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my patience is hanging by a very thin thread.”
    “I have a Swiss Army knife in my bag,” she said with a blatantly false smile. “Would you care to borrow the scissors?”
    He rubbed his jaw and gave her an appraising look. “You know, I didn’t see the family resemblance at first. But now I do. Your grandmother’s a smart ass, too.”
    Before she could think up a scathing response to that remark, they were interrupted by a woman wearing a belted tan raincoat, clear-plastic rain boots over sensible shoes, and a frown. She was carrying a clipboard.
    “Ms. Cantrell?” she asked.
    “I’m Raine Cantrell,” Raine confirmed.
    “I’m Marianne Kelly. I’m a probation officer for Olympic County.”
    Old Fussbudget, Raine remembered. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kelly,” she lied. “I only wish it could have been under more pleasant circumstances.”
    “Yes. Well.” It was the probation officer’s turn to glance toward the truck where the teenagers were watching the proceedings with glum expressions. “It’s getting late and I need to ensure that my probationers are settled for the night. If there isn’t an adult available to take responsibility for them, I’m going to have to transfer them to a juvenile-detention facility.”
    Raine could just imagine her grandmother’s reaction if she stood idly by and allowed that to happen. “Isn’t that a little harsh, Ms. Kelly?” she asked mildly. “Under the circumstances? After all, they’re just young girls.”
    “Perhaps you haven’t been kept apprised of the situation, Ms. Cantrell. These girls created a crisis today—”
    “There wasn’t any crisis,” Jack interjected. “That was just the stupid word the media came up with to boost ratings for the six-o’clock news.”
    A nerve twitched at the corner of the probation officer’s left eyelid. “That may be your view of matters, Sheriff, but the fact remains that their behavior was highly unacceptable for probationers. And they cost the county a great deal of money.”
    He shrugged. “I get paid a straight salary, Ms. Kelly. Which doesn’t make allowances for overtime. The most I can see that they cost the county was the price of a couple of pizzas, and if it’ll keep them out of the pokey, I’ll spring for them myself.”
    “That’s a matter you’ll have to take up with the county treasurer,” the woman said briskly. “My concern is what to do with these delinquents.”
    “Girls,” Jack corrected.
    “Girls,” Raine said at the same time.
    They exchanged a look.
    “What about my mother?” Raine asked, directing her question at the sheriff. “Has Lilith been found?”
    “Yep. But I don’t think she’s going to prove a solution to this problem.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because she’s currently incarcerated.”
    “ What ?” It had been a long day for Raine, too. She decided that Sheriff O’Halloran’s patience wasn’t the only one hanging by a very thin thread. “You arrested my mother?”
    “Not me. Cooper Ryan. He’s a park service cop. Seems your mother was breaking a few fire regulations.”
    Talk about your small worlds. Raine remembered Lilith once expressing regret that she’d let her high school sweetheart get away. Coming from her mother, who’d never been one to admit to errors in judgement, that was definitely saying something.
    “Well.” Her mind, dulled by the long day and a touch of jet lag, went into overdrive, attempting to come up with a solution. She looked over at the Suburban again, viewed the expectant expressions on all three girl’s faces, and knew that what they were expecting was to be thrown back into the system.
    “Would the court find me an acceptable temporary adult guardian?”
    “I believe that would be satisfactory,” Ms. Kelly said after a moment’s hesitation. “Until the hearing.”
    “When will that be?”
    “The juvenile-court calendar’s extremely crowded at the moment, but since this is a special case requiring immediate