Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Morgan nodded. “Yes. Why would she claim that? Unless she had a reason, and it sure wasn’t saving Olivia. I’ve looked into her socials and she hates Olivia. She never names her, but she rants about how money makes women think they’re entitled to whatever and whoever they want. She sees Olivia as a rival. I think she needs help. She’s not well.”
“Are you going to bring her back in for questioning?”
“I tried to speak with her,” Morgan replied. “I went out to her family home. Her mother died a couple of years back and her father’s in Houston with his new wife. The brothers took over the homestead. Her brothers claim they haven’t seen her. She checked out of the motel room she was staying in.”
“So she’s in the wind.” The idea made Keane’s gut twist. He didn’t like the thought of someone who hated Olivia being out there possibly watching her.
“I don’t know about that.” Morgan frowned and looked up at the ceiling where old speakers blared music. She pointed up. “See. This is one of the many reasons I don’t come here if I don’t have to. I can’t tell if that’s a glitch or some torture Stephen Gunderson came up with.”
He should get Olivia. She should hear what Deputy Morgan was saying. He leaned in because the music was quite loud. “We should talk to Liv.”
Morgan nodded. “Yes. I’m glad she didn’t come here alone because I’m worried this isn’t about Scott.”
“What do you think?” Keane asked.
“I’ve put together something else. After Scott left Jessica, she couldn’t afford to stay in New York on her own. She applied for a job with Gladen Farms. She’s been his social media manager for half a year. The company is a member of the Barnes-Fleetwood consortium.”
“But then wouldn’t she have gone through a vetting process?” Not that Jack Barnes did that himself, as they learned the night before.
“Gladen Farms is an ancillary member of the consortium. Barnes-Fleetwood wouldn’t have any say in who they hire for their operations,” Morgan explained. “It’s not like O’Malley Ranch or Miranda’s parents. They were ground-floor members. They all use the same legal staff and office staff. The ancillary members don’t, so I assume Jack doesn’t even know Jessica is at Gladen Farms. I want to know if there’s been any trouble with Gladen. Olivia mentioned she had some ass to kick. I thought it was about business. I wonder if this isn’t some kind of revenge.”
Or a cover-up. He listened to Olivia and Garrett, even when they got caught up in work discussions. They’d been a bit obsessed with one thing at work. His subs had been talking about Gladen Farms. The situation there was what Garrett was worried about in a legal sense. It couldn’t be a coincidence. “Olivia’s been investigating Gladen Farms and their practices. She’s going to present it to her father and recommend they be removed from the consortium.”
Morgan’s brows rose. “What did he do?”
“They aren’t following organic practice, and she thinks he’s been paying off the USDA inspector.” He probably shouldn’t have told her, but he couldn’t risk it. “They haven’t moved yet because Garrett wants to make sure they have everything covered. It’s a political situation, according to him.”
“Well, it might be about corporate politics, but bribing an official is a crime. Shit. This is worse than I thought. Does Barnes know?”
He shook his head. “They want to get all their ducks in a row before they go to her father. It’s been kind of chaotic with the wedding and the redesign. I think she wants to make it as simple and easy on him as possible.”
Morgan put down her basket and pulled out her cell phone. “Now I understand why someone would want to burn down the office. He thinks she would keep the evidence there. Is he dumb enough to think she doesn’t have a backup?” She put the phone to her ear. “Yes, Tanya. I need to put a BOLO on Jessica Fellows and a man named Martin Gladen.” She sighed. “Yes, I think they are criminals. That is what the BOLO is for. I’m going to secure Olivia. No, it’s not because of her boyfriends. Stop with the gossip and get it done. This is serious.”
She glanced up at Keane. “I need to make some calls. Could you go and get her? I know it’s a public place, but I would rather we had eyes on her.”
Keane dropped his basket. Coffee would have to wait. Morgan was right. He needed to lay eyes on her. She was only a couple of aisles over, but he shouldn’t have allowed even that. “Yeah, I’ll get her and take her back to the ranch. You can meet us out there. Garrett’s been working with a private investigator. She might have some information that would help your case.”