“Colleen,” Walter said from the armchair in the corner.

My father checked his pocket watch, snapped the silver lid closed, and stared straight at the window.

“She kept copies of the original land deed from nineteen ninety-eight in her filing chest.”

Douglas opened a red paper folder stamped with the county recorder’s seal.

“At eleven fifteen this morning my clerk pulled the electronic filing queue for Franklin County,” Douglas said.

“An equity line application for one hundred eighty-five thousand dollars was uploaded forty-eight hours ago.”