Quinn turned to look over his shoulder. Lovemaiden was giving his order to Miss Mary and Quinn offered a half-assed wave before turned back to Maggie. “He wants me to come over to Parsham County to meet a snitch.”

“And you don’t believe him?”

“Nope,” Quinn said. “How about after breakfast, we stop off at the hospital and check out any walk-ins with nasty infected cuts?”

“I need to check in anyway,” Maggie said. “They want me back to work in three weeks.”

“Three weeks?” Quinn said. “That’s not what we had talked about.”

Maggie didn’t answer, shuffling Halley in her lap. The little girl wide awake now, as Maggie wiped her face with a napkin and handed her over to Quinn. He held his daughter tight, the child’s eyes wide and unfocused. Halley so small, light in his lap, while she checked out all the smells and sounds of the Fillin’ Station diner.

“She sure is curious,” Maggie said.

“Skeptical,” Quinn said.

“I guess she comes by it naturally.”

*   *   *

They pulled over somewhere between Prescott and Hope, John Wesley and Chastity both needing to pee about the same time. John Wesley nearly had to use a Coke bottle before Ladarius pulled over the white Kia Sorento he’d picked up across from the Salty Dog Marina. Ladarius parked the SUV up on an access road to nowhere, a slice of asphalt that went up into the piney hills and dead-ended at an endless section of electric towers running down a cleared path. The thick power lines buzzed overhead.

Chastity called it as good a place as any, no mile markers or identifying houses nearby. Ladarius shook his head but held the phone anyway, ready to start the recording, just as he got word from Chastity. Holly Harkins leaned against the hood of the SUV, head down, hoodie obscuring her face as she picked at a clump of weeds she’d found on the roadside.

TJ sure didn’t like this. But she kept to script, holding Daddy’s .38 down against her leg as Chastity kneeled on the ground. The rolling sweep of it, the gigantic electric towers and desolate slice of road added to the drama, although TJ was sure never to point the gun right at the girl. She let the image of them standing there, her standing with Chastity kneeling, say what needed to be said.