Gavin tried to regain his footing but tripped in the darkness and fell back into the scrub.

When Sadie came up for air, Gavin heard splashing, but no scream. That was good—or was it? When he finally managed to get back to his feet, he saw Sadie twelve feet out, struggling to right herself.

He wanted to leap in and finish the job, but he froze. Was she awake enough to fight? How deep was the water? Would the current pull him toward the falls? That synaptic flurry of doubt lasted a mere second or two, but it was enough to keep him on the shore until his window of opportunity had disappeared.

Sadie sloshed and flailed and fought to stay alive. He waited for a scream or maybe a yell for help, but none came as the current pulled her away from him and toward the dam. St. Anthony Falls would have her soon, and no one could survive its crushing power.

But then, Gavin saw something that confused him. At first he thought that the darkness was playing a trick, but it wasn’t. The splashing, which had once been erratic and wild, had taken on rhythm, like the strokes of…a swimmer. She was swimming away from the falls!

Goddammit!

The hydroelectric dam powered a station on Hennepin Island only a hundred yards downstream from where Gavin stood. He watched Sadie flutter and fight to stay alive, her clumsy strokes pulling her toward the jagged riprap on the upstream point of the power station. Lights from the plant illuminated the river enough that Gavin could see her head bobbing in the water—loose on her shoulders, but moving in rhythm with the strokes.

No! No! No!

Gavin climbed the bank and ran to the Bronco. He stomped on the gas, causing the old truck to bounce over the curb so hard that he hit his head against the roof. He willed himself to slow down. Keep your wits. Panic is the enemy. This is where a lesser man would screw things up. You’re no lesser man.

Once again in control, he drove calmly off the island and down the lane that followed the river, toward the gate of the power plant. A surveillance camera on the building’s roof forced him to circle the block and park where the camera couldn’t see him.

Sadie lay on the rocks, her body limp, like a shipwreck survivor washed upon a hostile shore.

Options: He could pull the hoodie over his head and climb the fence, drag her back into the water, and drown her. She would put up a fight. Plus, the power plant had cameras and a security staff. He would never make it back off the island before he was spotted—but would they be able to identify him?

Before Gavin could come up with a better alternative, a man appeared in the doorway of the power plant, stood for a moment as if confused, and then walked toward Sadie. As he neared her, he must have realized what lay on the rocks, because he ran the last few yards to pull her to safety.