Reyna stood behind the police fence, in front of the trail that led to Nico's house. The air hadn't changed much from last night, so it still felt as unsettling as it did the night before. As warm as it was, Reyna had goose bumps on her arms. It didn't help that she was standing in front of a crime scene. Other people had started crowding around her.

Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend, ran up to the front, crying.

"Where is he?" She shouted. "This can't be happening."

Piper ran up next to her and gave her a hug. "Shhh, Annabeth. It's going to be alright."

"No," Annabeth screamed. "No, he can't be dead. He can't be."

It hurt Reyna badly to see Annabeth like that.

All of a sudden, Will Solace walked up next to Reyna. He shook his head. "I can't believe this happened, and so close to Nico's house."

Reyna nodded. "Frank told me. How'd you find out?"

"This morning, on the news." Will said.

They both looked over at the scene until they saw Nico and Hazel walking down that road. They moved passed the policemen and ducked under that tape.

"Sorry I'm late." Nico said. "Some of the police men were questioning us."

"Did they think you had something to do with it?" Will asked.

Nico shrugged. "We're considered suspects. Since it happened so close to our house."

Hazel put her hand on her brother's shoulder. "I'm going to go find Frank. I'll see you later." She said, then ran off.

"You guys should come to my house. Hylla's making pancakes." Reyna said. They all agreed and started walking down the road.

The town of Lakeshore was small, and quiet. It was more like a village than a town. They didn't even have a school, which meant a forty minute bus ride to the next town over. It was surrounded by woods and swamp, so who knew what could have been out there. Everybody from the town knew each other, and it was hard to keep secrets there. But the reason why someone would kill a teenager was a whole different problem.

As they got to Reyna's house, Reyna's neighbor, Octavian, was standing outside washing his car. Octavian was another student that went to there school, and he lived with his grandmother. The difference between them was that his grandmother was the sweetest old woman Reyna had ever met, and Octavian… not so much.

But today, he seemed to be in a cheerful mood. He whistled as he sprayed the water onto his shiny red mazda3.

"What is wrong with you?" Will said to him. "Someone just died down the road you know."

Octavian looked over and frowned. "Oh, I know. It's very sad. But, a car still needs to be washed, and I'd rather not do it thinking about death at the moment."

"Will, just leave him alone." Reyna said. She'd dealt with Octavian enough to know when not to start an argument.

Will scowled. "Fine." He turned his back and started walking up to Reyna house. Nico and her followed behind.

Inside, Reyna's sister, Hylla, stood at the stove, cooking a pancake. She looked at them. "Hey, you guys hungry?"

"Starving." Nico said. "The police gave my dad so much trouble, I didn't have time to eat."

"What exactly did they ask you?" Reyna asked, sitting down at the table.

Nico shrugged. "Just what we knew about Percy, and what we were doing the time he died. I told them the truth. I knew Percy, and I was in my room the whole night."

Will looked down. "I hadn't talked to Percy at all yesterday. Now that I think about it, I didn't see him at all yesterday."

"I did." Reyna said. "I think he skipped some of his classes, he didn't look in a very good mood."

They sat silently for a moment. It seemed so bizarre.

"I'm sure the police will figure it out." Will said finally.

"That doesn't make me feel any safer." Said Reyna. "There's no a lot of people in this town. Who would have a reason for murder?"

"Maybe it wasn't matter." Nico suggested.

Reyna raised her eyebrow. "You mean suicide?"

Nico put his hands up. "I have no idea."

Hylla served everyone a pancake and asked, "Where was the body found anyway?"

"At the small cove by the docks." Nico answered.

"I heard on the news a woman found the body this morning when she was walking her dog." Will said, filling his mouth with pancake.

Reyna's eyes narrowed. "Frank told me last night."

"Me too." Nico said.

Will looked confused. "But, the police didn't find until early this morning. How would Frank know?"

An uneasy feeling settled over them.

Nico broke the silence. "Guys, this is crazy. How can we be sure Frank knows something?"

"It wouldn't hurt to ask." Reyna said. "Again, until the police figure out what happened, I want to know I can sleep safely in my own house. It doesn't help that I live right next door to Octavian."

All three of them shuddered in unison at the sound as his name as a joke, then they all laughed.

"Just don't get yourselves murdered." Hylla said.

"Are we seriously going to do this?" Will asked.

Nico shrugged and put his hand in the middle of the table. Reyna put her hand on his, then Will put his hand in too. They were in this together.