Control (Harper Security Ops #18)

Eight

EIGHT

Alana

“So, are you going to just start questioning them?”

I glanced over from the passenger’s seat to look in Ty’s direction. We were heading to the first place on my list, and he had decided to drive. I hadn’t expected it, nor did I like that he was using his gas to drive us around, but I supposed it was possible they’d account for that when it came to billing me.

When Ty offered no additional clarification as to what he meant, I asked, “Questioning them?”

He took his eyes off the road for just a moment to look at me and smile. When his gaze was focused on the road again, he explained, “You mentioned that people might be more willing to talk to you and provide information they might not normally provide, because you aren’t a cop. I guess I’m curious about your approach, and I’m wondering if you intend to conduct this as a police interview of sorts.”

Laughter spilled out of me. “I’m not sure I’d know what that would look like. I’ve never been questioned by the police, so I don’t have any experience with how they conduct them. That said, I think I’ve come up with a plan for this, since I’m not going to be working on this through the news station.”

The way Ty’s expression changed told me he was instantly intrigued. “Oh?”

Nodding, even though he wasn’t paying attention to my body movements, I shared, “I think I’m just going to go and tell them that I’m an independent journalist who is looking to do a piece on Annette Sanders. I want to give them the impression that I’m not in any way threatening and that I’m merely someone who wants to highlight the best parts of a selfless woman’s life.”

Ty had pulled to the red stoplight and immediately looked over at me. “That’s a great idea.”

I beamed at him. “Thanks. I figure that there’re so many people who loved Annie, I’m bound to have some success in gathering information the police will never be given. If nobody suspects that I’m trying to figure out what happened to her, I’m sure they’re going to be much more willing to collaborate. I mean, there would probably be some who would do what they could if I was upfront with them about it, but if my goal is to be successful in finding her murderer, then I think this is the best way.”

“I agree. And it’ll be easy considering the group of people you intend to talk to over the next few days. Whether from an organization she was involved with or people in her day-to-day life, there isn’t anyone who didn’t have sustained regular contact with her.”

Having worked as a reporter for so many years, I’d gained significant confidence in my field and my ability to do my job well. Of course, not every case went according to plan, and I didn’t always get the answers I was hoping for in some scenarios, but I thought I was good at my job.

The way Dale had just ripped this story out from under me was devastating. I’d felt hopeless, and perhaps a bit lost. Bringing Ty into the mix, asking him to be my bodyguard, was turning out to be even better than I had imagined or hoped for.

Truthfully, I’d only ever expected him to look out for my safety—and maybe be a sounding board. Somebody had to know what I was doing.

But as it turned out, Ty was more than just that. He worked where he did, had resources I didn’t, and he didn’t try to stifle me. It seemed he trusted in my judgment. And while he gave his opinion on some things, he allowed me to take full control of the investigative research.

“I’m not sure if I’ve told you this enough yet, but I’m really glad I met you, Ty,” I said. “Maybe our meeting wasn’t exactly under the best of circumstances, but I don’t regret it happening. It’s nice to have someone to talk through all of this with as I go along.”

In a move I hadn’t been expecting, Ty reached over and curled his fingers around my forearm, the reassuring touch and gentle squeeze sending what felt like electricity shooting up my arm and through my body. “I’m really glad I met you, too, Alana. And like I’ve already mentioned several times before, whatever I can do to help, I’m more than prepared.”

“Thanks.”

That single word came out strained, an involuntary reaction to having his soft touch on my arm.

Whether Ty noticed the effect he’d had on me or not, I didn’t know, but he pulled his hand away and returned it to the steering wheel as we continued the drive.

Our first stop was going to be at Steel Ridge Rec, a facility that provided after-school and summer programs for boys and girls in the community. Annie had been a long-time supporter of the foundation, and what made it so special was that, as far as I’d been able to discern, it was the first place she’d focused her charitable efforts.

Ty pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. Just as I was getting out of the car, he met me on my side and closed my door for me. Part of me wondered if that was part of his bodyguard duties, or if he did it because he was a gentleman. I didn’t know why I had to look at everything he did as being something that had an ulterior motive. I’d hired him—Ty was just doing his job.

When we walked in the front door, the two of us didn’t get very far. Evidently, they took security very seriously here, because the most we were able to do was walk up to a glass window inside the very small entrance area. There were doors off to either side—one for boys, the other for girls—but neither could be accessed without a key card. There was another door directly in front of us, off to the left of the glass window.

I stepped up to the glass window, Ty just a step behind me, and smiled at the woman sitting at the desk there.

“Hi, how can I help you?” she greeted me.

“Hello. My name is Alana, and I’m an independent journalist. I was hoping to speak with the director for the center, if that’s possible.”

“Sure, I can check to see if he’s available. What can I tell him this is in regard to?”

I sent a sympathetic look her way. “It’s about a story I’m doing on Annette Sanders.”

Immediately, the woman’s expression changed. Sadness washed over her. “Oh, we miss Annie terribly. Let me check and see if Carl has some time to speak with you.”

Sending an appreciative smile her way, I replied, “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

The woman took off, and while I waited, I returned my attention to Ty. He was watching me intently, and I couldn’t read the look in his stare. “What does that look mean?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just enjoying watching you work.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve barely done anything yet.”

Shrugging, he reasoned, “The last couple of weeks at work have been rather boring security system installations, so this is far more interesting and enjoyable.”

“Well, I’m glad you find me so entertaining. Let’s hope you don’t get sick of me before I can get this done,” I teased.

He laughed and shook his head. “Not a chance.”

Something warm moved through me, and I was suddenly wondering if I’d ever want to go back to working on my own. This was nice.

“Here she is. Alana, this is Carl, the director of the center. Carl, this is Alana and…I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t catch your name.”

Ty lifted a hand and waved. “No problem at all. My name is Ty.”

She gave him a nod in response as I added, “Ty and I are working on this together.”

“It’s great to meet the both of you,” Carl said. “Nicole mentioned you’re working on a story about Annie.”

I dipped my chin. “Yes, sir, we are. What happened to her was just so tragic, and she deserves more than that. After everything Annie did in this community, Ty and I believe there needs to be something that celebrates her and the legacy she left. I think the community could really benefit from a positive story that showcases the brighter side of Annie’s life. If I can shine a light into this town after something so tragic, I’ll consider it a success, but if we can take it one step further and inspire people to be like Annie…” I inhaled deeply. “Well, sir, I think that’s the legacy Annie would want to leave.”

Carl held my gaze in silence for several long moments, and I was wondering if I’d taken it too far. But a few seconds later, he nodded and said, “Nicole will buzz you through. I’d be happy to contribute to the story.”

Relief swept through me. “Thank you, sir.”

“Please, call me Carl.”

The next thing I knew, Ty and I had been buzzed through the door off to the left of the glass. After having us sign in and giving us sticky labels to affix to our shirts with our names on them, we were escorted through the space with Carl to a meeting room that wasn’t quite as large or fancy as the conference room at Harper Security Ops.

“That boot you’re wearing looks like a pain. Do you mind me asking what happened?”

“Not at all. It’s the result of a bad injury from a car accident, unfortunately,” I shared.

“Oh, wow. Sorry you’re going through that. My wife recently had surgery on her hand. She has a genetic issue that affects her thumb. And while she’s doing great now, the recovery time was terrible. The inability to use her thumb for a period of time was frustrating, to say the least.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. This gets a bit irritating, but I try to look on the bright side. I wasn’t hurt worse, and I can still walk.”

“That’s the right attitude. I apologize, I don’t have any drinks on hand. I wasn’t expecting anyone?—”

“It’s okay,” I insisted, cutting him off as I pulled out a notepad and a pen. “We’re just glad you were available to take some time to talk to us today.”

He nodded, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, well, Annie’s work was so crucial to this organization, so I kind of feel like I owe it to her.”

This was it.

The perfect opening, and time to dive in.

“Why don’t we start there?” I suggested. “What kind of work did Annie do specifically for this organization, and what has been the impact of that work?”

Carl let out a deep sigh, like he was remembering years upon years of good deeds and wondering how he’d ever be able to communicate all of them. “I’m not sure we have enough time to tell you about all of the work she did. It was everything from direct donations from her foundation to organizing and hosting events that brought in funds. Her biggest concern was making sure that boys and girls in the community were able to come here, regardless of their family’s financial status. She set up a scholarship program of sorts and personally covered the costs for several kids each year. I think the biggest thing she did, though, was set us up for success. Annie didn’t just dump a bunch of money on us and walk away. She got involved, got her hands dirty. She wanted to make sure that we had a way to be sustainable for years to come.”

I wrote down a few things as Carl spoke, wanting to look the part I was playing. “What about the kids?” I asked. “It’s clear she had an impact on the administrative side of things, but did she get involved with the children?”

Laughter spilled out of Carl. “Oh, I think the kids were her favorite part of it all. She never stopped in without spending time with the children. And they adored her. Like I said, she got her hands dirty, so it didn’t matter if they were playing a game of basketball or were in a dance battle. Whatever they were doing, Annie would happily join in.”

“She sounds like such an incredible woman,” I marveled. “Just hearing you talk about her makes me wish I had the opportunity to meet her.”

“It’s devastating what happened to her. It makes you wonder, though, doesn’t it? Who could ever do something so horrible to such a sweet woman?”

I wasn’t sure why, but I never prepared myself for this conversation. I wondered if someone like Carl bringing it up was a sign that he knew something about it and wanted to feel me out, or if he was genuinely devastated by her death.

“It’s heartbreaking to think someone could do that to anybody, but Annie was one of a kind,” I said. “There’s no question her loss is going to be felt for years to come.”

“I’ve been struggling to come up with the right words to tell the kids who look forward to seeing her occasionally,” he shared. “It’s not going to be easy to break that news to them.”

“So, she really got involved with the children here, then?” I pressed.

He nodded. “Oh yeah.”

Carl went on and gave us more details about the work Annie had done at the Steel Ridge Rec, and afterward, took us on a tour of the place. We were even shown a piece of artwork Annie had done when she’d jumped in and done a painting class with a group of the kids.

It had been such a heartwarming experience, and if nothing else, I felt like I had a much better understanding of the kind of woman Annie was. I gave Carl a card with my name and number on it, asking him to give me a call should anything else pop up that he believed would be beneficial or inspiring to the story. I wasn’t expecting him to call, but I figured if there was a chance that something came up, it would be worth hearing about it.

As insightful as the visit had been, it was also upsetting. I wondered if Ty recognized that was the case when we finally made it out to his vehicle, and he asked, “What are your thoughts?”

I sighed, dropping my head back against the headrest. “This woman was the closest thing to a modern-day saint.”

“I think most people had that impression of her before she died, and now, it’s even more apparent,” Ty said, clearly in agreement with me.

“I’m not sure anything Carl shared could be considered a lead.”

“I can’t say I disagree with you.”

A wave of sadness washed over me, making me question what I was really doing here, and if this was wise.

“It’s early, Alana,” Ty said, his voice soft and reassuring.

“What?”

He jerked his chin forward. “You seem so disheartened. I think this was fantastic. It went really well, and you did a phenomenal job in there.”

I sent a small smile his way. “I appreciate that, Ty. I’m not upset about how this went today. I guess I’m just feeling a bit bad about what I’m doing. I feel like a total liar and fraud.”

Confusion marred his features, his head tipping slightly to the side. “What do you mean?”

“You heard everything Carl said,” I started. “Annie was such a good woman. I made up this whole lie about doing a story on the legacy she left.”

“Who says you can’t?”

“What?”

“I don’t see any reason why you can’t do both,” Ty reasoned. “Given the amount of people you plan to talk to, I think you’ll have enough material to make that happen. Just because your main motivation for doing this is uncovering the truth about what happened to her, it doesn’t mean you can’t put together something to honor her at the same time. I’d be happy to help you with it.”

I stared at him, feeling utterly dumbfounded. I’d been feeling lucky days ago when I realized Ty was not only going to be a capable bodyguard, but that he’d also be able to provide such great advice. He had excellent thoughts—this was no less spectacular.

“Yeah, but Dale wouldn’t let me run with this story. What’s the likelihood he’s going to allow me to do this? I mean, unless I’m going to become my own distributor of news, I might be doing all of this for nothing.”

“So, do that.”

“Do what? Go off on my own?”

He shrugged. “Lots of people do it. Podcast news is a big deal these days. I’m willing to bet, in some cases, it’s far more popular than legacy media. It’ll give you full control over what you report on, too. You won’t need to have someone else telling you what you can and can’t be passionate about.”

“That’s a great idea, Ty,” I declared. “I’m not sure I’d know where to start.”

“It was your idea, Alana. I’m simply confident in your ability to do it. And I’ll help you, if you want.”

I could practically feel the light in my eyes as the possibilities moved through me. Ty had given me such a strong sense of hope. “Yeah, but until you said it, particularly the way you did, I didn’t consider actually doing it. I’d love your help.”

He kept his gaze pinned on me. “I don’t think I did anything that great, but I won’t lie and say I don’t like that it’s making you look at me like that.”

Heat hit my cheeks. I hadn’t realized I’d been looking at him in any particular way. Worse, I was too embarrassed to ask him to describe it. Instead, I enlisted the help of another tactic.

Teasing and flirting.

“Well, if you’ve got any more ideas like that, send them my way, and I’ll look at you all you want.”

He held my stare.

Then he smiled, turned on the car, and drove away. Our first meeting felt like a complete success, even if we didn’t get any leads.