She sat in her car for a few minutes as the rain tat-tatted down. She grabbed her phone and called Steve Logan and filled him in on the situation.

“Ah, I know Tami. She’s a talker but all heart. And I hate to tell you, but earlier, around 3:30 a.m., medics picked up a Jane Doe at the Shady Cove boat ramp.”

Tess sucked in a breath, taking a second to process this information. “The boat ramp—that’s what, ten miles downriver? That can’t be Tami.”

“I’m reading the call now. It looked as if she came out of the river, was hanging on at the ramp. She had a lot of superficial injuries, but they did find a pulse and transported her to the hospital.”

Tess’s heart dropped as she considered the possibilities. If this was Tami, could the current have taken her down Midas Creek into the Rogue River near Shady Cove? And could she really have survived the trip?

“What are the odds of Tami going in the water here, ending up there, and still being alive?” she asked.

“Not good. Look, this Jane Doe had no ID. I’ll head out now, go to the hospital and check on her. I know Tami. I should be able to give you a yea or a nay.”

Tess thanked him and hung up as her queasy feeling turned to anger. If there was a monster on that work crew, she’d find him. Monsters deserved to be in cages.

–––

Thoughts of Alana’s snub fled from Oliver’s mind when he saw Rosita Vasquez. While Tami only attended sporadically, Rosita was a member of his congregation, always at church.

“Pastor Mac! Tami didn’t come home last night. That’s not like her. She’s a good girl; she always comes home. I’ve called all of her friends, but no one has seen her.”

Oliver placed an arm around the woman and pulled her close. She was trembling with fear and anxiety, and he did his best to calm her. Off to one side of the sanctuary there was a small prayer room. He looked over Rosita’s shoulder at Jethro.

Jethro met his gaze with a knowing nod. “I called on the prayer team. A couple of them are already in the prayer room.”

“Rosita, let’s go to prayer. You know I believe that’s where we should take every issue, large or small.”

“Yes.” She dabbed at her eyes with a Kleenex. “I believe that too. I’m praying for a miracle.”

Oliver, Rosita, and the other members of the prayer team prayed for several minutes. And then Rosita wanted to talk. She chatted about Tami, what a good girl she was, but that she was lonely. Rosita was clearly afraid that her daughter had somehow gotten involved with a bad man.