The Four Numbers That Mean the Most to Uncle Zollie

In the early spring, after the snow melted, we found at the edge of our garden on an ivy-colored hill that sloped down to the street. A jewelry box had been emptied and tossed away,. Its little drawers pulled out, and its turquoise wood rotted from water damage. We also found one day a notebook small and thin enough to fit into a shirt breast pocket. Inside in the first page were a series of passwords, the code to the alarm system which we recognized, and below that, a four-digit number.