Panel1:
Emily sits with a cup of tea, looking solemn.
Maude (off-panel): “How are you doing? Since… you know.”

Panel 2:
Emily looks down, gripping her cup, and burying her face in her hand, holding back tears.
Emily: “Ah, Maude, I just… I think sometimes it’s just a bad dream, and then I remember that Amelia isn’t here anymore.”
Emily (continued): “I just don’t understand why anyone would hurt Amelia. I can’t wrap my head around why… why this happened.”

Panel 3:
Maude, sitting across from Emily, speaks hesitantly.
Maude: “What if it was the mob? They kill people all the time.”

Panel 4:
Emily looks up, startled, then smirks slightly.
Emily: “Ha, yeah. Wouldn’t that be something.”

Inset panel: Close-up of Emily's eyes, suddenly serious.
Emily, thinking: “Amelia running with the mob… unless…”

Panel 5:
Maude, looking concerned, waves off the idea.
Maude: “Emily? It was only a joke—”

Panel 6:
Emily, now animated, bolts up from her seat. Maude sits across the table, surprised.
Emily: “Maude, what if Amelia was involved with the mob? That unsent letter addressed to “Millie”—it’s gotta be some mobster’s girl!”
Maude, surprised: “Millie?”

Page 26

Emily is on to something! Or is just overreacting. You decide!

If you haven’t already or don’t know how to get your spooky fix now that Halloween season is over, check out the Kickstarter for my next anthology appearance: Local Haunts!  It’s a collection of stories about ghosts from your own back yard. 

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