Chapter 21
Twenty-One
M argot shifted, smothering a yawn as she tried valiantly to stay awake. She never should have sat down. But they’d been here for hours now and she’d been freezing. Once the sun finally eclipsed the horizon, the temperature had dropped dramatically. When Agent Dye told her she was welcome to have a seat in the car, she’d jumped at the chance to bask in the heater’s warmth.
But now she was toasty, and it had made her sleepy.
Yawning again, she sat up and blinked as she peered through the windshield. Half an hour or so ago, Agent Dye had walked up and crooked a finger at Max. He’d asked Margot if she wanted to come, too, but she’d already been rapidly fading and had opted to stay in the car. Max would fill her in on anything she needed to know.
Now, the two men were walking around the side of the house, and Dye had a tan duffel in his gloved hand.
She hit the button to turn off the car and got out. The chilly breeze immediately penetrated her sweater. For a moment, she debated digging her parka out of the back, but it was stuffed—and she meant stuffed —into her suitcase, and she didn’t feel like making a mess of the cargo area.
Hugging herself, she rounded the hood and waited for them to reach her.
“Did you get warmed up?” Max stopped an arm’s length away and ran a soft hand down her arm.
“Yes.” She looked at Dye. “Is that the money?”
“It is.”
Her gaze bounced between the men. She didn’t like the pinch to Max’s expression. “What else did you find? And don’t even think about telling me nothing. I can see by the look on your face there’s more.”
Dye answered, not giving Max a chance. “Another map.”
Margot sighed. Closing her eyes, she lifted one hand and pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“It has handwriting on it.”
Max’s words brought her head up.
“Can you take a look at it? Tell us if it’s Tad’s?” Dye asked.
She dropped her arms. “Sure.”
Walking past her, Dye set the duffel on the hood of the car, then opened his coat to remove an evidence bag. From another pocket, he produced a pair of gloves. “Put these on, please.”
Margot took the purple gloves and put them on while he pulled the map from the bag and carefully unfolded it.
He pointed to the margin. “There.”
Tipping her head, she leaned in, trying to get a better look. Shadows crisscrossed the surface over here away from the bright lights.
“Hang on.” Dye reached into yet another pocket and produced a small penlight.
With the surface illuminated, it only took her a moment to know it was indeed Tad’s handwriting. “That’s his. What does that mean, though?” Scrawled at the edge of the map in black ink was a single word: Chase. Another circle, like on the first map, highlighted an area of interest.
“It’s a bank,” Max said. “We looked at what’s inside that circle. There’s a Chase Bank location.”
“And it was robbed thirteen months ago,” Dye added.
Margot’s knees wobbled. “What?” She turned round eyes on Max.
His gaze was steady but wary. “Did Tad spend any time in Shreveport?”
“Not that I know of. Is that where the bank is?”
He nodded.
“I really don’t think so. I mean, he came home really late many nights, but not drove to Shreveport and back late.”
“What about work trips?” Dye asked.
“No. We didn’t take too many of those. Conferences, but those were with other people from the hospital and nowhere near Shreveport.”
“Okay. If you can give me places and some names of people he went with, that would be great.”
Margot rolled her lips in and nodded once. “I’ll have to think on it a bit. A lot’s happened since then.” Not to mention, her brain wasn’t fully functional right now. Shock, fatigue, and the cold had stolen her processing power.
“Of course. As soon as you can.”
Inhaling a deep breath, she stared over his shoulder for a moment. “Is that all you found? Anything connecting Tad to this place?”
“No. That’s still a mystery, unfortunately.”
Margot shared a look with Max. They’d be making another phone call to Asher tonight.
“Do you mind if we head out now?” Max asked Dye. “It’s been a long day, and we’d like to get some rest.”
“Of course. Where are you staying?” Dye refolded the map.
“Not sure yet. We drove straight here. I’ll text you when we settle somewhere.”
“Sounds good.” Stuffing the map into the evidence bag, he sealed it up again. “Keep me apprised of anything you uncover.”
Smile tight, Max nodded. “We’ll touch base tomorrow. Have a good night.”
Dye’s mouth tipped in a sardonic smile. “Oh, it’ll be a blast.”