Then Police Found Something Under the Table

During the second search of the dining room, an investigator noticed a small piece of folded paper beneath Emily’s chair.

It looked like part of a receipt.

Someone had written one sentence on the back:

HE FOUND US.

The handwriting was later believed to be Emily’s.

Police now had an entirely different type of investigation.

The family might not simply be missing.

They might have been afraid.

Thomas Morgan Had Never Told His Family About the Letters

Detectives searched Thomas’s home office.

Inside a locked desk drawer were eight envelopes.

None had stamps.

None had mailing addresses.

They had apparently been left directly at the house.

Each contained only a short message.

One said:

YOU CAN’T KEEP PRETENDING.

Another:

I KNOW WHERE YOU MOVED.

Another:

ASK TOM ABOUT 2004.

The final letter had arrived only three days earlier.

It said:

TUESDAY.

Tuesday was the night the family disappeared.

Rebecca’s Sister Had Never Heard About Them

Detectives interviewed Rebecca’s older sister, Melissa.

She was stunned.

“Rebecca would have told me.”

“About threatening letters?”

“Yes.”

Police asked whether Thomas had enemies.

Melissa hesitated.

“I don’t know.”

Then she added something unexpected.

“Thomas wasn’t always Thomas Morgan.”