“Any idea how she died?” Jed held the agitated dog at a distance.

“Nothing obvious.” Danny shook his head. “I don’t see any blood or rips in her clothing. Her throat doesn’t look bruised. Could be a wound on her other side, but I’m not touching her.”

Mandy knew evidence, not lack of compassion, prompted Danny’s declaration.

“I’ll radio it in.” Jed reached for the walkie-talkie in his pocket. He didn’t need to say that they’d be moving on. There was nothing they could do for Ashley. “We’ll mark the location.”

Mandy straightened her wobbly knees and pressed on. They combed the surrounding area but found no sign of the other two girls. Every time Ashley’s gray, mottled face popped into Mandy’s head, she superimposed an image of her brother in its place. She’d mourn the poor girl after she found Bill.

Riding on a wave of numbness, Mandy climbed back into the boat. Danny settled in the middle. They didn’t talk or make eye contact. An almost tangible wall of deceit had risen between them. His anger at her couldn’t be greater than her own humiliation. She deserved every ounce of disgust. Being lonely was no excuse for letting Nathan manipulate her.

Jed started the engine. “Should we head north or south?”

Mandy glanced at her watch and scanned the shoreline. Four hours till dark. This decision could mean life or death for Bill and the others. It weighed on her soul like a lead mantle. Where are you, Bill?

She closed her eyes for a second and sent out a silent prayer that she wasn’t condemning her brother to death. “North. He’ll want seclusion. There are too many rental cabins at the south end. The northern terrain isn’t as friendly.”

The boat chugged through the smooth water. Mandy scanned the shoreline, looking for disturbances in the marshy reeds and thick green vegetation that edged the lake. Shadows lengthened as the sun moved across the sky.

She spotted an area of crushed reeds. “There.”

Jed nosed the boat closer. “Shallow water. We’ll have to switch to oars.”

The engine cut off. Jed tilted the propeller out of the water. Danny started rowing.

The cloying odor of decomposition hit Mandy’s nose like a blow. “No.” The word slipped out as a whispered plea.

She covered her mouth with a hand. Her eyes watered, and her gaze searched the water for the source with frantic fervor. The boat slid into the reeds. Tall stalks surrounded the boat, the hull cleaving and crushing the plants in its path the way panic trod on Mandy’s heart.

Thud.

The boat struck something.

Mandy froze. Whatever they’d hit was right below her. She leaned forward, her next breath locked deep in her lungs. She forced her eyes down.