Thirteen Years Later, Two Blue Competition Badges Answered Every Question

Eli stopped chewing.

Owen did not look up.

“I’d say you wouldn’t,” Eli said.

The tablet dimmed and went dark on the table, and nobody reached to wake it.

The bank on Vernon opened at nine, and Claire was at the counter at ten with the slip already filled in.

Two hundred and fifty dollars.

The teller was young, with a lanyard covered in pins.

She typed, looked at the screen, and stopped.