Malik turned it over in his palm.
"What does it mean?"
"It means you don't forget the people who stood beside you."
Malik looked at his mother's photograph.
"I wish I could remember more."
"You will," Reed said. "Sometimes people leave pieces of themselves behind. You just have to recognize them."
Outside, several neighbors had begun watching.
Richard Whitmore stood across the street.
His eyes remained fixed on the Johnson house.
He saw the two unfamiliar men.
He saw Malik talking with them.
He saw Angela smiling.
And something about it bothered him.
He couldn't explain exactly why.
Or perhaps he could.
Richard had spent years believing that he understood every person in Brier View Court.
He knew who belonged.
He knew who didn't.
He knew who followed the rules.
He knew who needed to be reminded.
But he had never understood Marcus Johnson.
And he had never liked the feeling of not understanding someone.
By nine o'clock, the gray sedan was gone.
The neighborhood had returned to its usual silence.
Angela sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea between her hands.
Malik sat opposite her.
The coin lay between them.
He had examined it at least twenty times.
It wasn't particularly large.
Just a simple metal challenge coin with a darkened edge.
On one side was the emblem of a Marine unit.
On the other were three words.
**NO ONE LEFT BEHIND.**
Malik ran his thumb across the letters.
"Why didn't Dad ever tell me about these people?"
Angela looked toward the living room.
"I don't know."
"Did you know Mr. Reed?"
"No."
"Did Dad have friends here?"
"Not many."
"Why?"
Angela hesitated.
"Your father wasn't the kind of person who brought his whole life home with him."
Malik frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It will when you're older."
"I am older."
She smiled.
"Sixteen isn't old."
"Feels old."
"I know."
Malik leaned back.
"Mom."
"What?"
"Why did Dad leave the Marines?"
Angela's expression changed.
"He didn't."
Malik stared at her.
"What do you mean?"
"He was medically retired."
"I thought he just quit."
"No."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you were nine."
Malik looked down.
Nine.