Under three yellowed almanacs from 2011 sat a thick stack of navy blue carbon duplicate record books.

I opened the top ledger and paged through the bank transfer statements from my overseas accounts.

Every March and September since 2013, thirty-six hundred dollars had left my Navy Federal checking account by automatic transfer.

The recipient line on every single statement read Portsmouth Municipal Tax Assessor, Parcel 14-B.

Each carbon copy had a stamped wire confirmation slip clipped to the top corner with a small paperclip.

I unclipped the receipt from September 2013 and laid it flat on the desk blotter.