Page 108 of Only Be Mine

“Say cheese!” the man called.

And we did.

Chapter 37

Cate

Present

Iclutched the photo to my chest without realizing I’d done it.

“That’s him,” I whispered. “That’s John.”

Seth had gone completely still.

“How long ago were these items recovered?” I asked.

The detective hesitated, just long enough.

“Earlier this evening.”

The implication settled like ash.

John hadn’t been gone forever. He’d been gone until now.

I felt hollowed out.

Seth stood abruptly, his chair screeching against the floor.

“I need air,” he muttered.

Detective Marshall watched him go, then turned back to me.

I held the photograph a moment longer before sliding it back into the wallet. My thumb lingered over the edge, as if the image might disappear if I didn’t anchor it there.

I hadn’t even known he still carried that picture.

I tucked the wallet back into the envelope and wiped my nose with the back of my hand before holding it out.

“Those are John’s,” I said quietly. Then, after a beat, “But that man…” I nodded toward the door we’d just come through. “That man is not.”

Detective Marshall exhaled slowly, his shoulders dropping. He glanced at the envelope and shook his head.

“Technically, these should stay with us. But they’re not evidence of a crime, and they’re yours. If that changes, we’ll contact you.”

I pulled the envelope back against my chest, instinctive and fierce.

John was in there. Not in body, but in fragments. Proof in the small, stubborn evidence that he had existed at all. That he hadn’t just vanished into rumor and paperwork.

I slipped my purse over my shoulder, my fingers still curled tight around the edge of the manila envelope. “Are we done here?” I asked, my voice already gone thin.

The detective nodded. “For now.”

The hallway felt longer on the way back. Colder. Like the building itself was receding from us, sealing things away as we moved.

When the door opened, Seth was already standing.

He searched my face, his eyes moving fast, and desperate, like he was trying to read an answer before I could speak it.