Page 34 of Enigma (Pros and Cons Mysteries #6)

O live and Jason worked quickly, photographing everything they could. The evidence was overwhelming—years of fraud, money laundering, and what appeared to be a sophisticated criminal operation using Lloyd’s medical practice as its hub.

“We’ve got enough here to—” Olive stopped mid-sentence as red and blue lights suddenly flooded the room through the window.

Police cars had surrounded the building.

“What?” Jason spat out the word. “How did they know we were here?”

Olive peered through the window and counted three patrol cars, with more arriving. Officers took positions around the building, covering all the exits.

Her breath caught.

“I figured someone was tracking us,” she realized. “They must have reported us.”

The sound of car doors slamming echoed from the parking lot, followed by the crackle of police radios.

She and Jason were trapped in a building surrounded by law enforcement, with a box full of evidence that implicated Jason’s father in decades of criminal activity.

“We need to hide this information.” Olive began stuffing it back into the safe. “We can’t let the police know about it. Not yet.”

“I agree. For now, it’s better if they don’t know.” Jason began to help her.

Just as they finished, a voice echoed through the building, amplified by a bullhorn.

“This is the Oasis Police Department. The building is surrounded. Exit through the front door with your hands visible.”

“We don’t have a choice.” Olive stared at the police cars surrounding the building. “If we try to run, it just makes us look guilty.”

Jason nodded. “At least we got photos of everything.”

After securing the safe and putting the panel back in place, they stood.

Olive looked at him, her stomach tightening with dread. “What are you going to tell the police? Will you make up an excuse?”

His jaw ticked. “I’m going to have to play it by ear.”

“I’ll follow your lead.”

She didn’t want to do this. But they didn’t have any other options.

It would be a lot harder to find answers if they were in jail.

Jason glanced at her. “You ready for this?”

She nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

They made their way to the front of the building, the beam of police lights cutting through the darkness as they approached the main entrance. Olive raised her hands as they stepped outside, Jason doing the same beside her.

“Don’t move!” an officer shouted. “Keep your hands where we can see them!”

The parking lot was a sea of red and blue lights, and at least six patrol cars were now positioned at strategic angles around the building. Officers had taken cover behind their vehicles, weapons drawn.

“We’re unarmed,” Jason called. “We’re coming out peacefully.”

As they walked slowly toward the nearest patrol car, one of the officers stepped forward into the light. He was tall and broad-shouldered . . . and familiar.

The officer lowered his weapon slightly. “Jason?”

Jason stopped walking, his expression shifting from resignation to shock. “Dean?”

Dean Johnson—Jason’s brother-in-law, married to Jason’s sister Chelsea—stared at them a long moment before holstering his weapon completely.

This could be a good development, Olive mused—or a terrible one.