Jason wobbled, lost his balance, and fell. The rope was yanked out of Seth’s hands. Jason vanished under the water, but his head bobbed up, mouth gasping for air. The water pushed up into his face as it streamed past him.

“Stand back!” Victoria shouted. Seth and Trinity jumped out of the way as she backed up the vehicle. The water formed a wake around Jason as Victoria dragged him into shallow water. Seth pulled him up out of the cold, shivering and sputtering.

“I tripped.” Jason spit out a mouthful of water.

“We noticed,” Seth said as he inspected the teen. His jeans were ripped at the knees and fresh blood flowed, but he didn’t seem too hurt.

“Are you okay?” Trinity untied the rope with shaking hands. “You’re bleeding.”

Jason looked at his knees. “I can’t even feel it.”

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Victoria announced. She pulled off his wet coat. “Take off your shirt.” She shed her thick jacket and held it out to him. Jason stripped to his bare chest and pulled on her jacket. The teen shivered violently.

“I don’t need a hospital,” he argued. “I’m just wet.” He inspected a knee. “These are scrapes, nothing bad. My grandfather lives a hundred yards away. I can dry off there and get warm.”

“How far is the closest hospital?” Seth asked.

Victoria shrugged. “Back in town. There’s probably an emergency care center in Seaside.”

“I’m fine,” Jason insisted through blue lips. “I just need to get dry and warmed up.”

“Wait, your grandfather lives up the road?” Victoria asked.

“Yes, he was expecting us. That’s where we were headed when her car got swept off the road,” Jason added, rubbing his hands up and down his arms through Victoria’s coat. Trinity nodded in agreement.

“Does he have an old barn?” Victoria questioned.

Jason’s teeth rattled as he bobbed his head.

Seth couldn’t feel his feet, and Jason had to be colder. The sooner they warmed up the better. “Sounds like we’re headed to the same place. Let’s go.” He eyed the water level across the road. “I think we’re good. This thing is a lot higher off the ground than Trinity’s car. The deepest part is the hollow Trinity’s car swept into. Stick to the opposite side of the road.”

They piled into her SUV, and Seth cranked up the heat to full blast. Victoria slowly drove through the rushing water. Her vehicle’s heavy weight keeping the tires securely on the road. Seth exhaled as they broke out of the water. “Christ. I don’t want to ever swim again.”

“Me neither,” added Jason from the backseat. “You’ll see my grandfather’s place a ways up on the left.”

“Anyone else live out here?” Seth asked. “This is really secluded.”

“There’re a few homes. You’d have to drive another mile or so.”

“Over the river and through the woods,” muttered Victoria. Seth snorted.

“There it is!” said Jason.

Seth spotted a faint light ahead on his left.

Please let the heat be working.

Mason was ready to leave the office and call it a day. Ray was on the phone, getting a grocery list from the wife for a stop on his way home. Mason knew he still had at least a dozen frozen dinners and pizzas in his freezer, so he had no need to stop at the grocery store. As long as he had something to put in the microwave and coffee for the morning, he was good. There’d been a time when he and his ex had discussed dinner plans every day and what to feed Jake. He didn’t really miss it. Food should be uncomplicated, not requiring thought and planning. Sure, he was shoveling chemicals and processed crap into his body. But who wanted to live forever?

He’d passed on the description of Katy’s car, but outside of recommending a BOLO, there wasn’t a lot he could do. He was slipping his coat on when his desk phone rang.

“Callahan.”

“Glad I caught you, detective,” came the voice of the front desk sergeant. “There’s a woman here asking to talk to you about the Lorenzo Cavallo case. Says he was her father-in-law.”

Mason’s ears perked up. Which daughter-in-law had finally come forward? “Send her up.” He took his coat back off and draped it over the back of his chair, giving Ray a signal to wrap up his call.

Ray covered part of his cell. “What is it?”

“Got a Cavallo daughter-in-law who wants to talk.”

Ray’s eyes lit up, but then he grimaced, pointing at his phone.

Yep, tell the wife you’re gonna be late again.

Mason dug through a stack of papers on his messy desk, looking for his notes on the original interview with Lorenzo Cavallo. Sadly, the old man had been murdered before finding out that his sister was one of the original circle women. Maybe that was for the best. Would this daughter-in-law care? If she did, would she be able to do anything about it?

A uniform opened the hall door, let a woman through, and pointed at Callahan. Mason studied her as he moved across the room. Mousy was his first impression. Large brown eyes rapidly took in the room, her gaze skittering from object to object as if she expected them to bite. Her hair was gray, and she clutched a purse to her waist like Mason was about to snatch it. Her red rubber boots were her only piece of color on her outfit. The boots looked huge, like she’d had to borrow them to go out in the rain.

“Mrs. Cavallo?” Mason held out his hand, and she gingerly shook it.