Page 95 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

"I'm told that the girl is fine,” Flynn said. The recording went on until Oliver asked about Darcy and Donovan asked him why he’d bring her up.”

Oliver told him about Darcy’s anger at Wally, which Donovan didn’t sound interested in. Then Donovan told Oliver to leave his phone, and the recording ended.

Agent Langdon looked up at me.

I shrugged. "It sounds like they're talking about how to turn over the papers so that they can save Olivia."

"That's our take too. But we’re wondering if you notice anything in Mr. Quinlan's voice? Or anything unusual about the conversation?"

"Oliver sounds tense, but of course he would be." I thought about the conversation again. "It was sort of unusual, though, that Donovan was offering to take the papers. I mean, it's one thing if he was going to take them to investigate, but he made it sound like he was going to make the exchange. But Oliver's right, why would the crew be open to working with him since he’s with law enforcement?”

The agent’s brow arched, telling me that I had hit on one of the issues that they had been wondering about as well.

"We did also think it was unusual that if Mr. Quinlan was with the detective as he was leaving the hotel, why didn’t he introduce the agent and the detective? Granted, law enforcement agencies don't always like to work together, but generally, in the case of a missing child, those sorts of rivalries are put aside. Yet he kept Agent Marsden's cover."

"Holy hell, you’re thinking Donovan is a part of this," my father said.

My jaw dropped. “Oh, my God. Flynn knew Liam back when they were kids and even just before he was killed. I think they hung out with some of the same people, people who were in the crew." I closed my eyes at the memory of how helpful Donovan was in helping me search and clean up my home. "I let him in my home. He was helping me clean things up, but if he's a part of this, he was looking for the papers."

The agent nodded. My father let out an expletive and took my hand.

"But if that's the case, why didn't Donovan just take the papers from Oliver when he had the chance? Why was Donovan offering to make the exchange if he could just take the papers?"

"We have had the same question, and what we’re thinking is that if he took them by force, he’d out himself and reveal his connection to the crew. It’s in his and the crew's best interests that his connection stay hidden."

"So, what are you going to do?" Now, I wasn't just worried about Olivia but about Oliver as well.

"We have a couple more questions that we’re hoping you can answer. First of all, they mention Wally, which we suspect is Wally Creighton who is now head of the crew. He's also the one we know Liam had suspected of stealing social security numbers of foster children to sell them."

I nodded. "That's what Oliver had learned."

"Did he learn it from the person he referred to as Darcy in this recording?"

"He talked to two people. Once was Darcy… Darcy Patrick. She and Liam had known each other… I think they were friends, maybe more. I think Oliver said that Darcy was recently let out of prison. The other person's name was Johnny… I think. He used to be with the crew, but he isn't anymore."

Agent Langdon wrote down notes in his notebook.

"What do you think this all means?" I asked.

"We're just trying to get a sense of all the players and how they might fit together."

"If this Wally person is behind this, then he would have Olivia. Can't you go to his house?"

"Agent Marsden is doing everything that she can. However, our intel is telling us that this Darcy woman had a beef with Creighton."

I just stared at him. "I don't know what all this means."

"There’s a reason Mr. Quinlan made this recording and passed it to us. He mentions this Darcy woman specifically and seems to think that she’s involved. But if she went to prison because of Creighton, why would she then be telling him about these papers if she was angry at him? It would seem more likely that she’d want the papers for herself. Or to use them against Creighton. We do know that there is an internal power struggle going on in the crew."

I didn’t know if it was the accident or just the stress of the situation, but it took a moment for the neurons in my brain to fire coherently. "So, you're saying that maybe this Wally person isn't involved in all this. That it's Darcy and someone else. Maybe Flynn?"

He nodded.

"What does all this mean for us? What are we supposed to do?" my father said, frustration lacing his tone.

"The best you can do is give us any information that you might have. Rest assured that we are focused on getting your daughter back safely."

"I think that's all I know. I never actually talked to Darcy or that Johnny person. It's only what Oliver told me. I've talked to Flynn many times, but I never once got the feeling that he was a part of this. But if he is, I suppose it makes sense. He was helpful in getting my house cleaned up and having somebody watch it. I suppose he was really watching me to see if I found what Liam had hidden."

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