Flash

into the can, and trotted back to join Jasper.
    He refrained from pointing out that it would have been more efficient to have simply put the cup directly into the trash can in the first place. He had a feeling she would not appreciate the advice.

18
    « ^ »
    A n hour later Jasper helped Olivia pry a large, heavy box out of the condo's basement storage locker. They hauled it to the elevator and took it to her sunny eleventh-floor villa.
    Olivia saw the disapproval in his eyes when she lifted the lid off the box to reveal a loose array of documents, envelopes, and mail addressed to Roland Chantry.
    "Okay, so I don't subscribe to the anal-retentive system of filing,'' she said. "At least it's all there."
    "How can you be sure?" Jasper rummaged through the contents of the box. "We'll be lucky to find all of the credit card statements, let alone every single check."
    "Trust me." She reached into the box for a handful of bills. "Everything is in here."
    "I'll believe it when I see it."
    It only took fifteen minutes to find the record of payment to the Pri-Con Self-Storage facility. Olivia spotted it first. A jolt of non-caffeine-related energy shot through her.
    "You were right. He paid a bill to a storage facility in south Seattle last January."
    "Let's see." He reached for the credit card statement and contemplated the payment for a long moment. "It's a place to start. But don't get too excited. We don't know what he kept there. When we open the locker we may find nothing but old fishing gear or his military service memorabilia."
    "Let's see if we can get into the locker this afternoon." Olivia reached for the phone book and picked up the phone.
    Two minutes later she found herself listening to a recorded message.

    Thank you for calling Pri-Con Self-Storage. Pri-Con stands for private and confidential and we guarantee both. Our offices are open from eight to five weekdays and Saturday. On Sunday we close at two P.M
....

    "Shoot" Olivia glanced at the clock as she dropped the phone into the cradle. "We can't get in today. The place closed half an hour ago. It doesn't open until eight tomorrow morning."
    Jasper's mouth tightened. "I've got meetings with two critical path suppliers tomorrow starting at eight-fifteen. I probably won't be finished until eleven at the earliest."
    Olivia drummed her fingers on the table. "I've got an appointment with Todd and Dixon Haggard in the morning. We're going to review final plans for the Lancaster fund-raiser."
    "Let's shoot for noon. I usually leave my Jeep on Bainbridge, but I'll drive it in to work tomorrow. I'll pick you up at your office."
    "All right." She reached back into the file box to heft a small, zippered bag.
    "What's in there?"
    She smiled, feeling a trifle smug. "All of Uncle Rollie's keys. They survived the fire. With any luck, one of them will fit the lock on the storage locker."
    Jasper shrugged. "If we don't find the right key, we can cut off the lock. I'll bring some tools."
    Her small burst of euphoria collapsed. "This is an interesting development, but like you said, it might lead nowhere."
    "It's a place to start. And it feels right."
    "What do you mean, right?"
    He hesitated. "I can't explain. All I can tell you is that I think we're on to something here. The fact that your uncle had a storage locker that you didn't know about is very interesting. And if we discover that someone else has gotten into it and if we can figure out who that person was…"
    "Yes. I see what you mean." She shuddered. "This is weird, Jasper."
    "Blackmail is weird."
    "True." She eyed the box of papers, restless now that they had an objective. "We're stuck. There's nothing we can do until tomorrow."
    Jasper's smile was slow and intimate. "I wouldn't say that. We can always work on our united front project."
    A weightless sensation settled into Olivia's stomach. "In the middle of the afternoon?"
    "Think it would be tacky?"
    "No. No, I don't think it would be tacky at all. But then, what do I know? I'm the one who brought you Foil Town."
    "That's true," Jasper said. "But I sort of liked it."
    "Remember that the next time you need an event producer."
    "I need one right now." He grinned and reached for her.
    She would try very hard not to giggle this time, she promised herself.

    Olivia got the call canceling her appointment with Todd and Dixon at twenty minutes after eight the next morning.
    "Mr. Haggard and Mr. Chantry need to reschedule for two this afternoon," the secretary said on