Page 19 of Enigma (Pros and Cons Mysteries #6)

T he Sun Bank ATM stood in the parking lot of a brightly lit convenience store, its blue-and-red logo visible from several blocks away.

Jason pulled into the lot and parked near the machine. They both scanned the area for any sign of Lloyd or the dark sedan from the hospital security footage.

The parking lot was mostly empty except for a few cars belonging to convenience store customers, and the ATM area was deserted.

Jason approached the machine while Olive looked around the well-lit parking lot, frustration building in her chest when she saw no one.

“He was here twenty minutes ago,” she murmured. “Twenty minutes.”

“I’ll ask inside.” Jason headed toward the convenience store.

Olive followed him through the glass doors into the bright interior.

A young man with multiple piercings stood behind the counter, looking bored as he scrolled through his phone.

“Excuse me.” Jason approached the counter. “I’m looking for my father. He might have used the ATM outside about twenty minutes ago. Older man, silver hair, five-ten. Did you happen to see him?”

The clerk looked up from his phone, his expression clearly showing he didn’t want to be bothered. “Yeah, maybe. I think I saw an older guy out there. He was with a woman.”

Olive stepped closer. “A woman?”

“They came in a car together, used the ATM, then left.” The clerk shrugged. “Didn’t seem like anything weird. Just normal customers.”

“What did the woman look like?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know, man. Middle-aged, I guess? I wasn’t really paying attention.” The clerk’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at it. “They were only out there for like two minutes.”

“What kind of car?” Olive pressed.

“Dark sedan. Maybe black or dark blue.” The clerk shrugged impatiently. “Look, I see a lot of people every night. I can’t remember every detail about every customer.”

Jason pulled out his phone and showed the clerk a photo of his dad. “Is this the man you saw?”

The clerk glanced at the photo and nodded. “Yeah, that looks like him. But like I said, he seemed fine. Not like he was in trouble or anything.”

Olive and Jason glanced at each other.

Just what exactly was going on?

Olive and Jason thanked the clerk and walked back outside, both of them seeming to feel the weight of disappointment.

Olive looked at the ATM again, trying to imagine the scene that had played out there just minutes before they arrived.

“So close,” she murmured.

“At least we know he’s alive.” Jason’s voice sounded heavy with frustration. “And apparently mobile.”

“With the same woman from the hospital,” Olive added. “Which means either she’s subtly coercing him or . . .”

“Or he’s willingly going with her,” Jason finished. “Which raises a whole lot of uncomfortable questions about what my father’s really involved in.”

He rubbed his jaw as if disturbed by the thought.

They climbed back into the car, and Jason called Detective Santos to let him know the update. Then he started down the road again.

They were only five minutes away when Olive’s phone buzzed with a text from Tevin. She opened it, wondering if he’d discovered anything.

Did you check your email yet?

She showed Jason the text, and they looked at each other with growing unease.

They hadn’t. Not yet.

Her lungs tightened as she wondered what Tevin had found.