Darkness had fallen outside. The moon was a quarter moon, the stars hidden by a thick blanket of clouds. In a single, fluid motion, I brought my index fingers to my mouth and let out a loud and piercing whistle. Through the discordant buzz of bugs and the rustling of wind weaving through the grass, I listened for Saskia.

I heard human footsteps instead.

“You rang?” Gabriel said dryly. His white T-shirt caught the scant moonlight—bad camouflage for someone who liked sneaking up on people.

“I wasn’t whistling for you,” I emphasized.

“Well, that is a relief.”

I did not, as a rule, always pick up on sarcasm—but Gabriel wasn’t exactly subtle.

An instant later Saskia came tearing around the side of the house.

“Your dog doesn’t trust me,” Gabriel said, sounding almost amused. “She accepted my offering of food, but she wasn’t happy about it. Probably a sign of discernment on her part. I’m not really the trustworthy type.”

I had a way of looking at people that tended to unnerve most, but Gabriel was apparently an exception, because he didn’t bat an eye when I turned to face him.

“Would it be inappropriate for me to ask if the great Cady Bennett has found anything yet?” he asked. “Because I would hate to be inappropriate.”

The way he said Cady’s name had my hackles rising. “We found the trail.” I had nothing to prove to him. I knew that, and yet…“There’s a chance the girl is alive.”

“Maybe this kid’s alive.” Gabriel angled his face toward the night sky. “Maybe she isn’t. Around here?” His face was shadowed in the moonlight. “People go missing all the time.”

Chapter 13

Ness put me in a bedroom on the second floor. My first instinct would have been to open the window, but it was already open. That, along with the fact that Free’s bag was sitting on the floor, told me that we’d be sharing.

As I took in the rest of the room—a double bed, a dresser, an antique mirror—I realized that it had once belonged to a teenage girl. The pictures tucked into the frame of the mirror told me who that girl was.