Chapter 9 - The Wrapper
Officer Evans snapped on a pair of blue latex gloves. Leaving a backup officer to monitor the porch, he walked over to the green trash bin. The discarded cardboard and party supplies were still scattered across the lawn where Sarah had frantically tossed them.
He began to carefully sift through the remaining garbage inside the bin. If a child was placed in here, there had to be a reason, and there had to be physical evidence left behind.
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Near the bottom, caught in a tangle of green curling ribbon, Evans found something that didn't belong with the standard party supplies. It was a crumpled, brightly colored wrapper. He picked it up with a pair of tweezers. It was a wrapper for a popular brand of peanut butter cookies—a brand usually sold at the local bakery down the street.
He placed the wrapper into a plastic evidence bag. He remembered Sarah mentioning the strict nut-free rule when she was crying on the grass. The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to snap into place. He turned back toward the porch, his eyes locking onto Brenda, who was staring at the plastic bag in his hand with a look of absolute terror.
