Page 4 of Deception

Olive and her family had stayed in Oasis less than a year, as they were prone to do. Then her father had uprooted them and moved them to Indiana so he could become a pastor. Her father becoming a pastor had caused a whole slew of other issues. But she preferred not to think about those now.

Right now, she’d focus on this case.

Jason had hired Aegis, the company she worked for, to do some investigating. One of his sisters thought she—and the whole town, for that matter—was being scammed.

It had taken some convincing, but Olive finally talked her boss, Rex, into letting her take this job. Normally, the cases they took on were much more high-stakes and high-profile. They left insurance cheats and infidelity to the smaller firms.

She was here under the guise of being a documentary filmmaker.

The case: A woman in Oasis could be defrauding the community of their money to satisfy her own greed. Olive needed to prove if that theory was true or not.

And she needed to do it by Saturday, when a community-wide event called Kick Cancer would take place and all the proceeds would go to this woman. Apparently, there would be an auction, a bake sale, and a concert by a local band.

And all the money raised would be matched by a local real estate developer.

If this woman was lying, she stood to steal thousands of dollars this weekend alone. Olive had seen flyers for the event posted around town, and someone had walked past wearing a “Kick Cancer for Rebecca” T-shirt.

As Olive stood on the sidewalk, goosebumps suddenly spread across her arms and neck.

She recognized the feeling—the feeling of someone watching her.

However, she’d just gotten into town, and no one should know she was here. So who would be watching, and why?

She scanned the street around her. The cozy storefronts with colorful flowers in hanging baskets. The wooden benches beckoning people to sit and stay awhile. A barbershop complete with a barber pole. A café with a chalkboard advertising the day’s specials. People walking their dogs or strolling with shopping bags.

Then she saw him.

Just around the corner across the street.

A man holding a camera.

A camera whose lens was aimed at Olive.

Her breath caught.

“Hey!” she shouted.

Then she took off after him.

The last thing Olive wanted was to make a scene. But she had to find out why this guy was taking pictures of her. She’d only been in Oasis for a few hours, and no one in town knew the real reason she was here. Only her coworkers at Aegis and Jason.

Something like this could blow her cover—something Olive couldn’t afford to let happen.

She darted across the street, and a Honda Civic nearly rammed into her. Instead, the driver threw on brakes and lay on his horn.

“Sorry!” she yelled as she continued to dodge vehicles.

But the pause had given the photographer long enough to put more distance between them.

Whoever the guy was, he was fast.

Olive watched as he turned, heading down an alley.

She pushed her legs as quickly as she could, trying to reach him.

She had some serious questions for this guy.

There was a small chance his presence wasn’t about her current case.

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