sit. “I don’t think we ever met, but I do remember Charles speaking about you after he came home.”
“I heard he was sick. I’m sorry.”
“Yes.” Ann folded her hands in her lap. “It was a long illness. Cancer. In the end…” Pain etched her face as she looked toward a photo on the shelf across the room. “In the end he went peacefully, and I guess that’s all I could ask for.”
For a moment, Pete was transported back. To sitting on Lauren’s patio. To flying up to Washington to see Kat’s mother. To suffering through a memorial service he hadn’t wanted to attend. He knew exactly what this widow was going through, because he’d lived it.
“Has anyone else Charles worked with in Egypt come by to see him in the past few weeks?” he asked.
“No, I don’t believe that they have. Our daughter’s here, visiting from Atlanta. She might know, but I’m sure she would have told me.”
“You said he mentioned me,” Kat said. “Can you tell me what that was about?”
“Not specifically, no. It was a long time ago. I do remember your name, though. A problem with the excavation, though he never elaborated.” She ran a hand over her shoulder-length hair. “Those were some tough times. After he came home from the project in Egypt, he was withdrawn. We went through a rough patch, marriagewise. I always knew something had happened there, but he didn’t speak of it, and after a while I stopped trying to figure it out. He went back to work for the university after that, started teaching once more. He never went into the field again.”
Kat looked Pete’s way, and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was.
He glanced back at Ann Latham. “He didn’t happen to save any of his research from the tomb he was working in, did he?”
Ann pursed her lips. “He might have. I’m pretty sure there’s a box out in the garage with some of his work from that time. Would you like to look at it?”
Pete fought from jumping up and saying, hell yeah!
Kat, thankfully, was more tactful. Her smile was warm and sympathetic. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Actually,” Ann said, rising, “you’d be doing me a favor. I wasn’t sure what to do with it all, and I just can’t look at it anymore. It brings back way too many memories.”
She gestured for them to follow her. They passed through a sparkling kitchen with cherry cabinets and granite countertops, then through a door that led to the garage. Ann reached around the corner and flipped on the light. The two-bay garage was filled with boxes, some open, many closed and labeled in red marker. A chair was stacked on a desk. An old, ratty couch was pushed off to the side.
“My daughter and her husband spent all day emptying Charles’s office at the university.” Unshed tears filled her eyes. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do with all of it. I swear I can still smell him in here.”
Before either of them could answer, she turned to her left. “It’s right over here. Some of these have been sitting out here for years. This particular box,” she pushed a carton around, wove between a stack of cardboard until she found what she wanted, “was one he never took to the school. Ah, there it is.”
“Here, let me.” Pete stepped up to help her. The box she pointed to was labeled Luxor.
Pete pulled the box down so Kat could flip through it. Most of the contents were of little interest, but a small notebook caught Kat’s eye. She lifted it, and when she glanced at Pete he saw the spark of excitement.
“You’re more than welcome to take that with you,” Ann said. “I don’t know if it will help you with your continued research, but Charles was a stickler for details. If you’re looking for some specific documentation, I’m sure it’s in that journal.”
“Thank you,” Kat said. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”
Ann Latham walked them to the front door. Pete handed the woman a business card as Kat stuck the journal in her backpack. “My private number’s on the back. If you think of anything else, we’d appreciate if you’d call us. Anytime.”
Ann Latham looked down at the card. “I will.”
Before they left, Kat gave the woman a quick hug. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. Charles was a good man deep down. Oh, he wasn’t perfect, and he had his demons, just like