Her teeth were too sharp, and the skin of her mouth was too dark, like the ink-stained water at her feet.

The water on the floor rippled out from him in waves, to the rhythm of his trembling. He stared and held his breath.

“Thank you.” She turned, and walked out of the room.

Tyler watched her go, her nightgown clinging, her long wet hair reflecting green in the sunlight from the window, trailing down her back. He watched her turn the corner into the living room, leaving inky black footprints in the carpet.

He stood, trying to pull air into his lungs. He felt his heart pounding erratically, fluttering and pausing. He choked, moaned, and leaned onto the table, clutching at wet newspapers, crumpling them in his hands. Calmness returned slowly, in the form of exhaustion.

He gathered the newspapers and hurled them out the back door. He pulled towels from the closet and mopped up the inky water. He sponged Mandy’s not Mandy’s dark footprints from the carpet, soaking up the damp trail that led through the house and back to her bedroom.

He took the towels to the basement and put them in the washer before stumbling to his desk and sinking into his chair. His hands still trembled. He sat, rubbing his face until the adrenaline faded. He lowered his forehead to his arm on the desk and fell asleep.

***

The doorbell woke him. He gasped as he sat up, choking on the saliva collected in his mouth. He massaged his chest, climbing the stairs as the bell rang again, followed by a firm knock.

He reached the door and pulled it open. Two police officers stood on the porch. The younger of the two looked down at a file in his hands, eyes scanning the page. The older officer removed his hat.

“Mr. Stear, may we come in?”

No choice.

“Sure. Yes, of course, come in.”

They walked past him to the living room. Tyler followed them and invited them to sit.

“Is your wife home?”

“No. Well, yes—she is, but she’s sleeping and really needs it. Is there something I can help you with?”

The officers sighed in unison, glancing at each other. “We’ve found a body, Mr. Stear. A fisherman found it, in a tide pool on the beach about fifty miles north of here. The body fits the description of your runaway, Mandy.” He paused. “There isn’t much left to identify—I’m sorry, Mr. Stear—but she’s of the right age and build, and our medical examiner says she shows signs of having delivered a baby shortly before her death.”

Tyler gaped at them. “That can’t be her,” he said.

“Well, we can’t be certain yet, of course. There’s some work that must be done. Would you please donate a DNA sample?”

What? “No!” He stood.

“Excuse me?”