Howard lifted the yellowed document by its edges and slid it carefully into a clear protective sleeve from his briefcase.

“This is the document Gene hid thirty-four years ago,” Howard said.

“Without this affidavit, his fake death entry at record 114 comes apart.”

He pulled a legal pad out of his briefcase and started writing in quick, sharp strokes.

“What are you writing up?” I asked.

“An emergency injunction freezing all estate sales,” Howard said.

“Gene won’t sell one nail out of Frank’s estate before the hearing on November twenty-fourth.”

Howard Cobb took the yellowed 1990 birth affidavit and custody ruling out of the open metal box in the safe.