"Luther used to say I should keep moving," she said quietly. Gregory nodded. "He said that to all of us." Sky looked at the painted road. "I think I'm tired of running, though."
Gregory smiled. "Good. When you're old enough and you've learned to ride safely, we'll talk about motorcycles. Until then, you've got a lot of living to do without one." She laughed, the sound surprising even herself, and held the patch against the sleeve of her jacket.
The review of the group home's complaints continued through the winter. Investigators interviewed staff members, spoke with several current and former residents, and examined how personal belongings had been documented and returned. They found failures in recordkeeping and in the handling of residents' grievances, and the facility was required to make changes under closer oversight. The findings did not turn every painful memory into an official conclusion, but they established enough to show that Sky's concerns had deserved attention long before she left. Through Rachel Kim and Natalie, she recovered several belongings, including the small metal tag she had asked to keep after Luther's death.
When the tag arrived, Sky did not open the envelope immediately. She took it upstairs, shut the bedroom door, and sat on the bed while the house settled around her. The metal was scratched and dulled by time, still attached to the chain she remembered. On one side Luther had scratched a small, uneven star when she was little because he told her there should be something in the world with her mark on it. She held it until her hand grew warm around the cold surface, then placed it inside the wooden box Gregory had given her.
Michael Ventry's attempts to influence the placement received scrutiny as well. Investigators reviewed the reports and his investigator's instructions, and the child welfare agency tightened its procedures for handling unsolicited information about minors. Martha advised Gregory that she would pursue protective measures if further interference or harassment could be substantiated. Ventry's attorney eventually informed the court that his client had no further interest in participating in the placement proceedings. Gregory did not mistake the letter for repentance, but he welcomed the absence of another letter about Sky.
Several weeks later Colin Rusk stopped by Martha's office to complete a formal statement about his work. He explained that he had taken the assignment as an ordinary search for a missing young person but had grown uncomfortable when requests shifted from locating her to collecting material intended to discredit the adults helping her. Martha made sure the statement went to the appropriate investigators rather than turning it into a spectacle. The law would decide whether any conduct warranted consequences. Sky, for her part, no longer needed to know the location of every person who had once frightened her in order to make plans for her own afternoon.