“It’s obvious she had a passenger. When I’m by myself,” Tess said as she grabbed the purse, “I have my purse on the seat next to me. I only put it in the back when I have a passenger.” She set the purse on the hood and began to look through it. Nothing in it stood out; it was a normal assortment of things a woman might carry in her purse. The wallet contained twelve dollars in cash, an ID, and a debit card.

Tess turned to Bender. “I have my kit with me. I’ll dust for prints before I call Forest to come tow it. You go ahead and follow up at the market.”

He nodded and left.

After she readied her kit, she stood and surveyed the few people on the overlook. They were bundled up against the wind that had just picked up, and none were concerned with what she was doing.

Not feeling the cold, Tess bent to the task at hand, but it wasn’t long before she noticed something unusual. The car had been wiped clean; every surface where she was likely to pull a print was clean as a whistle. A line of clean above the dirt was noticeable on the passenger door. Steering wheel, dash, mirrors, all spotless.

A sick feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach. Unless Tami left in someone else’s car and was playing hooky from work, something bad had happened to her—something very bad.

27

Tess finished with Tami’s car as an icy rain began to fall. It was early for this type of cold storm, and Tess wondered if it foreshadowed a long, harsh winter. She did a cursory walk-through of the parking lot and viewing area while waiting for Forest Wild, local automotive shop owner, to arrive and tow the car to his facility. Tess saw no reason to put a hold on the automobile, so Forest would keep it until Tami’s mother could pick it up.

Tess had spoken to Tami from time to time, like everyone in town had. She was the normal day cashier at the only market in Rogue’s Hollow. She’d been divorced once, so the first place they’d look would be the ex. Tami had no kids and lived not far from her mother, behind the station in a small house she shared with a roommate. She always walked to work in the summertime. She was a likable, if a little talkative, woman.

Before she would even voice the idea that foul play might be involved, a question bounced around in Tess’s head: Who would want to hurt her?

She chewed on that question and her lower lip as she drove to the market. Bender was writing on his notepad as she parked. He’d finished by the time she walked to where he stood.