Page 26 of Olivia

Regardless, why was an Olivia, any Olivia, a concern? Diaz had murdered before, and he’d do it again. Something about this must have been different.

And Anna was going to find out what that was.

She’d been Diaz’s girlfriend for three years now and this was the first time she’d heard Olivia’s name mentioned. Why was he so worried about Olivia now that the Feds were involved? What had Olivia known? Why had he killed her?

She exhaled a long sigh as she stared at her reflection in the mirror—a reflection void of answers. She told herself that this would all be worth it. That it would soon be over.

Anna glanced to the clock just as it ticked over to midnight. Nothing had changed, not really, but a new day had begun.

Anna could feel change coming.

The end of her play was near.

JACKSON

Jackson wrapped a towel around his waist and gently rubbed a squeeze of moisturizer onto his face. He was still getting used to the shaved head—he wasn’t surprised Diaz hadn’t recognized him. He barely recognized himself.

But Anna had, and she hadn’t outed him. She could’ve yelled out that he was a Fed before he’d even had a chance to say a word to her. But she hadn’t.

The more he thought about her, the more he was convinced she was using Diaz for something; the sooner he found out what that was, the sooner he could use it to his advantage.

There was something in Anna’s eyes he connected with. Pain and sadness for sure, but something more than that.

He applied aftershave and closed his eyes briefly, remembering the sermon from last night on trusting God during the good times and the bad. It was easy to trust and submit to Him when everything was going well, but admittedly, it was much harder when things were bad. It was a timely sermon, and he was glad he’d made the effort to go. Will had been going to that particular church for years, and Jackson trusted his judgment, so he’d promised himself he would attend every week unless he absolutely couldn’t.

God, walk with me. Show me the path. Keep me safe. Keep Anna safe.

His eyes opened and he stared in the mirror, surprised by that line of thought.

He was praying for a woman he barely knew—and wasn’t even sure Anna was her real name.

He stared at his reflection. He needed to think rationally about this case. Maybe he was too hung up on Anna being the key to bringing down Diaz, but his gut screamed to follow her. The problem was that he might follow her straight to his death.

He shook his head, sighing softly. He needed coffee.

Jackson’s eyes dropped to his wrist. He had an hour before a meeting in the office.

He dressed in jeans, a sweater, and sneakers. He needed to look like a local resident, and casual wear meant he could blend in anywhere, any time.

He took the stairs down to the kitchen, made a cup of coffee, and opened the cupboard in search of something edible.

Jackson raised an eyebrow at the empty pantry. He had a bag of rice, a packet of definitely stale cereal, and a few crackers. He really needed to go to the grocery store.

He turned on the coffee machine, watching the neighbor’s cat walk along the fence that divided the properties. The cat stopped in front of his kitchen window and seemed to look straight through the glass, staring at him.

Jackson wondered if he should put a bowl of milk out. He looked over the cat and decided that was unnecessary. The cat appeared to be well-fed and looked after, so he probably shouldn’t encourage more visits from a cat that would undoubtedly scratch and hiss at him if he went closer.

But the cat sat staring and he stared back as he drank his coffee.

Until the cat’s head snapped back toward its owner’s house and jumped off the fence.

Jackson raised up on the balls of his feet, but he couldn’t see over the fence.

He shrugged, turning his attention to his phone. He scrolled through his emails, checking for anything urgent—hoping there was a message from the IT department with a full profile on Anna. That would’ve been nice, but there was no such email.

He put his mug in the dishwasher, grabbed his car keys, and headed for his car. He had time to grab a few groceries before his meeting and knew he should seize the opportunity, because who knew how his day would pan out? He’d also really like to eat before the meeting, and he hated fast food, especially for breakfast. Growing up in Redwater, there were no fast-food chains, so he’d never developed a taste for it.

He drove to the closest grocery store as it started to rain. He jogged inside and quickly walked through the aisles, throwing a few things into his basket without a lot of thought or an ounce of planning.

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