Page 62

CHAPTER 62

W hen Olive saw Rebecca, she knew something was wrong. The woman didn’t look nearly as cheery as usual. Nor did Matt, who stood behind her with his arms crossed and a vein bulging at his temple.

“Can we still come in?” Olive asked, uncertain about the change.

Rebecca opened the door but didn’t say anything.

Olive exchanged glances with Nova as they stepped inside.

Before they could even ask any more questions or say anything, Rebecca started. “I had an interesting conversation yesterday with Georgina.”

Olive’s heart beat harder. Had the neighbor seen her hiding in the bushes? “Is that right?”

“She said that while I was in the hospital she saw someone collecting my mail for me. The girl with dark hair with purple tips who operated the camera during her interview.” Rebecca glared at them. “The problem is I didn’t ask you guys to come over and get my mail for me. So why were you looking through my mailbox?”

This was the moment where Olive needed to decide how to proceed. It could make or break the investigation. But she knew it was time to confront Rebecca and Matt.

Olive leveled her gaze with Rebecca as she said, “We know you’ve been scamming people. Nova and I have noticed that things don’t add up. For that reason, we’ve been concerned we’re going to be complicit in your fraud.”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes, all signs of friendliness gone. “You’ve been investigating me this whole time?”

Olive wasn’t ready to admit she was a PI. For now, she’d stick with her cover story. “We’ve been searching for the truth. What we hoped would be a nice feel-good story about people doing nice things for those in the community has been turned on its head.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rebecca narrowed her gaze. “I don’t want anything to do with this documentary anymore. I want you to get out of here.” She sliced her hand through the air and then pointed at the door. “Now.”

Unfortunately for Rebecca, Olive wasn’t quite ready to go.

Instead, she turned her gaze on Matt. “We also learned, by accident, that you’ve been keeping a motorcycle at Ellis and Sabrina’s house.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened as she turned to her husband. “What is she talking about? You sold that motorcycle. That’s what you told me.”

Matt’s face flushed. “I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. I love it so much. It’s one of the few things that still brings me joy. That and you and Willow, of course.”

“So you lied to me?” Outrage laced Rebecca’s voice.

Apparently, the scammer didn’t like to be scammed. Seemed a little poetic to Olive.

Matt stood silently, not saying anything.

“There’s more to it than that, isn’t there, Matt?” Olive finally said. “Are you the one who’s been trying to run me over?”

“Run you over?” He narrowed his gaze. “Why would I do that?”

“Someone’s been coming after me ever since I got to town. Then I found out you had a motorcycle and . . . maybe there’s a reason you didn’t want us doing this documentary? Maybe you were afraid we would find out too much about you?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snapped. “I haven’t ridden in months. And I definitely wouldn’t try to run someone over. It would damage my bike too much—plus, I’d never want to hurt someone.”

“Physically, you mean?” Olive shot back. “Because you two have hurt a lot of people with this scheme of yours.”

Neither said anything.

Olive looked back at Rebecca. “We also know that man you met with in the green Mercedes isn’t actually your cousin.”

Rebecca’s eyes grew even more narrow. “Why in the world would you say that?”

Rebecca still wasn’t giving up the truth yet. Olive wasn’t sure if she admired that or thought the woman was an idiot for it.

“Because it’s true,” Olive started.

Rebecca’s nostrils flared as she scowled at Olive. “I want you to get out of my house. Now.”

Olive knew she wasn’t going to get any more information right now. She grabbed her bag. As she did, she glanced at the side table near the front door.

A pile of mail lay there, and stuck between the envelopes were some photos.

Of Willow.

Had someone else volunteered to take family pictures for the Hansens?

Olive didn’t think so. They didn’t look staged.

There were photos of Willow on the playground. Walking down the sidewalk

“I said get out!” Rebecca yelled.

“On our way,” Olive murmured.

Just as she stepped out the door, Rebecca looked at them, a new emotion in her gaze. “You need to drop this. Now.”

Was that fear in her voice?

Olive thought it just might be.

“That was unexpected,” Nova whispered as she and Olive hurried back to the Jeep and climbed in.

“You’re right. It was. Did you see those pictures?”

“What pictures?”

She told Nova about the photos.

“What does that mean?” Nova asked as she snapped her seatbelt in place.

“I’m not sure.” She frowned as she tried to come up with some theories. “But it’s going to bug me until I know.”

As Olive turned on the Jeep, she glanced at her phone again.

She must have frowned again because Nova asked, “Is everything okay?”

“I’ve been trying to call Mitzi all morning, but she hasn’t answered, and she hasn’t tried to call me back.”

“That is weird. I get that she might be caught up in work, but you’d think at the very least she would have sent a text by now.”

“Exactly.”

A bad feeling gurgled in Olive’s gut. What if something had happened to their colleague? Did they need to find Dr. Peters and ask him about his date with Mitzi?

Maybe.

“Try to call her again,” Nova suggested. “Maybe she’ll answer this time.”

While they remained in the Jeep near the curb, Olive dialed Mitzi’s number.

It rang three times, and Olive was nearly ready to give up, figuring Mitzi still wouldn’t answer.

Then someone answered. However, there was no hello or hey. Just some static in the background.

“Mitzi?” Olive asked.

More silence.

“Are you there?” she asked.

Still no answer.

The bad feeling in Olive’s gut only grew.

Then a deep, gravelly voice said, “I have your friend. If you want to see her alive again, then you’re going to need to do exactly what I tell you.”

Olive’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Nova, who mirrored her expression.

“What did you do with my friend?” Olive rushed. “You leave her out of this.”

“I’ll text you instructions.”

Then the line went dead.

Olive’s heart pounded in her chest.

Someone must have figured out that Olive was working with Mitzi, and that they were getting closer to uncovering this scheme.

And now those people had Mitzi.