“He said to hide it somewhere you wouldn’t find it.”
Ethan looked at me nervously.
“He said it was important.”
Then the man placed the black disc behind his ear and covered it with the flesh-colored patch.
He called it their secret key.
“He said not to tell anyone.”
Ethan swallowed.
“Especially you.”
Then he told us something else.
“He said he’d see me Monday.”
Officer Patel leaned forward.
“Why Monday?”
“To talk again.”
Then Ethan added,
“He said the key belonged to Dad.”
I could barely breathe.
“He said you might throw Dad’s stuff away.”
That sentence broke something inside me.
I dropped to my knees in front of him.
“Ethan, look at me.”
He did.
“I would never throw away your father’s things. Ever. Do you understand?”
He nodded.
“I kept everything.”
But the uncertainty in his face told me the damage had already been done.
For two weeks, someone had been teaching my son to doubt me.
Then Officer Patel asked,
“What did the man tell you to call him?”
Ethan answered,
“Uncle Derek.”
The kitchen fell completely silent.
Derek.
Ryan’s older brother.
Ethan had met Derek when he was very young.
