"Harder than this?" Sarah reached out a hand and lightly touched the child's long blond hair. "Her mother is gone. And I haven't seen her father in two days."

Bailey's mouth tightened. "You didn't include that in the report."

"I wasn't sure until today. But he's gone. I think he was beginning to ask too many questions. He didn't believe his wife would have just run away, not without their daughter."

"He was right about that."

Sarah had been expecting it, but the news was still an unwelcome shock. "She was found?"

"A few miles downriver. And she'd been in the water awhile, probably since the night she disappeared. No way to determine cause of death."

Bailey didn't have to explain that further.

"Are the police going to come around asking questions?" Sarah asked.

"They have to. Ellen Hodges was known to be a member of the church, and the last time she was seen it was in the company of other church members. Her parents know that, and they're more than willing to point the police in this direction. So if the good Reverend Samuel can't produce Ellen's husband or her child, he's going to have a lot of explaining to do."

Sarah managed a hollow laugh, even as the sense of unease she felt grew stronger. "You're assuming the cops who come here won't be church members or paid-off friends of the church."

"Shit. Are you sure?"

"From something I overheard, I'm convinced enough that I say it wouldn't be a good idea to take any local law enforcement into our confidence. Not unless somebody on our side can read them very, very well."

"Good enough for me. But Bishop is not going to be happy about it."

"I doubt he'll be surprised. We knew it was a possibility."

"Makes the job harder. Or at least a hell of a lot more tricky. Not that it wasn't already, with the town being so isolated and the church so insulated." Bailey shifted the child's weight again. "I need to get the kid out of here."