Nick also knew something about grief: He knew that the worst way to have to face it was to just sit there and feel it until it finally cooled down like a dying fire and you succumbed to exhaustion and sleep. Alena needed something to do—she needed a distraction—and this was probably as good as any.

He caught a glimpse of motion to his right and looked; he saw the quick flash of a tail as a bass snatched an insect from just above the water and dove for safety. Good spot for fishing, Nick thought. Let’s hope it’s as good for us. There was a steady breeze blowing across the lake from northeast to southwest. They had divided the lake into quadrants and were covering one section at a time, keeping the boat pointed into the wind to allow the dog to pick up the scent as the breeze carried it forward. Nick knew the body could be almost anywhere, depending on how big a hurry the killer was in when he dumped it. He was hoping for a find in the shallow water near the shore. He knew the scent would be stronger there; the body would be easier for the dog to find and easier for the divers to recover. But they had already covered most of the shoreline without success; now they were in deeper water, and Nick didn’t know what Trygg’s detection threshold was. How deep was too deep? He had no idea; he just hoped that the dog’s psychic powers were operating at full strength that day.

“She needs a break,” Alena said suddenly, then rolled onto her back on the cut-pile carpet of the foredeck. Trygg immediately turned and jumped on top of her and the two of them began to play.

“You don’t have to do this,” she said to Nick without looking up.

“Do what?”

“Keep me out here while they’re digging up my father’s bones. That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?”

Nick paused. “I suppose I could tell you, ‘It’s a long way back to shore—we might as well stay out here until we’re finished,’ but there’s no sense trying to lie to a witch. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. You shouldn’t have to see that.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve been preparing for this since I was ten years old.”

“You know, down in Endor they say there’s a woman in the mountains who wanders the woods at night with a three-legged dog, searching for the soul of her father.”

Alena stopped and looked at him. “Did you ever wonder why I have a cadaver dog? Not many people do.”

“People keep some strange pets,” Nick said. “Me, I have giant hissing cockroaches from Madagascar.”