The open trunk mainly contained some fairly decent clothes. Several books were tucked among them, while a silver flask, a pocket watch, and several black-and-white photographs lay to one side. The man in the photographs was Jonathan Lemmer.
This was Shade's first time seeing a photograph of a dead sailor.
The lawyer explained:
"Mr. Lemmer wished that if he died of illness and his body remained, then Mrs. Lemmer, who inherited his estate, would arrange his funeral. If he died in a shipwreck and no body was recovered, then Mrs. Lemmer, who inherited his estate, needed to purchase a grave locally and bury the photographs in it, ensuring that his soul would not become lost in the ocean."
This was sailors' superstition. They believed that if they had no grave after death, their souls would be trapped on the seabed with their bodies forever.
"No problem."
Mrs. Lemmer's eyes were somewhat red, while Shade began helping inspect the belongings again. He only briefly went through the clothes, but what surprised him was that Jonathan Lemmer had a habit of keeping a diary every few days. There were five full notebooks, every page densely written with trivial matters from life at sea.
"Jonathan Lemmer was surprisingly well educated."
Shade murmured in surprise. The handwriting in the diaries was far better than his own, orderly as well, with very few misspelled words.
"Uncle Lemmer went to school when he was young. Later, he offended the local constable and had to make a living by the sea. He was a very good man. When we were little, he even read storybooks to us."
Mrs. Lemmer explained through soft sobs.
"Yes. For this matter, I exchanged several letters with the friend of Mr. Lemmer who kept the will. According to his description, Mr. Jonathan