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shoulders, set her jaw, and fixed a picture of her niece in her head, then began to read furiously.
    * * * *
    Raena laid her head down on the desk, tears looming. She willed them to cease. She had been sitting here perusing documents since two in the afternoon and it was now eight thirty.
    She had ignored three cell phone calls from Bella, since she couldn't bear to say she had found nothing as of yet.
    She glanced and tried one more of the two remaining boxes from the constable's office of 1903. She shuffled through the papers and her eyes fixed on something. She shuffled faster, attempting to find the list she had glimpsed. Printed on ancient paper was:
    ...and the following children were not recovered as of this writing from the year of our Lord 1900 to 1905.
    Andrew Keener—aged three years
    Abigail Anthony—aged four years
    Trenton Wiles—aged two years
    Susan Morris—aged five years
    Quinn Salsgiver—aged three years
    and more names continued down the page.
    It continued;
    We feel we have caught the beast. A drifter by the name of Alfred Littleman was apprehended. He maintained his innocence till he swung on the gallows on 5 Septembre, 1905 . May justice be served and God have mercy upon his soul.
    "Six children in five years! Chris, I found something!"
    Chris came bolting down the stairs, her face alight with excitement.
    "What is it, Rae?” She let Chris examine the document. “I'll make you copies, but don't tell a soul."
    "Ignorant is my middle name."
    "Ha! You should do standup!” She retorted and took the papers and disappeared out of sight again.
    Gratefulness flooded through Rae as she waited. She and Chris had been friends since childhood, but they had separated to go to different colleges. They both had returned to Rhinebeck with unforeseen occurrences—the death of Rachael's husband and Chris’ baby sister becoming gravely ill. They shared a common bond of family duty, and became fast friends again upon returning.
    Rae hurried home from the library. The September night was cold and she wished she would have driven, despite the fact it was only a few blocks from the inn. She spied the inn and noted only a few lights in the lower apartments. All the guests had checked out after “the incident."
    They did not have any guest reservations untill Wednesday, and she was glad. They needed time to put their collective heads together. She burst through the front door and Sam, Bella and Rachael descended upon her.
    "Well?” Rachael demanded. Rae felt fear as she gazed at her twin; normally so strong and willful, Rachael looked as if she might go mad at any moment. Her long auburn hair hung in tangles where she had been twisting it with anxiety.
    "No calls? No ransom?” Rae requested.
    "No!” was the collective reply.
    "I did find something, but I'm not sure what it means for Morgana."
    They took turns examining the documents.
    "Okay,” began Sam calmly. “We need to find a common thread with the disappearances now that we have some names."
    "We'll divide the list and start tomorrow,” said Bella decisively. She could see her time had come to hand out directives as the twins’ resolve and composure appeared to be fading. She and Sam said goodnight and walked out the back door toward their cottage, holding hands.
    "Look at them,” said Rae as she peered through the kitchen curtains, “married five years and still ridiculously in love. Love can be extremely powerful."
    Rachael rolled her eyes and said, “Hey, Jane Eyre, let's get to bed."
    "Oh, excuse me, Satine. I forgot about your amazingly callous soul for a second."
    Rae's expression was somber when she said, “Rachael, can I bunk with you tonight?"
    "Of course."
    "But I don't want to talk, Rae. I can't.” She headed toward her room.

Chapter 11
    Isabella tossed and turned. Sam was awake and attempted to cover her up. She rolled again as she breathed heavily and her eyes were involuntarily moving with the action in her dreams.
    It was no use. He