Nora lowered the curtain before he could raise a hand.

At the time, he thought she was merely another frightened witness.

He did not yet understand that she had held the envelope before Frank ever touched it.

Chapter 2 — The Woman at Number Eight

Nora Whitcomb lived at number eight with a brown terrier and an extraordinary collection of weathered birdhouses.

She had been a school librarian for thirty-two years and rarely missed a detail in anything she read.

Daniel had known her since he and his wife Elise bought their house in Alder Glen, a small Ohio town where people still borrowed sugar and argued about curbside snow.

Nora had brought an apple pie to their front door on moving day, and Elise had returned the dish with a sprig of rosemary tucked beneath a handwritten note.

After Elise died, Nora had been one of the few neighbors who understood that sympathy could become exhausting when offered every morning.

She left casseroles on the step without demanding a conversation.

She remembered Owen’s birthday and pretended not to notice when Daniel’s lawn went brown during his worst winter.

Six months earlier, Nora had suffered a stroke and spent weeks in rehabilitation.

She came home with a cane, an unsteady left hand, and a new reluctance to open her door.

Frank Doyle had begun visiting more often after that.

He carried groceries, shoveled her walk, and described himself as the only person who could keep her safe from strangers.

Daniel appreciated the help until Nora stopped answering his calls.

He had asked Frank whether she was all right, and Frank had said she needed privacy.

Now the burned mailbox stood between them like a warning that privacy had become something else.

Officer Navarro asked Daniel whether he had received threats or previous unwanted visits from Frank.

Daniel told her about the usual disputes over parking, leaves, and a drainage ditch that crossed their backyards.

He also mentioned Frank’s repeated offers to buy Elise’s old greenhouse, which had not been used since her death.

Navarro recorded each statement without pretending she could tell which dispute mattered.

She explained that the fire, damaged property, and attempted interference with evidence would be documented separately.

Frank sat on the curb while another officer checked him for injury.

He did not ask about the damage to Daniel’s property.

He asked whether the envelope was legible.

After the officers drove away, Daniel noticed Nora watching from behind her front door.