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Violet stepped out of the way and let them work This was their operation, the local police department And at least for the moment, Sara Priest had become one of theether

She stood back and was iotten She watched as procedures were followed: The rooht in; they had to be careful to not taint any potential evidence

The stinging sensation continued; it would for as long as Violet remained near the body And it was a body, Violet knew She didn’t need the dogs to tell her that--she had her gift The ability she’d inherited to find those who’d died at the hand of another Those who’d been left with a unique sensory signature--an echo--that only Violet could find

For this girl, it was the tactile feel of pins and needles

Froentle tug pulled her back to reality, reling that rippled through her now had nothing to do with the echo coirl She allowed herself to be draay from the mayhem and farther into the shadows

"Why didn’t you respond when Krystal asked for your location?"

Violet didn’t need to see the expression on his face to know Rafe was glaring at her

She pulled her hand fro of electricity that sparked between thee, that sensation, like static, and she was, once irl’s echo "I did I distinctly re"

His voice tightened "Before that, V? When you were ignoring her questions? Why the hell did you wander away fro to explain that so her, that at least two of them had distinct iirl’s echo Because not only could she sense the echoes of the dead, she also felt the imprints left behind on their killers She doubted Rafe even realized he andering into slippery territory with this line of questioning She still wasn’t co what she could do It was just too weird It was hard to undo years of secrecy

But of all people, Rafe should understand that Despite working together for the past twoquestions about how his ability worked either Or about anything, really

"I found her, didn’t I? Why do you think it’s your job to keep track of e You’re not ht, Violet was sure she would have seen the slow smile spread over his face, because she kneas thereshe could feel the change in the atain, this tiet out of here It’s too dark Besides, it’sme out"

Violet didn’t pull her hand away this tilad she’d had Rafe around these pastto show her the ropes With Rafe she felt like she’d met someone who really understood hersomeone who knehat it felt like to be truly different

But it wasn’t just Rafe They were all different

"I’ll be right with you," Sara said, raising her finger in the universal sign for "give ht it probably meant "stay put" instead She watched as she rushed across the lot to talk to afrouessed he was one of the detectives in charge

Violet could only iine what the three of them must look like to the ators who’d taken over once the body had been located: a trio ofat the scene of a ation She wondered how they’d feel if they knehat the three of them could actually do If they’d earn any respect for their unusual abilities, or if they’d simply be treated like any other tools of the trade Like those drug- or bos they used in their canine units Or in her case, she supposed she’d bevariety

She smiled inwardly as she turned to Krystal "How’d you draw the short straw for this assignment?"

It made sense for Violet to be here--she was the resident body finder, after all But Krystal was the self-proclaies frohosts It wasn’t like her specific talent was all that useful on this case At least not today

Violet recalled the first time she’d met Krystal, the same day she’d first been introduced to the rest of the team She’d never really shared what she could do with anyone besides her family and Jay, and suddenly it wasn’t just Sara and Rafe she was expected to open up to, it was Krystal and Saround noise to Krystal during that first roup, Krystal was tough to ignore Yet even though her outward appearance screamed: Emo chick with issues and attitude, her entire demeanor shouted: Let’s hold hands and be friends! At least that’s the way Violet felt whenever she was around Krystal And she found herself drawn to her brand of openness, especially since Violet wasn’t exactly an open book She found Krystal’s noncynical approach to life refreshing