“If you are willing, I would like you to meet my son, Walter.”
I glanced past him at Mrs. Callahan, who had stopped pretending to check her mail and was now simply watching.
“Walter… the old man… I helped him… am I in any trouble, Officer?”
“No, Ma’am. But he asked for you specifically.”
I looked at the ring in the box for a long moment. Then I went inside, put on my shoes, and got into the police car.
***
The drive was 40 minutes, and nobody explained anything.
Every question I asked got the same answer: “You’ll understand when we get there.”
