To successfully evade New York investigators, Blake Bram had to excel at disguising his looks. I’d spent hours studying his face in that basement, committing every pore to memory while visualizing him behind bars. Since then I’d been living under the assumption I would recognize him if he passed me on the street. Sat down next to me at Nelly’s. Walked into my karate studio. But the face on the screen bore only the faintest resemblance to the Bram I’d seen in New York. The nose was too broad, the eyebrows too arched. Bram had grown a goatee and cut his hair, and he’d gained weight, at least forty pounds. It smoothed the lines on his forehead and plumped the creases under his eyes.

He had worked hard to become invisible, but I knew beyond doubt it was him. He’d long since fixed his teeth, Abe’s most distinguishing feature, but not the pointed ears that looked so much like my own. He hadn’t managed to scrub away Abe completely. I doubted that he ever would.

“Is it him?” Tim’s voice was strained.

When I didn’t reply right away, Mac said, “Breathe, Shay. Is it him?”

“It’s him.”

“Jesus,” said Tim, and I realized a part of him hadn’t believed me, didn’t want it to be true. “The analysis came back on that blood, too. It’s definitely Trey’s. The hat, along with your positive ID, is all we need to issue an APB. I’ll connect with your old precinct in New York, let them know we’ve got a lead.” After a second, he added, “We should put a man on you, Shana. Get you some protection.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you?” asked Mac. “This guy trailed you all the way from Manhattan. What if he’s still on your tail now?”

“There’s no guarantee he stayed in A-Bay,” said Tim. “He could have taken Trey anywhere, including Vermont. Swanton’s his hometown, right? Same as you? If he’s trying to bait you, that’s exactly where he’d go.”

Tim wasn’t wrong, and that line of reasoning led me to another. It had already occurred to me that Bram could be monitoring Crissy and Felicia. What I hadn’t considered was that he might be watching my parents, too. I glanced again at the picture window. My mother was still there, unmoving.

“I’m with my family,” I said. “It’s a tiny town, and I know what he looks like now. If he’s here, I’ll find him.”

“That’s the last thing I want you to do.”

“I think what Tim means,” McIntyre said, “is that you’re in a vulnerable position out there. Unarmed, and miles from backup.”

“Maybe you should come back,” Tim said and paused. He seemed to be struggling with something. “I know you’re there for your family. I know they need you. But Shane, Bram’s got this kid, and you know more about him than anyone. We need you here, too.”

Sometimes, I thought back to Tern Island and what it was like to work that first case with Tim. I hadn’t wanted to tell him I’d been abducted, was mulish in my refusal to show any sign of weakness. The shame I felt over my failure to apprehend Blake Bram had been crippling. All of that was a piece of spinach stuck in my teeth compared to what I felt now.