Page 46 of Critical Doubt

"Definitely not. He said what he had to say."

"Which wasn't much."

"No, but what he said made sense. Todd did work part-time and has only been with the company a few months. It's certainly believable that Mr. Carmack didn't know him personally."

"I would agree. He didn't appear to have anything to hide."

"I have a hunch it's the blonde woman who came into the office and asked Colton's assistant if there was news."

"That would be my guess," he agreed. "But who was she to Todd? A coworker? A friend? A romantic interest?"

"We'll find out soon enough."

A few minutes later, she parked next to Brittain Park. They got out of the car and walked past a children's playground and a rose garden to a beautiful, flowing fountain surrounded by a circle of stone benches. On one of those benches was the blonde woman they'd seen earlier.

She stood up as they approached, looking more than a little nervous. "Thanks for coming. I—I couldn't talk at the office."

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Jackie Simmonds. And you're an FBI agent, right?"

"Yes, I'm Savannah Kane. This is Ryker Stone."

"I recognize you from one of Todd's photos," Jackie said, her gaze moving to Ryker. "You were his team leader, right?"

"I was," Ryker answered. "I assume you've heard that Todd is missing."

"It's all over the office, how he crashed into the river, and now he's missing. Is there any chance he survived?"

"We don't know," she answered, seeing the fear in Jackie's eyes. "What's your relationship to Todd?"

"I handle the assignments for the security team members. Todd and I have become friends over the past few months. Actually, a little more than friends," she admitted. "But we haven't been able to see each other that much, because he lives in Dobbs when he's not on assignment." Jackie drew in a shaky breath. "I'm so worried. Do you think he's dead? God, I can't believe I'm saying that out loud."

"We don't know," she said gently, sensing that Jackie's concern was very real. "But until he's found, there's always hope."

"I want to believe that. You don't think he killed himself, do you? I heard it might have been suicide."

She frowned, thinking how that suggestion from Tanner was taking on a life of its own. "That's just a rumor. Why did you want to speak to us?"

"I think Todd might have been in some trouble," she said, worry in her eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't be saying anything, but I feel like I should tell someone."

"You definitely should tell us why you think that. We're trying to help Todd."

"Todd and I spent the night together about two weeks ago. He was texting a lot. I woke up in the middle of the night, and he was back on his phone. He said it was about an assignment, but I knew what his assignments were, and he didn't have one. I tried to press him for more information, and he said that it would be better for me if I didn't know."

"Know what?"

"That's the thing—he didn't say. I thought it might have to do with Todd's mom, because he was worried about her. He needed to move her to another facility, but it was very expensive. I told him I was sure Colton and Trent would give him more hours, but he said that wouldn't work because Paul was having a hard time and needed him to be in Dobbs. But Todd had a guy—Vic—who had an inside track on some betting thing. I told him to be careful, he could lose more than he could win and then he'd be worse off. But he just laughed it off." She paused. "Anyway, the next morning, when he was in the shower, he got another text, and I read it."

"What did it say?" Ryker asked.

"It said the timetable had been moved up, and he needed to make a decision. It was time for him to ghost." She paused. "I couldn't ask Todd what it meant, because then I'd have to admit I was snooping. I didn't understand the reference to a timetable, but I was pretty sure the text was suggesting that Todd disappear on me, like so many of my dates like to do," she added bitterly.

"Was there a name on the text?" Savannah asked.

"No, and I didn't recognize the number. It wasn't anyone Todd worked with at our company, nor was it one of his Atlanta or Florida friends. The area code was DC. I looked it up. As you can tell, I'm a little nosy."

She was actually happy that Jackie had been curious. "What happened after that?"