Page 60 of Unmasking Secrets
She unlocks and opens the door.
The woman on the porch pulls off her sunglasses and looks us both offer. She either knew Tabitha wouldn’t be alone or is good at hiding the surprise on her face.
“Tabitha, may I come in? We need to talk.”
“You’re alone.” Tabitha hesitates before taking a small step back.
I follow her lead. Unsure of how to process what is happening. Why would her ex’s mom be here? I send a quick text to my team to let them know who is here and ask if there’s been any new development.
“Julie Rollings.” The woman holds her hand out to me.
I take it. “Archie Stryker.”
She nods. “I thought you might be. You were at the wedding, in a uniform.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Good. You can stay for this chat.” She reaches into her purse.
I prepare myself to step in front of Tabitha until I see her pull out an envelope.
She raises a brow at my stance. “I’m not going to hurt her.” Julie passes Tabitha the envelope. “It’s an invitation to the gala. It includes a plus one and I have a feeling this one will be attending with you.” She glances down at her watch. “I can’t stay but for a moment. My husband and son have taken some things too far. There are some things going down that I have a feeling you’ll find out about soon.” She looks at me, then back to Tabitha. “I know this is cryptic, but it’s for my protection—and yours.” She looks at her watch again. “I was never here.”
Julie moves to leave and lingers at the door. Her eyes flicker between me and Tabitha. “I won’t pretend to know what all you were or weren’t put through while you were with my son. I can only apologize for not recognizing the signs until it was too late. He’s unfortunately turned into his father. And for that, I’m deeply sorry. Karma is coming.” She taps her finger on her side then lets herself out.
I move to lock the door behind her, then turn to face Tabitha who is looking down at the envelope.
“That was… weird.” She bites her lip and opens the envelope. She holds it up to me. “It’s exactly what she said it was, an invitation addressed to me and a plus one.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to see a message from my team’s group chat.
Tyler: There’s been some footage from Ryan’s that has gone missing.
Me: What? From when?
Tyler: That’s not all.
Tyler: We have it from a reliable source that something is about to go down. His family puts on a charity gala every year, and it turns out that it’s just a cover for what the family really gets up to.
Me: You don’t say.
I lookup to see Tabitha still staring at the invitation.
Tyler: We’re working on a way to get in there. It’s time.
Me: Tabitha and I were just invited.
Tyler: What? When?
Me: I think we need to chat in person.
Matt: I’m getting us flights out in the morning. We’ll be there by lunchtime tomorrow.
Me: See y’all tomorrow.
“The team is comingtomorrow so we can game plan. When is this event?” I walk over and look at the invitation in her hands. “A few days away.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
