Page 126 of Deception

“I’m so glad you came when you did,” she murmured as she leaned into his chest.

“I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer. I don’t even want to think about what might have happened.” His voice sounded hoarse with emotion.

A moment of quiet passed until Olive pulled away from the hug—but just slightly. Their arms still held each other, causing Olive’s heart to pound rapidly.

“Did you hear any updates while you were out there?” she finally asked.

“Not yet. I think the cops are still gathering information. And I’m pretty sure the FBI has been called in.”

“Rebecca and Matt?”

“I overheard they've been brought in.”

Olive rubbed the side of her face as a frown tugged at her lips. “I hate to think about Sabrina. She didn’t know any of this, and the fallout won’t be easy for her, will it?”

“It won’t. But she’s strong, and she’ll be okay.”

She knew his words were true. But she still hated it for Sabrina.

“I want to talk to Rebecca,” Olive finally said. “I still have more questions.”

“I know,” Jason murmured. “But I’m not sure if that will happen or not.”

“I’m just glad this is closed, but I’m sorry it ever happened in the first place.”

“Me too.” Jason released her, and Olive stepped back, instantly missing the warmth of his arms.

She stared up at him, questions trying to form on her lips. Questions about them. About their future.

But before any of them could be released, the door opened, and Monty stepped inside. “Good work, you two. I’m glad that we can all finally put this behind us.”

Olive stepped farther away from Jason. “I can only imagine.”

Monty stared at the two of them a moment. “I just realized that you two were probably the ones who called about the dead body of the nurse found in that bunker out of town.”

Olive nodded, not bothering to hide that fact. “If I told you we’d been there, our whole investigation would have been compromised. I’m sorry about that.”

“That’s okay. I’m just glad she was found and that her family can have some closure. My impression is that she knew what was happening with Rebecca and threatened to take action. These guys were determined to silence her so their plan wouldn’t be ruined.”

“What about the rest of the guys?” Olive asked. “The ones Ellis hired?”

“We’ve been tracking them down. Ellis is singing like a canary, trying to get a deal out of it.”

“Does Ellis own the land where the nurse was found?” Olive asked.

Monty’s eyebrows rose. “Actually, Dr. Darren Peters does.”

“I remember Mitzi saying something about how his grandfather had been a prepper and had some type of shelter in place for it.” Olive hadn’t connected the dots at the time, but now it made sense.

“That’s exactly what it was,” Monty continued. “He kept upgrading it with new technology. After he passed, it appears Darren thought it could be a fun hideout where no one would find him. Then when he and Ellis connected, they began using that for this new scheme they’d concocted.”

“I’m assuming the doctor has been arrested?” Jason asked.

Monty gave an affirming nod. “He's in custody now.”

Olive glanced over Monty’s shoulder and saw the door opened to an interrogation room across the way.

As the detective stepped out, she spotted Rebecca sitting inside.