“The four-star portrait came right up as the top search result.”

I remembered the brass lapel pin my father had left on the guest dresser back on Elm Street, the polished metal sitting quietly beside his watch.

“She saw the four stars,” Ethan said.

“She sat at the kitchen table with her hands flat on the laminate, staring at the screen for ten minutes without saying a word.”

“Linda isn’t used to running into authority she can’t manipulate,” I said.

“She panicked,” Ethan said, clearing his throat.