The Seamstress
“Mom,” Daniel said, “if you are standing here, then who signed the certificate?” I held out my hand and let him take the watch from my palm. “A stranger did,” …
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The Pawn Ticket
Bradley Langford stopped in front of my folding chair in the back row of that auction house, and for a long moment he could not speak. He was fifty one …
The Pawn Ticket Read MoreThe Recipe Box
The lawyer in Raleigh was named Harlan Boone, and at eighty four he still wore a bow tie and kept a fountain pen in his breast pocket. He laughed for …
The Recipe Box Read MoreBrass and Gold
The pawn shop owner, a gentle man named Stan Wierzbicki who had known my father for forty years, lowered his voice on the telephone. “Mr. Kessler,” he said, “the young …
Brass and Gold Read MoreThe Man at Table Nine
The voice on the telephone belonged to the man from table nine. “Tess,” he said, “I owe you an apology. Tonight was a test, and you passed. Your mother left …
The Man at Table Nine Read MoreTen Days on the Road
The young man on the porch turned to look at me, and for one second his smile stayed in place as if it had been glued there. I knew that …
Ten Days on the Road Read MoreCarlos at Four
“Carlos,” I said, holding the sealed package in both hands, “before you take this, there is someone behind you who would like to say hello.” The young man turned around …
Carlos at Four Read MoreAsk About Shreveport
The old man on the telephone was named Ezekiel Marsh, and he was eighty four years old, and for thirty one years he had been the pastor of Grace Fellowship …
Ask About Shreveport Read MoreBehind the Wall
I sat on the cold basement floor with the metal box between my knees and the flashlight clamped under my arm, and I read the first paper twice before I …
Behind the Wall Read MoreThe Penny Jar
Walt Henley held the little brass key in his palm and looked at it as if it were a living thing. He was eighty eight, with white hair like dandelion …
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