Chapter 7 - The pocket under the chair
The antique chair had not magically produced evidence.
A furniture conservator examined it.
The underside had an old upholstery repair.
Hand-stitched.
Behind the lining was a shallow gap between fabric and wooden seat rail.
Someone could slide small objects inside.
The bracelet.
Photograph.
Nothing else.
No letter.
No treasure map.
No second photograph.
The cloth fibers and oxidation suggested the objects had been there many years.
Could they prove who placed them?
No.
The photograph was printed on paper discontinued decades earlier.
A photo lab mark on the back corresponded to a Lexington pharmacy chain that had operated near Carter Equestrian.
Year range:
Approximately thirty-seven to forty years earlier.
Michael would have been around two.
That fit.
The chair itself had belonged to Jessica’s mother before moving into the Hayes estate.
Family dining furniture.
Why would Claire hide things there?
We did not know.
Jessica did.
May you like
She still would not speak.
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