Page 46 of Enigma
The bathroom stalls had gaps at the bottom and top.
There was nowhere to hide and no way out except through the main door.
“I’m not interested in talking.” Olive kept her voice steady.
“That’s unfortunate. Because my employers are very interested in talking to you.” The voice sounded professional, controlled.
Olive peered through the crack in the stall door and could barely see the woman. She appeared to be standing alone with her back to the bathroom entrance.
She was tall with dark hair cut into a sharp wedge, and she wore a dark blazer over slacks.
Her hands were visible, empty of weapons. But Olive knew that didn’t mean she was unarmed.
“What do your employers want?” Olive asked, desperate to buy time.
Should she text Jason? By the time she explained which bathroom she’d gone to, this woman could kill her.
No, she was on her own right now.
“My boss wants you to stop looking for Lloyd Stewart. To forget about Oasis, forget about your family, and go back to your normal life.” The woman’s voice remained calm, conversational. “I’m prepared to make it worth your while.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then things will become unpleasant for you and Mr. Stewart. Very unpleasant.”
Olive stared at the stall door. “Are you the one who tried to kill Lloyd?”
“I’m not here to answer your questions.”
“Is he alive?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Olive took a deep breath and unlocked the stall. The door swung toward her as she said, “I want to see him. I want proof that he’s alive.”
The woman scowled. “That’s not how this works.”
Recognition hit Olive like a physical blow.
She knew this face.
Not from recent memory, but from an assignment she’d taken a couple of years ago.
This was Elena Vasquez . . . a woman she’d encountered on that case.
A woman who had supposedly died in a car explosion in Detroit.
Elena saw the recognition in Olive’s eyes and smiled coldly. “I was wondering when you’d figure it out.”
Her mind raced. How was Elena connected to this?
Elena had been the enforcement arm of a human trafficking ring that Olive helped expose in Detroit. Elena’s job had been to track down escaped victims and eliminate anyone who posed a threat to the operation.
She’d been known for her ability to appear trustworthy—often posing as a social worker or immigration officer to gain victims’ trust before betraying them.
When federal agents raided the trafficking network’s main facility, Elena had supposedly been killed in a car bomb explosion.
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Olive murmured.
