“She said she knew about predators, that she recognized how dangerous Cyrus Beck could be. She also said that if she told me her whole story, I’d arrest her on the spot. All night I ruminated over that remark, wondering now if she’s hiding because she’s wanted somewhere.”

“That idea was kicked around when she first came here.”

Tess sighed. “I can’t find anything to indicate that she’s wanted. But it all struck an echo of a memory with me. Bass brought up a cold case when he talked to me about Chevy.”

“And?”

She told him a horrific story about Isaac Pink and a prostitute named Heather Harrison. Oliver felt cold, slapped at the brutality of the tale.

“Are you thinking maybe she could be Heather Harrison?”

“That’s not possible, right?” Tess rolled her eyes. “It’s too fantastic, a completely crazy idea. Harrison was an eighteen-year-old prostitute when she disappeared. She is most likely long dead. But I need to digest all of this.”

The shop door chimed as it opened, and she looked toward the entrance. Oliver turned and followed her gaze. Officer Bender came toward them. His expression told Oliver something bad had happened.

“Sorry to bother you, Chief, but we’ve got a missing woman.”

“Who?” Oliver and Tess spoke in unison. Sheepishly, Oliver gave Tess the floor.

“Who is it?”

“Tami Vasquez, works at the market.”

Tess frowned and nodded. “Yeah, I know her. What’s happened?”

“Hopefully it’s nothing, but she didn’t show up for work today, and she was scheduled to open up. And earlier this morning, Jonkey made a note about seeing her car abandoned at the Stairsteps lot. The store called Tami’s mom, who hasn’t heard from her either. She filed a missing report.”

Tess sat back, and Oliver saw the worry cross her face ever so briefly before she composed herself and her expression became all cop. His thoughts lingered on the Isaac Pink story. At times he wished she could be talked out of her profession—so much pain and hardness there. But it was who she was, and she was good at it, very good at it.

“I’ll go with you. Thanks for breakfast, Oliver.” She stood, and so did Oliver.

“Of course. Please let me know what you find. Tami is a fixture at the market.”

Tess said she would, and she and Bender left the shop.

As Oliver was busing his table, his gaze met the decidedly disapproving expression of one of his parishioners. He smiled, and Alana looked away. Sighing, he wondered if he should nip this in the bud. He’d heard from the Rogue telegraph that several women in the congregation were not happy with his relationship with Tess. They were all women who’d been with the church since its very beginning. They liked Tess . . . they just didn’t think she was a good match for him.