The Blackened Object in My Pizza Box

Chapter 1: The Unexpected Delivery

I ordered a pizza last night because neither my wife, Laura, nor I felt like cooking. When the driver arrived, I thanked him, carried the box straight into the kitchen, and set it on the counter.

The smell was wonderful, but the moment I lifted the lid, I forgot about dinner.

Taped to the inside of the box was a sealed plastic pouch. Inside it sat a small, blackened lump with a sliver of faded red enamel along one edge. It looked partly melted, as though it had survived a fire. It wasn’t food, and it certainly wasn’t anything I had ordered.

I turned the pouch over several times. The object was too damaged to identify, but it felt strangely deliberate. Someone had placed it where I couldn’t miss it.

Laura stared over my shoulder. “Please tell me that didn’t touch the pizza.”

“It’s sealed,” I said. “But what is it?”

I took a picture and posted it online, asking whether anyone recognized it. At that point, I truly had no idea what I was looking at—or why someone had hidden it in my pizza box.

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