The next morning the sun rose and there was no sadness in the morning air. Shannon smiled to herself and scratched Crissy under the chin. Today had potential to be a good day. Stretching her sore muscles she got out of bed and descended down the stairs to the kitchen.

As the coffee brewed she skimmed the headlines for any information on Mr. Selven’s killer. So far no new information had been released but she was sure she would be able to find out anything new from Mark. There was a small article about Leslie waking up from her coma. Beneath it was a larger article announcing to the public that she and Mr. Selven were siblings.

After she drank her cup of coffee, showered and got her things together she headed out the door for work. When she climbed into her pick-up she found clipped to her visor a red envelope. I’m imagining things, she thought. She closed her eyes then opened them again. The envelope still remained like a red stain on white fabric. Reaching out with a trembling hand she slowly pulled the envelope down.

It was heavier than the others she realized as she held it in her hands. Taking an unsteady breath she ripped open the seal. There were two notes inside the dreaded envelope. The first note was typed. It read:

‘Dear Shannon,

If you are we could try some other ones…How about a riddle? Is blood really thicker than water? I guess its kind of hard to tell when its mixed with the water of a lake. Or how about I Spy? Here we go…I spy with my little eye a bitch wearing a blue shirt sitting in a black pickup truck.

5-4-3-2-1.’

She looked down at her blue tunic that she was wearing. Under her breath she muttered, “Five…four…three…two…” She closed her eyes, “One.” Nothing happened. Shannon let out a sigh of relief. She threw the envelope in the back seat and turned to the other paper. She read aloud, “How is your sister? What about your aunt? And have you forgotten about your mother. What about her? Don’t you even care about her? Start counting.” The hairs on her arms rose and her eyes grew wide.

Shannon never saw it coming. One moment there was complete silence. The next moment there was a deafening sound as the truck jolted from a sudden impact. She screamed as her body lunged forward into the steering wheel from the overwhelming force. Her vision swayed and blurred. The last thing she remembered was a distant voice yelling out before everything finally faded into darkness.