Page 21 of Memory of Murder (Colby Agency: The Next Generation #3)

“Again,” Jack said, “we appreciate your time. Would you let your assistant, Carin Wallace, know that we’re trying to get in touch? I’m confident she has some of the answers we’re looking for.”

Langston remained silent. Fury burned red on his face, glowing in his eyes.

No one, not even the woman who had greeted them when they arrived, waited outside the office to escort them from the house. This surprised Anne. They walked along the marble-floored hall and into the grand foyer. No sign of Eve or an assistant or a member of the household staff.

Apparently the senator had wanted to ensure today’s conversation was kept absolutely quiet.

Again, Jack checked the vehicle before they got in to leave. At the end of the driveway, they waited for the gates to open and rolled forward.

They had a new place to stay. Anne had taken care of that matter while they waited for their lunch at Judith’s.

If the woman had been in today, she hadn’t come out to say hello.

Maybe she couldn’t bear to face Anne after what she’d done—filling Eve in on their conversation.

But then perhaps Judith didn’t realize she’d done exactly what they’d wanted her to do—spread the word they were here and looking for information.

“Our tail is back.” Jack nodded toward the rearview mirror.

“Are we still going to shop?” She watched the black sedan in the side mirror.

“Why not. He can follow us there, and we’ll lose him after that. Just be prepared in case he makes some sort of aggressive move.”

Vividly recalling yesterday’s driving adventures, Anne leaned deeper into the seat, braced one hand on the door’s armrest and the other on the console between them. “Got it.”

The drive via US-14 from Barrington to Crystal Lake took all of five minutes. Another five or so minutes later and they arrived in the parking lot of the superstore they’d agreed upon.

Jack watched as the black sedan drove on past where they had parked. It wound through the lines of parked cars, finally sliding into a slot three rows away.

“I guess they want to know the location of our new hotel,” Anne surmised. Motel actually. The one she’d chosen wasn’t one those watching them would likely consider.

“We’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

They emerged from the car. Jack reached into the back seat and got the box. “Just in case.” He looked at Anne over the top of the car.

“Good idea.”

They walked together to the entrance. Anne had never shopped for clothes with a man. This would be a unique experience for sure. She grabbed a cart. Jack deposited the box in the cart, and she placed her shoulder bag on top of it.

“Ladies first,” Jack suggested.

“Works for me.” Anne headed for the women’s department.

While she perused the racks of tops, Jack stepped a short distance away and made a call.

She glanced at him from time to time, hoping there wasn’t bad news.

Or maybe this was a good call and she would have something better to think about instead of being frustrated over the meeting with Langston. What a jerk the man was.

The sound of her own cell phone vibrating tugged her attention to her purse. She poked around inside until she found it.

Lisa .

Worry sent a flare of adrenaline in her chest. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Hey, Anne. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”

“No.” She rifled through the tops on the rack in front of her. “It’s fine. Everything okay?”

“I’m not sure.”

Her assistant did not sound okay. “What’s going on?”

“The tile supplier just called about our new job. He said he’d forgotten about a customer on the list ahead of us who apparently wants the exact same tile we ordered for the principal bathroom.”

Anne’s stomach dipped. Not good. “What kind of delay are we looking at?”

“Two to three weeks from today. He claims the tile we ordered that will arrive next week will have to go to the other customer.”

That kind of delay absolutely would not work.

“Hold on,” Lisa said before Anne could respond. “Got another call.”

Anne forced herself to focus on the task at hand despite the news from Lisa.

She grabbed a mustard-colored tee without a logo or image plastered across the front.

She tossed it into the cart and carried on sorting through the offerings on the rack.

When the seconds continued to tick off, she glanced at the screen to ensure the call was still connected. It was and she was still on hold.

She hoped this was not more trouble. The idea that the timing was worrisome wasn’t lost on her. Could Langston really work that fast? They’d only left the meeting a few minutes ago. Then again, he could have started this as soon as he heard she was in town.

A black tee caught her attention. Plain.

Good. She plucked it from the rack and tossed it into the cart as well.

Maybe one more, and that would be enough.

She settled on a pale rose-colored one, and it joined the others in the cart.

She glanced at Jack, who lingered close and still appeared to be in deep conversation on his own phone.

She grabbed two pairs of jeans and headed for the lingerie department, which was next to this one. She glanced back to ensure Jack followed. He did, but thankfully he kept his distance while she grabbed the necessary bras and undies as well as a nightshirt.

All she needed now was a few toiletries like deodorant and a disposable razor. Maybe some mascara.

“Sorry!” Lisa said into her ear, making her jump.

“You are really not going to believe this. It was the same guy—the tile supplier. Now he says the kitchen-floor tile is on back order. But I know it’s not because I spoke to one of the guys who works there this morning to go over the suggested coordinating trim.

It was not on back order, Anne. Something is going on with this guy.

I mean, I can call around and see what I find out from other wholesalers, but this is very strange. ”

Anne’s fingers tightened around the cart handle. Nothing she could do from here…except stay calm. “Just do what you can to ensure we have what we need to start in fourteen days.”

“Don’t worry,” Lisa assured her. “I will. I just wanted you to know that something weird is happening here.”

“I’m sorry for the trouble, Lisa. I promise there will be a big bonus in this one.”

Lisa laughed. “I got you. Don’t worry. Bonus or not, this is going to get done.”

Anne thanked her and ended the call. She tossed her phone back into her bag.

Outrage rushed through her veins, and she wanted to scream.

How the hell had he done this so fast? Even if he’d started yesterday…

this was incredibly quick. His statements in the meeting suggested he had already done a background search on her.

But the details of her latest client’s contract? That was over the top.

Well, of course he had gotten in-depth information. He was rich and powerful…and a scumbag.

How much money did it take, she mused, to turn longtime suppliers against her?

“Everything okay?”

Jack must have noticed the look on her face because he was suddenly beside her.

“I don’t know. It seems we have a problem with our tile supplier.

” She looked directly at Jack, hoping he would read the innuendo in her eyes.

“This morning all was well with our orders, and now suddenly there are delays. I want to believe this has nothing to do with what’s going on here…

” She moved her head side to side. “But after that veiled threat he made about my life, I’m not so sure. ”

Her phone sounded the warning that she had a new text message. She grabbed it from her bag and stared at the screen.

You will not believe this!

Her heart dropping, she opened the text box.

There may be a snag with our permit for the job!!!

Anne typed a quick message letting Lisa know to call if she couldn’t get it straightened out.

“And now—” she looked at Jack “—there’s a holdup on our permit.”

“Now, that one,” he said, his own frustration showing, “I would put money on being prompted by a call from someone on the senator’s personal staff.”

Anne was angrier than she had been in…she couldn’t remember when. She forced the worries aside. “We heading to the men’s department now?”

“Yeah. Let’s get this done and get out of here.”

They started that way, and then she realized she hadn’t asked him about his call.

“Everything okay on your end?”

“My call was all good.” He flashed her a grin.

She liked his smiles, and she was immensely thankful he hadn’t laid another issue at her feet. “We’ll need to stop at health and beauty aids too.”

“Deodorant,” he noted with a nod.

“For sure.”

Unlike her, he was quick with his shopping.

They even swung through the aisle where camping supplies were sold and grabbed another flashlight and batteries.

Then after a quick stroll through Health and Beauty, they were off to the checkout lanes.

Once they were checked out and ready to go, rather than walk out the main exit, he ushered her in a different direction.

“Where are we going?”

He flashed her another of those adorable grins. “To the garden department.”

The garden department was on the opposite end of the enormous superstore from where they had parked. She wasn’t sure how that would help, but obviously the man had a plan. To her surprise, she trusted him completely.

As they reached the area stocked with all manner of grilling and pool supplies as well as loads of plants, he checked his cell and continued toward the exit.

Outside a car waited at the pedestrian crosswalk. Jack opened the rear passenger door for her. She climbed in, her bag of goods in hand, and he slid in next to her, the box and his own bag in tow.

“All set?” the driver asked.

“We are. If you don’t mind, go out on this end of the lot.”

“Will do.”

Jack turned to her. “Uber,” he whispered. “He’s taking us to the car-rental center. We’ll pick up our new car and head to our hotel.”

Anne twisted around in the seat and looked for the black sedan that had parked just beyond the grocery entrance—all the way at the other end of the massive building.

Then she grinned at Jack. “That was good.” Worry tugged her lips into a frown. “What about your car?”

“Someone from the agency will pick it up.”

Anne relaxed and settled back into the seat. She was grateful to be in such good hands. She just hoped he was good enough to keep this search for the truth from turning into a bigger nightmare.

Though she hated admitting as much, she hadn’t expected her business and certainly not her life to be in danger while pursuing this quest.

But then, she hadn’t fully embraced the idea that Mary—her mother—had been telling the truth.

And that someone would be willing to do anything to prevent that truth from coming out.