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“Somebody has to. Apparently, nobody in the LPD cares enough to bother. I feel responsible for Haley. I was the one who convinced her to leave him and was helping her prepare. She was scared enough to be willing to upend her life and move halfway across the country. If he got wind of it and did this, then it’s on me. I feel like I failed her.” Charlie’s gaze clung to his as everything about her softened.
The heavy weight of this, her concern for Haley along with her guilt, this striking moment of vulnerability in the impervious Charlie Sharp, shone clear in her eyes. Still, he couldn’t shake the sense that there was more to this story, to her involvement, that she wasn’t telling him. If only she could trust him enough to be completely honest.
A big ask that would take time. Good thing he was a patient man.
“Can you understand?” she asked in a low voice that trembled.
He sighed, knowing he was going to regret what he was about to say next. “I do and I care. I’ll investigate further if you agree to back off.” Her getting involved any deeper wasn’t going to help resolve the case or keep Charlie safe.
“Sure,” she said after a moment of hesitation. “I’ll take a step back while you handle it.”
Brian wanted to believe that she’d let it go. He really did, but he sensed her stubbornness was only surpassed by her determination. “Let me put the food away, grab my keys and I’ll follow you home.”
Another frown. “To camp out again?”
He nodded even as his back protested.
“No need,” she said. “Give me the keys to Rocco’s. I’ll crash there until he gets back.”
Brian was confident that her cousin wouldn’t mind, but he’d texted his buddy earlier to be sure and got a thumbs-up. “Can I trust you to follow through? To sit on the sidelines of this and stay at Rocco’s?”
Charlie gave a sad, slow smile that brought every one of his senses to red alert. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Chapter Five
Guilt churned through Charlie as she maneuvered Dustin’s SUV through the parking lot of Seth’s gym.
It hadn’t been her intention to lie to Brian when she’d agreed to keep her nose out of this. The deal had been made in good faith, albeit reluctantly. Later at Rocco’s last night, she’d tossed and turned on the sofa, unable to stop thinking about Haley. Worrying about what had happened to her. Wondering whether Seth would slither free from any blame. Wishing she had the power to do something about it.
Then she realized that she did have power.
To do something no one on the police force was willing to undertake.
In the early morning lights, she spotted the gray pickup at the back of the lot.
Looked as though the creature of habit’s routine hadn’t changed since Charlie ran surveillance on him earlier in the year. If he did as she expected, he would spend another ten minutes pumping weights. Then wrap up with a three-mile run on the treadmill before hitting the showers. Since he was on administrative leave, she had no idea where he’d go after that.
She parked with an empty space between their vehicles, tucked a baseball cap on her head, slipped the hood from her black zip-up jacket over it and got out. Glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, she edged closer to the Chevy.
Once she was sure no one would see her, she shot around to the passenger’s side and dropped to the ground near the back wheel. Planting a tracker inside a vehicle was ideal, but it took longer and circumventing an alarm system wasn’t simple with a modern car. Placing it outside did run the risk of the device breaking or getting lost, but she’d had good luck in the past. She took the GPS tracker from her pocket and reached up past the wheel and mounted the magnetic box, the size of a deck of playing cards, on a flat surface on the frame. Unless he had to change the tire, he’d never see it.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a motion-activated unit that would only turn on whenever the vehicle started moving, which preserved the life of the battery. But she hoped there wouldn’t be a need to follow him for months.
She got up and hopped into the SUV.
None too soon either. Seth pushed through the doors of the gym in deep conversation with another man who wore glasses. The guy had a slight build and was jumpy. Kept looking around with a nervous expression.
Charlie grabbed her camera and got a few quick shots of the two speaking.
Olsen started walking through the parking lot. He put his hand on the man’s shoulder. Glasses stiffened, then nodded as he listened.
A couple more photos. Time to get out of there before he noticed her.
Now she’d be able to follow his every move. Document whatever he was up to.
The way Haley talked about her husband, Charlie had discovered one important thing about him. His hubris was his weakness. Seth Olsen thought he could do anything and get away with it. Maybe even murder.
Well, not anymore.
