Chapter 12 - We Recovered the Locket Natalie Wanted Lucy to Have
Not all the jewelry came back.
That truth hurt.
One bracelet had already been resold twice.
The sapphire ring had gone through an auction house to a buyer overseas.
Recovery efforts continued, but no one promised miracles.
The gold locket was different.
The final dealer had not completed payment because he noticed the engraved date inside.
Lucy’s birthday.
Investigators recovered it from his secured inventory.
When they returned it, I sat at our dining table holding the small piece of gold in my palm.
Natalie had worn that locket during Lucy’s first year.
Inside were two tiny photographs.
One of Lucy as a newborn.
One of the three of us before illness entered our lives.
I did not immediately give it to Lucy.
She was six.
I asked her what she wanted.
She looked at it for a long time.
Then said:
“Can you keep it until I’m bigger?”
“Yes.”
“Somewhere Cassandra can’t get it?”
My throat tightened.
“Yes.”
This time, I did not simply put it somewhere and assume safety.
The recovered items were inventoried.
Photographed.
Insured.
Placed in a bank vault with independent documentation.
Natalie had tried to protect Lucy through paperwork.
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I finally began treating that responsibility with the seriousness it deserved.
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