Chapter 2 - No Return Address
The envelope had arrived at Sarah’s house at 11:42 p.m.
No stamp.
No return address.
Someone had slipped it beneath her front door.
Sarah nearly called police immediately.
Then she saw the handwriting.
FOR EMMA.
Not Sarah.
Emma.
Inside the envelope was another sealed sleeve and a note:
Do not open the inner packet until both boys hear the verdict.
Sarah’s attorney, Rachel Stone, had hated that instruction.
“It could be a prank.”
“Then why wait for the verdict?”
“Because whoever sent it wants drama.”
Sarah almost threw it away.
Then she noticed something on the outer envelope.
A tiny blue star.
Emma used to draw stars exactly like that.
Same five uneven points.
Sarah’s hands began shaking.
Could someone have copied Emma’s drawings?
Yes.
But who?
At school, Emma drew blue stars on nearly everything.
Notebooks.
Lunch bags.
Birthday cards.
Then Tyler’s reaction in court changed the envelope from strange to urgent.
Rachel asked the judge for a recess.
Prosecutor objected to surprise evidence being waved around without authentication.
Correct.
The judge ordered Sarah not to open it publicly.
Evidence had to be preserved.
Tyler’s attorney immediately asked:
“Does the state know what’s inside?”
“No.”
Jason’s father looked confused.
Tyler’s mother didn’t.
She stared at her son.
“Tyler?”
He shook his head.
Too quickly.
Sarah noticed.
Then police collected the envelope.
No fingerprints usable on outer surface.
Inner sleeve sealed with red wax.
Embedded in wax:
A tiny piece of pale-blue thread.
Emma’s favorite dress had been pale blue.
Sarah nearly collapsed when told.
But forensic exam showed thread was common cotton.
Not proof it came from Emma.
Then handwriting analysis.
FOR EMMA was not Emma’s handwriting.
Adult imitation.
But note inside?
Different hand.
Block letters.
Couldn’t identify.
Then security footage from Sarah’s porch.
A hooded figure approached after 11 p.m.
Short.
Maybe teenager.
Maybe small adult.
Dropped envelope.
Left.
Vehicle?
None visible.
Then prosecutor received anonymous email.
Subject:
THE DOCK WASN’T THE FIRST TIME.
Attached image:
Emma sitting on school steps two weeks before her death.
Tyler behind her.
Jason beside him.
Emma’s backpack dumped open on concrete.
Sarah stared.
She had never seen photograph.
The school had told her there was “minor teasing.”
Not this.
Then image metadata pointed to a student phone.
Owner:
May you like
Megan Brooks.
Tyler’s fifteen-year-old sister.
