Tess’s throat was still sore from all the smoke she’d inhaled two days ago, and her muscles protested vehemently after the work she’d put them through in the smoky heat of the fire. Her mind had worked as hard as her muscles that day. Livie Harp was as big an enigma as anyone Tess had ever met. She was still trying to wrap her brain around the woman. She didn’t remember ever meeting anyone so stubborn or evasive. Of course, her first thought was that Harp was a fugitive from justice—why else would she be so fiercely protective of her privacy? But as she observed Harp over the few hours she worked with her, Tess’s instincts didn’t ping criminal. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it seemed as if there was more hurt in Harp, not criminality or meanness. And there was nothing on her property to indicate criminal activity, only a perfectly self-contained setup, and here in this part of Oregon, that was not uncommon or illegal.

In any event, Harp’s defensible space helped the firefighting effort. Tess saw the clear line of demarcation at the edge of her property, and that enabled them to do battle, jumping from dry tree to dry tree just outside the property boundary. Then, when she feared she was at the end of her strength, help came in the form of a C-130 dropping fire retardant. It was almost as scary as the fire, watching the huge plane deliver a load of fire retardant a scant few feet away, but it saved the Harp property, and Rogue’s Hollow, from further devastation and protected the recluse’s house from flames. As it dropped a cloud of reddish retardant, Tess could only gape in awe. The landscape looked otherworldly, engulfed in a reddish, smoky haze. Two more drops and they were winning. The fact that the wind had died also aided the fight.

In the end, Livie Harp lost a couple of pine trees and some perimeter brush. Tess had tried to engage the woman in conversation, but it was obvious that she played everything close to the vest.

“How do you support yourself out here, all alone?”

“I do Internet security. I test secure banking websites for flaws, find them, then tell companies how to make their sites more secure. I work from home. No need to travel anywhere.”

“Aren’t you lonely out here by yourself?” Tess had asked.

Harp offered the vaguest of smiles. “Life is easiest and safest when I’m around people I trust. I trust Livie Harp.”

That was the extent of what Tess learned, along with Harp’s website. It was something Tess wanted to look into as soon as possible.