Present Day
The dog ran off the side of the jogging trail, heading straight for the riverbank.
“Baxter! Get back here now!” the jogger yelled, as his dog disappeared into the fog. Baxter was a rescue mutt, part hound, and the scent of animals in the woods could prove irresistible to him. But he knew better than to leave the trail during a training run.
“Baxter!” the dog’s owner called again through rapid breaths, as he slowed his pace. He scanned the woods for any sign of his pet, and found none. “Damn dog.”
From somewhere to the left, Baxter started barking like mad. The jogger heard the note of alarm in the sound, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Bears? he thought, and picked up a stick. He’d never once seen a bear in ten years of running the river trail, but it wasn’t impossible.
“Baxter?” he said, his own voice shaky now, as he followed the sound of barking through the fog, making his way down the steep side of the bank.
Closer to the water’s edge, the mist lifted, and he saw his dog standing guard over the thing that had caught his attention. The body of a woman had washed up on the bank. Her skin was blue-tinged and her eyes were wide open. Her golden hair spread out around her like a mermaid’s. He took a step closer and saw the mess that had been the top of her head.
“Jesus,” the jogger whispered, as the dog looked up and began to whimper.