When the Colonel Came to the Estate

Sophie laughed again, quieter this time, and even Charles’s mouth twitched.

The room began to dissolve into smaller conversations, awkward but real.

Some relatives approached to apologize.

Others escaped toward the terrace.

Margaret remained near the window, rigid as a statue.

Dana gathered the signed paper and slipped it into her portfolio.

“You handled yourself well,” she told me.

“I handled myself tired,” I said.

“Often the same thing,” she replied.

Captain Ortiz returned from the hall empty-handed.

“Disposed?” my father asked.

“Secured,” Ortiz said.

That word made my attention sharpen.

“Secured?”

Ortiz glanced at my father before answering.

“I placed it in an evidence bag in my car. Thought it might be wiser than throwing it away.”

Dana nodded approvingly.

“Good instinct.”

Margaret turned from the window.

“Evidence bag? This is grotesque.”

“It is precautionary,” Dana said. “There is a difference.”

Charles rubbed his forehead.

“Enough.”

But I noticed he did not ask Ortiz to discard it.