Page 17 of Gem Warfare

“Driver’s license, a photo, and a few other things. Some of the paper is very degraded but the license and photo were in a reasonable state.”

“So you know who it… whohe… is?”

“I know who the license belongs to. Whether that’s the deceased is another matter.”

“Can I see?”

Garrett’s eyebrows knitted together and he gave me a look that suggested my question was utterly absurd. “No,” he snorted.

“Please.”

“No. I’m not showing my key evidence to random bystanders.”

“I’m not random or a bystander. I’m your sister!”

“Guess I’ll show Mom then too since she’s my mom.” Garrett chuckled.

I gave him the sisterly death look. “I’m a PI too.”

“You already said you haven’t been engaged on the case. However, I have been, by virtue of the Montgomery Police Department.”

“You know Traci asked me to babysit next week? She said you two are going to dinner and a concert.”

“Yeah. And?”

“I might be busy that night.” I stared him down, daring him to defy me further.

Garrett’s face fell. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Really, really, super busy,” I said, turning my gaze to check my nails. They looked surprisingly nice given the evening’s events.

“Are you really trying this?”

“And I probably misplaced the craft kit I was going to bring around for the kids.” I shrugged nonchalantly.

Garrett narrowed his eyes. “I can show yousomething,” he said.

I returned my attention to him and held back the grin. “Okay!”

Garrett reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of plastic baggies. He shuffled the packets in his hand and held one out to me. I took it, peering at the contents in the darkening night. The photo was rumpled around the edges and peeling in the lower left corner but the image was clear enough despite some fading. Two men standing together; the older had his arm around the younger and both smiled at the camera. The older man wore a tweed sports coat, the younger a denim jacket slightly too big for his shoulders, a patch on the chest pocket. Their eyes were a similar shape and there was something familiar in the shape of their mouths.

“The photo was in the wallet,” he said.

“They look like father and son. Or maybe uncle and nephew. Definitely a family resemblance.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Could the body be the older man? Or the younger?”

“I don’t know but I’m guessing the older from the clothing in the grave.”

“There’s something sort of familiar about the younger man, like I’ve seen him somewhere.”

Garrett brightened. “Really?”

I shook my head, uncertain. “I don’t know… maybe.”

“If he lived here years back, could you have hung out?”

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