Kristy just nodded and waited for him to explain.

“I’m looking for something of his.” He got right to the point. “Did he leave you anything?”

“What kind of anything?”

“Pictures? Videos? A camera?” He tried to hide his irritation at the confused look on her face. It wasn’t a complicated question. He shifted his weight and tried to look more relaxed. “After we arrived in Afghanistan, we were assigned to work on a, uh… a special assignment. There were some pictures of all the guys in our unit, and I was hoping I could get them back. You know, something to remember him by.” He was being very vague. Kristy thought it was probably due to secret military stuff and didn’t think much of it.

“There were no pictures, but I didn’t go through his phone. Come in, I’ll check it out.” She opened the door wider and he stepped inside. She dug through the small box that held some of her brother’s belongings and found his phone. When she turned it on, the low battery signal was flashing. She walked around to the kitchen and plugged it into her charger. He followed and stood on the other side of the counter facing Kristy. She opened the photo gallery and started scrolling through the photos. There were photos of scenery from the places he had been, and there were some of her brother smiling with some of the guys he was overseas with.

“Are these any of the ones you’re looking for?” She handed the phone to Logan and waited while he scrolled through them.

“No. No, they’re not.” He set the phone on the counter and thought a moment. “Are you sure this is all he left?” Logan peered down at her. Will his tall, broad stature, he was tall and intimidating, and he knew it. “There were no photos? What about a CD with pictures or a video maybe? Was there a camera? Are you sure you looked through all of his stuff? Did you throw anything away?”

“Yes, I’m sure. This is everything.” Kristy was stern with him. He was starting to get pushy and it made her nervous. “Why don’t you leave me your number and I’ll call you if I come across anything.”

He quickly wrote down his name and number and turned to lean against the counter with his back to her. She noticed him looking slowly around the room like he was searching for something.

“Okay, well I have to be somewhere soon.” She walked to the door and opened it. “It was nice to meet you.”

He got the message and headed out the open door. “Thank you, Kristy.” He said politely. She watched him walk across the parking lot and noticed him pull his phone out of his pocket and make a call. He climbed into an old beige pickup truck and drove away.

* * *

Ariana waved a lively goodbye as Kristy pushed the car door closed and headed to her apartment. Even at one in the morning, Ariana was full of energy. It made Kristy smile.

They’d gone to a small bar with a band and played a few pathetic games of darts. Ariana was flirting shamelessly with the bartender trying to score a couple free drinks, but he didn’t cave. She decided he must be gay.

Kristy closed the door behind her and let out a deep sigh of relief at being back in her comfort zone. She enjoyed the noise and commotion of her night out, but there was something calming about being in the solitude of home.

She flipped on the light and kicked off her shoes. When she set her purse down she noticed the door to her coat closet was opened slightly. She was sure she hadn’t opened it all day. She shrugged and pushed it closed, and made her way down the hall to her bedroom. When she entered her room, she saw her bath robe was lying on the floor. This one made her stop and think. She usually hung it up in the bathroom after she got dressed. She must have left it on the floor when she got out of the shower. She had been running a bit late, as usual. She hung it in her bathroom and started to undress.

She changed into an old t-shirt and brushed her teeth. Staring at herself in the mirror, she wondered about the small idiosyncrasies. Had she been in such a haze the past few days that she really didn’t remember her movements? She was pretty scatterbrained anyway, so it was possible.

When she was climbing into bed she stopped to look at the picture on her nightstand. It was an old picture of her and Alex with their grandparents. It reminded her of the great times they’d had together. She liked to hang on to the good memories. As she looked at it, she noticed the small lines in the dust made by the picture frame. It was as if someone had picked it up and set it back down, but she was certain she hadn’t moved the picture in months.

Now it was weird.

A strange feeling came over her and all of her senses came to attention. Her chest tightened and she held her breath and looked around her room once more. Everything seemed to be in its place, so she clicked off the lamp by her bed and pulled the blanket over her. You’re just being paranoid, she told herself. She attributed the small oddities to her forgetfulness. She hadn’t been herself lately. Plus, she had been drinking that night, and she was tired. Kristy convinced herself that it was all in her head, so she lay down in her bed and drifted off to sleep.