The Message

Emma took a small knife for opening letters from a drawer. She opened the envelope carefully. Inside, there was one piece of paper.

She began to read.

Dear Emma,

You may not believe this letter is from me. I understand.

Do you remember our talk in the café? You asked me about the people at the education foundation. I said that sometimes the truth was more dangerous than a lie.

You laughed, but you did not want to be unkind. You did not understand.

I did not understand everything then, either.

I know what you wrote after I disappeared. I was angry for a long time.

You did not know why I left.

You were looking in the wrong place.

Please look at the foundation. Find out what it promised the students. Did the students get that help?

Be careful.

Claire

Emma put the paper down. She remembered the café.

It was 18 September 2011. Emma was twenty-one years old. She was a young journalist, and she was writing about an education project. Claire worked with the project as a volunteer.

Emma had asked Claire a question: “Do you trust the people who run the foundation?”

Claire looked out of the window. Then she said, “Sometimes the truth is more dangerous than a lie.”

Emma laughed because she did not understand the answer. She did not put the words in her newspaper article, but she wrote them in her notebook.

Now those words were in the letter.

Emma read it again. Claire wrote about leaving. Did that mean Claire had decided to go away? Emma was not sure. Sometimes people leave because they are afraid.

Emma opened her laptop. She looked at pictures of old letters from Claire. The writing looked the same. But another person could copy it. Claire could also have told a friend about the conversation.

Emma remembered Claire's brother, James. He had been angry with the journalists. Emma had written that Claire might have left because of a personal problem, but she had no strong proof.

The letter did not tell Emma where Claire was. It told her to look at the foundation and the help it promised students.

Emma thought about a new question. What did Claire learn before she disappeared?