One former nurse remembered that residents were often told about transfers only minutes before leaving.
A former kitchen worker described being instructed to pack lunches for children whose names had been removed from the meal roster.
A maintenance assistant recalled finding luggage tags in a locked cabinet after the building closed.
He had assumed they belonged to staff until he recognized the names of two missing children.
The assistant had kept one tag in a desk drawer because the handwriting reminded him of his mother’s.
He brought it to the meeting in a small envelope.
Naomi later examined the tag and obtained his account separately.
Its destination code corresponded to a rural receiving home that had used a different name on official invoices.
The discovery was important without being magical.
It identified a location investigators could compare with other surviving records.
The former workers disagreed about who had authority over transfers.
Some believed Beatrice alone made decisions.
Others remembered Richard reviewing legal documents with the trust’s chairman.
Nobody could describe a meeting where Richard personally ordered the children removed.
Lillian reminded the group that memories could change over decades.
She asked them to distinguish what they witnessed from what they had heard later.
One woman became angry and accused the others of protecting themselves.
The advocate called a break before the discussion turned into another argument that left the former residents unheard.
I stepped into the hallway and found Mara sitting near a window.
She said she had expected the adults to finally agree on what happened.
Instead, every person seemed to remember a different institution.
“Maybe the truth isn’t one secret somebody kept,” she said.
“Maybe it was a hundred small decisions nobody wanted to explain.”
I told her that the records might still establish which decisions mattered most.
She nodded but did not look reassured.
I had no better comfort to offer.
Sometimes the responsible thing was to remain beside someone while an answer took longer than either person could bear.
CHAPTER 30: The Call From Richard
Richard contacted me again after the first official report was released.
He said the press coverage had damaged his reputation and blamed Caroline for encouraging Mara to speak.
I told him that I had not spoken to reporters about his personal history.
He said he believed me but thought I could persuade Caroline to withdraw her statements.
“You were once a reasonable man,” he said.
“I still am,” I answered.
