I was about to start getting ready for my date when Mr. Kent called me. I had called him after my date with Zach at the seafood restaurant, but I had to leave a message with this secretary. He had been busy with some meeting, and she told me he’d call me back as soon as he could.
Now it was time to talk.
“Mr. Kent, thank you so much for getting in touch with me,” I said.
“Thank you for calling. I’m sorry I was unavailable. So, something tells me you have information for me.”
“I do. I have found the man in question. Zachary Harte lives in Brookings, Oregon and works for the local lumber company.”
“I already knew that, Miss Conwell. Do you have any information for me that I do not already know?”
“Well, you wanted me to call you after every surveillance, so that’s what I’m doing. The past that I can pull up on him is very basic. He keeps to himself and lives in a cabin that’s near the falls.”
“So, he’s isolated?” he asked.
“Yeah, for sure. He went out of his way to live in a secluded area. He doesn’t seem to get out and about much. I’ve seen him at the grocery store and riding around on his motorcycle, but I haven’t seen him interact with anyone other than myself.”
“So, you’ve talked with him.”
“Yes. Because information about his past is so limited, I’ve had to turn this into an undercover operation of sorts. We had dinner the night I called you.”
“Did you find out anything pertinent over this… dinner?” he asked.
I could hear the tone of his voice change, and I knew this would happen. Men in my field who went undercover were being professional, but women like myself who went undercover were simply being closeted whores. I felt my heart rate increase, and I drew in a deep breath, trying to keep my cards as close to my chest as I could.
“There’s nothing in his background that suggests he’s a criminal, nor is there anything in his attitude. His mother’s dead, but his father’s still alive, although I get the feeling he resents his father quite a bit.”
“And why is that?” he asked.
“It was the tone of his voice when he mentioned his father. He was more willing to talk about the death of his mother— even though I could tell it hurt him— than he was his father. That might be a connection I’ll explore later.”
“Nonsense,” he said. “His family hardly has anything to do with him stealing money from me.”
“You’d be surprised how those types of connections—”
“The family angle isn’t important.”
I heard Mr. Kent draw in a deep breath on the other end of the line. His tone of voice had been so harsh that it sent shivers down my spine. I was finally penetrating that nice little facade he had going for the people around him, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I could sink my teeth a little deeper into him.
“I made arrangements with Mr. Harte for a second outing this evening,” I said.
“Ah, good. You’re seeing him again. I take it I should expect a phone call?”
“Yes, you should. There was a bet that took place over dinner that I lost.”
“A bet?” he asked.
“Yes. Mr. Harte seems to have a competitive streak. Anyway, the bet was that if we saw each other a second time, he had to answer one personal question I asked him, fully and completely.”
“What are you going to ask him, Miss Conwell?”
“Depending on how the questions roll tonight, a range of things. It has to fit in with the conversation so he doesn’t suspect anything from me, but it has to be personal enough to give me answers I can’t find doing my own research.”
“I like this. You getting close to him. Keep up the good work. Figure out what makes this guy tick.”
“That’s the plan, Mr. Kent.”
“Enjoy your little outing this evening. I will stay by my phone.”
“Talk with you soon,” I said.
What I failed to tell Mr. Kent was that I’d gotten a look at Zach’s phone. When we exchanged numbers at the restaurant, I had him give me his phone so I could put in the number myself. Which gave me a few seconds to poke around his phone while he entered his number into mine. From what I found and the few things I could open, he didn’t have any suspicious programs running on his phone. In fact, he didn’t have much at all on his phone. Zach had the basics. The preloaded applications that came with the phone and a couple of games meant to keep him occupied. He had a couple of social media applications, but by the looks of what I opened, he didn’t utilize them much at all.
He didn’t even have one full-screen page of applications, much less some computer hacking software running in the background.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I decided to call Kami. I knew she’d want to know about what was going on with Zach and me. In the back of my mind, I knew this wasn’t a real date.
I was surveilling this guy and trying to figure out what his connection was with my client. But it had been such a long time since I’d been on a genuine date with anyone, and I was getting nervous about it as the clock ticked by.
I had two hours before Zach was going to be here, and my stomach was in knots.
Kami answered immediately. “Hello, hello, beautiful. What has you calling at this hour?”
“At this hour? It’s only five thirty.”
She laughed. “I didn’t sleep last night. I wasn’t sure what time it was, so I just threw something out there.”
“That’s bad. You need sleep. Otherwise, your ‘welcome home’ cake will have missing letters.”
“How did you know I had one of those cakes due?” Kami asked.
“I’m just that good,” I said.
“You took a wild guess, didn’t you?” she asked.
“Wild as hell.”
“So? How are things in Oregon?”
“Well, I’m meeting Zach again tonight for dinner,” I said.
“Wait a second. That statement has an ‘again’ attached to it?”
“Yes,” I said. “We went out a few nights ago to this place called Dick’s Crabs. And it was phenomenal.”
“Say that name again one more time.”
“You heard me right the first time. I promise. But yeah, the food was phenomenal, and he was not what I was expecting.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “He didn’t act like a sleazy, disgusting thief?”
“He didn’t act like any of the criminals and sleaze-buckets I’ve surveilled and come into contact with. Like, at all.”
“Paige, you need to be careful. You don’t know this guy or what he’s capable of.”
“I know, I know.”
“And if he finds out who you are and what you’re doing, you could be in danger, whether he’s a criminal or not. I’m sure he wouldn’t like knowing the woman he’s taking out on dates is actually a private investigator hired to dig up dirt on him.”
“And to think I called you to help me settle my nerves,” I said.
“Sorry. Okay. What are you guys doing tonight?”
“Dinner again. But at a place that’s a little quieter.”
“The first place wasn’t quiet?” she asked.
“We went to a rowdy seafood joint where we ended up in a seafood-eating contest while the entire restaurant cheered us on. No, it was not quiet.”
“It sounds unique and interesting, though. I take it the quiet dinner was your idea.”
“Why is that such a bad thing?” I asked.
“Because for a loud and outgoing girl like yourself, it’s so weird that you like the quiet dates.”
“Look, I’m not always rowdy and loud and bombastic. I can appreciate the quiet moments.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful,” she said.
“I will. I’m shocked you don’t want more detail, though.”
“I’m laying in bed, about to go to sleep after being up for twenty-nine hours. Catch me in a couple days when my life slows down, and we’ll gossip.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Be careful, Paige. I’m serious.”
“I will, Kami. I promise.”
I hung up the phone and took a look at the clock. I had an hour and thirty minutes to get ready and swallow my nerves before Zach rolled up on his motorcycle to take me out. I sighed and started rifling through my clothes, trying to figure out what the fuck I was going to wear.
Then, it was just a matter of waiting.