“It’s okay.” Now that the whole charade was over, she felt a little sick. “DJ was here, trading Amos’s cabinets and Eileen’s mother’s quilts.”

“Yes,” Rafe said evenly. “And the timing of the last delivery matches Eileen’s disappearance from Eden.”

Mercy thought of Eileen and the family who’d found and cared for her, giving her a few good weeks before she’d been snatched by a serial killer. “Mr. Danton found her walking along the road in Macdoel, though. That’s over by Mt. Shasta. Has to be at least a hundred miles from here. If DJ left here to go into the Modoc Forest, Eden might not have been far from here. How did Eileen get all the way up to Macdoel?”

And then a train went by, blowing its horn as it passed the town.

“Oh,” Mercy said softly. “I didn’t know trains ran through here. I guess that’s one way.”

Rafe was already searching his phone. “Cell signal sucks here. I barely have one bar.” He tapped his finger against the steering wheel impatiently, glaring at his phone. “Shit. It timed out. I’ve got no Internet. We’ll have to check on the train routes when we’re in a less rural area.”

Mercy jumped when the back doors of the Subaru opened and Erin and Sasha climbed in, Sasha behind Rafe and Erin behind Mercy. Doors slammed, then Erin said, “That man is an asshole. He was yelling at Ginger and giving her the third degree once you all left.”

“He asked Ginger to tell him exactly what you’d said,” Sasha added, then tossed one of the bags of chips to Rafe. “He went behind the counter and then they were whispering so we couldn’t hear.”

“What did she say to you at the end?” Erin asked. “We were buying food and missed that part.”

“Basically that DJ was the man who’d repped Amos’s work and that she’d followed him once into the forest.” Mercy shook her head. “She had a crush on him. I’m so glad that didn’t go anywhere. DJ was vile.”

Rafe opened the bag of chips. “You want to see what’s up that road?”

Mercy nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

“Count us in,” Sasha said. “I got provisions in case we get stuck.”

“You got chips and candy bars,” Erin said dryly.

Sasha grinned. “Health food. Besides, you got deli sandwiches, because you’re the grown-up.”

Erin handed out the sandwiches. “Eat up. We’ll follow you out.”

“Why not just go with them?” Sasha asked. “If they’ve gotten the need for conversation out of their system,” she added with a bawdy wink. “Snookums.”

Mercy was sure that her face was beet red, but Rafe just shook his head. “Because Erin isn’t here to keep us company,” he said. “She’s here to watch our backs.”

Sasha sighed. “Right. Goddamn reality is such a buzzkill.”

Erin smiled, amused. “Give me a minute to eat and we’ll be ready to go. I don’t want to eat while I drive. Not around here.”