"Whatever comes next." Bree's eyes met hers, steady and determined. "Copper Moon protects its own, Tessa. And right now, that means protecting you."
Tessa looked around at these people who had become her family. Brian, with his phone pressed to his ear, was already talking to Diaz. Bree texting Sabrina, her fingers flying over the screen. The house that had become a sanctuary, filled with the warmth of people who cared.
Carla Reeves wanted to burn her life down.
She had no idea how hard these people would fight to keep that from happening.
Chapter Twenty-Four
They gathered in Hank's living room that night. Brian, Tessa, Hank, Bree, Colby, Sabrina. Diaz had come and gone an hour earlier, taking notes on Carla's calls and promising to have officers canvass the area around the accident scene for witnesses who might have seen her.
Now it was just the six of them, and Brian was done waiting for the police to solve this.
"She's local," he said. "Has to be. She knew about the accident within minutes. She's been tracking Tessa's movements in real time. That means she's staying somewhere close."
"Diaz checked all the hotels and rentals," Colby said. "Nothing under her name."
"She's not using her name." Brian leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "She's smarter than that. But she still needs somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat. She's got to be leaving a trail."
Sabrina spoke up. "What about short-term rentals? The kind people list on vacation sites. Diaz might not have checked those."
"How many of those are there in Copper Moon?" Tessa asked.
"A dozen, maybe more." Sabrina pulled out her phone. "I know most of the owners, it's something I keep track of, since that's my business. Give me an hour, and I can get you a list."
"Do it," Brian said.
Hank had been quiet, watching and listening. Now he spoke. "Even if we find where she's staying, then what? We can't just kick down the door."
"No. But we can give Diaz a location. Probable cause for a search warrant." Brian looked at Tessa. "The phone calls. She's made direct threats. That's enough."
"She's using burner phones," Tessa said. "Different number each time."
"Doesn't matter. The content of the calls is what counts."
Bree set down her coffee mug. "What if she's not staying in a rental? What if she's got a friend here, someone letting her crash?"
"She doesn't have friends." Tessa's voice was flat. "I worked with her for two years. She kept to herself. No family in the area, no close relationships. The only person she connected with was Webb, and that was online."
"So she's alone." Colby drummed his fingers on his knee. "That's something. Alone means no backup, no one to watch her back."
"It also means desperate," Brian said. "People without connections don't have anything to lose."
The room went quiet. They all understood what that meant.
Sabrina's phone buzzed. She glanced at it, then looked up. "I've got three owners responding already. Two of them have renters right now. One's a family from Ohio, been there a week. The other is a single woman who paid cash and keeps to herself."
Brian straightened. "Where?"
"Pelican Lane. Little cottage at the end of the road. Owner says the woman's been there about ten days."
Ten days. Right around when the surveillance notebook started.
"Call Diaz," Hank said.
Brian was already dialing. Diaz answered on the first ring.
"Knight. What do you have?"
