Smokescreen (Pros and Cons Mysteries #2)

Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

B efore going back to the Homestead, Olive, Reid, and Tevin stopped to pick up Tevin’s van. Olive drove it back to the house.

Once there, Tevin grabbed some of his equipment, including a computer where the drone imaging was stored. The drone itself had been shot down and now lay in ruins in a hard-to-reach spot of the forest.

Then Olive, Reid, and Tevin went into Reid’s office. Trick joined them.

They were dangerously close to blowing their cover. But the four of them needed to talk.

Olive studied Tevin a moment as he sagged in his seat. “I wish I had some dill-flavored sunflower seeds for you.”

“I could go for some of those right now.” He offered a feeble smile.

He still looked pale, and she was worried about him. But Tevin had insisted he didn’t want to go to the clinic.

With Trick now present, they went through the same story Tevin had told them in the truck about what had happened.

Trick’s gaze flickered with anger that someone had hurt his colleague. “Do you think someone knows who you really are?”

“I’m not sure.” Tevin shook his head, his gaze dull. “It probably has more to do with what I picked up on with my drone.”

Olive scooted closer to the edge of her seat. “What did you see?”

Tevin’s gaze locked on hers. “I saw a body.”

“What?” Surprise laced Reid’s voice.

“A man was lying by the stream,” Tevin continued. “But it was probably ten miles west of where I was operating the drone. Too far for me to go check it out myself.”

“Do you think it could be Andy?” Olive turned to Reid.

He rubbed a hand over his frown. “Without seeing an image, it’s hard to say. I certainly hope not.”

So did Olive, but she knew the odds. Someone could have left a body out in that wilderness, knowing it was likely to never be found. Turkey vultures would eat it first and scatter the bones.

“Do you think you can find the image?” Trick asked Tevin.

He grabbed his computer. “Let me work on it.”

Just as he started typing, someone knocked at the door.

They all stiffened.

Reid motioned for everyone to stay put. Then he walked to his office door and stepped out. His voice still carried through the door, however.

“Cooper,” he muttered a moment later. “What’s going on?”

Cooper murmured a few things that Olive couldn’t make out—and she definitely tried.

Finally, Reid stepped back into the room, the lines on his face hard.

He closed the door and turned toward them. “The fewer people who know we’re meeting, the better. Even though Cooper is my right-hand man, I still want to be careful.”

“It’s only wise,” Olive said.

Reid remained by the door, his jaw visibly tightening. “Cooper just told me that some of the guys heard gunshots out in the woods.”

“Is that normal?” Olive asked.

“No, it’s not,” Reid said. “He’s going to check it out, just to be sure nothing is wrong. Most likely, it’s hunters.”

Olive frowned. “I don’t like where this is going. As soon as it’s daylight, I need to find that body.”

“I think I found an image . . .” Tevin murmured as he tapped away on his computer.

They all gathered around him. He enlarged an image from his drone and showed it to them.

Reid let out a grunt. “That looks like Andy, but it’s hard to say for sure.”

Olive studied the image. “I agree. That very well could be him.”

“Should we tell the police?” Tevin asked.

“Not yet.” Reid shook his head stiffly.

“Do you not trust them?” Trick said.

“It’s not that I don’t trust Sheriff Freeman. He seems decent enough. He’s one of the originals around here—his family goes back generations.”

“So why the hesitation?” she asked.

“I want to see this area for myself first. We tend to handle things on our own in a place like this. Plus, there’s a good chance if those guys suspect you saw the body that they moved it, especially if they had anything to do with what happened.”

Olive nibbled on the inside of her mouth before asking Tevin, “The men who did this to you . . . was one of them tall and the other short and stout?”

Tevin shrugged. “It all happened so fast it’s hard to say. But maybe.”

Trick jerked his head toward her. “You think those two guys from the livestock auction are the ones behind this?”

“I think it’s a good possibility. Especially since I know one of them was in town.”

“Makes sense.” Trick nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “Makes me want to get my hands on them and . . .”

He didn’t finish.

Just what were those men up to? How were they involved in all of this? And what was that gun they’d deposited in Skip Carson’s office used for?

They decided Tevin would stay at the house tonight. Hannah had already made up a spare bedroom for him, and he’d gone to lie down. Olive had talked to Tevin alone for a few minutes to make sure he was okay. He seemed to be.

She came back downstairs and found Reid in his office.

She stepped inside. “Can I have a moment of your time?”

His eyes wrinkled at the sides. “Of course. Have a seat.”

Olive shut the door and paused, drawing in a breath before starting. She couldn’t put off this conversation any longer. “Listen, when I was up in the attic, I browsed around. It was clear someone had been up there recently. I could tell from the scuff marks in the dust on the floor where someone had walked.”

“Okay.” Reid narrowed his eyes as if curious where Olive was going with this.

“One of the boxes contained some legal documents, probably left there by your parents. There were some tax returns inside and other papers like that.” She paused and swallowed hard. “There was also a copy of your father’s will in that box.”

Reid twisted his neck. “Really? I keep a copy of the will in my safe here in my office.” He nodded at the big metal box on the bookshelf.

“I thought it was strange that the documents were upstairs in a box instead of in a secure location. But they were there.”

“My parents were still old school, so I suppose there’s a chance they kept some old paperwork up there.” Reid paused again and narrowed his eyes. “Where are you going with this, Olive?”

She swallowed hard. “Reid . . . this copy of your dad’s will . . . it looked just like the copy Lucy had.”

He balked. “That’s not possible.”

“But it is. In this version of the will, Lucy was given a part of this estate.”

“Then someone planted that will!” Reid’s nostrils flared, but he otherwise kept his emotions in check. “I’m telling you the truth when I say my dad would never do that. This property meant too much to him. He and Lucy were never close, nor were they blood related.”

“Where does Lucy live now?” Obviously, Mitzi had looked into it and would know. But Olive wasn’t sure.

“Last I heard she was in Seattle. She does some modeling gigs, though she hasn’t been too successful. Still, she likes to claim that title.”

“And her mom?”

“She remarried. Last I heard, she’d moved to Atlanta. I haven’t heard from her in years.”

“And she never went after your dad’s money?”

Reid shook his head. “No, not really. She seemed rather content since she remarried. I heard a rumor that Lucy and her mother are now estranged. Had a fight over something. Probably money.”

“Is there any chance your former stepmom convinced your dad before their divorce to write Lucy into the will?” Olive needed to get rid of the emotion and talk about this from a logical viewpoint.

Reid shook his head. “Even if that was possible—and I don’t believe it is—Dad would have changed the will as soon as he got divorced.”

“How long was he divorced before he died?”

“Seven years,” Reid said. “Plenty of time to make any necessary changes.”

“I agree.”

Reid paused and blew out a breath. “I’m not being territorial. I know it sounds like I am, but I’m not. I’m being honest when I say that will is not accurate. My dad believed people should earn money. He instilled in me a good work ethic and felt confident I could take over here once he was gone.”

“I think I would have liked your dad.” Olive paused as her thoughts churned. “So you think someone placed that other will in the attic, hoping we’d find it? Hoping some doubt would kick in?”

Reid ran a hand over his face. “At this point, I’d say anything is possible. Someone’s desperation is leading them to do crazy things. I don’t even know what they might be up to next.”