Saint travels to Breckenridge, where Summit County police have sealed off an old lodge and the nearby woods after the discovery of a child’s remains. The atmosphere at the scene makes clear the gravity of the find, and Saint immediately understands that this kind of case never becomes easier for the people who handle it.

After putting on protective gear, Saint follows the local chief down a steep slope to a construction area for new homes. Near a cluster of stones and mounds of damp earth, she sees that the child was buried with clothing, shoes, and a schoolbag, and that only bones remain beneath the preserved fabric.

Saint carefully removes rosary beads from the grave and studies their marbled blue beads and medal. She also lifts a purse from the debris and opens it with care. When the chief asks whether she knows the girl, Saint answers that she knows all of them, revealing that she recognizes this victim as part of the larger pattern of missing children she has been carrying for years.