Mr. Miller walked over to his table and picked up a large brown envelope.

“Your Honor, the state wishes to introduce new evidence recovered from the defendant’s residence,” he said.

The defense attorney stood up immediately.

“Objection, Your Honor. We have not had time to review this material,” he said.

The judge waved him down.

“I will hear it,” the judge said.

Mr. Miller pulled a small plastic bag from the envelope.

Inside the bag was a silver key ring.

Attached to the ring was a small, blue plastic container.

My breath caught in my throat.

I knew exactly what was inside that container.

It was the prescription bottle that Melanie had used to quiet me.

Mr. Miller turned to face the defense table.

He looked directly at Melanie.

“We found this hidden in the crawl space beneath the back porch,” Mr. Miller said.

“It has Melanie Sullivan’s fingerprints all over the lid,” he said.

Melanie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

She looked at her mother.

Josephine remained perfectly still, her eyes cold.

The courtroom was dead silent.

Melanie leaned toward her attorney and whispered something frantic.