I didn’t learn everything I wanted in that call, but I learned enough. I have confirmation Smith sent that woman here, and at least I now have a general time frame for my next set of instructions.
But the most important thing I discovered is that even though his trust in me has weakened, I haven’t lost it completely.
Even though I feel like a sitting duck, I must finish what I started.
It’s time to go off script.
I start the car and pull out of the driveway, heading to work. Once I’m on one of the busier streets, I swerve, jerking the wheel hard, and my left front tire hits the concrete curb. There’s a loud screeching sound, then I hear the tire pop. The car limps into the tire repair shop at the end of the block. One of the techs motions for me to pull into one of the open bays then moves closer to inspect my tire.
“You’re lucky we were close by. You couldn’t have driven on it this way for long,” he says when I exit the vehicle.
“So lucky,” I agree. I grab my purse and head inside the shop.
The guy behind the counter greets me when I step up to the counter. “How can we help you today?”
I roll my eyes and say, “Hit a curb down the street and busted my tire.” I point to my car through the glass window that looks out onto the shop area.
He asks for my name and information as he fills out the order ticket. “It’ll be a couple of hours before it’s ready. Got a few folks ahead of you.”
“No problem,” I say, moving toward the waiting area.
Digging my phone out of my purse, I call Ryan. He answers on the second ring.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asks.
“Hey,” I reply, frustration lacing my words. “I’m at the tire shop on Jackson. Wasn’t paying attention and hit the curb and popped the tire. Luckily, I was close enough to get here before it got too bad.”
“You and tires do not get along,” he says with a laugh.
“No, we do not,” I agree.
He chuckles then asks, “Need a ride? I can call Cole to come pick you up and drop you at home or work.” Thursdays are usually the only days Ryan is out of town, but he took a meeting with some potential clients in the town just south of here so he’s out of pocket for the day.
“No, I’m going to wait it out. They said it shouldn’t take too long. I’ll call work. I don’t think they’ll mind if I’m late since I stayed behind and worked that event last week.”
“Okay, let me know when it’s fixed.”
“I will. I’ll see you tonight.” I end the call then text my boss, letting him know what happened and that I’ll be late. I move closer to the counter and tell the man who helped me moments before, “Text me when it’s ready and I’ll be back for it.”
He nods. “Yes, ma’am.”
I exit the store and walk three businesses down to the car rental agency. The girl at the counter is young and way too perky for this early in the morning.
“Can I help you?” she asks much louder than necessary.
“Yes, I have a reservation for a car. Annie Michaels.”
She taps away on her computer and then beams at me. “Yes! We’re all ready for you!”
I sign the paperwork then grab the keys to a black four-door sedan that’s parked out front. Within ten minutes, I’m on the road.
Ryan has gotten into the habit of dropping by my work, so I needed to capitalize on his impromptu out-of-town meeting. But I also needed to account for my time away for my boss. And since everyone in this town knows one another, my stories have to match.
As I pull onto the interstate and head west, I block out everything else and focus on what’s ahead. I spent weeks surveilling Ryan’s business in East Texas when I first got here. When I finally got my first set of instructions, I realized how important that business was for this job. The search of his Glenview office offered some information but not what I needed to finish here. But that woman’s arrival in town had got me antsy and feeling like I needed to go back and make sure I didn’t miss anything, so I put the plan in place to head over there when Ryan told me he would be gone for the day.
After that call with Mr. Smith, this job has taken on a sense of urgency I haven’t felt before. He wanted to show me I could be replaced. But he also showed me that in the time between the last job and this one, he went to great lengths to groom someone to be me. It’s clear there’s something big I’m missing, and it’s vital that I start over at the beginning and look at everything with fresh eyes.
The game has changed.
Chapter 11
Present Day
In Lake Forbing, Ryan runs a local branch of a national brokerage firm. It’s located in one of those new office parks where the row of identical buildings looks like cottages. Most of his clients are little old ladies who need help investing their oil and gas royalty checks. He is the local golden boy whom they trust completely. I could probably match his client list to the guest book from his grandfather’s funeral, name by name.
In Glenview, Texas, Ryan runs a trucking and transportation business that’s located in a warehouse in an industrial area on the outskirts of town. The only signage on the entire property is a rectangular white metal sign with the words Glenview Trucking stenciled in black letters. The phone number sends you straight to a voice-mail system, and there is no website or social media attached to this company. He never talks about Glenview Trucking, and I believe very few people, if any, know it exists.
Just as I cross the border into Texas, which is the halfway point between Lake Forbing and Glenview, I mentally retrieve that typed page of information I was given about Ryan and the business located here.
Glenview Trucking was established in 1985 by Ryan’s grandfather, William Sumner. William’s son, Scott, joined the business after he returned home from college in 1989. At inception, the business was a legitimate enterprise that served the East Texas and North Louisiana area.
It still operates in its original capacity but in the late 90s, the business model expanded to include brokerage services for stolen goods. It is believed that currently two out of every three trucks that arrive are transporting items bound for the black market. While the illegal side of the business is vastly more profitable, Glenview Trucking is an invaluable front that must be maintained.
Ryan took over operations after his grandmother, Ingrid Sumner, was diagnosed with cancer and his grandfather became her full-time caregiver but limited his on-site involvement to one day a week—Thursdays. Ryan has done an impressive job of keeping the company in Texas separate from his life in Lake Forbing, LA, just as his grandfather and father had done before him.
*Opinion based on research but have no hard evidence to support—Ryan seems to make every effort to maintain the business his grandfather started, and his father worked at until his death in 2004, in Glenview. I believe this business is immensely important to him and he will protect it at all costs.
My last job was unusual in the sense that I knew immediately I was sent to retrieve sensitive information that was being used as blackmail against Victor Connolly, but normally there is a lag between when I get the name of the mark and when I get my first set of instructions. I use that time to dig deep into every aspect of the mark’s life so I’m prepared when the time comes to get to work. While I’m waiting to see what the job is, I try to predict what the client hired us to do, even though I never know who the client is.
So that’s what I did when I got the name: Ryan Sumner.
At first glance, the financial services business, and its long client list of old ladies with their oil and gas royalty checks, seemed to be the obvious answer. But the more I learned about that part of Ryan’s life, the less it seemed likely. There wasn’t anyone on his client list who caught my eye as the reason I’m here.