Cover of The Naturals (The Naturals, #1)

The Naturals, #1

The Naturals

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes


Genre
Young Adult, Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Year
2013
Pages
242
Contents

Chapter 26

Overview

Cassie remains unable to access her mother’s file, but the investigation turns personal when an anonymous package arrives for her at the house. The black gift box, unsettling note, and lock of red hair suggest that the killer or someone connected to the case has singled Cassie out directly.

The chapter shifts the threat from distant casework to an immediate invasion of Cassie’s supposedly protected environment, raising the stakes for Cassie and the Naturals.

Summary

Twenty-four hours after Dean confirmed Cassie’s impression of the UNSUB, Cassie still has no new access to her mother’s case file. Cassie sits in the kitchen, frustrated and empty-handed, when Lia arrives with a package addressed to Cassie.

Lia has already opened the outer packaging and reveals a matte black gift box tied with a silk black ribbon. Lia teases Cassie about having a secret admirer and suggests the package cannot be from Michael or Dean, implying Cassie has attracted attention from someone outside the house.

Michael joins them and immediately reacts with a strained, sharp smile when Michael sees the gift. Cassie asks whether Michael sent it, and Michael denies it. Cassie also rules out her family and Dean, then accuses Lia, but Lia denies sending it and grabs the card.

Lia reads the plain note card: From me, to you. The formal packaging, the message, and the unexplained sender make Cassie increasingly uneasy. Cassie removes the ribbon, lifts the lid, and finds neatly folded white tissue paper inside.

Cassie unwraps the tissue paper despite the tension in the room. Inside the box is a lock of red hair, causing Cassie to scream and confirming that the anonymous package is a threatening, intimate message tied to the ongoing pattern around red-haired victims.

Who Appears

  • Cassie Hobbes
    Receives an anonymous package and is terrified by the lock of red hair inside.
  • Lia
    Teases Cassie about the package, opens the card, and denies sending the gift.
  • Michael
    Notices Cassie’s fear, denies sending the package, and reacts tensely to the gift.
  • Unknown sender
    Sends Cassie a black gift box containing a threatening lock of red hair.
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