My father was alive.

At least, evidence seemed to point to that conclusion.

After a dinner of Marj’s famous beef Stroganoff, Ruby and Jade had presented their findings. Truly presented them, as only a cop and an attorney could. By the time they were done, I was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that my father was alive somewhere, and that he had attempted to call me several days ago.

“So where do we go from here?” I asked.

Joe took charge. “We find Dad.”

I cleared my throat. “I guess that means a visit to my— Er…Wendy.” Calling her my mother out loud didn’t feel right.

“Yeah,” Joe said, “and I need to go with you.”

“Why you?” Talon asked.

“Because she has a soft spot for me. She thinks I look like Dad. And Ry, of course, because she’s his…”

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had a problem saying those words out loud.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Ruby asked, touching my arm.

It was a sweet gesture, but I had to do this with Joe. “No. But thanks for offering.”

She smiled shyly.

I startled as Talon’s doorbell rang. His mutt, Roger, scampered to the front door, and Talon followed.

He came back a few seconds later with Joe’s best friend, Bryce Simpson, who was carrying his nearly one-year-old son, Henry.

“Hey, bud,” Joe said. “What are you doing here?”

“I have some news,” Bryce said. “Remember you told me to look through my dad’s stuff for a ring? Well, I found one.”

Marjorie stepped forward and took Henry from Bryce’s arms. “How are you, cutie?”

Bryce fished in his pocket and pulled out a man’s ring. “It’s eighteen-karat gold. All those years we lived a modest existence in Snow Creek, and my father had this stashed away.”

Tom Simpson had had a lot more than that stashed away if he was into human trafficking. I wasn’t sure how much Joe had shared with Bryce, so I kept mum.

Joe took the ring from Bryce and handed it to me. “You identified the rings in the photo, Ry. You take the first look.”

The large stone was black, probably onyx, but we’d have to get a jeweler to identify it. On one side were the initials T and S. But on the other side…

A strange symbol. An oval and an X, one corner of the X touching the elongated part of the oval. Nothing I’d ever seen before. “I’m not sure what to make of this image.” I handed it back to Joe.

“I couldn’t figure it out either,” Bryce said, “But my Uncle Chase is a Mason. He might be able to shed some light on it.”

“Is it a Masonic symbol?” Talon asked.

“I have no idea,” Bryce replied. “But the Masons know a lot about symbolry, and symbols are a particular hobby of his. He might know what it is, or he might be able to point us in the right direction. I’ll give him a call.”

“Great,” Joe said. “See if he can come over here tomorrow night and take a look at this. We’ll feed him dinner.”

“I’d rather see him myself,” Bryce said. “This is still all too real for him. The loss of his son and all. This brood will be too much for him. Why don’t you come with me tomorrow, Joe?”

“Can’t.” Joe cleared his throat. “I’ve got a full day with contractors. The next day?”

“I’ll go,” I said, standing. “Let’s get this taken care of.” And while I was in the city, I’d go visit Wendy. Alone.

“That’s fine with me. I think at least one of you should be there. You want me to pick you up, Ry?”

“I’ll drive myself,” I said. “I have some things to do in the city.”

“Okay. I’ll get in touch with Uncle Chase and text you with the time and place.”

“Sounds good.” I looked toward Marjorie, who was cooing to a laughing Henry. “Good luck getting your baby back.”

Bryce pulled his son out of Marj’s arms. “Time to go, big guy.”

“Bring him around anytime,” Marj said. “I miss him.”

Bryce smiled at her. “Will do. See you tomorrow, Ryan.”

I handed the ring back to Bryce and then thought better of it. “Do you mind if I keep this? I want to study it a little more carefully.”

“Sure. Just bring it with you tomorrow. See you guys.” Bryce left.

“What are you thinking, Ry?” Talon asked.

“I just want to look at it with a magnifying glass. I’ll take it home, if you guys don’t mind.”

“Go ahead,” Joe said. “You’re the one who’s going to see Bryce’s uncle tomorrow. Figure out everything you can. I sure as hell wouldn’t know where to start.”

Ruby had gone into the family room with Jade and Melanie.

I wanted her to look more closely at the ring with me. I walked to the family room and touched her shoulder. “Ready to go?”

“Sure. I guess.”

We hadn’t come together, and she seemed surprised.

She stood. “Thanks for dinner,” she said to Jade.

I turned when I heard a shuffling. Jade’s mother, Brooke Bailey, came limping down the stairs on Talon’s arm.

“Jade,” she said, “I have the best news.”

“What is it?” Jade asked.

“Nico called! He’s coming to see me!”