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Blood ht teirl’s night had ended

Again, Claire’s gaze was drawn to the girl’s gold charm bracelet Pretty and delicate, it stood in stark contrast to its surroundings

Realization hit her like a quick jab to the gut

Earlier that night, the chatty girl at table four had worn a similar bracelet

Could it be the sanored her fellow diners’ dirty looks, aimed her way because she hadn’t put her cellphone down for nearly the entire dinner service Mostly she’d texted, but large gold stars had shen she’d held the phone to her ear—the saold stars now tarnished with discarded food scraps

“Hank, I know her” Her voice sounded harsh in the quiet night

He nodded, but didn’t look up froloves “Who is she?”

“I don’t know her naht”

Hank grunted in acknowledge around the Du aside an old newspaper or other piece of debris with his foot He’d taken about ten steps when he squatted by the Dued bushes, he pulled out a crowbar

Painted cherry red, it looked like the one she kept in her Jeep He held it up in a gloved hand Strings clung to one end of it Claire squinted

Hair Bright, unnaturally blonde hair stuck to the end of the crowbar

Her stoht

Clutching her hand to heruntil she reached the waist-high bushes bordering the opposite side of the parking lot Afraid she?

?d hurl her dinner, she inhaled through her nose and exhaled out her mouth several times As the warm breeze ruffled her hair, she pictured her happy place A sparsely populated beach where the sun always shone Fruity drinks with tacky paper umbrellas delivered by well-oiled andonto the shore in slowher toes buried in the white sand After a few

Turning, she faced her brother, who still stood by the Dumpster, and focused on how this could have happened