Tilly has been over-reactive for the last half hour, sniffing at the ground, and her tail raised with her ears rotating constantly. It's like the dog caught a scent or sound she couldn't shake off.

Claudia and Grace had spent the afternoon drinking strawberry milk and making bracelets, and in the morning Claudia had woken Grace up with the soft sound of Ellen Bass' poem titled "The Thing Is".

And then Tilly had started scratching at the front door, so the girls went rubbing at their tired eyes, pulling clothes on, holding hands and stealing kisses to the back of each other's hands, as the walked towards Tilly and the front door.

"Jeez, girl, calm down," Grace cooed at the old dog as she pushed the door open, exiting out into the woods with Claudia.

But too little to late, Tilly went bounding as quick as her old paws would take her down the woods in a familiar path to Claudia. Towards the reservoir.

"Tilly!" Claudia yelled out at the dog as she went jogging after her, with Grace following. God knows where that dog could wander off to, and Claudia is very protective over her.

It didn't take long, the reservoir and the house are hardly far apart.

By the time they got there, Tilly was nudging her nose against the thigh of a figure standing by the edge of the reservoir. Foliage, trees, and shrubs sprouting at the sides of the lake.

Claudia and Grace have half the sense to hide, but there is no way someone could recognize Claudia as being involved with Veronica Fox's drowning, and neither Grace (if her mom even bothered putting out a missing person's notice). Besides, the person's head has already turned and they've spotted them.

Claudia can't help but wonder, how long have they been standing where the water and mud splits? As long as she and her mother did, collecting rocks to stuff in their pockets? She wonders if this person has rocks stuck in their pockets, or if they're just enjoying the smell of the woods and the sight of the small lake?

Grace is a bit nervous at first, but quickly gets over it, stepping a bit closer.

"Hey! You met Tilly! She's clingy, isn't she?" Grace says, a smile on her lips, with Claudia sitting tight at her side. Claudia's never been a people's person, that's what made Grace worming into her heart so special.