Page 27 of Deception

Then Olive stepped into the ice cream shop and prepared herself to ask for more money.

But this whole setup felt wrong . . . and embarrassing.

She hoped she didn’t run into any kids from her school.

CHAPTER 15

TODAY

Olive awoke early to get ready for the day. She wanted to review her interview questions as well as all the terminology she needed to be familiar with as a part of her job as a documentarian.

Thankfully, she was a quick study.

At 8:30, Olive and Nova met downstairs in the lobby and grabbed something to eat from the breakfast area.

As she sipped on some fruity tea, Olive geared herself up for the day.

The last thing she wanted to do was to ruin an innocent person’s life, to add more heartache onto someone who was suffering.

That was another reason why she needed to keep her investigation under the radar until she had more evidence. If Rebecca truly did have a terminal illness, then she deserved to be treated with respect.

“Are you ready for this?” Nova’s voice broke her from her thoughts.

“I think so. Let me help you.” Olive grabbed one of the cases Nova was carrying, and they walked outside.

Today was gloomy with a blanket of gray clouds overhead that spewed bursts of cold rain. It seemed fitting for their assignment.

They walked to Olive’s Jeep Wrangler and loaded the equipment in the back. Then they took off toward Rebecca’s house.

“You feel as nervous as I do?” Olive stole a glance at Nova.

Nova shrugged. “Nervous? Nah. Not really. I mean, I like catching the bad guys. But I like knowing they’re definitely the bad guys first.”

“Me too.” At least Olive wasn’t alone in her feelings.

They drove into a neighborhood—a newer one if Olive had to guess. These houses were maybe ten years old, based on their style and upkeep.

Several minutes later, they pulled to a stop in front of Rebecca’s house—a two-story, farmhouse-style home with dark-blue wood siding and white trim.

“Here goes nothing,” Olive murmured.

“We are Union Bay Productions,” Nova repeated.

Heaving in another breath, Olive climbed out and took the equipment from the back. They’d even had some “Union Bay Productions” stickers created and placed them on the camera case. Not only that, but the stickers looked well-worn.

Details were what their team did best. They’d created business cards for them as well.

Olive and Nova trudged to the front door.

Before they even knocked, the door opened, and Rebecca stood there with a smile on her face. Today, she wore a blue maxi dress with small, pink flowers patterned in narrow lines.

“Good morning,” she greeted them.

She sure was perky. Had she heard about Maria? Certainly, she had.

“Good morning.” Olive gave Rebecca a nod.

Olive had dressed for her new identity again today. She’d worn loose jeans and a black linen shirt. Her hair again was pulled into a low ponytail, and she wore minimal makeup.

---