The picture had been taken just a few weeks before that fateful night.

I remembered that exact day so clearly because the boys had been playfully arguing over who got to ride in the front seat on the way home, and Brandon had laughingly threatened to make them all walk if they didn’t settle down.

I turned the photograph over in my trembling hands.

On the back, Brandon had written a date along with a mysterious string of characters.

“October 14 — 7:30 p.m. — C-17”