“There was a winter moon,” Brandt continued, “shining on the snow and ice over the lake. Emma made like she had a call of nature, and her captor led her off with a loop around her neck. When they got to the lake, she jerked it from his hand and ran out on the ice. They could all hear the ice cracking, and the other women called and begged her to come back. But she kept going and finally turned. She stretched her arms out and called her dead husband’s name out to the heavens, then started jumping up and down. After four or five jumps, the ice opened and she was gone.”
Duncan sensed motion behind him. Will darted past them, snatching the bracelet from the rock and running toward the lake as if to pitch it back into the water. But as he passed the tinker, Hayes grabbed his arm.
“It’s all th
