Episode 4

Rene’s breath hitched, misting the sterile glass of the evidence bag. Inside, a single, tarnished silver locket lay nestled on a bed of crimson-stained gauze. Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs, a familiar drumbeat of unease. The apartment, hushed and still after the initial chaos, seemed to hum with unspoken secrets. She could feel eyes on her, unseen, judging. Were they real, or just the whispers that lived in the periphery of her vision?

“Anything, Rene?” Detective Miller’s voice, gruff but not unkind, cut through her spiraling thoughts. He stood a respectful distance away, his gaze fixed on the locket.

Rene forced herself to focus. The locket. Small, intricate, with a faded floral engraving. “It’s… it’s a locket,” she managed, her voice a little shaky. “Looks old.” She carefully picked up the tweezers, her hands trembling slightly as she nudged the bag. “No visible prints on the locket itself, but the gauze… could be something there.”