But the car that emerged from the trees wasn’t Todd’s familiar white Mustang. Instead it was a dark Jeep Cherokee. She’d seen this car before. The door opened and the outline of a man appeared. From the way he placed his hand heavily on the roof before he came around the car, she knew that whoever he was, he was delivering bad news.

Lara jumped up and ran down the hill, forgetting that she was only dressed in a thin cotton nightgown. The sight of her emerging from the field, her hair a wild tangle of blond and her makeup still in streaks, must have been a fright. “Did you find him?”

The face was familiar, and it took Lara a minute to place it. Ben Archer, the chief of police.

Immediately he removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. “How long have you been out here? It’s freezing.”

Lara looked out in the field blankly. It was definitely lighter now than when she’d come outside. She could make out the outlines of the mountains in the distance. “I don’t know. Half an hour. I thought I heard something.”

“Jesus, Lara,” said a voice. Lara turned to see her mother at the door, pulling her bathrobe tight.

“I found her out here.”

When they reached the house, Lara’s mother grabbed her arm and ushered her up on the front porch and through the door.

Once they were inside, the police chief didn’t move much past the stairs. “We found Todd’s car.”

Lara felt the room spin and could feel herself swaying. In a flash, thoughts came. What questions should she ask? Should she be sitting or standing? Would she need tissues? An eternity seemed to pass before she realized he’d said Todd’s car. Not Todd. Ben had not said he was found dead.

“What about Todd?” Audrey had taken her by the shoulders.

“Is he hurt?” Lara added, her voice rising hopefully, because the alternative was worse.

Ben shook his head. “No sign of him.”

“What do you mean no sign of him?” said Audrey. Her mother’s voice had an edge to it, causing Lara to turn and look at her. Despite the woman’s earlier denial, her mother knew something.

“We called the state police.” Ben Archer rubbed the back of his neck. “They’re going to take the car and analyze it.” There was a haze of stubble on his face and a look of exhaustion. He clasped his hands in front of him like an undertaker at an unexpected funeral.

It occurred to Lara that, living in Kerrigan Falls, he probably hadn’t had to give bad news to anyone before, so he had no practice at it. Nothing happened here. Until now.