Page 93 of Deception

“Yes, ma’am,” Mitzi said with drawl. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Olive ended the call, knowing Mitzi would call back as soon as she knew something.

Right now, her gaze was focused on the road.

Motorcycle Man had gotten a decent head start, and Olive wasn’t sure if they could safely catch up with him.

Besides, what would they do if theydidcatch up? Demand the guy stop and take off his helmet so they could see his face? The most likely scenario would be that they followed him, found out where he was going, and watched as he took off his helmet, revealing his identity.

Jason took a sharp left turn onto another street, pivoting so quickly Olive felt her stomach drop as if they were on a thrill ride at Six Flags.

Two blocks ahead, she spotted the motorcycle. The driver turned again.

Jason jerked the wheel, turning a block earlier than Motorcycle Man. He headed toward the retail area of town.

At the next light, he glanced to the left, then the right.

Motorcycle Man was nowhere to be seen.

Where had he gone?

They couldn’t have lost him this fast.

“Maybe he stopped at one of the stores,” Olive said. “Go left!”

Jason did as she said.

But at the next intersection, they still didn’t see this guy or his motorcycle.

He couldn’t have just disappeared.

They had to keep looking.

As they did, they needed to be careful.

This guy had drawn a gun on them before, and there was no guarantee he wouldn’t draw a gun on them again.

Olive, Jason, and Nova canvassed all the nearby streets and neighborhoods.

But they still hadn’t seen Motorcycle Man.

Then Mitzi called.

Olive put the phone on speaker as she answered, anxious to hear what she had to say.

“He’s gone,” Mitzi announced in a whisper. “I took a bathroom break and went upstairs to check. Matt wasn’t in the room with Rebecca when I got there. I asked one of the nurses, and she told me that Matt left about fifteen minutes ago. Told her he was running home to get something.”

Olive raised her eyebrows. If Matt had gone home to get something, was that something the motorcycle? Did he keep it in the garage?

But if he’d gone to the house, Olive would have seen him.Jasonwould have seen him, at least. If Matt had pulled into the driveway, Jason would have definitely noticed.

What if Matt kept the motorcycle somewhere else? It seemed like a theory worth exploring.

She thanked Mitzi and ended the call.

Motorcycle Man was gone. Whatever hopes Olive had of finding him and discovering his identity had disappeared along with him.

But she was nowhere close to being done with this investigation.