Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
O live had to think fast if she didn’t want to arouse any more suspicion in Jason.
“Listen,” she started as she turned toward him. “I understand you need to call the police. But I can’t be here when they arrive.”
Lines formed across his forehead. “Why not?”
“A couple of reasons. First of all, I was hired to be impartial and unbiased. Coming to an employee’s house would be out of line.”
He squinted as if skeptical. “Okay . . .”
“And secondly, I promised Ryan I wouldn’t tell a soul what was going on. If he knows I’m here—if he’s still alive—then he won’t trust me enough to tell me anything else. I need his trust if I want to find answers.”
Jason still stared at her as if cynical.
But Olive waited. She hoped with enough time he’d understand her logic.
Finally, he offered a curt nod. “Okay. I suppose I can make up an excuse as to why I’m here.”
Relief swept through her. “Thank you.”
“You’ll probably need to walk a couple of blocks over and call an Uber. That’ll be the best way not to be seen. I’d give you my car, but then the police would just ask more questions.”
“And we don’t want that.” She took a step back. “Thank you again. I’m going to get out of here.”
“I’ll need to talk to you more later. I need more details about what’s going on. There’s more that you’re not telling me.”
There Jason went again, reading her so well just like he always used to do.
Sirens sounded in the distance as she stepped out the front door. She glanced around to make sure no neighbors were looking.
They weren’t.
Then she pulled her coat closer and hurried down the sidewalk. She walked in the opposite direction of the sirens, hoping no one would see her. She’d get Tevin to find any security cameras that showed her face and edit that footage.
She didn’t need to call an Uber. She just needed to call Tevin. She had the feeling he was close anyway.
He was always good about keeping an eye on her.
When she was two blocks away, she pulled out her phone to call him. But before she could dial, his gray delivery van appeared beside her.
Tevin.
She couldn’t wait to talk things through with him.
She had to figure out what exactly had happened to Ryan . . . before someone else turned up dead.
Olive glanced at the houses around them as they left Ryan’s neighborhood. The police had sped by in the distance, not giving them a second look—thankfully.
But the whole situation left her feeling uneasy.
She gave Tevin the rundown on what had happened.
Finally, he pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot and put the van into Park so they could talk without distraction.
“Any updates on your end?” she asked Tevin. “Did you ID the man who was meeting with Bennett?”
“As a matter of fact, I did.” He nodded as if satisfied with himself. “Turns out he’s a Russian national.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you think he’s the potential buyer?”
“It’s a good possibility. I’m still looking into it. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you know.”
Olive heard his words, but her mind still raced. “If Bennett thought Ryan was a threat, he could have offed him in order to make this transaction happen.”
Tevin’s gaze met hers, concern in the depths of his eyes. “Just like he’ll do with you if he thinks you’re onto him.”
Olive swallowed hard, unable to deny his words. She’d been in some sticky situations before, but this one was the most dangerous.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Beau had stumbled into something he wasn’t supposed to know about also.
Tevin cleared his throat and looked away, chugging in a shallow breath before continuing. “I have another update for you. I talked to Rex earlier, and he’s added Mitzi to the case.”
Mitzi was a beautiful, leggy blonde, the one always assigned to the cases where they needed female wiles to come into play.
Those weren’t the kind of assignments Olive liked to take on. She preferred to use her intellect.
Nonetheless, she and Mitzi were friends—at least, they were friends as far as Olive had friends. And as far as Mitzi had friends also. Mitzi was the type who generally preferred hanging out with men. Olive had wondered on more than one occasion if even Tevin had a crush on the curvy bombshell.
“What will Mitzi be doing?” Olive asked.
“She’s been assigned to get close to Beau’s roommate and see if Beau told him anything suspicious before his death.”
“Smart thinking. We need to cover every angle possible. You made a spreadsheet for that, right?”
He grinned. “Of course.”
“I’d expect nothing less.”
“I also have these for you.” He placed something in her hands.
She glanced at the five small devices there. Without asking, Olive knew what they were—miniscule cameras that would record anyone coming and going from her office. Tomorrow, she would strategically place them.
She’d already left a few listening devices in various locations in order to overhear conversations among employees at the office. So far, those conversations had turned up very little except a new romance between someone in accounting and a junior-level executive.
“If anyone finds them—which they shouldn’t—they won’t be traced back to us,” Tevin said. “Just don’t leave your prints on them—or get caught leaving them anywhere.”
“Got it.” Olive glanced in front of her at the parking lot and all the vehicles coming and going.
The gray sky looked bland and unwelcoming—and cold. It looked so cold.
The reminder of the cold made her want to change into some sweats and a comfy sweatshirt and cuddle up in front of her gas fireplace.
“Listen, I need to get back to my apartment,” she told Tevin.
“Of course.”
She hesitated, a question playing on the tip of her tongue. She’d contemplated whether to say anything all day.
But now she decided she should.
“I have a favor to ask of you, Tevin. A personal favor.”
His eyes wrinkled at the sides. “Okay. What do you need?”
“You can’t tell anybody about this.”
His brow furrowed in concern. “I think you know by now you can trust me.”
Olive nodded. She did know that. “I’m hoping you can look into someone for me. A man named Walter Wiggle.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Walter Wiggle? Are you serious?”
“I know it’s an interesting name. But finding out information about him is important.”
Tevin stared at her another moment, questions in his gaze. Then he nodded. “Of course. I’ll see what I can find out.”
It wasn’t that she doubted Tom. But she wanted more information.
Besides, all this time she’d thought she was following in her father’s footsteps by working covert operations for the government.
What if none of that was true? What if she’d been fed a carefully crafted narrative . . . by her own father? What if her dad was a con man, and his job wasn’t one of integrity but of selfishness and deception?
What would that make her? Was lying in her blood? Was she destined to turn out just like him?
Logically, she knew that answer. But emotionally, it was an entirely different story.