“Market?” Harp frowned, clearly unaware of the market fiasco. “I’m here to try to save a girl’s life.”

“Wait. Let’s say you’re right, and there is a witness at Faith’s Place. Why do you believe it’s up to you to keep her safe?”

“I know a thing or two about predators. Cyrus Beck is the worst type. He has money and the air of respectability that conceals his perversity. And since his crimes supposedly occurred in Arizona, but the witness is being hidden here, I believe that says the FBI sees Beck as a threat, a serious one. To survive, the girl has to hide and hide well. I’m willing to help. It’s a cause I can get behind.”

Tess regarded Harp with an appraising eye. The woman was fired up and passionate. But Tess needed clarity, facts, not emotion. “You’re going to have to explain. That’s a little vague.”

“A full explanation might just send me to jail.”

Tess rocked back a bit. “Unless I know exactly why you think you can help me, I have nothing to discuss with you.”

“I’m giving you a valid warning, Chief, and you should listen. The girl you’ve hidden . . . well, her life depends on it. That should be enough.”

Tess held her hands out. “I barely know you. In fact, I’ve tried to find out about you and can find nothing. Why should I trust you?”

Harp’s eyes bored into Tess. “Beck is a monster. He hires monsters. And if I could find Roberta, so could he.”

Roberta. Harp even knew her name. Floored by Harp’s claim and trying to process how she could possibly have found Chevy even though she had no clue about what happened at the market earlier today, Tess wanted to demand the woman tell her. But this could all be a ruse; the woman could be trying to get Tess to reveal something.

“Okay, I’ll play along. Say you’re correct; your solution is . . . ?”

“Let her come and stay with me. I can keep her safe. I am completely off the grid. You’ve seen my place. No one will find her if she stays with me. And I can protect her if they do. Anyone steps foot on my property, I know exactly where and when. I know how to deal with threats to my safety.”

“We’re going in circles here. I’m not conceding that there is a girl here. But if there were, I wouldn’t trust her to someone I know nothing about.”

“Chief, if I tell you everything I know, and why I know it, I need your word that you will not arrest me on the spot.”

“I can’t make an agreement like that.”

“We’re at an impasse.”

“We are, and I’m not going to blink.”