Page 34 of Misdirection

If she was going to act, it needed to be now.

Gripping her tea, she headed toward the exit.

She stepped outside into the brisk, gray day.

As she did, her phone buzzed. It was Tevin.

Where are you going?

She slipped her sunglasses on and then typed back:

Following a lead.

A moment later, he replied with:

Be careful.

He was parked in his van somewhere around here, and he must have seen her step out. That was why he was so good at what he did. He paid attention to the details.

Olive spotted Bennett ahead. The man paused on the corner, glanced around, then took a sharp right.

She stayed a safe distance behind him, sipping her tea and trying to look casual as she walked.

Then he slipped inside an organic-foods market.

Olive paused outside the building, acting as if she was looking at something on her phone. But through her sunglasses, she watched what Bennett was doing.

He didn’t appear to be shopping. He didn’t pick up a basket.

Instead, a man waited for him inside.

She raised her phone, angled it as if taking a selfie. Instead, she took a picture of Bennett and the man he was meeting. Thekey to these things was blending in. That was what her dad had always taught her.

Of course, Dad had always made it a game. Now Olive knew it was far from that.

She glanced at the man Bennett was meeting again. She’d never seen this guy before. He was tall and thin with pale skin and a wiry brown beard that was flecked with gray.

Olive continued to watch the two men as they leaned closer to talk. Whatever they were discussing, it looked serious.

She moved closer to get out of the way of the jostling crowds headed down the sidewalk.

If only she could hear through the window . . . but she couldn’t. Besides, the street beside her was bustling with cars and honking horns.

She watched as Bennett slipped something to the other man. The action was so subtle and discreet she nearly missed it.

Olive squinted as she tried to get a better look at the object.

Was that a . . . jump drive? That was Olive’s best guess.

She had no idea what this meeting was about. But the fact it happened covertly indicated Bennett didn’t want to be seen.

Bennett was moving up her suspect list.

As he turned to go, Olive also turned. She couldn’t afford to be spotted.

She ducked into the next storefront and pretended to peruse some high heels near the front window.

She waited until Bennett walked past, alone now.

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