Officer Keaton, who was kind enough to let me call her by her first name of Justine, tried to help me find my family.
Technically, these Clavells were the descendants of my father through my brother.
I was greeted at the door by Bessie Clavell. She was a rather kind woman and instantly displayed the warmth and graciousness that my Jennie always displayed when we had guests. I disguised my moment of getting choked up at the recollection by claiming that I had a tickle in my throat. Bessie seemed a touch suspicious, but let it go.
She invited me in and actually was able to help fill in some of the gaps for me about how the family had fared in the time I'd missed. She seemed to be quite the amateur historian and had photo albums along with her stories. She even pointed out how much I resembled Wilhelm Clavell's oldest boy who had gone missing. I stifled a laugh at that.
She then informed me that the rumors had been tossed around that I had run off and joined a band of sky pirates and had therefore become a stain upon the family's reputation. The family name, it seems, might have ended with Bessie's generation if she and her husband had not adopted a son.
Xavier Clavell seemed like a nice enough fellow. He had that air about him that made him seem instantly familiar. We enjoyed a brief chat before he excused himself to leave for work...and I think he might have stolen my pocket watch.
