"Tell me."
He slowly closed the laptop.
"Before I do, there's something else you need to see."
He reached into the black case.
Inside was a small notebook.
Thomas's handwriting covered the first page.
I recognized it immediately.
The neat capital letters.
The slightly crooked numbers.
I had watched him write shopping lists and anniversary cards for almost half a century.
Nathan opened to a page near the end.
There were several names.
Raymond.
Elaine.
A former company manager.
And one name I didn't recognize.
Evelyn Bell.
I looked up sharply.
"Your mother?"
Nathan nodded.
"But I thought she died."
"She did."
"When?"
"Five years ago."
I stared at the page.
"Then why would Thomas write her name here?"
Nathan's expression became tense.
"That's what I want to know."
Beneath the names was a date.
The same date Thomas had visited the store.
And beside it were four handwritten words.
