Their daughter vanished in 1990 at her graduation…

“You okay?” A female officer helped John to his feet. “Yeah,” he rasped. “Thank you.”

As the officers led Steven to a patrol car, John pointed to the freshly dug earth. “Over there. He just buried something there. He mentioned my daughter’s name, Mary Peterson. She went missing 22 years ago.” The officer’s expression grew serious. “Peterson? I remember that case. I’ll get Detective Morrison.” While several officers secured the scene, Detective Morrison approached John and handed him his phone. “Mr. Peterson, I’m Detective Morrison. Tell me what happened here.” John recounted everything—finding the yearbook, visiting Emily, the strange encounter at Steven’s house, and following him to this ridge.

“I know I shouldn’t have followed him,” John admitted. “But when I saw him buying a shovel and white hyacinths, Mary’s favorite flowers, something felt wrong.” Morrison nodded.

“You said he buried something here.” John pointed to the fresh mound of dirt. “He buried a wooden box and the flowers. Before that, the wind scattered some papers from the box, and he collected them. And he said something about Mary being able to keep it now.” The detective called over the arriving forensic team.

“Let’s see what we’ve got.” As the forensics team carefully excavated the site, John watched with growing dread. They first uncovered the bouquet of white hyacinths, still fresh and pristine.

Beneath it lay the wooden box. The lead forensic tech cautiously opened it, revealing its contents to the detective. Inside was a stack of papers, handwritten notes, photos, and what appeared to be printed text messages, slightly yellowed with age.

There was also a small handmade wool doll, like the kind kids make in craft class. “Steven just buried this,” John explained, “but said Mary could keep it now, meaning he’d been holding onto these things at his house all this time.” Morrison donned gloves and began examining the box’s contents.

The first items were printouts of text messages between Steven and Mary, dated from their high school years. As the detective read them, his expression grew increasingly troubled. “Mr. Peterson, these messages indicate Steven and Mary had a secret relationship in school,” he said gently. “It seems it was complicated.” John stepped closer to look. The messages revealed a relationship neither he nor Nancy had known about.

According to the texts, Steven and Mary once went out with a group of friends, with Steven specifically asking Mary not to bring Emily. At some point during that outing, Steven kissed Mary without her consent. The messages showed Mary’s initial upset, followed by a gradual shift.

She seemed drawn to Steven despite her reservations, convinced he just needed love and belief in him. Mary repeatedly texted Steven that she believed he could change and be better. But Steven’s replies were manipulative, exploiting her affection without reciprocating.

“It went on for almost a year,” the detective noted, flipping through the messages. “Then Mary tried to end it.” Later messages showed Mary’s growing frustration with the toxic relationship.

When she finally broke it off and began openly dating Daniel Spencer, Steven’s messages grew increasingly desperate, then angry. Among the photos in the box were some that made John turn away in horror. Explicit images of Mary, taken when she appeared to be restrained.

The background showed a rustic interior matching the cabin Steven had just left, as well as various spots in the surrounding woods. Detective Morrison quickly covered the photos but turned them over to examine the backs. Each photo bore handwriting, presumably Steven’s.

On one, a single phrase was repeated dozens of times, filling the entire back. “You still have to love me. You still have to love me. You still have to love me.” On another, it read, “Great time at the ridge with you. Yours, Steve.”

The most disturbing was the note on the back of a photo where Mary’s face showed clear fear. Here, Steven had written a long message about how he couldn’t hold on anymore, that people were looking for Mary, and that she, using a slur, refused to talk to him. The note ended with an apology for having to kill her, because otherwise she’d have been found and he’d have been caught, adding that she’d always be in his heart, even if no one knew about their relationship…