She knew Oliver believed prayer was the answer to every problem, every situation. And she’d read enough of her father’s comments in his Bible to know he’d felt the same way. Just like the idea that there was hope for everybody. Tess wasn’t there yet. Prayer was a nice topping, but to her way of thinking, it wasn’t the whole pie. They hadn’t yet finished that conversation, and she wondered what would happen when they did.
In any event, the conversation they did have about the Coopers echoed in her mind as she started her car. Bender responded, but he was actually farther away than Tess. Officer Gabe Bender, Boy-2, was more than capable of handling the call. But it was Tess’s discretion whether or not to respond, and she was curious about the situation, so she continued on, activating her lights and sirens and reaching the entrance to the park in less than ten minutes.
Blackberry Hollow was the only trailer park in Rogue’s Hollow. It was not a large park, and it was mostly seniors on fixed incomes, but Tess knew there were a couple of problem trailers. Her officers had made arrests for drugs and disturbing the peace in the park several times. There was, however, a park manager who took his job seriously, and she saw Henry Polk standing outside his unit, the first park space, when she pulled into the lot.
Tess shut down the siren and came to a stop as Henry walked up to her window, waving to catch her attention.
“Hi, Chief, thanks for getting here so fast. But Garrett took off right after I made the phone call. He’s gone.”
“What made you call?”
“Oh, it was horrible. He just went off. I was taking some wood to a space three doors down and I could hear it. Profanity, things breaking. The only good thing is I understand that the kids weren’t home; they’re either in school or at someone else’s house. If you ask me, that young man is wound just a tad too tight.”
“I’ll check it out.” Tess radioed Bender that she was on scene and asked him to look for Garrett’s truck. Tess hadn’t passed him on her way in, so there were only a couple places he could be if he left just after Henry called. One good thing about a small town—there really was no place to hide.
She continued on to space 24.
After she parked and got out of her SUV, Tess noticed a pile of firewood off to the right of the door. It wasn’t stacked; it looked like it had been dumped there by someone in a hurry. As she walked up the steps to the front door, she could hear sobbing inside.
Tess knocked. “Janie, it’s Chief O’Rourke. Can I come in?”
There was some shuffling and then faintly, Janie’s voice. “Just a minute.”
Tess stepped back and after a minute Janie opened the door. Her face was red, her eyes bloodshot, but Tess didn’t see any obvious injuries.
“What’s going on, Janie? Are you okay?”
She sniffled and nodded. “Yeah, just a disagreement, that’s all.”
“It sounds like more than a disagreement. Three people called, worried about your safety.”
Janie let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the doorframe, looking weary beyond her years. “Chief, we fight a lot, I’m sorry to say. Where we used to live we had privacy. No one heard us. Here—” she waved a hand—“everyone hears everything.”
“Do you mind if I come in and look around?”
Janie hesitated but eventually stepped back, and Tess walked into a living room that looked as if it had just been ransacked. A lamp and a chair were broken, there was glass on the floor, and one couch cushion was even shredded.
“He did all this?”
“He said no. But it was like this when I got home from getting the boys to school and baby Anna to a friend’s house. It’s my day off and I had some chores planned. Anyway, the kids sure didn’t do it. He did break a couple of vases when I confronted him. What am I going to tell Pastor Mac?”
Before Tess could respond, she was interrupted by a radio call from Bender, who’d found Garrett at one of the two places he could have been. He was in the parking lot of the Stairsteps, a waterfall attraction.
“Do we have a crime?” Gabe asked.
“Stand by,” Tess said into her radio. “Janie, did Garrett hit you?”
She shook her head. “No, but he broke a lot of things in the house, things we’ll probably have to pay for, and he said some horrible, hurtful things . . .”
“What was the fight about?”
“Besides all of this? What it usually is—money. He took all the insurance money I just deposited, and he won’t tell me what he did with it. Chief, we need that money for daily living expenses. When I got mad, he got madder and accused me of not understanding—” Her voice broke.
To Bender, Tess said, “Apparently we have destruction of property. Detain him. Take him to the church to see if Oliver wants to press charges. He destroyed the living room in the mobile. I’ll photograph the damage and meet you at the church.”
Janie’s eyes got wide. “Chief, no! He didn’t hit me.”
“But he did destroy church property. Pastor Mac will have to decide.”
“I don’t want him to go to jail.” More tears rolled down her cheeks.
Tess didn’t think Oliver would prosecute, but she wanted to put some fear into Garrett. It might work, it might not, but it was one card she could play.
“I’ll ask Pastor Mac to take that into consideration.” Tess’s attention went back to her radio.
“What about the truck?” Bender asked, referring to the Coopers’ pickup.
“Do you want to retrieve the truck?” Tess asked Janie.
“I’ll need it—it’s our only transportation.”
“I’ll bring Janie up to get the vehicle.”
“10-4. I’ll see you at the church.”
“What time were you going to pick up your daughter?” Tess asked Janie as she held her phone up and photographed the destruction inside.
“I’d planned on picking her up after the boys get out of school. I thought Garrett and I could do it together and then have a family day in White City, maybe end up at a pizza place.”
Tess gave her a minute. After taking several photos, she turned back to Janie, who seemed to have pulled herself together. “Grab your spare keys and I’ll take you to pick up the truck.”
She nodded, and Tess went back to her SUV. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a man watching her, standing at the corner of a single wide, on the street side of the park. She didn’t recognize him at first, but there was something familiar about him. He wore a baseball cap, a camouflaged parka—though it wasn’t that cold—and he ducked behind the trailer as soon as their eyes met.
Her neck tingled. Was that Ken Blakely? The more she thought about it, the more she was certain it was Blakely. True, the apartment complex where Blakely lived wasn’t that far from the mobile home park, and he could be out for a walk. Still, she wondered why he was here.
He was someone who set all her alarms off. Yeah, she didn’t doubt that he was the poacher, but he was as cagey as anyone she’d ever met. Win Yarrow had his work cut out for him catching Blakely in the act. She almost wished she had a reason to question the guy. But just because he was watching her didn’t mean he was up to no good. She didn’t know everyone in the park, and maybe Blakely had a friend here. And it wasn’t unusual for people to watch police activity out of curiosity, especially people like Blakely.
She had her hands full with Janie and Garrett in any event.
Janie stepped out of the trailer, locked the door, and got into the patrol car. Tess forgot about the man as she questioned Janie further about her relationship with Garrett and they drove to the Stairsteps to pick up the truck.
18
“Would it really help anything to prosecute Garrett?” Oliver asked after Tess showed him photos of the destruction and he’d tried to speak to a sullen Garrett Cooper. The man wouldn’t say anything. Janie had taken the truck back home.
“It’s up to you, Oliver. You know there’s no room in the jail. We’ll book him, they will cite him out, but at lea
st he’ll have a court date to think about before the next fight.”
“Yeah, but the loss is all monetary, and that is likely to hurt Janie and the kids more than it would bother Garrett.”
“I can’t disagree with that.”
Oliver sighed. “I want to help this family. Let me see if I can get Garrett to talk about what the real problem is.”
“Have at it.”
Tess walked over to where Bender was leaning against his patrol pickup. “Pastor Mac wants to talk to him.”
Bender nodded, and he and Tess ambled over to her SUV while Oliver opened the truck door to talk to Garrett.
“Did he have anything to say to you when you found him?” Tess asked.
“Nah.” Gabe scratched his forehead. “To be honest, he seemed scared more than anything. Not scared of me, but scared of something.”
“Hmm.” Tess cast a glance toward Oliver. He appeared to be listening intently, so maybe he’d get some answers.
–––
“Garrett, I’m here as a friend. I don’t want to send you to jail. Janie and the kids need you. But can you tell me why you busted up the trailer?”
Garrett wouldn’t look at him and for a minute was silent. Oliver almost gave up, but Garrett finally spoke up.
“I didn’t do that. I was out getting some wood for the stove. Mr. Polk had some—you can ask him. I didn’t lock the door because I knew I wouldn’t be long. I got back home and the place was trashed.”
“Why didn’t you say so? If the trailer was burglarized, the police need to know.”
He banged his head against the door. “Don’t want the police to know.”
“But why? They’re ready to send you to jail for something you say you didn’t do.”
He hit the doorframe with the side of his head and moaned. “Ahh, it’s all wrong! It’s all wrong!”
“What’s wrong, Garrett? Tell me. I want to help.”
“I tell you, you tell the cops.”
Oliver frowned. “If you know who the burglar is—”
“It’s not that. It’s . . .” He finally met Oliver’s gaze, and tears streamed down his cheeks. “I made a mistake, a big one. And the fire ruined everything.”
“If it’s a mistake, then maybe we can fix it. Tell me what you did.”
“You can’t tell the cops. I’m begging you: don’t tell the cops.”
Oliver knew he couldn’t violate a confidence, at least not an emotional plea like this. “If I can keep your secret, I will. But, Garrett, I’m not going to hide something from the chief that is serious or may lead to someone being hurt.”
Garrett sniffled. “It’s killing me. I have to tell you.”
Oliver waited.
After a couple shuddering breaths, Garrett composed himself. “I did a favor for someone. He asked me to keep some things for him. I hid them in our cellar. In our old house. I didn’t know they were all going to burn up in the fire.”
“Of course you couldn’t know that. Surely this fellow must understand—”
“He doesn’t. He wants money for the stuff, money I don’t have.”
“That’s why you took the insurance money.”
Garrett nodded. “But it’s a drop in the bucket. He needs more than I have.”
“Do you want to tell me who this guy is?”
“Won’t help.”
“He might listen to me if I ask him to be patient.”
Garrett gave a derisive chuckle. “Not likely. I just don’t know what to do.”
“I want to help you—I do—but you’ll have to give me more information.”
“Well, I can’t. So I guess I’m just stuck.”
–––
Oliver climbed out of the car looking for all the world to Tess like a man on the horns of a dilemma.
“Well,” she asked, “what shall we do with young Mr. Cooper?”
“I’m sorry, Tess. I can’t see prosecuting him for the damage in the mobile. It won’t get anything fixed, and it will only stress the Coopers more.”
“Absolutely true,” she said, studying him. There was more, she was certain, but he wasn’t saying. “I can have Gabe drive him home with a stern warning.”
He nodded. “I think that will be best. I can only pray that Garrett and Janie find a way to be strong together rather than always butting heads.”
“I hope that too, for both their sakes.”
19
Ice didn’t mind the physical labor; after all, it was cold here in southern Oregon—colder than what he was used to, anyway—and working hard kept him warm.
What he did mind was the soot and ash. Sometimes when he got back to his tiny hotel room, he felt as if he could never get all the black gunk off. Because his personal vehicle was a motorcycle, when it was too cold, he stayed in his room. That he was getting cabin fever was an understatement.
He’d been in southern Oregon for a week and a half. All that time he’d kept his ear to the ground, riding around on his motorcycle to check out the lay of the land, yet he’d heard no whisper of a federal witness being sheltered in the area.
The only notable happening so far was that he’d had the chance to size up the local law enforcement. Some moron on the work crew got himself arrested for looting. Stealing some stupid screwdrivers of all things. Ice had watched it all with interest. The male cop seemed competent. The woman cop, the chief, Ice had ignored. He knew he had nothing to fear from a woman. Even one with a gun. The guy seemed savvy, but Ice would bet money that he could best him. Still, he decided it wouldn’t come to that. He’d find the girl, take care of business, and be gone before the local yokels knew what hit them.
It was troubling that he’d heard not the slightest rumbling about the girl. Even while at the market where the work crew stopped every morning for coffee and Red Bull, and sometimes later for lunch, he’d not heard anything. It was frustrating, especially since he still had a strong feeling that he was on the right track.
Wednesday morning he had to meditate to center himself after a phone call from Cyrus.
“Ice, I’m paying you for results! I’ve got the Feds breathing down my neck.”
“Hey, I’m on it. I’m sure the girl is close. I’ll find her.”
“I’m sending help.”
Royal bit his tongue. The man was hysterical, and being this emotional would only cause problems.
“I work best alone,” he said through gritted teeth. “You know that.”
“There’s strength in numbers. Gage is coming your way.” He disconnected, leaving Ice fuming.
Gage was one of Cyrus’s on-call musclemen. More brawn than brain as far as Ice was concerned. He wanted to scream that Gage was all wrong on every level. An ex–basketball player, he’d stick out like a sore thumb here simply because of his height. And he wasn’t that mobile, either; a bum knee gave him a limited range. Cyrus always counted on Gage’s size and bad attitude to intimidate problem people. Ice had no respect for the man. If you talked the talk, you had to walk the walk, and Gage could only do that with people who were stupid and slow.
Ice glanced at the clock. He needed to get ready; the van that picked him up each morning to take him to Rogue’s Hollow would be there any minute.
Inhale, exhale. Ignore Gage. Inhale—
There it was—the cashier at the market came to mind. The woman had flirted with him several times when he’d been in her lane. He’d flirted back once or twice for something to do. He hadn’t intended to take it any further; after all, she was too old for Cyrus or any of their customers, and Ice didn’t need any companionship. Still, with the meditation clearing his thoughts, he could see that as unappealing as she was age-wise, she’d be in a good position to hear gossip because local market cashiers see everyone in town.
Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner?
“You’re not from around here. I’d recognize you if you were,” she’d said, smiling and popping her gum. “Bet you work harder than all these other guys.”
&
nbsp; “New here, yeah. Looking for reasons to stick around,” he’d said with a wink.
“Glad to hear it.” She’d blushed and some of the other guys pushed him along.
He kicked himself now for not digging deeper into what that local woman might know. He vowed to do better the next time he came into contact with her.
–––
Ice got his chance later that day when the work crew pulled into the market for lunch. There were two cashiers, and even though the line was longer, he stood in the flirty one’s line. Peering over the shoulder of the person in front of him, Ice saw that the woman’s name tag said Tami.
He greeted her with one of his best smiles when it was his turn to be checked out. “Afternoon, Tami, how’s your day going?”
She looked up at him, face brightening. “Well, hello. It’s going okay. Better now. How about you? They must be working you hard.” She held up one of his cans of Red Bull before running it across the scanner. “Looks like you need some energy.”
“Yeah, don’t like coffee.” He made sure his smile accentuated his left side dimple. “Name’s Jim, by the way. Jim Smith. Should have introduced myself a while ago.”
She grinned broadly now, eyes bright. “Better late than never.” His snacks were next. “Where’re you from? You’re part of the work crew, right?”
“Uh-huh. I travel around a lot, kind of a handyman. Haven’t found a place I’d like to settle in yet.” He glanced behind him. There was a woman reading the Enquirer and not paying attention, so he loitered.
“Really? That sounds exciting. Seeing new places and stuff. Furthest away I’ve been is Disneyland in Southern California.”
He nodded. “That’s far and sounds like fun. Sometimes traveling is exciting, but it can get lonely. So I like to stay busy. That’s why I’m here.”
“We’re grateful for all of you here working, helping. Be careful; we’ve got some rugged terrain to deal with here in the Hollow.”
“Always careful, Tami.” He leaned forward and handed her his money. “Always.”
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