Page 47 of Smokescreen

That made sense. But if Daphne was in contact with someone at the ranch, then maybe she’d gotten that person to do her dirty work for her. Daphne seemed like the kind of woman who could convince men to do what she wanted.

However, Olive kept that thought quiet for now. She would need proof before bringing up that theory. That meant she needed to do some investigating.

As of right now, her top suspects were Dippy, Daphne, and Lucy.

She needed to narrow her focus as she dove deeper into each of their backgrounds.

Daphne called downstairs for Reid, claiming she needed help getting the water going in the shower.

Olive doubted the woman truly needed him. She simply wanted to monopolize his time.

That issue was one Olive would let Reid handle. High maintenance ex-girlfriends were way above her pay grade.

She considered going into her room to settle down for the night. But she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Instead, she changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and decided to walk around the house. Reid had told her once that she could go wherever she wanted. She’d yet to fully explore this place.

Maybe she should.

The center of the house featured the main living areas as well as the primary bedrooms and office. But wings branched out on either side.

From what Olive understood, one wing was mostly guest bedrooms. Some of the staff—like Hannah and Miriam—stayed there. The cast and crew had also stayed there during the reality show.

The opposite wing featured a theater room, a gift wrap room, a game room, and even an indoor swimming pool.

She started on the second floor at the center of the house, where her bedroom was located. Daphne was also staying up here, though on the opposite end of the hallway.

Olive wasn’t sure exactly what she was expecting to find—nothing really, she supposed. But she needed to get more familiar with this property. The more she could understand the value of this house and land, the more likely she was to find answers.

The lights flickered as thunder rumbled overhead, followed by a flash of lightning.

This spring thunderstorm was still going strong.

She walked across the landing and paused at a door on the far side. If she understood correctly, this doorway led to the wing where the guest bedrooms were located.

Olive twisted the handle and pushed the door open, listening to the hinges creak as she did so.

A dark hallway stared back.

She slowly stepped inside and paused.

A cool breeze swept down the long corridor. This area didn’t seem as climate-controlled as the rest of the house. The staff must use the downstairs portion of this wing. This space appeared untouched, definitely not like an area where someone was currently living.

Olive took another step, a chill washing over her.

She glanced at the wall and saw the light switch. Quickly, she flipped it on.

Soft illumination filled the space, showing the low-pile beige carpet on the floor, the dark molding around the wooden doors, and the beige stucco walls.

It didn’t look nearly as creepy with the lights on.

Olive scanned the space, pausing halfway down the hallway. Her gaze stopped at the rectangular-framed hatch in the ceiling.

It was the attic access, wasn’t it? At least one of them. In a house this size, it wouldn’t surprise Olive if there were multiple entrances.

She remembered Reid had said those old porcelain dolls belonging to his mom had been stored up there.

Olive hesitated a moment. Reid had said he’d look himself.

But she was already here so . . .

---