Every January I Sent My Son-in-Law $40,000 for My Granddaughter. Then She Whispered, ‘Grandpa, Follow Dad.’

“Exactly like my knees.”

That earned a small smile.

I made cocoa and we sat at the kitchen table listening to the heating pipes tick.

I told her the house had belonged to her grandmother’s parents and that some of the floorboards were older than both of us put together.

We did not discuss the investigation.

We discussed the proper amount of marshmallows in cocoa, an issue on which she held strong opinions.

The following week brought meetings.