Before I left, a thought struck me, and I turned back to the librarian.

“Mrs.

Gable, do you happen to remember whether Brandon ever came in here to look at these same files before he died?”

She nodded slowly, a sad look of remembrance settling on her face.

“Yes, he came in about a week before the storm.”

My stomach churned.

“Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that?”

“I just assumed he had talked it over with you at home,” she admitted softly.