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was neatly stacked with papers and docue for the horses they raised At the bottoently re on the couch so he could open it easily

Dozens of jeweled pieces winked up at him from inside the velvet lined box when he removed the lid Brody immediately noticed an emerald necklace and touched it reverently Every piece had a story This particular one had been passed down froift Brody checked the list and noted that it was included, even going so far as to have a photo of the item and its last appraised value All of the other pieces of jewelry were accounted for in a similar fashion

Brody placed the top back on the wooden box and slid it back in the safe He searched through papers absently, noting hisrecords as she had been about everything else His eyes filled with tears when he searched through one stack of papers and found they included awards he had won at school froraduation Never had any idea you saved all these things, Mom

On the ainst a black canvas bag he had never seen before He pulled it fro, metal zipper and was surprised to find cash inside Hiscash in the horeen dollars, absently counting in his head 50,000 dollars? That was an awful lot to keep at home in a safe

Beneath the cash, lay a flat broelry box, about seven inches square Brody reave it a quick shake He opened the box and saw the biggest clear stone he had ever seen before, nestled in a bed of black silk fabric He whistled softly to hi”

He checked the list of jewelry and couldn’t find any docuain Still nothing His eyebrows drew together Sootten to put this on the list He closed the jewelry box and put it back into the bag Monday, he would have to get an appraisal and find out why it hadn’t been accounted for Must have been an oversight But it certainly needed to be added to the estate

He reached into the safe and pulled out one last thick envelope Across the front, written in his , was just “Lou” He took the envelope back to the end table and dus, all froasped as he saw the headlines

Woman Dies in Fire—Identity Unknown

Charred Remains Found—Police Suspect Foul Play

Inforht on Inhabitants of Mobile Home

He read through each article, touching the photos reverently on each page

He searched through round checks for one Miss Mary Louise Sated her She had nothing that stood out except student records froh school and employment records from a few part-time jobs

He then found birth certificates, first Lou’s own and then one for Sarah Sarah’s birth certificate listed Lou as the child’s mother He had already proven that theory to be false Then he found copies of letters fro for a birth certificate for an indigent girl and her child whoether

“I’ll be damned,” he muttered to himself “My mother obtained falsified birth records for Sarah and took care of Lou after she checked her out” He shook his head onder, finally understanding all that had taken place He placed the docuether in their envelope and returned them to the safe

He closed the safe and spun the tu on the wall and sat down on his e He wearily pulled her lap quilt over hi her more than he had since the day she died He closed his eyes and quickly fell to sleep, cos that surrounded him