“Her work is antithetical to your work. It’s dangerous,” Addie Getz—councilwoman, parishioner, and friend—told Oliver one day. “And these women are very protective of their pastor.”

He decided to step over and talk to Alana about the issue, but his phone buzzed. The text was from Jethro and it was about Tami. Her mother was at the church asking for prayer. He threw the remnants of his and Tess’s breakfasts in the trash and left the shop, concern lingering over what exactly he could do to assuage Alana’s fears.

–––

“No sign of a struggle—or theft, for that matter,” Bender said when he and Tess reached the car.

Tess noted that it was at the far end of the lot, as if the place had been crowded when Tami picked the spot, or she wanted a semiprivate space. It wasn’t all alone as it had been in the early morning hours when Jonkey had noted its presence; now there were a few tourists on the overlook for the Stairsteps, despite the cold weather. A front had moved in last night, and it had rained a little then. Morning temps had hovered around thirty-eight. Now, with the sun covered by a thick veil of dark clouds, the temp had dropped probably a few degrees since daybreak. Intermittent sprinkles were appearing on the pavement.

Overnight parking was prohibited here. Jonkey had run the car but not cited it because she knew who it belonged to. Tess read the notes her overnight officer had left. She’d looked the car over, called Tami’s roommate, and was told Tami was out on a date and that she believed the car would be removed by the morning. So Jonkey had left a note for day shift to follow up, which Bender had done when he got the report about Tami not showing up to work.

“On a date?” Tess looked at Bender, who shrugged.

“Her mom hadn’t spoken to Tami for a couple of days, so she knew nothing about a date.”

“Any idea who the date was with?”

He shook his head. “Her roommate also works at the market. I’ll be talking to her.”

Tess carefully surveyed the area around the car. There was no indication that a crime had occurred here. She shifted her gaze to the inside of the car. Likewise, it appeared neat, nothing out of place. She donned gloves and pulled on the door, which was unlocked. Tami’s purse was on the backseat.