My phone vibrated on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with the familiar group call icon from Jamie and Soren. I answered without thinking, still wrapped in Kasteil's oversized shirt, legs tucked under me on the couch. Chow Chow had abandoned my lap for her favorite spot by the heater, snoring softly, her massive body rising and falling in peaceful rhythm.
"Did y'all see the news?" Jamie's voice burst through the speaker, high and urgent, cutting straight through the quiet of the house.
"Yes," I replied, voice quieter than I meant it to be. "I don't even know what to say."
"I heard it's a child," Soren said, his tone flat, like he was still processing the words himself.
"Oh my," I gasped in shock. I only knew it was a body. I didn't know it was a child. A child? What? I had seen a little about it on the Internet after Kasteil left.
"Hasn't that lake been frozen for months?" Jamie asked.
"My exact thought," Soren said. "How come there's a child in it?"
