chapter 8
607 Words
The room was swallowed by silence.
Hannah couldn't take her eyes off the silver locket inside the evidence bag.
It was a small heart-shaped pendant.
Her mother's favorite.
Sarah had worn it every single day. As a little girl, Hannah used to play with it whenever her mother hugged her.
"There has to be a mistake," she whispered.
Conor slowly shook his head.
"My team checked everything twice. We found it near the edge of the forest, less than a mile from this estate."
Eleanor looked as though all the strength had left her body.
"I put that locket around Sarah's neck myself before the coffin was closed," she said quietly. "I remember it clearly."
Hannah felt her chest tighten.
"If the locket is here..."
The words refused to come out.
Kevin turned toward Conor.
"We're going to the cemetery."
Daniel looked at him in surprise.
"Tonight?"
Kevin nodded.
"The longer we wait, the more evidence we'll lose."
"I'll get the vehicles ready," Conor replied.
---
An hour later, three black SUVs rolled through the empty streets.
A thick blanket of fog covered the cemetery.
Everything was still.
Too still.
The old iron gates opened with a long, eerie creak as the convoy entered.
Hannah's heartbeat grew faster with every step toward her mother's grave.
She stopped suddenly.
The fresh flowers she had placed there that morning were gone.
Only broken stems remained, scattered across the ground.
Kevin crouched beside the grave.
He studied the soil for a few seconds.
"It was disturbed."
Conor knelt beside him.
"Recently."
Daniel swept his flashlight across the ground.
"There are footprints."
Conor examined them carefully.
"At least two people."
Kevin looked at Hannah.
"You don't have to watch this."
She swallowed hard but shook her head.
"I have to know."
At Conor's signal, two security officers stepped forward with shovels.
They worked carefully, removing the loose earth one layer at a time.
No one spoke.
The sound of metal striking dirt echoed through the silent cemetery.
Minutes felt like hours.
Then...
The top of the wooden coffin appeared.
Conor took a slow breath before lifting the lid.
Everyone froze.
The coffin was empty.
Hannah's knees almost gave way.
"No..."
Her voice trembled.
"No... that's impossible."
There was no body.
Nothing.
Only a folded piece of paper lying in the center of the coffin.
Kevin picked it up carefully and unfolded it.
A single sentence was written across the page.
The dead should never be searched for.
Before anyone could say a word, a cold laugh drifted through the cemetery.
Everyone spun around.
A hooded figure stood several yards away, half-hidden among the trees.
"You'll never find her," the stranger called out.
Conor instantly drew his gun.
"Stop!"
The figure turned and bolted into the forest.
Kevin and Conor took off after him.
Branches snapped beneath their feet as they pushed through the trees.
The stranger moved with incredible speed.
Kevin closed the distance.
Just as he was about to catch him, the man threw a small metal object onto the ground.
A thick cloud of white smoke exploded around them.
Kevin covered his face and coughed.
For a few seconds, he couldn't see anything.
When the smoke finally cleared...
The stranger had vanished.
Only a black envelope lay on the forest floor.
Kevin picked it up and opened it.
Inside was an old photograph.
Hannah stepped closer and looked over his shoulder.
The blood drained from her face.
The woman in the picture was Sarah Willer.
She was smiling at the camera.
In the corner of the photograph was a printed date.
It had been taken...
Just three days earlier.
- Writer
