In the Killer's Sight

Chapters 1-3

He stands on the ridge at sunset, watching four teenagers hike below. One girl's ponytail swishes as she walks, and he can't stop staring at it. He imagines grabbing it. But he pulls away—he has responsibilities.

Back at his cabin, he unlocks the padlock and carries in two skinned rabbits. He stows his gear, runs a finger along a trap, and thinks of that ponytail again. No time for daydreaming. He makes rabbit stew, the recipe passed down through his family. He scoffs at the modern world—kids who watch YouTube and call themselves chefs, a society that eats frozen dinners. He hums a tune he can't place: na-na, na-na, na-na-na.

He ladles stew into two bowls and unlocks a bedroom door. Inside, two girls sit on cots in a bare, filthy room. Riley hugs her knees. Alice leans against the wall. He's frustrated they won't look at him after he spent hours hunting for them. But they will learn.

He tells them he trapped a rabbit. Riley thanks him. Alice mutters a thank you only after a long silence. Riley snaps at Alice, startling her into joining them. He sees Alice has been crying. He says grace, waiting for the girls to shut their eyes before he speaks. He asks the Lord to bless their long journey, to make them stronger and grateful.

The girls eat hesitantly. He mentions a buck he saw, the snares he set, and uses it as a lesson about God helping those who help themselves. Alice isn't listening. He asks about the song stuck in his head—a Spin Doctors song. Alice whispers the title: "Two Princes." He smiles. Alice says her mom listens to the Spin Doctors, and a tear runs down her cheek.

He brings up Mabel, who used to sleep on Alice's cot. Riley knew her. "She was nice." "It was a shame what happened to her." He regrets mentioning her—it casts a shadow over the meal. Mabel should have known better. With Riley and Alice, it will be different.

He studies Alice's long hair. Messy now, but with care it could be smooth. He tells her she should wear it in a ponytail. It would look really nice. She says okay, but she'd need a comb and a hair tie. He realizes he can't buy those in town—it would raise questions. Maybe he'd have to drive somewhere no one knows him. Just for this brat's stupid hair tie. Suddenly furious, he stands up so abruptly Riley's spoon freezes. He tells them to finish their meal and marches out, slamming the door and snapping the padlock shut.

The ponytail from this morning won't leave his mind. He paces, trying to think of hunting, but his fantasy twists: a doe bolts through the shrubs, her ponytail jumping, swish, swish, and then she's his prey, within reach, a sharp tug and a scream, clothing torn, body exposed. He gasps and shudders, ejaculating against the wall. Relief turns to shame, then rage. All he wanted was to help these girls, but they tried to seduce him like the whores they are. Alice made the conversation about herself instead of taking interest in his life.

His head pounding, he grabs the largest spare snare—a coil of iron wire. He kicks the door open. The girls freeze. He explains how a snare works, how the noose tightens when the rabbit thrashes. Then he grabs Alice by the hair, slaps away her raised hand, and slips the noose over her head. He tells her to show them. She shifts away, and the snare tightens around her throat. He tugs it tighter. Alice's eyes bulge, her face reddens, her fingers claw at the wire. He yells that no matter what the rabbit does, it only makes it worse. Riley sobs that he's killing her. He blinks. Alice's eyes are rolling. He loosens the noose, and she collapses, coughing. He takes the snare off and tells her gruffly he can teach her to make these snares if she wants. Riley weeps. He leaves in disgust. There is still so much work to be done. At least he has taught them how to catch a rabbit. One day, they will be thankful.

Officer Kate Marino drives through the rain toward flashing lights, her German shepherd partner, Nero, pacing in the back. She parks behind a patrol car. Officers Palmer and Reid are waiting. An old beige Chevy sits haphazardly on the shoulder. Palmer radioed for K-9 assistance. Kate has seen him around since she returned to the Manchester Police Department. Reid is younger, tall, new to the force.

Palmer explains: they spotted the stolen Chevy driving erratically. When Palmer stepped out, a passenger shot at him twice through the window. They returned fire. The suspects bolted into the woods. They now have a twenty-four-minute head start. The search of the car turned up a knife, weed, crack, a metal straw, and a nine-millimeter casing. The shooter may be bald, wearing a gray hoodie. The other man wore a black coat and jeans.

Kate retrieves Nero, who leaps out, tail wagging. She clips the tactical harness onto him—suspects with guns often shoot at the dog first. She attaches the thirty-foot lead. She warns Palmer and Reid that once tracking starts, Nero won't care about mud or thorns, and her attention will be on the dog. They need to keep up. Reid says not to worry. She doubts it.

Kate leads Nero to the Chevy, opens the door, and gives the command: "Nero, find them." The dog perks up, plants his paws on the seat, sniffing deeply. He picks up the suspects' scent and beelines for the trees. The chase is on.

Kate jogs after him, flashlight in hand. She trusts his lead even in the dark woods. Behind her, a muttered curse tells her one of the cops ran into something. She hopes they keep up—if the suspects lay an ambush, she doesn't want to stumble into it without backup. A childhood memory surfaces—running through the forest at night—and she pushes it deep down.

Nero runs with his nose close to the ground. To him, this is just a game of "find them." It falls to Kate to stay vigilant for an ambush. But after a few minutes, she gets swept up in the excitement. She flies over rough ground, leaping over rocks, deeper into the woods.

The wind comes from their left. Kate keeps her flashlight pointed that way—scent molecules are untrustworthy. She feels a change in the tug of the lead: Nero pulls harder, head raised, tracking wind-borne scent. They're closing in fast. With the wind shifting, a dog can easily run past its target—and this suspect is armed.

"Nero, come here," Kate says. She clicks off her flashlight, shifts to her right. Clutching her gun, she crouches by a tree. Nero slides by her side. She listens. Then: twigs snapping close by, a shifting silhouette. She trains her gun on it.

"Police! Put your hands up!" she shouts. Nero barks furiously.

"Call off your dog!" a panicked voice shouts. A flashlight beam reveals a single man holding his hands high, one gripping a small blade. "Drop the knife!" Palmer shouts. The knife falls. "Where's your friend?" Kate calls out.

"I don't know, he kept going! I din't do nothing, that was Popsicle—he was the guy who fired the gun. He's not even my friend, man!"

Palmer grabs the man and handcuffs him. Nero keeps barking. Kate quiets him. Officer Reid arrives, breathing hard, forehead bleeding from a branch. "Where's the other one?" "Kept going," Palmer says. "Book this guy. Marino and I will move on."

The suspect says the shooter is called Popsicle, and they split up about ten minutes ago when he hurt his ankle. Ten minutes. Popsicle can't have gotten far.

"You ready to go?" Kate asks Palmer. "Nero," she says. "Find them." Nero moves instantly, head lowered. He's trained to find multiple targets. One done, one more to go.

They don't have to run far. The woods open onto a different road, and a few dozen yards away stands an old warehouse with crumbling walls and broken windows. Nero moves toward it. Kate clicks off her flashlight. "Nero, sit." He sits, eyes fixed on the building.

"He in there?" Palmer asks.

"I don't know. Maybe." She eyes the broken windows. "He was definitely going that way."

Palmer calls for backup. Kate suggests they move closer, using the darkness. Nero lets out a single low whine. Popsicle is inside. She's sure of it now.

"I think we might get him to surrender," Kate says. Palmer is skeptical—he prefers waiting for backup. But Kate argues Popsicle probably saw them coming and hasn't had time to prepare. Palmer relents.

"This is the police!" he calls out. Nothing. "Popsicle!" Kate calls. "Surrender, or we send our dog in!" Nero barks loudly, echoing. She wonders if the sound invokes primal fear in the

Chapters 4-8

Chapters 4-8

Kate drives north through New Hampshire with Nero in the back, and the dog is not happy about it. After twenty minutes he starts complaining, barking and whining and pacing, until Kate has to pull over halfway to Cooperton to let him stretch his legs. The drive stirs memories. Kate has not returned to her hometown since leaving, except once, for Uncle Paul's funeral, when Anthony drove her and kept her distracted with jokes and fishing tales. Now she has only Nero. Beyond her dread of Cooperton and the possibility of seeing her father, she is worried about Alice. Eight years as a search and rescue dog handler taught her that sometimes they arrive too late.

Noelle's new house is on Elm Street in Cooperton. When Kate parks at number 17, Noelle bursts out the front door, her face red and blotchy. Kate hugs her and Noelle sobs into her shoulder. Noelle explains that Harry is already in the woods helping the search, and that her mother is inside, and Kate's father is there too. Kate deflects, saying she will drop by later, and asks for an article of clothing carrying Alice's scent. Noelle returns with a single white sock from the laundry hamper. Aunt Ruth emerges, looking aged by twenty years, and hugs Kate tightly. As Kate loads Nero into the car, she glances back and sees her father standing beside Noelle and Ruth. He lights a cigarette and meets her eyes. She tightens her grip on the steering wheel, expecting the familiar dismay, but is surprised by a tug of kinship.

At the Frederick R. State Park parking lot, over twenty Rovers and pickup trucks sit beside a police squad car. Under the police field tent, Deputy Sheriff Roy Hoover is on the radio, a tall man with a deep, commanding voice. Beside him stands Jaxon Hill, the officer assigned Alice's case, with a shock of red hair and flinty eyes. Hoover offers condolences for Anthony. Jaxon explains that Alice's phone is off, but the phone company gave a last estimated location about two miles down the main trail. Searchers have been concentrating in the northern part of the woods. Kate inspects the topographical map and agrees to start around that area.

But there is more troubling news. Jaxon tells her that Alice was seen recently at the Candy Shacks, a cluster of abandoned trailer homes and small houses left over from a shut-down sweets factory, now used by squatters and addicts. Kate is taken aback. Was Alice doing drugs? Did she go into the forest to get high? The why will have to wait; first she needs to find Alice.

Roy mentions the other dog handler, a civilian named Ben Griffin, and Kate's heart sinks. She and Griffin have clashed on past searches. Griffin arrives in a silvery SUV with a jaunty leap, thick black beard and wide-brimmed hat giving him an old-fashioned look. His friendly smile turns wooden when he sees Kate. She decides to be on her nicest behavior, for Alice. The dogs, Nero and a cheerful border collie named Frida, spend their introductions circling each other and sniffing. Griffin asks about Bella, and Kate tells him she is retired, almost ten.

Roy lays out the plan: split the area around the last known location, close to the main trail. Kate has reservations. Alice lied to Noelle when she left, and her connection to the Candy Shacks is a bad sign. There are reasons to go to the woods other than hiking, and when that is the case, people avoid the main trails. She suggests one of them check farther south, an area empty of searcher routes. Griffin pushes back, arguing both dogs should focus closer to the approximate location. Kate points out that many volunteers are already covering that ground. Roy resolves the tension, assigning Griffin to the area around the last known location and Kate to the southern area.

Roy introduces a new SAR application for coordinating the search teams. After Kate and Griffin sync into the system, Griffin proposes a grid search of about a square mile. Kate hesitates. A grid search is methodical but not optimal for hilly terrain. She suggests a route better suited to the topography. Griffin exhales loudly and says he does not want to miss anything. Kate forces herself to shut up. She takes out the plastic bag with Alice's sock, cuts it in two with a folding knife, and hands half to Griffin. Roy assigns Jaxon to accompany Griffin. When Roy expresses reluctance about Kate walking the forest alone, she insists she will be fine, that she knows these woods well. Roy tells Kate that he usually does not like family members involved in a search, but he is glad she is here.

Riley stares out the grimy window of her cell. Behind her, a visceral sob pierces the silence. Ever since the incident the day before, Alice has not moved from her cot. She cried all night. Alice sits leaning against the wall, her eyes puffy and unfocused, ugly purple bruises circling her delicate neck. The bruises are also a danger to them both. He does not like bruises. They make him feel guilty, and guilt makes him angry again.

Riley sits down on Alice's cot and gently strokes the girl's ankle. Alice draws back. Riley tries to comfort her: "I don't think he'll be back today. Usually after he gets angry, he disappears for a couple of days." There is rabbit stew, bread, and a stash of deer jerky left. Alice does not respond. Riley fills a plastic cup from the bathroom faucet and hands it to Alice, telling her to drink. Alice takes the cup with trembling fingers and sips.

Riley brings Alice stew, but Alice can barely speak through her tears. She misses her mother. Alice clings to the hope that if she does everything their captor says and never makes him angry, he might let them go. Riley looks away. She used to believe that too. She tells Alice about Mabel, the girl who slept on that same cot, the girl who was here before Alice arrived. Mabel got along with him, joked with him, seemed almost like a friend. Then one day he told Mabel she had earned the right to go outside, and the two of them drove off. Hours later, he came back alone with a scratch on his cheek and said Mabel was gone. Then he vanished for three days.

Alice whispers that maybe Mabel got away, but Riley snaps back. If Mabel had gotten away, she would have called the cops. Mabel is dead. He killed her. Riley instantly regrets her outburst when Alice starts to weep, but she stands by the lesson: they can't trust him to let them go, they have to help themselves. Alice asks how. Riley tells her to cover her bruises with makeup, so he doesn't get worked up when he returns. Alice hopes that seeing the damage he caused will make him more careful. Riley knows better. For men like him, everything is always your fault.

Alice curls up and wails, and Riley needs her to calm down. She offers a secret. At the window, she slides it open just enough to stick her hand through, grabs the bars, and yanks. They shift. She and Mabel worked on those bars, pulling and pushing them until something started to give. If she and Alice keep at it, maybe they can get the bars off. Alice's eyes light up with sudden hope. Riley doesn't tell her that it took Mabel and her four days to get this far, or that they had to stop when he noticed blisters on Mabel's hand. She just rattles the bars again and says yes, then they could leave.

Kate and Nero in the Forest

Kate's relationship with this forest has always been complicated, but she still loves the canopy of leaves, the dappled sunlight, the flowers scattered across the ground. The search groups are scattered through the trees shouting Alice's name. Kate pays close attention to the wind, which blows steady from the northeast, a friendly wind for scent work. She plans a route that keeps her and Nero roughly perpendicular to it, taking the higher ground first to avoid wasted climbs. At the top of the hill, Nero tenses and circles, sniffing carefully, but he loses interest. Kate marks the spot on her digital map and moves on.

After twenty minutes, she pulls out a stick and plays with Nero. He is young, new to this kind of work, and she has to keep him engaged. Then she takes out the sock, offers it to him, and tells him to find them. They are off again.

They walk alongside a shallow creek for hours, and Nero grows impatient. He stops a few times, suddenly alert, circles, then loses the scent every time. Kate marks each spot, encouraging him, but she knows he's frustrated. She mixes things up, plays games, hides and lets him find her, gives him rewards. It restores his focus, but costs them precious time.

Then a sudden tug draws her attention. Nero's body goes tense, his ears alert, his tail frozen, as he pulls her toward a thick tree and sniffs the roots. It is the most pronounced indication yet. Her heart quickens. But he circles the tree, paces back and forth, then looks up at her confused. Nothing. Kate tries not to show disappointment.

Two men appear through the woods, talking and laughing. One wears a black leather coat and jeans, with platinum blond hair, a thin mustache, and stubble. He introduces himself as Aden. The other, Chuck, is a large man with ruddy jowls and curly black hair. They've

Chapters 9-13

In the Woods with the Search Party

Violet trudges through the forest, throat raw from shouting Alice's name, while Liam lectures her about cryptocurrency. His real point, as she sees it, is to prove how much he knows, not to make her understand it, and she suspects he thinks this makes him attractive. Every so often she cries out for Alice, and Liam, startled, echoes her, then David Grant, their English teacher, joins in. Silence answers them all.

The search has been going on all day, and Violet expected to be the one who would find her friend. She imagined a beautiful reunion, Alice weak but alive under a tree, and everyone crediting Violet's bond with Alice for leading the way. In reality, Violet has no strong hunch for where Alice went. She follows David while Liam points out map coordinates, explaining things to her, and her romantic fantasy gives way to a darker thought. Alice might not be found today or tomorrow or the day after. When David and Liam try to call the search off, Violet insists she will keep going alone until the sun sets.

The group stumbles upon a German shepherd in a harness, followed by his handler, a small woman with a pixie haircut and huge black eyes. She introduces herself as Kate. David mentions he teaches at Cooperton, and Kate is with the Manchester PD. Violet asks to pet the dog, and Liam insists search dogs must not be distracted, but Kate smiles and lets Violet scratch the dog's ear. His name is Nero. Violet used to have a German shepherd named Sunny, who was euthanized two years ago, and just looking at Nero makes her heart ache.

Kate asks if there is a reason Violet thinks Alice would be at Tom's Creek. Violet hesitates. She has a hunch that Alice's recent behavior has to do with an older guy, and that Tom's Creek, known for secret teen meetings, might be where the two would go. She says nothing, just that it won't hurt to look. Kate studies her with total focus and then agrees, telling Violet to lead the way.

Discovery at Tom's Creek

At the creek, a peaceful clearing with campfire ashes, Nero changes his behavior. He stops sniffing the ground and raises his head, tense, panting. Kate recognizes it immediately. Whatever he is scenting is in the air and nearby. Nero bolts up a hilly incline thick with thorns, with Kate chasing after him. Violet follows, legs torn and itchy from bushes. Up near a cluster of rocks lies a pink object. Violet says in a strangled voice that it is Alice's phone.

Kate places the phone in a plastic evidence bag and then rewards Nero with a rope ball, tugging with him before letting him chew it. She seems pale and unhappy, hollow, and not like someone celebrating a find. David pushes past Violet to look at the phone, but Kate keeps hold of it. Then she retrieves a scent article, a sock Alice wore, and gives Nero the command to find. Nero picks up a trail, leads them back across the clearing, and stops at a path marked with tire tracks. He hesitates, takes a few steps toward the woods, whines, and his hackles rise. Kate says he lost the trail, possibly meaning Alice left in a vehicle. She repeats the command a few times, and each time Nero returns to the same spot, whimpering. Violet asks Kate if this is how Nero behaves when he loses a trail. Kate lies. Violet is almost certain. Whatever is happening, it horrifies Kate.

Roy Hoover's Regret

Back at his cubicle in the Grafton County sheriff's office, Deputy Roy Hoover stares at the smashed pink phone inside a plastic bag. He misses cigarettes with a passion, has taken to chewing pencils instead, and finds the idea of vaping birthday cake flavor grotesque. The local cellular store owner, Watkins, will examine the phone tomorrow. Maybe it will reveal who Alice drove off with. Roy believes Alice met someone secretly at Tom's Creek and left in a vehicle. Kate, however, shared a far grimmer theory before leaving: Alice might be dead, her body somewhere near the creek. Roy wanted to search that night, but Kate said her dog's indication was unclear and she would return at first light with her other dog, one trained to find cadavers.

Seeing Kate again haunts Roy. He recalls his worst professional failure. Years ago, when he was a young deputy, a neighbor reported screaming at the home of Frank Simmons. Roy visited and saw the young daughter, Kate, with a swollen lip. She insisted everything was peachy. Roy called Gibson, a cop in Cooperton, who promised to look into it, but later Roy spotted Kate with a bruised eye, and she angrily denied any abuse. Kate was sent to her aunt's for a while, then returned home. Over the years Roy heard rumors of Kate hiding in the woods and learned that Gibson was a lying bastard. Kate left town, eventually lost her husband to a shooting in the line of duty. Those large dark eyes have haunted Roy ever since. Now he stares at the map, marked with Kate's notes, and decides to shift tomorrow's search entirely to the area around Tom's Creek.

Dawn on the Trail

The rising sun touches the trees as Kate parks next to the deputy sheriff's pickup truck, but Roy is already gone ahead. Anxiety crackles through her mind. Will she find Alice's body today? Will she have to tell Noelle, Alice's mother, that her daughter is dead? Kate remembers Nero's behavior the evening before, the whining and raised hackles. She saw it once before, when she tried to train Nero to find human cadavers. He hated that scent. Dogs sometimes react that way, the academy trainer told her. His reaction in Tom's Creek might be the same scent again.

She finishes the last of her Starbucks coffee, having slept barely four hours, and opens the door for Bella, her older Labrador, who hops out glowing with excitement. Bella, she knows, has never accepted her retirement. The old dog has no idea why Kate stopped working with her, why she came home with a replacement puppy when Bella could still play. Kate lets Bella cheerfully bound beside her and walks to meet Roy on the dirt trail, trying to anchor herself in the moment, in what she can do now, and not in the terrifying visions of what the next hour might reveal.

Bella finds a grave

At the Cooperton campsite, Kate finds Roy kneeling by the rocks near where Alice’s phone was discovered. There is still no news from the phone repairman. But Roy has found something else: a brown smear on a rock that might be a bloodstain. Kate kneels and examines it, telling herself it could be mineral residue, while dread coils in her chest at the thought of telling Noelle her daughter might be dead. She pushes the thought aside and gives Bella the command: find bones.

Bella, retired for almost a year, hesitates. Kate wonders if she has lost the instinct. But then Bella turns, sniffs the ground, and begins trotting. Kate follows, remembering their eight years together in the New Hampshire State Police K-9 unit, and Bella’s quiet reputation as one of the best cadaver dogs in the country. Bella crosses the campsite, follows the creek into the woods, and pushes through thorny underbrush until she reaches a barren, rocky patch of ground. There she sits and barks once.

Kate exhales. It is not Alice’s body, because the spot has not been dug up recently. But something catches her eye near Bella: a strange object jutting from the earth. She puts on disposable gloves and brushes the dirt away. It is a human bone.

A boy’s memory

The story shifts to a man who claims he never obsesses over his past, dismissing nostalgia and self-reflection as pointless. Yet a memory arrives anyway, unbidden.

A seven-year-old boy sits in the back seat of his father’s car after a soccer game. His father is furious, shouting that the boy did not try hard enough, that he has to shout when he is open and fight to get the ball. The boy protests that the other kids are bigger, but his father does not care. He promises extra practice all week. The boy knows what that means. He hates soccer but wants to avoid the disappointment and rage that come with losing.

When his father stops at Mrs. Turner’s farm, the boy cries alone in the car. He pinches his thigh until the tears stop, pressing so hard that his skin turns blue and his nails leave marks. The tenderness feels strange and almost comforting. Bored, he wanders toward the backyard and watches chickens in a coop. Then he hears a woman scream from inside the house. Fearing an attack, he peers through windows. Through one window he sees Mrs. Turner naked, crawling on a bed, and his father behind her with his pants down. He thinks they are wrestling. His father wins, collapsing onto her with a grunt. The boy is horrified and queasy, unable to erase the image.

He runs back to the car and pinches himself again, digging his nails deep to drive out the bad thought. When his father slides into the driver’s seat, cheerful and whistling, the boy blurts out that he wants to practice soccer that afternoon. He makes his father promise. He wants to win next time, but more important, he does not want to lose.

The crime scene

Yellow crime scene tape circles the grave site in the forest. Forensic technicians in white coveralls work with tiny shovels and brushes,

Chapters 14-18

Chapters 14-18

At noon, Roy steps out of the field tent serving as his search headquarters. He leaves instructions with Chambers, a civilian volunteer, then heads to his Ford Explorer. It is time to talk to the Vega family, and he hopes the gossip hasn't reached them yet. In Cooperton, gossip spreads in hours and twists far from the truth. Soon people will start talking about the remains. The last thing Roy wants is for Noelle and Harry Vega to hear about the body from some nosy neighbor. He must update them first, face-to-face.

Turning onto Elm Street, he spots Kate Marino's Chevy parked in front of Noelle's house. For a quick second, he feels relief: she got there first. But Kate is just sitting in her car, staring vacantly. He taps on her window. She hasn't spoken to her cousin yet. It's not like they found Alice's body, she admits, her voice cracking. But it doesn't look good. Roy suggests he can talk to them alone, but Kate insists she should do it. He offers to go in with her. She accepts, asking for a moment to compose herself. When she gets out, her Labrador at her side, she asks if she looks like she cried. She doesn't want Noelle to know she cried, because it will make Noelle even more terrified for Alice. Roy tells her she doesn't look like she cried at all.

Kate knocks on the door. Noelle opens it, gasping, "What is it?" Kate leads with relief: they didn't find Alice yet, but there is news. In the kitchen, Noelle's eight-year-old son Jamie stands holding a pack of OREO cookies, looking guilty. Kate offers to grab takeout for everyone. Then Harry, Noelle's husband, steps into the small, crowded kitchen. Kate asks Jamie to give them a minute. The boy wants to know if it's about Alice, if they found her. Kate says they're still looking. "But you'll find her, right, Katey?" Jamie asks. "I'll do everything I can," she answers. Harry grants Jamie permission to take the Oreos to his room.

Once Jamie's door shuts, Kate delivers the news. They found something in the forest: old human remains. She is clear: the remains are definitely not Alice. Noelle's face goes deathly white. Harry lets out a sound that barely seems human. Roy and Kate repeat the essential facts: the remains aren't Alice's, the search continues. Noelle asks whose remains they are. Roy says there's no positive ID yet, but Kate adds they're old, weeks or months old. Harry squints at them: so this isn't related to Alice at all? Kate hesitates. The police are looking into every possibility. Roy explains they didn't want the Vegas to hear about this and get the wrong idea. Kate warns that police will likely talk to them today or tomorrow with additional questions about Alice. Noelle whispers, asking if the police think this is related to their daughter. Kate says they want a clear picture of everything. Noelle asks what Kate herself will do now. Kate says she'll do whatever she can, and can still help Roy with the search. She glances at Roy, and both of them seem to know that searching for Alice in the woods is probably pointless. The police think at least two dead bodies were buried in that grave. There is talk of a serial killer, and some evidence that he might have taken Alice.

Kate stays behind. Roy steps outside, relieved to escape the oppressive fear inside the house. But Kate follows him out. She wants to be involved in the investigation. Roy suggests she talk to the detectives, since she knows them. Kate says the detectives don't want her there; they think she's too close to this. Roy asks, "And aren't you?" Kate folds her arms and insists she wants to be involved. Roy explains it's not his call; the case now belongs to the police. Kate stares at him with a look that throws him back nearly twenty years, her dark eyes seeming to say, "What good are you, then?" She turns and goes back inside without another word.

He parks a short walk from Tom's Creek, unsure why he drove there. But Kate's look hounds him, so he gets out and strides past patrol vehicles and the forensic unit's van. The scene is busier now. Additional forensic technicians are painstakingly digging up the grave site. He spots the two state police detectives standing by the crime scene tape, talking to Chief Perry Gibson, one of Roy's least favorite people. Standing nearby is Gibson's son Aden, an asshole Roy has met several times. Aden smirks at him as Roy passes.

Gibson is offering his department's help to the detectives. Detectives Lopez and Fisher trade dry remarks. Roy shakes their hands. Gibson explains that Lopez and Fisher are from Major Crimes and will take charge of the case. Roy asks, "Which case is that?" The three men stare at him. Gibson says it's the murder case. Fisher and Lopez explain: two dead bodies buried there, apparently died months apart. Roy clarifies: is this connected to Alice Vega? Gibson says yes; forensic evidence apparently links the two cases. Roy seizes the opening. He asks to be kept in the loop. Gibson assures him he will. Roy presses, saying what would give him peace of mind is being part of the task force. Gibson protests that he himself is the liaison representing Cooperton. Roy then suggests he should give Noelle and Harry Vega Gibson's contact number, telling the detectives that Noelle is prominent in the town church, Harry works at the local paper, and they're frantic with worry. Gibson backpedals quickly, proposing that Roy can work with him in the task force, in tandem, if the detectives agree. Lopez shrugs. Fine by them. Roy adds that some remains may have been carried off by wild animals, and he can help canvass the woods. Fisher says that would be helpful. Roy mentions the dog handler who found the grave site, a phenomenal woman whose dogs located Alice Vega's phone from a mile away; he'll keep her in the loop as well. Gibson claps his hands, oblivious to the knowing looks the detectives exchange. Roy smiles politely. He has managed to stick his foot in the door, and Kate's as well.

Kate cannot drive off to Cooperton before sunrise this time. It is a school day, and Ivy doesn't know her mother plans to be absent again, probably for the whole week. Kate meant to tell her daughter yesterday, when Roy informed her she was now part of the task force. But first came frantic phone calls to her sergeant and the rest of the K-9 unit to cover her shifts, requiring a few Faustian bargains: the Christmas Eve shift this year is now hers, for the second year in a row. Exhausted and frustrated, she forgot to call Ivy. She remembered at eleven p.m., halfway home, and learned from Dolly that Ivy had already gone to bed. So Kate must tell her daughter this morning, while getting her ready for school. She is supposed to meet Lopez and Fisher and Roy in Cooperton by noon. Her plan is solid: pancakes for breakfast, Ivy's favorite, then drive her to school instead of the bus, then straight to Cooperton. Dolly will be at the house when Ivy returns home. Kate already feels guilty for missing the entire weekend.

She kisses Ivy's forehead and tries to wake her, but Ivy groans and rolls over, as usual. Kate goes to make pancakes and discovers they're out of pancake mix. She googles a recipe. The first one is ridiculous, calling for vanilla extract. The second seems reasonable: eggs, flour, oil, milk. She has all of them. Nero pads over and stands extra close, needy. Kate calls for Ivy again while pouring milk into the bowl. The flour is clumpy, but it's probably fine. Bella trots in, and Nero barks and snaps at her. Kate is shocked. The batter is too thick now, because she poured out too much milk, so she adds more, and now it's too thin. What time is it? Seven thirty already. She marches to Ivy's room and gawps at her daughter, fast asleep. She snaps that it's late. Ivy whimpers, asking why her mother is yelling at her. Kate says she told her three times. Ivy says she didn't hear; it's not her fault. Kate chooses response number seven: it's not about whose fault it is. Ivy needs to wake up.

Back in the kitchen, the whole egg carton is on the floor, eggs smashed. Both dogs are licking it up as fast as possible. Kate mops. From her room, Ivy shouts about her green shirt. Did Kate wash it after Thursday? No. Ivy melts down: she told her mother she needed it today. Kate suggests the white shirt. Ivy says it makes her look fat. Kate reassures her, then recalls a comment on her daughter's Instagram, and thinks that maybe today she will track down the little shit who called Ivy fat. Kate tells Ivy she's going to Cooperton again and Grandma will come over. Ivy asks if Alice still hasn't come back, her voice warbling. Kate's phone blips: Roy, with a message that Lopez and Fisher moved the meeting half an hour earlier, to 11:30. Kate mutters a curse. Ivy asks if Kate will find Alice. "We're doing everything we can," Kate says. Ivy's voice cracks.