“What the hell are you all talking about? Charybdis is part of that case you and Graeson were working together, right? That’s how you two met.” Tired of being ignored, Isaac grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me on my heels to face him. “What exactly followed you here? How long have you been hiding it from us?” He slapped a hand over my mouth and arched an eyebrow, only removing the gag when Graeson took exception to how Isaac was treating me. “So help me, Camille, if you tell me to shush one more time, I’m going to tell Mom the truth about what happened to your Precious Moments figurines collection.”

Gods I hated those things, and she bought me a new one every year for my birthday. Their teardrop eyes, so full of sorrow, had kept watch over me all night while I slept when I was a kid. As an adult, I couldn’t move into my own place and secure them in an out-of-state lockbox fast enough.

“I found out today, all right?” I shoved him off me. “When I visited the witches, they told me—”

“What witches?” His glare transferred to Dell as though she were to blame for my bad behavior. “When?”

“Earlier.” Tired of his manhandling, I swung my arm outside his reach then sliced my hand through the air and struck his throat in the space below his jaw. He released me with a shocked gasp, and I leapt backward. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t keep you in the loop. It was stupid and dangerous, but I didn’t know about this. Not until I saw the witches. I don’t know how or why the killer followed me, but he did, and he selected a new avatar to help him.”

“This Harlow girl,” he wheezed. “Isn’t that your friend?”

“Yes.” I shook a hand through my hair. “She was abducted at the last crime scene, and we have reason to believe she’s under his control now.” I tugged on the strands. “We call her his avatar, but we don’t know what it means, really.” The kelpie was a killer before Charybdis. How much of what it did went against instinct? Not much I’d bet. For all we knew Charybdis had only encouraged its natural inclinations. “We don’t know how he infected her, how she’s being controlled, or why he chose her. We don’t know anything.” I amended the last to, “All I know is I have to save her.”

“Tell me what you need.” Simple. Straightforward. Typical Isaac.

I took his hand and squeezed it in thanks. “It’s easier if I show you.”

Arms loosening, Dell smiled at the girl to reassure her. “If you’re not using Emily, then who…?”

I shut my eyes, exhaled and opened them. “Me.”

Emily and Lori shared a similar height, build and hair color. The illusion would work at a distance.