Luna refused to be disheartened. “I imagine someone like you would have a memory like an elephant?” She giggled to try to spark his recollection.

“I have to tell ya, at my age, I’m lucky if I remember to put on my underwear.”

That was a vision Luna didn’t want to imagine.

She chuckled again. “Well, if you think about anything that might be interesting for my article, please let me know. My contact information is on the e-mail I sent. I really appreciate your time, Mr.?” She realized she had never gotten his name.

“They call me ‘Chief.’ Don’t know exactly how that came about, but I’ve been Chief for a coupla decades now.”

“Well, thank you, Chief, for all your help.” Luna was genuinely grateful.

“You are most welcome, missy. Y’all have yourself a good day, and send me a copy of that article, will ya?”

Luna had a pang of guilt knowing there wasn’t going to be an article. She thanked him profusely and promised to keep in touch. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so guilty. But she had accomplished something. Some things. Now she had to try to put the pieces together.

While she was musing over the carnival information, Ellie stopped in.

“Namaste, Luna!” She gave a short bow.

“Namaste,” Luna responded in kind. “Can I fix you a coffee?”

“No, thanks. Just wanted to say hi and ask you to thank Chris for his idea about the security guard.”

“Cool. Nathan seems like a really nice guy. Authoritative.” Luna winked.

“Yes, the evil plan is working. The Mommy Club Winos were flying solo without their children this week. All it took was one afternoon with Nathan staring them down, and they were too scared to come back. As long as the mommies keep spending their money and there is peace in the center, all is good.”

“I wonder what they did with the kids?”

“I honestly don’t care, and I certainly didn’t ask. Heaven forbid they think that I miss the little monsters.” Ellie chortled. She looked over at the table where Luna was working. “What do you have there?”

“This was the stuff that was in the box from the trunk. And guess what?” Luna was overjoyed to share her news. “I tracked down the carnival company and they were able to narrow down the time from 2000 to 2002.”

Ellie moved to where Luna was standing. “Let me see. I vaguely remember now. Wild Bill Harper rings a bell. He brought a bit of rodeo with him. Richard and I went one year.”

Luna’s eyes lit up. “So that almost confirms that the diary was written around that time. And check this out.” Luna showed her the note and the first page of the diary. “Do any of the letters resemble each other?”