Sally got out of work about 4 p.m. and walked back to her apartment, changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and headed out the door. She got her car out of the garage and took the interstate to the suburbs, where Tammie and Sam lived. The traffic was not bad for this time of evening and, about 30 minutes later, she pulled off the freeway. It was only about 5:15, so she pulled into a fast-food spot and ordered a burger and a salad for supper. She finished, and looked at her watch to see that it was now about 5:45. It would only take her five minutes to reach Tammie's house from there, and Sally didn't want to just sit around. She decided to go on over and, if Tammie had not returned from whatever it was that she had to do, Sally could just wait for her on the deck in back of the house.
When Sally pulled up in front of the house, it looked deserted, but she went up to the front door anyway. As she expected, there was no answer, so she wandered around back, planning to wait on the deck. But as she climbed the stairs to the deck, she caught sight of Tammie's head through the kitchen window before she ducked down and disappeared.
"That is odd. Tammie would have answered the door if she was there, wouldn't she?" Sally thought to herself.
Sally knocked on the back door and called to Tammie.
"Tammie, are you there? Are you okay," Sally called. She tried the back door, to find it unlocked.
"Come in, I guess," Tammie said in a strange voice, as the door opened.
Sally opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into the kitchen. Tammie was sitting at the kitchen table with a half glass of water in front of her, as well as the portable phone, and she was watching a TV that was on the counter. The only thing that seemed to be out of place was the chair that Tammie was sitting in. It was a wooden, straight, high back chair, while the rest of the kitchen chairs were padded captain chairs. That chair looked out of place, and Tammie looked very pale.
"Tammie, are you okay?" Sally asked.
"Sure, but I thought that you were not going to be here before six," Tammie responded.
"Well, there was not as much traffic, so I got here quicker than I thought I would. I was going to wait on the deck for you to get home, but saw you in here," Sally explained.
Why was Tammie so jumpy, Sally wondered. If she didn't know her so well, she would have guessed that she was afraid of her.
"I'll just get the dress and leave, if that is what you want," Sally snapped.
"Sorry," Tammie replied. "I guess I am just a little jumpy. Sam was supposed to be home before you got here, but he got delayed at work. He just called and was about to leave. The dress is in a box in the bedroom closet, if you would like to get it."
Sally went through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the master bedroom. She opened the door to the walk-in closet. There were an awful lot of boxes on the shelves, and she could not tell which one the dress was in. She walked back to the bedroom door and called Tammie.
"Which box is it in?"
"I am not sure, it has been a while. You will have to do some looking, I guess."
Sally went back to the closet, but she did not really feel comfortable, rummaging in a closet that was not hers. She wondered why Tammie was not coming in to find it for her. Tammie sure was not acting normally.
After poking around for about five minutes, and still feeling uncomfortable about going through stuff in her closet, Sally went back to the kitchen.
"Tammie, I can't find it. Would you please come and show me which box it's in."
Tammie just put her head in her hands, shook her head, and turned white. In a very small voice, she replied: