Chapter 11: The Record

The envelope was under the door when I came back from the bathroom on Thursday morning.

It was a plain manila clasp envelope with no stamp and no address.

Across the front, in block capitals, someone had written: ASK YOUR SISTER.

I stood on Cass's doormat in my socks and held it with two fingers.

Cass came out of the kitchenette with a coffee in each hand and stopped.

"What's that?"

"I don't know," I said.

"Who delivered it?"

"Nobody knocked."

She put the coffees on the counter and looked at the hall, the stairs, and the street through the window.

There was nothing out there but the bait shop's sign and a gull on the railing.

"Don't open it," Cass said.

"I'm going to open it."

"I know. I'm just saying it for the record."

I tore the clasp.

Inside was a thick stack of photocopies with a clip at the corner.

The top sheet was a form headed in typed capitals, JUVENILE DIVISION, ASHLAND COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, and under it, in a box, SEALED.

My name was in the first line.

MAZUR, DELPHINE ANN. DOB 01/09/1997.

I sat down on the arm of the couch.

Cass came and stood behind me, close, with her hand on my shoulder.

The next page was the matron's incident report, dated October 17, 2014.

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