Kenny was bald and round, with a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee that had recently grown gray. He’d been one of Quinn’s first hires after he was elected sheriff ten years ago and cleaned out his uncle’s old crew. There might’ve been better deputies, but few more loyal and steadfast than good ole Kenny. Quinn had personally witnessed the man bury both his parents after the big tornado hit town, change into his uniform, and report back to the work the same day.

“Maybe someone’s still up there,” Quinn said.

“No, sir,” Kenny said. “I checked.”

“But given what happened to their momma,” Quinn said. “Maybe we need to get that door opened up and check inside. Just to make sure the kids are okay.”

Kenny winked at Quinn, getting the idea of what he had in mind. If Quinn had to run back to town and get a warrant, it would eat up a few hours. If TJ did kill her mother, maybe she left something behind. Or at least, maybe they’d find something to show where those kids were headed. Either way, they needed a look inside that trailer and around the property.

He and Kenny walked up to the top of the hill and mounted the cobbled-together two-by-fours and concrete blocks that made up the porch. There were no trees, bushes, or vegetation in the dirt yard, only the trailer on a little patch of land that appeared to have been scraped clean a long while back. Kenny knocked a few times while Quinn checked the windows. The windows were dirty and it was tough to see, but after a minute or two, Quinn found the door unlocked and they both walked inside the trailer.

The room was spare and not too dirty, with an old tan couch pulled out into a bed toward a TV silently playing one of those Fast and Furious movies. Vin Diesel racing down a mountain pass to rescue a woman on top of an oil tank trailer.

“Glad they got the whole franchise back on track after the one set in Japan,” Kenny said. “Did you see it? About them rice burners sliding all over Tokyo?”

“Must’ve missed that one,” Quinn said.

The small kitchen was bare except for a box of Cap’n Crunch. Quinn checked the refrigerator to find it empty except for a half bottle of Sam’s Cola. Someone had cleaned out the sink, wiped off the counters, and put away the mismatched cups and dishes. Whatever had been said about TJ Byrd, she wasn’t a slob.

“Well,” Kenny said. “You didn’t miss much of nothing. I mean you can’t have no Fast and Furious film without Vin Diesel. Although I did like that Paul Walker. Damn shame what happened to him, his buddy running that Porsche into a light pole.”

“Kenny?”

“Yes, sir.”