Puck looked at Jack, letting him know that they’d need that. He slung it over his shoulder.
For a few minutes she disappeared into the building and returned with a new nylon rope, the kind used in rock climbing.
Jack glanced at Kate and Sara. Their eyes were wide, but they said nothing.
They followed Puck across the estate, staying close to the trees. If the place hadn’t been cleared of workers, they would have been seen, but it was eerily silent.
They reached the fenced-off area with its signs warning of danger and forbidden entry. Conservation Zone, a big placard read. If the place had been full of ravenous wolves it couldn’t have been marked more clearly.
There was a locked gate, but Puck walked past it.
“Jack could open that for us,” Kate said. “He has a criminal history and can break into any lock.”
Jack started to defend himself, but Puck gave her funny little laugh.
Kate and Sara turned at the sound.
Sara was the first to break into a grin. She could always be counted on to say what was on her mind. “I think I like you.”
Puck blinked at the bluntness, but then smiled. She led them a few feet away to a place with a fence post at an angle. She climbed over it easily. Jack went next, then lifted Sara down. He offered to help Kate, but she got over by herself. They followed Puck as she led them on a wavering path through ferns and grasses.
It was growing lighter, with the sun beginning to peep through the trees. As they went deep into the conservation area, they saw no signs of people. It was very quiet. Isolated.
Abruptly, Puck halted and they stopped behind her. She turned to them. “I have something to show you,” she said. “It’s... It’s...”
“It’s what?” Sara asked.
Puck hesitated.
“Whatever it is,” Jack said, “we’ve seen worse.”
“I don’t think so,” Puck said.
They looked at her, waiting.
“It’s a body,” Puck said softly.
The three of them didn’t flinch.
“Does this have to do with what happened the night of the disappearance?” Sara asked.
“Yes,” Puck said. “You’re sure you want to see this?”
They nodded.
“Maybe Diana and the groomsman didn’t run away together,” Kate said.
“I know he didn’t.” Puck paused. “He couldn’t.”
“Ah,” Sara said, and the others nodded. They had an idea whose body it was.
Puck waved for them to go stand by a tree. They did, but when she started to drag branches across the ground, Jack dropped the ladder and hurried to help her.
“No!” Puck cried, but not in time.
Jack had stepped where there was nothing. His left leg disappeared to his knee. To balance, he threw himself backward, and landed on the ground on his back.
Kate and Sara had seen him nearly fall, and they leaped to help.