“Yes,” she answered.

“I should have listened when you told me about Patrick.”

“Yes.”

“And I should have believed you.”

Lauren sat down across from me.

For a moment her eyes moved toward the hallway where Mason was singing a Christmas song several notes off-key.

“Patrick was helping arrange your father’s party,” she said.

“I had a folder with the restaurant reservation, the guest list, and photographs from his service years.