“If her movements are restricted, it’s for her own good.” It was black-and-white to Tess: Beck was evil at all levels. Chevy needed to see that and lie low until she could testify. She wasn’t only jeopardizing herself, she was jeopardizing the entire case against Beck. Isaac Pink came to mind. Is this what cost him his life? An ungrateful witness who by her actions brought killers to his house?

“She’s young—you can’t expect this to be easy.”

“If she wants to live to be old, she’ll need to buckle down and listen to the people who are trying to help her.”

Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder. “You sound like Agent Bass.”

“Hmmph.”

He looked back toward Chevy, who finally seemed to be listening to Dr. Peel.

Tess took a deep breath. She knew how tangled court stuff could get. She was sure Beck’s first move would be to try to get all the evidence thrown out. If that happened, there would be no need to keep Chevy here and no need for the FBI to continue with her protection. She was eighteen; she’d be on her own.

“Her cover could be completely blown here. The case might already be lost.” Tess spoke her pessimistic thoughts out loud.

“I don’t want to see that any more than you do, but would getting rid of Chevy really get Beck anywhere? Agent Bass has the tablet.”

Tess chewed on a thumbnail and considered the question. She thought about the many investigative hours Bass had spent—how difficult it had been to get solid evidence against Beck. What would convince juries these days should be clear, but it was often hard to peg.

“Besides the chain of evidence, Chevy puts a personal face on the results of Beck’s evil. It will be much easier for his defense attorneys to attack the iPad and how it was recovered if Chevy isn’t around. Then they’ll attack the agents and the methods they used, diverting everyone’s attention away from the human trafficking. Putting the cops on trial is standard operating procedure.”

“But isn’t the iPad hard evidence?”

“In a logical world, yes. I’ve just seen so many games played by defense attorneys. . . . Juries are human, and today, sometimes easily conned.”

“Cynicism does not become you.”

“Ah, but it’s a broken world. A certain pastor I know says that all the time.” Tess grinned at Oliver, who returned her smile.

“Sounds like a wise man. But in his wisdom, he probably still believes in the legal system to eventually triumph.”

–––

The one good thing that came from Chevy’s escape attempt was that Mia Takano appeared more committed to her job.