Page 17 of Deception

Someone else had been in here—and it wasn’t housekeeping.

The place had been turned upside down.

Olive’s back tightened, and she grabbed her gun.

Had the intruder left already? Or was he hiding just out of sight?

CHAPTER 10

Olive cautiously stepped into the room and scanned everything around her.

She swung her gun toward the bathroom on her left. Flipping the lights on, she surveyed the small space.

No one was there.

She stepped back into the small entry and carefully paced forward.

Olive paused at the corner, and her gaze swept over the king-sized bed. The couch. The small desk and dresser combo.

No one still.

Just to be sure, she peered on the other side of the bed, her gun still raised and ready.

No one crouched there, ready to pounce.

With a relieved sigh, she shoved her gun into her purse.

Then she examined her room more closely.

Her suitcase’s contents had been strewn, and her clothes now lay scattered on the floor, bed, and couch. The extra blanket from the dresser was half inside the open drawer and half on the floor. The pictures on the wall were crooked. One of the pillows had even been split open and now looked as if it had been disemboweled.

It all seemed like overkill.

Someone had either come here looking for something or to send a message. Olive would guess it was to send a message. Or Motorcycle Man could have realized she had the USB drive and had come looking for it.

The gutted pillow? Maybe someone had just done that out of spite.

Did someone know her true identity? Did Rebecca suspect Olive wasn’t here with pure intentions, and had Rebecca sent someone to scare Olive off to protect her image?

Olive had no idea.

But she didn’t like this.

She glanced at the door to her room. Should she tell the front desk clerk? Ask for security footage? Call Monty?

No, she decided. Doing so would only draw more attention to her and complicate matters. She’d stay quiet about this for a while longer.

Right now, she needed to straighten up so she could get to work.

But this wasn’t the start to this assignment Olive had wanted.

Olive had straightened her room and ordered Chinese food when a knock sounded at her door.

Nova.

Olive checked through the peephole to be sure.

She quickly ushered the woman inside and then locked the door behind them.