Thomas Reed had left the prison at 1:12 p.m.
In the passenger seat of his vehicle, according to the officer who signed the exit form, was a cardboard records box.
Amelia stared at the page.
“What was in the box?”
Mitchell’s face was grim. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
The answer came from Chloe.
Not directly.
Not immediately.
But from something she had carried all along without understanding its importance.
That evening, Denise brought Chloe to Amelia’s office. The plan was simple: Amelia wanted to prepare Chloe gently for the idea that grown-ups might ask her questions in court one day. Not that day. Not soon. But someday.
Chloe sat on the couch with her Coming Home Box on her lap.
“I brought it to show Daddy,” she said. “But Denise said we were coming here first.”
Amelia smiled. “It’s a very important box.”
“It has things for when Daddy comes home.”
