Sadie's hand in hers.

Bennett closed the door behind them.

Through the glass, Walter remained beside his mop.

The office held one desk and three chairs.

Sadie climbed onto her mother's lap.

Garrett stayed standing.

"Tell me who she is."

Elise pressed her palm against Sadie's back.

"Your granddaughter."

Bennett drew a chair away from the desk.

"That's what she claims."

"We were married."

"Then where were you during probate?"

Elise looked at him.

"You know where."

Bennett turned toward Garrett.

"There was an inquiry after the accident."

"A claim," Garrett said.

"An unsupported claim."

Garrett put the tin on the desk.

He remembered a folder.

A signature tab.

Bennett telling him there was nothing else to handle.

"Your son's estate was reviewed," Bennett said.

"No spouse."

"No children."

Sadie's boots rested against Elise's knees.

She watched Garrett's face.

"Am I the trouble?"

Elise bent over her curls.

"No, honey."

Garrett pulled the third chair closer.

"Not you."

Bennett opened his empty hands.

"The watch could have come from his belongings."

"The note could be copied."

He pointed toward the lobby.

"His name is hanging over the fireplace."

Garrett glanced through the glass.

The guests had begun moving again.

Someone gathered cups from a table.

Doreen spoke quietly to a security guard.

The ordinary sounds made the small office colder.

"Why work here?" Garrett asked Elise.

"If you knew who I was?"

"Walter found me the job."

"Four years?"

"I needed a room."

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"I tried."

Bennett leaned forward.

"She accepted a settlement."

Elise's arm tightened around Sadie.

"You paid the funeral bill."

"And provided additional funds."

"You called it help."

Garrett looked between them.

"You said you'd never dealt with her."

"I never established that she was Nathan's wife."

The distinction hung over the desk.

Then Bennett reached for the tin.

"We should secure this for examination."

Garrett moved it out of reach.

"You can look from there."

A soft knock came at the glass.

Walter stood outside.

Behind him, a bell attendant held a luggage cart.

An old footlocker sat on its lower shelf.

Garrett opened the door.

Walter stayed in the lobby.

"Those things belonged to Nathan."

Elise rose so quickly Sadie grabbed her collar.

"You brought it up?"

"I called downstairs."

Walter held out a small brass key.

"The young man used my key."

Bennett stood behind Garrett.

"Hotel employees shouldn't interfere in a family matter."

Walter looked at the tin.

"Then maybe we ought to establish the family."

Garrett carried it back into the lobby.

Elise followed.

Walter knelt beside the cart and opened the footlocker.

Inside lay envelopes, photographs, and a worn blue folder.

"Why did you have this?" Garrett asked.

"Elise needed somewhere safe."

Walter lifted a photograph by its edges.

"Nathan gave me this one himself."

Bennett moved closer.

"Private photographs don't establish legal rights."

Garrett took the picture.

Nathan stood outside a county courthouse.

Elise wore a plain cream dress.

A man in a dark suit stood beside Nathan.

His hand rested on Nathan's shoulder.

Garrett looked from that face to Bennett.

"You never established she was his wife?"

Bennett said nothing.

Garrett turned the photograph over.

Nathan's familiar block letters filled the back.

"Bennett stood up for us. 12/12/20."