Dan had spent the entire morning scrubbing baseboards and reorganizing the pantry which was hisnway of trying to drown out the stress of an upcoming merger at work. Sweat dampened the collar of his gray T-shirt as he moved from room to room, vacuuming rugs and folding laundry, anything to keep his hands busy and his mind clear.
When he reached Whitney’s bedroom he paused in the doorway. Her bed was unmade as usual, pillows scattered with the duvet twisted into a careless heap. Dan sighed and stepped inside, gathering the sheets to straighten them.
As he tugged the duvet toward the headboard something slid out from underneath and landed with a soft thump on the mattress. A plain cardboard box, lid slightly open. Curiosity tugged at him so he lifted the lid the rest of the way.
Inside lay
