Then a man near the back stood and introduced himself as Philip Stowe.
He wore a neat gray suit and held a folder of prepared notes.
“These allegations ignore the chaos of an extraordinary emergency,” he began.
Emily thanked him for attending and asked whether he had withdrawn the passenger reconciliation report.
“I don’t recall that specific document.”
Denise displayed the certified index entry.
“The withdrawal was recorded under your credentials,” she said.
Stowe said passwords were shared during emergencies.
Emily asked who else could have used his account.
He would not name anyone.
Walter stood slowly.
“I don’t need you to remember every password,” he said.
“I need to know where you sent my nephew.”
Stowe looked away.
“I sympathize with the family.”
“That isn’t an address,” Walter replied.
Nobody applauded.
The silence was heavier than applause would have been.
Stowe left before the question period ended.
Outside the auditorium, a young reporter approached Emily and asked whether she had caught him lying.
“I asked a question he didn’t answer,” Emily said.
“That’s what you can report.”
The reporter seemed disappointed.
Emily did not mind.
She was learning that a story could be dramatic without claiming certainty that the evidence did not provide.
When the room emptied, Gideon found her beside the memorial photographs.
“Miriam would have been proud,” he said.
Emily shook her head.
“I didn’t do this for her approval.”
“I know.”
“I did it because Peter’s family deserved to hear their own question asked in public.”
Gideon looked toward Walter, who was packing the lunchbox into a canvas bag.
“Then I hope they get an answer.”
“Hope isn’t enough anymore,” Emily replied.
“Now somebody has to do the work.”
Chapter Sixteen: The Answer From the North
Tessa called on a Thursday afternoon while Emily was helping Rosa deliver pastries to the community college.
The records custodian had forwarded Walter’s letter, and the recipient had asked for time to consider contact.
The recipient did not authorize disclosure of his current name or address.
Walter listened to the news without speaking.
When Emily repeated that no decision had been made, he said he understood.
He had waited twenty years.
He could wait longer without making a stranger feel hunted.
Two days later, Tessa received another message.
The recipient agreed to a telephone conversation with Walter through a confidential connection arranged by the attorney.
He asked that nobody else join the call.
Emily drove Walter to Tessa’s office and waited outside with the green lunchbox.
The office smelled of paper and lemon cleaner.
