Page 119 of Deception

“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.