Chapter 2 - Percival told the simplest story
I took Percival away from the lawn.
Inside the venue’s library.
Door open.
One security guard outside.
No crowd.
No questioning by five adults at once.
I knelt.
“Tell me what you saw.”
Percival held his toy airplane with both hands.
“Thayer took the blue box.”
“From the bridal table?”
He nodded.
“What did he do?”
“Put it in his pocket.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No.”
“Did he see you?”
“I think.”
“Then what happened?”
“He told me to go find Uncle Jeremy.”
Jeremy was not there.
He had canceled because of illness.
Interesting.
“Anything else?”
Percival shook his head.
I stopped.
No leading.
No:
Did he steal it?
No:
Did Grandma know?
Just what he saw.
Then venue security checked exterior camera footage.
The bridal table itself was partially obscured by floral arrangements.
But a side camera showed:
Thayer approaching.
Standing there alone for fourteen seconds.
Walking away.
Hand near right jacket pocket.
Then Percival appearing from behind a decorative hedge.
Not proof of theft by itself.
May you like
Combined with the ring falling from Thayer’s pocket?
Enough to demand answers.
