“No, I’ll do it. Go get some coffee or some food or something. I’ll make some notifications, tape off this trailer, and meet you back at the Coopers’.”

“Fair enough. I’ll see you there.” He clicked off.

Tess turned to Oliver. His face was clouded with worry; she could see that in the dim glow of the mobile’s outside lights.

“Blakely did take Janie?”

“Looks that way. From what I know of Blakely, he’s just as likely to have killed her as not.”

“Oh, Lord, for the sake of those children, I pray not.”

Tess wanted to reach out, to touch him, hold him, maybe even pray with him, but all she said was “I agree with you there. What did Bronwyn say?”

“She’s fine with Chevy staying as long as she needs to stay. But . . .” He paused.

“What?”

“Harp is still there. She insists that Chevy come home with her.”

“I don’t have the strength to argue with her. Chevy is an adult. If she wants to go with Harp, I can’t stop her. Harp’s place is quite the fortress. I just want to be able to get to Chevy in a hurry if we need to. Agent Ferguson will need to see and talk to her in any event.”

Oliver looked at Tess, an undefinable expression on his face. After a couple of seconds, he nodded. “I’ll head over there then, after you take me back to the Coopers’. Harp seems okay with talking to me; so does Chevy. Maybe I can act as a go-between of some sort. I’ll try to find out more about Harp.”

Tess thought about that for a minute. She decided he was right. He had a rapport with both women. He’d be the perfect liaison.

“Okay, I just have a couple phone calls to make. Have a seat in the car.”

By the time she was done with her notifications, it was dark and close to freezing. The clouds had cleared up, but that only allowed the temp to drop further.

Jonkey pulled up to wait for the coroner while Tess took Oliver back to the Coopers’.

“You know, Tess, this isn’t your fault.”

Tess sighed. She was so tired and wrung out, she couldn’t stop herself. “Of course it is. I knew it was a bad idea to bring Chevy here, and I knew Ken Blakely was a bad actor. Not acting on what my instinct told me is why we’re here. Two dead bodies and a missing woman.” She slammed the steering wheel with a fist. “I have rules for a reason.”

Oliver reached across the car and gripped her hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Tess, you were reasonably cautious. None of this could have been foreseen. You’re tired. You need to go home and rest.”

“I need to find a killer.”