"Sometime last night an envelope was left in the mailbox outside the station." They were now back at the office. David was briefing them on why after all these years, the case had been reopened.
In addition to Emma and Detective Graham the entire force was in the room: Robin Locksley who was another officer, Belle French who was in charge of research and records, Ruby Lucas who was a forensic analyst (and Emma's best friend), and to cap it all off Neal Gold another officer (and Emma's ex-boyfriend/Henry's father, to keep it simple).
"The outside of the envelope was addressed to my name with no other indication of who it came from. Inside was a letter written by someone who claims to know who committed the crime." David's face was calm, though receiving this letter had been a great disruption in his usual day.
"How exactly is this a break in the case? People mess around with this murder all the time, it's what this town is known for." Always one to speak up first Neal felt the need to voice whatever thought went through is head. Emma quietly rolled her eyes before directing them to her father.
"Because in the envelope was a lock of Moira Jones' hair tied with a strip of the nightgown she wore the night she died."
The room went still. Any buzz that had been going around the group of people had stopped. This was real. In fairness, it was hard to take anything involving the murder seriously. For years they received prank calls from people claiming they knew who had killed Mr. and Mrs. Jones. False leads had run the original investigation team in circles years ago. There had been a Lifetime movie made about it, and it was even featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. People were obsessed.
David turned on the projector, revealing a copy of the letter he had received. Emma scanned the words trying to make sense of it all.
"Sheriff Nolan,
I hope this finds you well. It has been a while since I've stuck my nose where it does not belong but in the interest of justice I find myself penning you this letter. The information following could be detrimental if it is in the wrong hands. I advise you to use the utmost discretion with the details as they are quite gruesome. But I hope this all makes the resolution of this case that much easier for you. However, I do intend to make you work for the reward. When you solve the puzzle that is when you will also know who killed Moira and Brennan Jones."
A nondescript signature was scribbled at the bottom, the only part of the letter that had been written not typed. Was that even from the alphabet?
"So what do we do from here? Has DNA been run?" Ruby asked, rising from her seat at the table.
"We've brought in Detective Graham Humbert from Boston and his team will be coming in to assist with the case. He has a great deal of experience in homicide investigations, more than I or anyone else in this room. So it is our responsibility to follow his orders and offer them all we know about the family." David spoke in a level voice as if to warn his team to remain calm. Panic was one of the things that had caused so many issues in the case years ago.
"Good afternoon everyone I'm Graham Humbert." His introduction was met with little warmth, after all he was an outsider on a case that felt very personal. "I know many of you have lived in Storybrooke your whole lives but I hope to provide a new perspective to this case. As you know our next move is critical as a new piece of evidence has been physically dropped at your doorstep."
Emma looked around trying to gauge the reactions of her coworkers. The only one of them who looked remotely welcoming was her father, which was of little surprise.
"That being said we've reached out to members of the family, people associated with the family, anyone who could potentially bring information about who was it that could have done this. Not only are we looking to find the person who committed the crime but also the source of this letter. Tomorrow morning we've got the first two people coming in bright and early." Graham twisted the gold watch on his wrist. Emma had to admit, he was awfully handsome for a homicide detective.
"Excuse me, who might that be?" Belle chimed in.
"Liam and Killian Jones."
After the meeting with all the agents on the reopened case, the rest of the day was a bit of a whirlwind for Emma. David did his best to overwhelm her with information collected during the first investigation. She suspected it was because her father trusted her the most out of everyone who worked under his unit and wanted to make her as knowledgeable as possible. She was reliable, she was a good judge of character, and she was his right hand partner.
Hours went by in a blur as David gave Emma file after file detailing the murder. After all, she had been only 13 years old when it happened. He, however, had been a part of the original investigation. He knew every inch of it. There was not an aspect of the case David did not have committed to memory even now, many years later. Emma was impressed to say the least.
Returning home to her son Henry was the only relief she had found all day since she had left her house. By the time she got back it was after 10 o'clock. She found him sitting on the couch reading a book. The Catcher in the Rye. Emma was forever thankful for what a good kid her son was. Any time she thought about what she was doing at 13 she shuddered. The thought almost too outlandish to compare to Henry.
"Hey kid, I brought Chinese." Emma set the brown bag on the kitchen table and did not waste time before digging into her Kung pao chicken. Her long day had left her emotionally exhausted but also physically tired as there had been little time to worry about eating. "I got your favorite, shrimp lo Mein."
"Did the case really open back up?" were the first words out of his mouth as he placed his book on the table next to the white and red Chinese food cartons.
"What? No 'hi mom great to see you' or 'how was your day?'"
"I mean, technically that is asking you about your day since you're a cop…" smart kid, smarter than she.
"Yes it did. But I can't talk any more about it. I'm sworn to secrecy."
"Come on. We tell each other everything!"
"Well I will tell you that I went the Jones property today."
"Yeah… and?"
"It's still super creepy. Completely run down. I think the only people who have been back since the murder are the investigators. And then us today."
"Didn't they have kids? Whatever happened to them?"
"Yes. Two sons. Liam and Killian." Emma took a bite of her chicken. "They were young when it happened. Killian wasn't much older than you."
"I can't even imagine."
"He was a little different than you. A bit more rough around the edges, kid. At least what I remember of him. He was shipped off to live with relatives in England right after it happened. I think he's been there ever since."
"What about the other brother, Liam?"
"Liam was in his senior year of high school. Since he was 18 he was able to drop out of school and move away to work somewhere."
"You never really know what's going on in people's lives I guess," Henry, always the old and mature soul, capping the conversation there before moving on to talking about school. He wasn't yet old enough to be applying for colleges but he was taking all of the right steps. Studying hard, getting involved, SAT prep, the whole drill. As he spoke Emma wondered quietly to herself how she and Neil ended up with such a great kid.
Later that night as Emma laid in her bed she thought of the last time she had seen Killian Jones. It was right after the murder of his parents. The town was a chaotic mess. News station trucks lined the streets, privacy was an all but lost luxury, and a sixteen year old Killian Jones found himself in the same place as a young and rebellious Emma Nolan. Her favorite place. A quiet part of the woods where no one went.
She was by the creek that ran through the woods of Storybrooke. The spot where she and Neal would meet after curfew. Share stolen moments with each other where no one would find them. She was waiting for him one night when suddenly she was visited by someone who was very much so not Neal.
"You shouldn't be out here all alone, you know." Killian's voice came from a few feet away. She had only met him a few times before. In passing at parties, town functions, their fathers were acquaintances. Were, Emma thought to herself.
"Neither should you." She stood her ground. Everyone else in the town seemed to be wary of Killian, Emma though was not a part of everyone.
She turned to him. He was a great deal taller than her. And a few years older. He had a bit of a reputation about town, then again so did she.
"I'll leave you be then," he spun on his heel to walk away. As Emma started to feel the breath return to her lungs he turned to her from several feet away. "Just be… careful."
If she didn't know any better she would say he was warning her of something. Or someone?
