Page 11 of Enigma (Pros and Cons Mysteries #6)

W hile the doctor ran some more tests on Lloyd, they gave him some privacy. Nancy had gone to grab some coffee, and Jason went with her.

They’d asked Olive to come, but she’d feigned an excuse about needing to sit down for a minute.

The truth was, she wanted to check out the hospital and see if there were any more signs of Simon.

She walked back through the ER waiting room, searching each face.

Simon was nowhere to be found.

Which didn’t surprise her.

He was a spook, after all. He knew how to disappear.

But if that had been him, what had he been doing here in Florida? At the hospital?

Was he following her? Did he know about Lloyd’s potential connection to her family’s murder?

Or even worse—what if he was somehow connected to the attempt on Lloyd’s life?

Sometimes, in her line of work, it was nearly impossible to know who to trust.

As she paused by the doorway where she thought she’d seen him, something on the ground caught her eye.

A business card.

After glancing around, she slowly picked it up.

Newmark Consulting.

Her breath caught.

That was the name of the company Simon had claimed to work for when she’d first met him.

He’d left this for Olive, knowing she’d find it, she realized.

Her heart thrumming in her ears, she stared at the phone number on the card.

He wanted her to contact him, didn’t he?

Yes, Olive decided, he most definitely did.

Olive had tried the number twice already.

Each time, the call went nowhere.

No rings. No voicemail. Nothing.

That didn’t mean she wouldn’t try again later.

But for now, she went back inside and found Jason and Nancy waiting outside Lloyd’s door. Nancy gripped a paper cup in her hands, that same worried expression still on her face.

Before they could say anything, the door opened, and the doctor stepped out. “He’s doing just fine. But he’s tired and will need his rest. His body has been through a lot. He’s a very lucky man.”

After the doctor left, Nancy turned toward them. “I’d be happy to sit with him for a while if you two need to grab dinner. I don’t mind.”

Olive waited for Jason to respond, leaving the ball in his court. His lips twisted in a frown before he finally nodded. “Okay. If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Not at all.” She waved a hand in the air. “He doesn’t need the three of us watching him sleep.”

Jason turned toward Olive. “Want to grab a quick bite to eat? Not here. I know a place down the road.”

“That would be great.”

After they all exchanged phone numbers, Olive and Jason headed outside and walked through the hospital parking lot.

The sun had recently set, and the parking lot was now illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights that cast everything in an unflattering yellow glow.

They walked in silence, Olive leading Jason toward her rental vehicle.

When they reached the Volkswagen Tiguan, Jason stopped and turned to face her. The lighting made the exhaustion on his face more pronounced, and Olive saw the weight of everything that had happened settling on his shoulders.

“We need to talk.” He pressed his lips together as he stared at her.

“I know.” Olive’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Jason, I?—”

“Not here.” He glanced around the parking lot, which was mostly empty except for a few cars belonging to late-shift hospital workers. “There’s a diner about two blocks from here. Mel’s Place. Do you want to follow me?”

Olive nodded, recognizing the olive branch for what it was. He could have suggested they talk in the morning, or not at all. The fact he was willing to have this conversation tonight meant something.

The roar of an engine suddenly filled the air, growing louder by the second.

Olive looked up in time to see a dark sedan racing across the parking lot. Its headlights cut through the evening shadows like twin spotlights.

Worse yet, the car wasn’t slowing down—and it was headed straight toward them.