Four unidentifed keys on a key ring attached to a spent 7.62mm NATO sniper rifle round casing.

And there's Richard, his entire history and where he is, right there. Nice. Gotcher "show" moment, right there.

You’d never know he’d been the go-to guy for John Does left to the elements.

And there's another one, except can I suggest change, for asthaetic purposes only? I read it as "does" the verb for a moment; maybe "for every John Doe left to the elements"?

Thank god for the Internet. I suddenly need to know what kind of ammunition would be used in a sniper rife--and what rifle snipers prefer--and there it is.

I am all about the internet and its resources. Thanks to Beverly Williams and Steve Venus of the Royal Engineers - both thanked in the acknowledgements to Cruel Sister - the "battered Jeep" and "heavy-weight lorries" in the prologue are now an Austin Tilley with a red-painted mudguard and a pair of Morris CWT 8's.

In the cardboard box:

• a gold-lettered plaque, covered in dust and accolades
• "Uses for Lard", recently tacked on the bulletin board
• a faded wooden apple
• 6000 paperclips, assorted colors
• an electronic hole punch (best investment ever)
• Cat Haiku #2 on a yellow post-it
• two three-ring binders, bulging with theft and midnight oil
• a pile of letters waiting to be sent from the past to the future
• sixteen red pens without caps; some that actually work
• a Lancer Pride! t-shirt, size medium
• a scrapbook full of London memories (vomit in St. Paul's not included)
• eight years
• a chance to start over

Kristin, I like that!

So do I.

A lot.

wrod.

This is about a character in what I would call my WIP if it existed much outside my head:

"Ainsley's Purse"

It almost looks like a real Vuitton, but inspect the seams and you can tell it was $10 from a street vendor. Inside, the gummy pacifier she keeps thinking her daughter is still young enough to need nestles next to her passport, marked by previous escape attempts and carried in the hope of another, among a chaos of Stila cosmetics. Her pills, obtained with feigned complaints of back pain, are in a side-zipped pocket, alongside a silver iPod mini loaded with '80's pop. The wallet bristles with credit card receipts and phone numbers, but holds no money at all.

marked by previous escape attempts and carried in the hope of another

neat

Thanks, connie.

And (while I'm feeling bold) here is a companion piece, about Ainsley's sister.

"Abbey's Purse"

It's a black canvas tote bag, so basic as to be invisible. Mostly, it has her niece's stuff in it -- a stuffed rabbit sticky and purple with grape juice residue, baggies of pretzels and raisins, a stray juice box, barrettes, baby wipes and a pair of toddler-sized underpants. A separate compartment holds all that is Abbey's -- a dogeared Douglas Adams paperback, cherry chapstick, $17.63 in change and small bills, an expired student ID, keys (also sticky). The tape of her songs lives in her inside jacket pocket, waiting for the right moment to be shared with the world.