Elsie heard the words, but didn't exactly process them. She was looking right at Tyb when he said them, but as her eyes searched his, there was nothing else that could be said. This had been intentional, her baby brother murdered in broad daylight. It was impossible to wrap her head around. The grief was unlike anything she'd ever felt. This was different than losing Bentley; this was senseless and unimaginable. Her poor mother was going to be impossibly wrecked. Poor Charlotte! Telling her was going to absolutely destroy her.

Just thinking of how the rest of her family was going to take the news saw Elsie collapsing into Tyb. She was overwhelmed and heartbroken. All she could do was sob into his shoulder, still clinging to him as if he were the only thing keeping her upright. How could someone do this? Her thoughts came in a jumbled mess, bouncing around her head and completely paralyzing her from doing anything else but cry it out.