Page 20 of Home Team Advantage
“Anna Black did have an interview scheduled at Willow Haven, and she did file a police report about a stolen car at a rest stop in Virginia,” Ian told Matt when he returned to the pub later that evening. Of course, he’d waited until he saw Anna and Mrs. Campbell return safely from their appointments or whatever.
“So, she was telling the truth.” Matt exhaled, feeling an odd sense of relief, but it didn’t last long.
“About that, yes,” Ian said.
Which Matt immediately took to mean she wasn’t telling the truth about something else. “Explain, please.”
“Legally speaking, Anna Black can’t work as a personal caregiver in the state of Pennsylvania. Among other things, she needs to prove she has a valid nursing license, or at the very least, has completed training and has sat for—and passed—a competency exam. Had she been hired at Willow Haven, they would have seen that she got the necessary certificates and whatnot as part of the onboarding process.”
“But she didn’t get the position, so they didn’t,” Matt reasoned. “That doesn’t mean she isn’t qualified or competent. I mean, she had to be to be considered for the job in the first place, right?”
“My thoughts exactly. Which is why I requested a copy of her application for employment.”
“They just gave it to you?”
“One of the board members is a family friend,” Ian told him, waving his hand as if inconsequential. “Under experience, Anna listed three prior caregiver positions over the last seven years. All elderly females with no close relations. Two now deceased, one in hospice.”
A knot tightened in Matt’s gut. “Any evidence of foul play?”
“None whatsoever. The deaths were deemed natural causes. The woman in hospice is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s. No signs of abuse or neglect.”
“Financial gain?”
“None that I can find. There’s no indication that she received anything more than her wages, which were reasonable compared to industry standards.”
“Okay.” So far, Ian hadn’t said anything to justify the niggling feeling Matt had that he was missing something. “So, what are you not telling me?”
Ian hesitated before answering. “It might be nothing, but … I haven’t been able to find anything that I can definitely tie to your woman prior to seven years ago.”
“She’s not my woman,” Matt protested.
Ian ignored him and continued, “Fear not. I’ll find her. Anna Black is a common name, and there are a lot of them to wade through. I could narrow things down if I knew where she spent the first twenty-some years of her life. Did Mrs. Campbell mention anything about where Anna might have grown up, gone to school, anything like that?”
“No, she didn’t.”
“That surprises me. From what Kieran says, Mrs. Campbell is a highly skilled interrogator.” Ian placed his forearms on the bar and leaned forward. “Hey, here’s an idea. Why don’t you ask her out?”
“Why would I do that?”
“She’s new to the area, right? Doesn’t know anyone or have any friends. Show some interest. Lay on the charm. Ask some questions. Get to know her.”
Matt frowned. Gathering intel through non-digital means was his specialty, and he had done a lot of things in the name of amassing intel without blinking an eye. But this felt different.
“Oh, come on,” Ian said with a smirk. “Don’t act like it’s a hardship. I’ve seen what she looks like, remember?”
Yes, she was attractive in a quiet, sexy librarian kind of way. The fact that she didn’t seem interested in him? A definite plus. And, sure, there had been those brief flashes of feminine appreciation in her pretty eyes both times he’d seen her, but beyond that, no interest.
Then again, as he’d rationalized earlier, there was no harm in being friendly. Playing the good neighbor. Engaging in a little harmless flirting. He wasn’t going to seduce her or anything. And it was for a good cause.
“All right.”
“Attaboy. Way to take one for the team.”
* * *
As Ian straightened and walked away to tend to a customer, Matt caught sight of Sean playing pool in the lounge. The guy was just as big as ever, though his hair was shorter than it had been the last time Matt had seen him. He was still rocking that very clear don’t fuck with me vibe. All of his uncles were forces to be reckoned with, but Sean was just extra.
“Hey, Uncle Sean.”
