Chapter 6: The Truth About J
764 Words
That Night
Vera sat in her secret room, staring at the wall of photos.
She'd been avoiding it for days. The connection. The letter J. The way that detective had looked at her when she saw the ring.
It could be a coincidence, she told herself. The world is full of J's.
But Vera didn't believe in coincidences.
She reached up and pulled down a photo from the wall. Jenna's senior picture. Same smile. Same eyes. Same everything.
Underneath it, in Jenna's handwriting: For Vera—best friend forever. Love, J.
J.
J.
Vera traced the letter with her finger.
Then she picked up the file she'd stolen from the police archives. The case file on Jenna's disappearance. Fourteen years old. Yellowed pages. Photocopies of photocopies.
She'd read it a hundred times. Knew every word.
But tonight, for the first time, she looked at it with new eyes.
Body never found. Suspects: none. Evidence: none. Status: cold.
And underneath, in a detective's cramped handwriting: Last seen wearing a silver ring with initial "J".
Vera's hands started shaking.
She pulled out her phone. Scrolled to a number she hadn't called in years. Pressed dial.
It rang four times. Then:
"Hello?"
It was a woman's voice. Older. Tired.
"Mrs. Chen?" Vera's voice was steady, even though her hands were still shaking. "My name is Vera Lin. I'm the forensic pathologist working on your daughter's case."
Silence. Then: "You found something?"
"I found a ring." Vera closed her eyes. "It has a letter engraved inside. J."
More silence. So long Vera thought the line had gone dead.
Then, softly: "That was hers. She never took it off. Not once."
Vera's heart stopped.
"The ring you found—" The mother's voice cracked. "It was from her best friend. A girl who disappeared years ago. Jenny never stopped looking for her. She wore that ring every single day."
Vera couldn't breathe.
"Her name," the mother whispered, "was Jenna. Jenna Park. They grew up together. Jenny never talked about what happened, but I know she blamed herself. She wore that ring to remember."
Vera hung up.
She sat in the darkness of her secret room, surrounded by photos of Jenna, and felt the world tilt sideways.
Jenny Chen—the woman on her table—had been looking for Jenna.
Wearing Jenna's ring.
J.
J.
Oh God.
Vera pressed her hands to her face and tried to breathe.
The Next Morning
Maddy found Vera in the autopsy suite, sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. Still in last night's clothes. Eyes red.
"Lin?" Maddy crouched beside her. "What happened?"
Vera looked up. For once, the mask was gone. She just looked... broken.
"The ring," she said. "It belonged to someone I knew. Someone who disappeared fourteen years ago."
Maddy waited.
"Her name was Jenna. Jenna Park. She was my best friend." Vera's voice was flat. Hollow. "We were seventeen. We were supposed to graduate together, go to college together, be... together." She swallowed. "Then one day she was just gone. No note. No explanation. Nothing."
"And you've been looking for her ever since."
Vera nodded. "I became a forensic pathologist because of her. Because I thought if I understood death, I could find out what happened. I could—" Her voice broke. "I could bring her home."
Maddy sat down next to her. "The ring—"
"It was Jenna's. I gave it to her. For her birthday, senior year." Vera pulled out her phone, showed Maddy a photo. Two girls in school uniforms, arms around each other, laughing. On Jenna's finger: a silver ring.
Maddy studied it. The same ring in the evidence bag.
"Jenny Chen was wearing your friend's ring," she said slowly. "That means she knew her. Was connected to her somehow."
"Her mother said Jenny never stopped looking for Jenna. That she wore the ring to remember."
"Looking for her?" Maddy's mind was racing. "Looking for her how?"
"I don't know." Vera shook her head. "I didn't even know Jenny existed until three days ago."
They sat in silence for a long moment.
Then Maddy stood. "We need to talk to Jenny's mother again. And we need to reopen your friend's case."
Vera looked up at her. For the first time, there was something in her eyes besides coldness or anger.
Hope.
"You'd do that?" she asked quietly. "Help me find out what happened?"
Maddy looked at her—this woman she'd been ready to hate. This woman who was supposed to be her enemy.
"Yeah," she said. "I'll help."
- Writer
