“Let’s think: If Blakely was up on the farthest corner of the Scales property, close enough that he was able to help the shooter escape, why would he be there?”

Bender scratched his head. He looked as tired as Tess felt. Oliver had pointed out that she’d been going nonstop for far too long, and the same could be said of Bender. The hardworking guy had been at this just as long as she had. Oliver’s solution was that Tess call in the state police for help. But Tess resisted. This was her case. Maybe she was taking things too personal, but the shooter was hers and she was going to catch him, no matter what.

“There’s nothing up there that I can think of. But Ken is a poacher. He’s probably been all over after game. If he dumped Janie somewhere . . .” His voice trailed off.

“What?”

“There are some caves up there. I don’t think he ever used them for poaching, too obvious. But if he were hiding something . . .”

Like a body, Tess thought but didn’t say. Yet the information energized her.

“It’s somewhere to start. We need to retrace his steps. Can we get to the back side of the Scales property from here? I know it’s dark and it’s cold, but I have to give Janie every chance. Blakely wanted money. I can only hope that he would have planned to keep Janie alive at least until Garrett got his note. He just never had a chance to deliver his note. But if she’s somewhere exposed to the elements . . .” Now Tess let her thoughts trail off. They both knew that Janie could freeze to death if left in the forest overnight without any shelter.

Bender nodded. “I’ll have to go get our ATV, but I can follow the trail that Blakely came down to get here.”

“Then go.”

Tess turned to Jonkey. “Go ahead and go back into service. If we need you, I’ll call you back.”

Becky nodded.

The coroner loaded up his van with the body and the clothing evidence and was gone. Tess locked Nelson’s mobile home up, then sealed it off with evidence tape, in case the sheriff wanted to send a crime scene technician in the morning to go over everything more carefully.

Filled with a lot of worry and not a little fear when she thought about Janie, she stepped back to her SUV and then remembered Yarrow’s trail cams. Tess flushed hot with excitement. If she remembered right, at least one of the cams was up in this part of the forest, maybe not near Bronwyn and Nye’s fence, but more west, in the direction Blakely and the shooter had fled.