Page 50 of Enigma (Pros and Cons Mysteries #6)

E veryone worked for several minutes in silence.

Then Jason leaned back in his chair, let out a sigh, and asked, “What’s our next move?”

The question wasn’t surprising considering he was generally a man of action.

Olive was glad he asked because she’d been thinking about their game plan for the past several minutes. “I say we split up. Cover more ground. Gather more intelligence.”

Mitzi nodded at the documents. “I’ll keep analyzing these records, see if I can identify patterns.”

“I’ll keep working on Elena’s phone,” Nova said. “And see if I can trace more of Sarah Mitchell’s financial activities.”

“I’ll do surveillance,” Trick said. “Someone needs to watch Dr. Schmitt. If he’s involved, he might lead us to Lloyd or give us intel on the network’s operations.”

“I’ll go with him,” Tevin volunteered. “I can work on the computer while we keep watch.”

“And I’ll coordinate security here and keep alert for any unwelcome visitors,” Jason said. “After what happened at the diner, we can’t assume we’re safe anywhere.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Olive nodded, hating to be confined here. But she understood why it was important.

As everyone scrambled to get moving, Olive stood.

She needed to make a phone call.

She slipped into one of the bedrooms, pulled out her phone, and scrolled to Tom Greer’s contact. Her finger hovered over the Call button as she tried to figure out how to ask the question that had been eating at her since Simon’s revelation.

The phone rang twice before Tom’s familiar voice answered. “Olive? Everything all right? You don’t usually call twice in one week.”

“Hi, Tom. I’m actually in Texas right now, and I need to ask you something that’s going to sound crazy.”

“Crazier than usual?”

Despite everything, Olive almost smiled. “Much crazier. Tom, when my family was murdered, you were the agent who handled the scene, right? You identified the bodies?”

A pause. “That’s correct. Olive, where is this going?”

“I need to know . . .” She took a deep breath before plunging in headfirst. “I need to know if there’s any possibility my mother survived that night. Any possibility at all that the woman identified as Margot Sterling wasn’t actually Margot Sterling—or whatever her real name is?”

The silence on the other end of the line stretched so long that Olive wondered if the call had dropped.

Finally, Tom spoke, his voice careful and measured. “Why are you asking me this question?”

The fact that he hadn’t answered raised all kinds of red flags. “Because I think she might be alive. I think she might be involved in something that got my father and sisters killed, and now she’s coming for me.”

Silence stretched across the line.

“Tom?” Olive pressed. “Please. I need to know the truth.”

He took a deep breath. “Olive, the scene was . . . traumatic. There was significant damage to the bodies, and we had to rely on physical characteristics, clothing, jewelry . . .”

“But you’re certain it was her?”

Another pause. “At the time, yes. But now that you’re asking . . .” Tom’s voice grew more troubled. “Can you send me that photograph you mentioned? The one of the woman you think might be your mother?”

Olive quickly texted him the surveillance image Simon had sent her.

Then she waited, listening to Tom’s breathing as he presumably studied the photo.

“Wow,” Tom muttered after a moment. “The resemblance is uncanny. Olive, I?—”

“You know something,” Olive interrupted. “I can hear it in your voice. What aren’t you telling me, Tom?”

“It’s complicated. There were aspects of your family’s case that never sat right with me, details that didn’t quite fit the narrative we constructed.” Tom’s voice carried the weight of old doubts. “But I need to make some calls. This isn’t something I can discuss over the phone.”

“Tom—”

“I found something!” Nova’s voice rang out in the other room, excitement and urgency clear in her tone.

“I have to go,” Olive said quickly. “But we need to finish this conversation. Soon.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. And Olive? Be careful. If your mother is alive and involved in what you’re investigating, then everything about your family’s murder needs to be reexamined.”

Olive ended the call and hurried back toward the rest of the group, where she saw Nova hunched over Elena’s phone, a triumphant expression on her face.

“What did you find?” Jason stood behind Nova, glancing at the phone.

“Messages about a shipment.” Nova continued to scroll through the decrypted data. “Look at this. It says, ‘Shipment arrives Tuesday at 0300 hours. Standard protocol for processing. Location Bravo as discussed.’”

“What’s Location Bravo?” Mitzi peered over Nova’s shoulder.

“There’s an address attached to some of the earlier messages.” Nova pulled up a map on her laptop. “1847 County Road 15. It’s about twenty minutes outside town, looks like some kind of warehouse.”

Olive studied the timestamp on the messages. “Tuesday was yesterday. Whatever happened, we missed it.”

“But there might still be evidence there,” Jason pointed out. “If they’re using this location regularly for processing shipments—whatever that means—there could be records, physical evidence, something that tells us what kind of operation we’re dealing with.”

“It’s worth checking out,” Mitzi agreed. “Even if we don’t find active operations, we might find clues about where they’ve moved to or what they’re planning next.”

Olive nodded slowly.

She rarely thought she was in over her head.

But right now, that was exactly what she was thinking.