The locker still bore J. Vale. Its contents included papers dated after Vale's death, prompting a rumor that someone had entered his possessions without permission. Storekeeper Tessa checked the allocation sheets before contacting the family.
The locker had been reassigned to a temporary worker, but the old plate was never removed. The later papers belonged to the second occupant. A receipt inside the door carried his full name and matched the allocation entry.
Tessa separated the contents by evidence rather than by the most visible label. Some items could not be assigned confidently, so she described their uncertainty instead of dividing them by guesswork. Vale's family recovered a photograph identified in an earlier inventory; the temporary worker's daughter received his correspondence.
The locker went to the archive with both occupants recorded. Its nameplate remained an authentic object, but no longer the sole authority for everything found behind the door. A label could survive a change in ownership and, if nobody checked the supporting records, make the later person's life disappear inside the earlier person's name.