ALF’S PHONE RANG AND he grabbed it, answering without looking at the name.
Officer Letitia Landers’s voice was breathless with excitement. “We found a body!”
Panic swirled in Alf’s chest at her words, even though it took him a beat to realize who was talking to him. “Officer Landers?”
“Yes.”
“Is it...” He swallowed hard, not even wanting to think the thought, let alone say the words. “Is it a little girl?”
“I don’t know. Officer Pearl just called in with the report of a body that got stuck on a buoy at the mouth of one of the inlets. We’re sending the dive team even though technically the body’s already been found...”
The rest of her babbled explanation slipped past him unheard. Alf’s pulse pounded in his ears, his mouth was dry. The steering wheel cracked under his hands and he had
