Chapter 4 - The Anonymous Tip
I stared at the message until Marcus knocked on my door. “Mom? Zoe made you tea.” I let him in and showed him my phone. “Who sent it?” he asked. “There’s no name.” “Don’t reply yet.” Marcus took a picture of the message, then asked whether I knew anyone else from the flight. I told him David had sent me the video.
We went downstairs. I told them about the message. Zoe reached for her phone. “I can search Rachel’s name.” “Please don’t,” I said. “I don’t want strangers dragged into this because we guessed at something.” After dinner, Lila called. I forwarded the anonymous message and David’s recording. She watched the video. “Thank you for sending this. It gives us a clear record of part of the exchange.”
That night, Zoe sat on the edge of my bed. “Grandma, when I was little, you used to tell me I could sit anywhere I had a ticket.” “I did.” “I thought that was just something you said to make me brave.” “I wanted you to be brave. I wanted it to be true, too.” She looked at the envelope on my nightstand. Samuel’s handwriting was visible. “Is that Grandpa’s?” “Yes.” “Does Dad know you have it?” “No.”
The next morning, I woke to another text from the unknown number. MY NAME IS IMANI. I WAS ON THE CREW LAST YEAR. PLEASE CALL WHEN YOU CAN. I showed Marcus. We called Lila first. By afternoon, Lila confirmed that Imani wanted to provide a statement. I sat at the kitchen table and wrote a statement describing what Rachel said, when I showed my boarding pass, and how long it took Denise to verify my seat. I signed my name. Eleanor Carter.
May you like
I gave Marcus a copy. My phone rang. My older sister, June. “I saw a video,” she said. “I didn’t post it.” “Someone did. It cuts off right after Marcus recognizes you.” Zoe found the post in seconds. It already had thousands of views. People were cheering him in the comments. I wanted them to hear the part they were missing.
