“In every small town, there’s one secret that refuses to stay buried.”

Part 1: The Return slot

Sarah Louis is a small town girl who works at River Glen bookstore that also acts as the town’s library. Every morning, she arrives early to open the store, even before the streets wake up. The quiet hour before opening was her favourite, no noise, just her and the books around.

As usual Sarah came to the store, unlocks the door and steps inside with her coffee. She then sets her coffee, walks over to the return slot and unlocks it. A single book lay inside.

Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

She froze after seeing the checkout slip taped to the inside cover – July 18, 1994. The book had been checked out thirty two years ago by Mira Price, a 20 year old girl, who mysteriously vanished from town the same week she checked out this book. Sarah had seen her missing posters in the bookstore basement archives countless times. The book was marked as Lost. And yet here it is.

A cold chill runs through her spine.

Slowly, she opens the book and flips through its brittle pages. Everything looks normal until a small handwritten note catches her eye. Two short lines written in ink that hasn’t quite faded.

“Finally, you found me”

Sarah freezes in confusion. The handwriting looks fresh.

The bell above the door chimed, a sharp, metallic sound that made Sarah jump so hard she spilled a splash of her coffee onto the counter. She quickly tried to hide the note under the desk drawer.

It was Mr. Henderson, the town’s retired sheriff, coming in for his ritual morning paper. “

Morning, Sarah,” he called out, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Sarah forced a smile, and replied casually. “Just a dusty old return, Mr. Henderson.” With a bit of hesitation she asked; “Do you remember Mira Price?”

The Sheriff’s posture snapped stiff.

“Mira Price,” he repeated, the name sounding like a curse.

He walked over to the counter, leaning so close she could see the broken veins in his nose.

“I spent ten years of my life looking for that girl. And that book you’re trying to hide?” He pointed at the yellowed cover.

“I burned that book thirty years ago in the evidence locker after her car was found at the bottom of the quarry.”

His fingers hovered inches from the book.

“Where did it come from, Sarah? Because if that’s Mira’s copy, it didn’t come through the mail. Someone hand-delivered a dead woman’s property to your front door.”

— End of Part 1.

Part 2 will be released on 03/22/2026.