I told him everything I had discovered at the bank, including the real settlement amount, Wayne’s false documents, Mama’s attorney, and the years she had spent secretly trying to replace what had been taken from me. Russell listened without interrupting.
“I didn’t know how much he took.”
“But you knew something.”
Russell admitted that Wayne had once told him there had been “complications” involving my settlement. Russell had been young at the time and accepted the explanation without asking enough questions.
“Did you always believe him?”
Russell stared into his coffee.
“I stopped thinking about it.”
That wasn’t the same thing as believing Wayne, and both of us knew it.
Then I asked the question that had been bothering me since opening the flour tin.
“Mama left the money to me. Not both of us.”
Russell nodded.
“Do you know why?”
He finally met my eyes.
