Page 151 of Everything She Feared

Then he received a call.

“Hi, Ryan, it’s Sonya Rule. Is this a good time to talk?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Did you get Owen’s message?”

“I did. Thank you.”

“I have another update. The woman who said she has documents just got back to us and wants to talk to you. Do you want to talk to her?”

“Yes, give her my email.”

A few seconds passed.

“Done,” Sonya said. “I’ll keep you posted in case I hear back. Good luck, Ryan.”

“Thank you, Sonya.”

As the ferry cut farther across the water, Ryan felt a renewed energy, that things seemed to be going in the right direction. He was reinforcing the need to take careful steps when his phone vibrated. A new email had arrived.

Hi Ryan: Your appearance onTell-Tale Heartsbroke my heart and I’m hoping I can help. My aunt passed away several years ago and I was going through her belongings with my sisters when we found some interesting things she’d kept. She’d had a troubled life, which led to her spending several years at Montana Women’s Prison in Billings. As an inmate there, she got to know Magda and kept a journal. After discussing it with my sisters, we’ve decided that we’d like to give you a copy of her journal by courier. If you give me your address, we could get it to you as quickly as possible.

Michelle

Queens, NY

He stared at the message.

A journal about Magda?

This could be something. He’d never had access to records of this sort. A prison friend who kept a journal. Yes, he needed to see it. As soon as possible.

But he didn’t want to reveal his Seattle address.

Just in case this is some sort of ploy or stunt. You never know.

Michelle had left her phone number with a 917 area code at the bottom of her message. He called. It rang four times before she answered.

“Hi, this is Ryan, is this Michelle?”

“Oh, yes, hi, Ryan.”

“Thank you for your message about your aunt’s journal.”

“Do you think it might help you?”

“It might. I’d like to see it, but I was wondering. If the journal’s not too long, could you scan the pages about Magda and send them to my email in a compressed file? I think that might be the best way.”

Michelle took a few seconds to answer.

“I’m not very good at stuff like that, technology. I’ll get my nephew to help me with those pages, if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely.”

“It might take us a little while.”

“I’ll stand by. And, Michelle, thank you for this. Thank you.”

---