“You shouldn’t have to,” Gunner said. “Listen to Nick, Alena. Somebody’s going to come looking for you—the same guy who came looking for that FEMA woman. Please—help the FBI find him before he finds you. Everybody knows about you now; there’s no reason for you to hide anymore—no reason you and Nick have to sneak around at night.”

“Every time I help him, things get worse.”

“Sometimes things get worse before they get better,” Nick said, “but they will get better—and they’ll improve a lot faster if you help.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Come with me to Dogleg Lake in the morning. Help us find the body in the water. You and Trygg can pinpoint it for us—without your help we’ll have to search the whole lake.”

“Why is that body so important?”

“Because it’s Marge’s body—I’m sure of it. The lake water’s cold— that slows down decomposition—and the body’s only been there for a couple of days. So far we’ve had to track this guy with nothing but a pile of thirty-year-old bones. This time we have a fresh body—a chance of finding forensic evidence that could lead us right to him.”

“You can find the body without me,” she said. “It’ll just take a little longer.”

“It could take a lot longer, and in the meantime somebody could be looking for you. Marge disappeared the day after her interview, remember? Well, news about you has been circulating for about a day now. We don’t have time to mess around, Alena—we need to move fast.”

“Listen to him,” Gunner added. “Nick’s making sense.”

Alena considered their words. “I can’t go down there—not in the daylight— not when people will see me.”

“The FBI will declare the area a crime scene. We’ll cordon off the whole place—no one will be allowed in except you and me and a handful of FBI personnel. Believe me, it’s the safest place for you to be right now.”

“The safest place for me is with my dogs.”

“We’re talking about a murderer,” Nick said, “and that little dog can’t protect you. I’m afraid the others can’t either—they’re big, and they’re smart, but they’re not bulletproof.”

“Don’t ever say that. Ever.”

“I’m sorry. You need to hear it.”

“I want you both to go away. I can’t go back down there. I won’t— and you have no right to ask me to help you again. I’ve helped enough.” She turned and started back through the woods.

“Alena, wait,” Gunner said.

“Then help yourself,” Nick called after her. “You want this guy more than I do.”

Alena turned and looked at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”