If you never want this mentioned again, it won’t be.”

I looked at the man who had carried my suitcase without trying to claim the life attached to it. “Thomas knew?”

“He told me once that loving someone sometimes means being grateful she chose a good man — even when that man isn’t you.”

That was when the tears finally came. Not because Harold had loved me. Because Thomas had understood, and trusted us both. Harold walked to the window, giving me privacy even inside his own home.

That small act revealed more than any confession could have.

Chapter 10 — The Brooch

The missing jewelry led us somewhere else. Linda asked me to inventory the personal belongings still inside Daniel’s house, and I listed the sapphire brooch and the gold bracelet.