She pulled into the circular driveway and parked. The structure was a long, rambling house, the decoration and landscaping done in a Texas ranch style, right down to the long horns mounted over the front door and the large tree stump carving of a rearing horse on the right side of the driveway. Off to the left she saw Bronwyn working with a horse in the corral. The animal was thin and limping, Tess noted as she climbed out of the car. There was also an assortment of cows and goats in the front pasture area, animals rescued and kept safe from the fire, no doubt. Since Faith’s Place had only been on standby for evacuation, the Nyes had taken in some livestock from places that had been required to vacate.

Tess and Oliver walked over to the corral.

“That a new acquisition?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, she came in a couple of weeks ago. She’s just calming down. The fires spooked everyone. I’m calling her Lollypop. Not sure what’s up with her leg; have a vet coming out later this afternoon.” Bronwyn led the animal to a trough, where Lollypop immediately stuck her nose in a pile of feed and began to munch.

After she tied the animal down and exited the corral, Bronwyn turned to Tess and Oliver. “What brings you two out here? Fire’s out, and right now, I don’t have any residents.”

“We might have a resident for you.”

Tess explained about the eighteen-year-old witness and the request for protection. And the secrecy involved. To Tess’s surprise, Bronwyn knew about Beck. Not his past and not the environmental issues, but about the trafficking.

“I’ve heard whispers about that man. I attend a lot of domestic violence conferences all over the world. Lately, they intersect with this growing worldwide human trafficking problem. Gossip has been floating around about him for years.”

“Really?” Tess was floored. She considered herself up to speed on law enforcement issues, but she’d not heard a whisper linking Beck to human trafficking.

Bronwyn nodded. “He’s cagey. Scary too. There’s a lot of fear about him. I met a woman from Malaysia, and she was convinced that Beck, or someone from his entourage, kidnapped girls from a small village there. Two villagers, mothers who wanted their daughters back, tried to complain to the government and were brutally murdered, and the story died. And it’s not an isolated incident. I’ve heard similar ones from the Philippines, Pakistan, and India. He picks places where the authorities are easily bribed.”

“So this could be a very dangerous proposition for you to house this girl,” Oliver said.

Bronwyn hiked a shoulder.

“No pressure,” Tess said. “I’ll tell the agent no if you have any reservations.”

Bronwyn’s husband, Nye, walked up. “Reservations about what?”