"Or they're being controlled." Without fur to stand on end, her shudder is faint - faint, but not imperceptible. "What do you think the odds are that there just happened to be a woman who'd think every single stranger is her kid handy?"

And that was the unnerving part - the woman hadn't tried to convince her, hadn't spun a plausible lie, had seemed entirely genuine. Crazy, but genuine.