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“I see.” His expression revealed he didn’t understand at all, but he was willing to be polite. “Please, have a seat.”
Bryce and Livia moved to perch on the couch. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice,” Bryce said.
Jonathon shrugged. “I retired a couple of years ago. Shortly after my wife passed. I have nothing but time on my hands now. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”
“Nothing for me, thank you,” Bryce declined as Livia shook her head.
Jonathon moved to settle in the nearest armchair, leaning forward as he studied Bryce with an intense curiosity.
“I assume this has something to do with a case you’re working on?”
“It does, but it’s not official so if you don’t feel comfortable answering my questions I’ll completely understand,” she told him.
His brows inched higher. “Ask them and I’ll decide if I’m comfortable.”
Bryce didn’t try to beat around the bush. Ever since Livia had revealed she’d been attacked by some unknown stalker, there’d been a new urgency in discovering the truth of who had hired Larry Sutton to spy on her friend and why.
“Did you ever meet with or investigate anyone from the Benoit family during your time at the FBI?” she demanded.
A sudden comprehension spread across Jonathon’s face. As if the reason for her presence was suddenly explained.
Hope bloomed in the center of Bryce’s heart. Maybe this wasn’t a wild-goose chase after all.
A second later, her hopes were dashed as Jonathon gave an emphatic shake of his head. “No.”
Bryce exchanged a disappointed glance with Livia before turning back to the retired FBI agent.
“Then I apologize. I’m afraid I wasted your time.”
“Wait,” Jonathon insisted as Bryce started to rise to her feet. “I said I didn’t meet with anyone from the Benoit family. But I did speak with one.”
Bryce instantly forgot her disappointment. This was what she was hoping to hear. “Who?”
“Giselle Benoit.” He confirmed her suspicion. “She contacted me … hmm, it must be twenty-seven or maybe twenty-eight years ago.”
“What did she want?” Bryce asked.
“She requested a meeting. We set the time, but she never showed up. A couple days later, I heard that she’d committed suicide.” His gaze shifted toward the silent Livia. “I assume she was a relative of yours?”
“My mother.”
“I’m sorry.”
Bryce didn’t give her friend time to respond. She’d easily fallen back into her interrogator mode, questioning a potential witness.
“Were you supposed to meet at Lake Oaks Park?”
He took a minute to consider the question. “Like I said, it was a long time ago, but that sounds right. It was a convenient location for people who wanted to meet in an informal setting. Or the people who didn’t want anyone to know they were talking to an FBI agent.”
“She called the office?”
“Yes, she said that she had vital information to pass along.”
“Did she say what that information was?”
Without warning, Jonathon rose to his feet. “Wait here a minute. I’ll get the file.”
Bryce studied him in surprise. “You have the file here?”
