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feet from safety!” She turned to Reba. “Are there any signs of violence?”
    Reba shook her head. “None that I can see. But I’m not going to touch her. She’s not from around here and we don’t know anything about her, so we’d better leave this to the police.”
    Sissy began to weep. “Look at her,” she whispered. “She’s like the Little Match Girl from that awful Hans Christian Andersen tale. Except that girl died with rosy cheeks and her mouth curved into a smile—lost in happy memories. This girl is just lost.”
    â€œUnless her husband found her,” Ella Mae said darkly. “And wasn’t happy about her being here.” She pulled away from Dee’s supportive arm and gestured at the silent trees and towering rock wall. “Someone drove her to the park. Saw her walk up that trail, even though she wasn’t dressed for cold weather. And then, when all she had to do was put her palms against the boulder and take one more step into safety, she didn’t. She froze to death instead.”
    â€œWe don’t know how she died, Ella Mae,” Reba said. “But I know this. You need to be protected from whatever happened. Let us deal with the cops. You go on inside and stay with your mama.”
    Verena pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her houndstooth coat and removed her fuchsia gloves in order to dial. “Reba’s right. You can’t get mixed up in this, Ella Mae. You have responsibilities to your people and to the folks coming to Havenwood from Tennessee. Nothing good will come of your involvement! I know that you felt a connection to this poor girl, but you can still honor her wishes by helping her friends and neighbors.”
    â€œI can’t leave her,” Ella Mae protested. “She—”
    â€œWe’ll take care of her,” Dee said gently and moved to stand over Eira’s body. “She won’t be alone for a moment. I promise.”
    Ella Mae wiped a tear from her cheek. “All right, but I don’t like this. She came here to meet me and I’m abandoning her.”
    â€œYou’re no good to anyone stuck at the police station for the rest of the night,” Reba said. “I’ll be back to pick you up as soon as I can.”
    â€œDon’t leave until you’ve seen how Robert Morgan reacts to the news of his wife’s death,” Ella Mae said, her voice low and menacing. “If he did this, so help me, I will make him pay for it.”
    Sissy, who was the most sensitive of the four LeFaye sisters, squatted next to Eira and began to hum, as if she were lulling a child to sleep. Ella Mae recognized the beautiful and haunting melody as “In the Bleak Midwinter.”
    Verena listened for several seconds before turning away to call the police. For a moment, Ella Mae wondered what reason her aunt would give for being on the mountain so close to dark, but she knew that whatever Verena said, the police were bound to believe her. After all, she was the mayor’s wife.
    Verena had never been able to speak sotto voce and her conversation with the emergency operator echoed into the woods and floated out over the valley below, disturbing the peacefulness of Sissy’s song. Ella Mae cringed when she heard her aunt say the words, “dead body.”
    The daylight was fading fast and the shadows were multiplying all around them. Ella Mae didn’t think it was possible, but she felt colder than before. The chill sank so deep into her bones that she began to feel numb.
    â€œGo,” Reba commanded, pointing at the boulder. “Your mama will help you through this. She’ll help with all of it, but she can’t do a thing if you insist on standin’ out here, shiverin’ like a leaf.”
    Ella Mae looked at Eira one last time. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
    Sissy began to sing very softly. “Snow had fallen, snow on snow. Snow on