“Beck, so nakedly evil. Casually talking about taking innocent lives.” He held Tess’s gaze, pain in his eyes. “I saw no shadow of hope, and it breaks my heart. But I will pray for him. Because even though I can’t see it, I still believe God is able to break through to him.”

Tess stepped forward and put her arms around Oliver’s waist, pulling him close. “That’s one of the things I love about you, always trying to find the good in people.”

She felt his lips on her forehead and he whispered, “And one of the things I love about you is that you never give up fighting for justice.”

53

Cyrus Beck began his jail career at the Jackson County Jail, and according to Gabe Bender, who transported him for Tess, he complained and screamed for his lawyer all the way into Medford.

“He says he’ll beat this case like he’s beaten all of the others,” Gabe told Tess when he called her from the jail. “What about Harp?”

“Cold case guys cleared her.”

“Wow. Wonder if she’s still going to be a recluse?”

Tess considered the question after she ended the call. Her last glimpse of Harp was of a woman who looked as if the monkey was finally off her back. Her phone rang again—Steve this time. He’d returned the cold case guys to their hotel.

“What do you think? Livie is totally in the clear. Good news, huh?”

“Yeah, it is. And she’s got a new project. She’s going to help Chevy catch up on her education. It seems like Livie is inching her way back into society.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“You like her?”

“I do. I know there’s an age difference, but she is very intriguing.”

Tess smiled, thinking that they would be good for each other. “Thanks, Steve, for all your help.”

“No problem.”

She and Oliver were at the perimeter of the bomb-safe area, just outside Wild Automotive.

The sheriff’s bomb disposal team had evacuated the town center. It turned out Beck wasn’t lying about the explosives in his rental car. It was indeed wired and packed with enough explosives to take out half of downtown Rogue’s Hollow. The bomb squad commander told Tess the reason it didn’t go off was that, for all his bluster, Beck’s device had a range limit after all.

“The amount of explosives in that car would have leveled half your town,” he said.

“What now?” Oliver asked.

“I guess we wait.”

A good hour passed before the squad defused the bomb and called all clear.

Just before they climbed out of the car, Oliver asked, “Did you ever think that maybe Beck was bluffing and you should call him on it?”

Tess rolled her eyes. “Maybe for a second, but there were too many lives to roll the dice. Besides, I had a secret weapon.”

“What’s that?”