Chapter 3 - The Cold Case
Sarah stumbled backward out of the school office, dialing 911 with severely trembling hands.
She drove directly to the local police precinct, desperately praying that the authorities would immediately issue an Amber Alert.
She was escorted into a sterile interrogation room by a tall, incredibly intimidating detective named Stone.
Sarah frantically explained the entire terrifying situation, begging him to track down the teacher named Mrs. Hart.
Detective Stone typed silently on his keyboard for several agonizing minutes before finally looking up at her.
"There is absolutely no one named Mrs. Hart employed at that elementary school," the detective stated firmly.
Sarah screamed that he was lying, pulling out her phone to show him the school's official online staff directory.
The webpage she had checked just that morning was completely gone, returning a massive, permanent error message.
Detective Stone placed a thick, dusty manila folder on the cold metal table right between them.
"The only Mrs. Hart in our national database died in a violent house fire over ten years ago," he revealed.
He opened the grim folder to show a gruesome crime scene photograph of the deceased woman.
Sarah gasped loudly, realizing the burnt woman in the photograph was wearing a very specific, unique silver locket.
It was the exact same locket Sarah’s estranged sister had worn every single day of her life.
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Before she could process the betrayal, Detective Stone locked the interrogation room door and drew his weapon.
"You really shouldn't have come to the police, Sarah," the detective whispered darkly.
