Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The tattoo was a constant reminder of the secret he carried, a burden that weighed heavily on his conscience. Wyatt often wondered if his colleagues suspected anything. He knew Kevin had skeletons in the closet, but Wyatt doubted they were as dark as his own.
A movement caught his eye, pulling him from his thoughts. Marnie Wilson emerged from the building, her honey-blond hair gleaming under the streetlights. Wyatt straightened in his seat, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he watched her climb into her car.
As Marnie pulled away from the curb, Wyatt counted to ten before starting his engine. He eased into traffic, maintaining a careful distance as he followed her through the quiet streets of White Rock.
The chase gave Wyatt a rush, reminding him of his younger days when he’d first discovered his talent for computers.
Back then, it had been about the thrill of pushing boundaries, seeing how far he could go without getting caught.
Now, those same skills were put to use for a greater purpose, even if the methods weren’t always strictly by the book.
Marnie’s car turned onto a familiar street, and Wyatt’s eyebrows rose as he recognized her destination. The Thorne residence loomed ahead, its imposing facade a stark contrast to the more modest homes surrounding it.
Wyatt pulled over, killing his headlights as he watched Marnie park in the driveway. She exited her car and strode purposefully to the front door, which opened before she could even knock. Beryl Thorne’s petite figure was silhouetted in the doorway for a moment before both women disappeared inside.
As he waited, Wyatt’s mind wandered to the case at hand. Jo’s suspension had hit the team hard, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that Marnie was somehow involved. But how? And what was her connection to Beryl Thorne?
A few minutes later, the front door opened again. Marnie emerged, clutching a thick manila envelope to her chest. She hurried to her car, glancing around furtively before getting in and driving away.
Wyatt waited a beat before following, his curiosity piqued by the mysterious envelope. What could be so important that Marnie would make a late-night visit to Beryl Thorne to obtain it?
They drove for about fifteen minutes, leaving the residential area and entering a more industrial part of town. Marnie finally pulled up in front of a nondescript building with a small, unassuming sign that read Parker Studies.
Wyatt parked a block away, watching as Marnie entered the building with the envelope. He glanced at his watch—10:32 p.m. An odd time for a meeting, especially for someone running for mayor.
With Marnie out of sight, Wyatt pulled out his laptop. If there was one thing he excelled at, it was digging up information that others wanted to keep hidden. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he began his search on Parker Studies.
To his surprise and frustration, he found... nothing. No website, no business listings, not even a mention on social media. It was as if Parker Studies didn’t exist at all.
Wyatt’s brow furrowed as he dug deeper, employing some of his more questionable skills to breach firewalls and access restricted databases. Still, he came up empty-handed. Whoever was behind Parker Studies had gone to great lengths to keep their operation off the grid.
Two hours crawled by, each minute feeling like an eternity as Wyatt alternated between watching the building and attempting to uncover any information about Parker Studies.
His eyes were starting to burn from staring at the computer screen when movement at the building’s entrance caught his attention.
Marnie emerged, her face partially obscured by the shadows. Wyatt noticed immediately that she no longer carried the manila envelope. Whatever had been inside, she’d left it at Parker Studies.
As Marnie’s car pulled away from the curb, Wyatt discreetly followed at a safe distance. He followed her to her home, noting the moment when the lights in her house flickered off one by one. Sighing, he decided it was time to call it a night.
On the drive back to his own place, Wyatt’s mind buzzed with new questions. What exactly were the Parker Studies, and how did they connect to Marnie Wilson? And did this have anything to do with Garvin McDaniels’s murder?