The Long Way Home

Chapter 1 The Claim Ticket The parcel remained on the diner table long after the coffee cooled. Lucy Price studied the photograph of her mother standing on a railway platform. Beside her were two suitcases and a little girl holding her coat. “That is certainly me,” Lucy said. “But I don’t remember the station.” Her brother Daniel turned the claim ticket over. Number seventeen. Willow Junction. November 1944. Martin Hale leaned closer. “The same depot where we left the letter for Sheriff Bell.” Sheriff Amos Bell nodded. “Which does not mean the same locker. This says baggage storage, not luggage locker.” Clara Bell pulled her note book from her bag. “Who sent the parcel?” “Someone who knows more than we do,” Amos said. Lucy looked at the message on the back of the photograph. Samuel was not the only one who left something behind. Their father’s name had finally been cleared. Now their mother’s past stood before them like a door they had never noticed. “We should go,” Daniel said. “We should ask first,” Amos replied. “Old property needs a proper owner, and old stations have proper custodians.” Martin smiled. “We promised to do this properly.” Lucy tucked the photograph into its envelope. Outside, February sunshine caught the melting snow along Becker’s sidewalks. For the first time in months, a journey seemed possi ble without a secret hidden in their hands