Page 55

CHAPTER 55

J ason pulled away from the curb as soon as Olive was in the vehicle.

“That was a close one,” Jason muttered, quickly looking her over.

“Tell me about it.” Olive leaned back in her seat, trying to catch her breath. Her adrenaline had really been pumping. “You didn’t recognize the guy who went into the house?”

“Never seen him. You?”

“I didn’t get a good look at his face. How about his vehicle?”

“He parked behind me, farther down the street. I almost got out to check his plates, but I didn’t want to take my eyes off the house in case you needed help.”

“I appreciate that.” She held back a frown. “It’s weird, Jason. That guy went into Willow’s room.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Willow’s room? What would he be doing in there?”

“I have no idea. I think he took something, but whatever it was, it was small enough to fit in his pocket.”

His jaw thumped. “That is strange.”

“I did, however, get photos of Rebecca’s medicines. I’m going to send them to Rex.

He has connections in the medical field who can answer some questions for us—faster than we can research this.”

As she talked, Olive sent the pictures to Rex. He immediately replied and said he’d try to have some answers by tomorrow.

Olive took a minute to examine the labels herself.

She hadn’t had a chance to read the fine print when she was taking the photos. She was in too big of a hurry.

But most of the names of the medications meant nothing to her.

And many of the dates on these bottles were expired. A couple were for Matt.

“Well?” Jason asked.

“My gut tells me some of these bottles are just smoke and mirrors, props used in the background of Rebecca’s TikTok videos to make herself look legitimately sick.”

Jason let out a grunt. “If that’s what she’s doing, it’s disgusting.”

“I agree.” She let out a sigh. “We should probably go.”

They were supposed to meet Sabrina and Ellis for dinner at six. That only left them an hour and a half. They still needed to change and get ready.

Maybe this dinner was a bad idea, especially with so many other things going on. But Olive’s gut told her not to cancel. She couldn’t help but think that Sabrina might know something useful. After all, their old friend had been watching Willow and she was helping with the fundraiser. She could be a wealth of information.

But they wouldn’t be able to stay long. They had too many other things to do. Plus, Sabrina and Ellis had something else on their schedule as well.

Maybe she and Jason would discover something new, something that would move this investigation forward.

“Why do I feel nervous?” Olive didn’t mean to ask the question out loud, but she did.

Jason stole a glance at her as he drove down the road a couple of hours later. “Revisiting the past isn’t always all fun and games.”

“What are we going to tell Sabrina? What reason did you give her that we’d both be in town?”

“I just told her we’d reconnected, and I thought it would be fun to visit you while you were doing the documentary since it was our old stomping ground. She didn’t seem to think anything of it.”

Olive let out a breath. “Okay. That sounds good.”

She did feel better, but nerves still thrummed through her.

“Hey . . .” Jason looked at her again. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel weird about doing this. I’m sorry if I did.”

Olive shook her head. “I don’t feel weird about having dinner with them. It just feels weird to be back, like I’m visiting a different time in my life.”

“I get that.” Jason opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask more questions, but then he closed it again.

There was still so much Jason didn’t know—especially about her father. In general, it was better that way. She wanted to keep things simple.

They finally pulled up to Sabrina’s house.

The place was nicer than Olive expected. Two stories with white brick, black window frames, and a black tin roof—a high-end blend of modern and rustic. Two BMWs were parked in the driveway.

“I’d say Sabrina has done well for herself,” Olive murmured.

This house reminded Olive of Jason’s place.

His biological grandfather had found him before he died, and the two of them had really connected. When the man died, he left everything to Jason. Little did Jason know at the time that the man was a multi-millionaire with a huge house and money that would leave him set for life.

Olive, on the other hand, was happy with her little apartment back in Indianapolis. She was never there very often anyway. Money only seemed to make life more complicated. With more money came more bills, more things to take care of, more people who only liked you for your social status.

Olive sucked in a breath before saying, “Here goes nothing.”

“You’ve got this,” Jason reassured her.

As they climbed the steps to the front door, it opened, and Sabrina and Ellis stood there, looking like the picture-perfect couple.

Ellis had always been handsome, and he still was. His dark hair was now receding slightly. His face had filled out more, but he was still lean with a wide grin. Still refined.

Sabrina clasped her hands in front of her as she gazed at her friends. “Olive and Jason! I can’t even tell you how excited I am. I have dreamed about the day when all of us could get together again for so long. And I can’t believe you’re both here. In my wildest dreams I thought maybe I’d see one of you again. But never both, and never together.”

As Olive stepped closer, Sabrina let out a squeal and then pulled her into a hug. She did the same with Jason.

Ellis was more reserved as he gave them loose embraces and handshakes. Olive and Jason hadn’t been nearly as close to him.

“I brought some flowers.” Olive held up the wildflower bouquet they’d picked up at the store on the way.

“They’re so beautiful.” Sabrina sniffed them. “Thank you. Now, y’all come in. Paisley actually went to a friend’s house. We had Willow with us last night and most of the day today, but we took her home about an hour ago. Having her here is always fun, but Paisley is a social butterfly and likes a variety of friends.”

A social butterfly? Olive had to wonder which parent she got that trait from. Both Sabrina and Ellis were friendly, but she wouldn’t call either of them social butterflies.

“So this is my house.” Sabrina held her arms out as if to display her living room.

Her decorating style inside appeared similar to the outside with minimal embellishments, all in neutral tones.

“It’s lovely,” Olive said. “Very lovely.”

Sabrina gave them a quick tour, including an impressive game room and a beautiful sparkling pool out back.

What did Sabrina say Ellis did for a living again? Olive couldn’t remember. He clearly made good money.

A tantalizing scent hovered in the air and made Olive’s stomach grumble.

Sabrina seemed to read her thoughts. “You sound hungry. We already put the steaks on the grill. Ellis was starving. We’re not trying to rush anything, of course. But the baked potatoes are in the oven, I’ve got a salad made, and I even have sweet tea and lemonade—I didn’t forget about your caffeine allergy.”

“It sounds perfect.” Just as Olive said the words, her stomach grumbled again.

She was hungrier than she thought. Working cases always built up an appetite, it seemed.

Sabrina turned to them. “Why don’t we go ahead and eat then? I know you don’t have much time because you’re here to work on your documentary. Besides, we have to pick up Paisley in an hour and a half anyway.”

“I’m starving also, so it sounds good to me,” Olive admitted.

Several minutes later, they were all gathered around the table.

Olive wanted to chat. But she also wanted to hear about Willow.

She’d have to use all her skills to bring up the subject without being too obvious.