Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
“ O live, what is it?”
Olive hadn’t realized she’d screamed out loud, but she must have made some kind of noise. Because Reid had appeared five seconds later.
She pointed to her bedpost. “That.”
Reid stepped into the room and glanced in the direction she pointed. Then he muttered something beneath his breath and shook his head.
Someone had taken an old porcelain doll and, using a black marker, had put Xs over the eyes. Then they’d taken that doll and hung it from a noose attached to the bed frame.
They were clearly sending Olive a message that she wasn’t welcome.
“Who could have done this?” Reid continued to stare at the doll.
“Someone who has access to the house.”
“And it wasn’t like this before you left for dinner?”
“No, I would have definitely noticed and told you about it.”
“So while we were eating someone snuck into your room and left this here to scare you.” He shook his head and began to pace. “I don’t like this.”
“Do you have security footage?”
His eyes brightened. “I have cameras outside. Let’s go look at the footage.”
With one last glance at the doll, Olive followed him downstairs and into his office. He pulled a seat around to the other side of the desk for her. They sat beside each other and looked at his computer.
It took several minutes to find what Reid was looking for, but then he hit Play.
Two different videos were displayed on his screen. One featured the front door and the other the back.
He fast-forwarded to before dinnertime and slowed the footage.
They watched carefully. But only five minutes into the video, the footage went blank.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Reid muttered.
Part of Olive wasn’t surprised. “Someone knew you had cameras up and also knew how to manipulate this footage. Any idea who might have been able to do that?”
Reid clucked his tongue before shaking his head. “I don’t. Most of the guys who do manual labor for me don’t strike me as the type to know their way around a security system like this.”
Olive agreed. This wasn’t most likely done by hired laborers. This was done by someone tech savvy. She thought about who else could have access to the property.
“Who does the books for you?” she asked.
“I have a bookkeeper who only comes in twice a week. He likes things neat and tidy. Takes his shoes off at the door. Leaves his workspace spotless. I don’t see him as the type to do this. Besides, if he’d come up to the ranch, I would have seen him pulling up. It’s obvious when people come to visit since they have to drive down that long lane to get here.”
“What about Hannah?” Olive lowered her voice as she asked that question.
“Hannah?” Reid’s voice rose slightly.
Olive watched him, curious about his reaction. Did he trust her? Did he see her as anything other than a house manager?
“Why would you think it could be Hannah?” He squinted.
Olive shrugged. “She has access to the house. And whoever sent me that message somehow had a porcelain doll on hand. I’m going to venture to say most of the guys working for you don’t have dolls in their possession.”
He tilted his head toward his shoulder. “Point taken.”
“You don’t recognize the doll, do you? I mean, where did it come from? I find it hard to believe someone bought one just to bring it here and scare me.”
He remained silent with thought for a moment. “Now that you mention it . . . my mom had a few dolls she kept in a display cabinet for years. There were five of them—I only remember that because she called them The Jackson Five. Apparently, she ordered them from a man who lived in Jackson Hole, thus the name. Anyway, they’re all in the attic now.”
“Could you check sometime and see if one is missing?”
“That sounds like a wise idea.”
Olive shifted before carefully broaching the next question. “Listen, has Hannah ever done anything suspicious before?”
Reid thought about it before shaking his head. “No, she’s very trustworthy. Had a clean background check. I’ve never once questioned her loyalty.”
Olive almost asked him if he knew the woman had a thing for him. But she decided not to. She’d let him figure that one out on his own.
“Should I call Hannah in here?” Reid asked. “I can find out if she saw anything.”
Olive shook her head. “No, don’t do that. I want to keep her in the dark a while longer. Besides, I don’t want her to get spooked. If she’s not the one behind the doll, then seeing what someone did with it may very well send her running.”
“Good point.” He let out a sigh and shook his head. “I don’t like this. Maybe it was a mistake asking you to come here.”
She gave him a pointed look. “You wouldn’t be saying that if I was a man.”
Reid blanched as if her words surprised him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean, you’re letting your chivalrous side come out, and that’s admirable. But if you’d hired a man and he’d been threatened, you wouldn’t be second-guessing yourself.” She paused before finishing with, “I can defend myself.”
“I know you can. I apologize for making it sound otherwise. I just don’t like seeing anyone who works for me in danger.”
Olive squeezed his forearm. “That’s a good thing. It makes you a good boss. Never stop being like that.” Then she quickly withdrew her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. “But in this case, I’m the private investigative agent. Let me handle myself.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered, offering a playful salute.
The two of them exchanged a smile, and admiration glimmered in Reid’s eyes.
Then as quickly as the moment started, it passed.
Reid tapped his finger on the arm of his chair. “What are you going to do about the doll?”
“I’m going to take it down and examine it. But I doubt there’s any useful evidence on it.” Olive could dust it for fingerprints, but she’d have to call in a favor to run those prints. She wasn’t sure it was worth it in this scenario. “Whoever did this wants to get under my skin, and I can’t let them think they’ve won.”
He nodded slowly as he processed her words. “I can respect that. We don’t want to make this person up the ante either.”
“No, we don’t.”
A moment of silence passed between them as they each seemed to process today’s events.
Finally, Olive stood. “Well, you said you had work to do. So I’ll let you get to it.”
Reid rushed to his feet. “Should I walk you back up?”
“I’ll be fine.”
But Olive was definitely going to keep her eyes wide open in light of this new threat.