Flash

the other end of the line. "Would that be convenient?"
    Not hardly, Olivia thought. There was no way she could get to the Pri-Con Self-Storage facility, go through the contents of Rollie's locker with Jasper, and get back to the office in time for a two o'clock meeting. "How about three?"
    "I'm afraid that doesn't work for Mr. Haggard. He and Ms. Lancaster have a rally to attend in eastern Washington this evening. They'll be flying to the Tri-Cities at four."
    Damn, damn, damn
. The fund-raiser was a very important contract with a wealth of future possibilities. She could not afford to annoy the client. Olivia glanced at her watch and stifled a groan. "Two o'clock will be fine, in that case."
    She hung up the phone and gave the problem a moment's consideration. So much for the noon trip to Pri-Con. On the other hand, she now had her morning free. There was no reason she could not go out to the self-storage facility alone and have a look around. If one of the keys in the zippered pouch fit, she would be able to get inside the locker. If not, she would have no choice but to reschedule with Jasper for later in the day.
    She picked up the phone again and dialed Jasper's office number. Rose answered.
    "I'm sorry, Olivia, Mr. Sloan is out. May I take a message?"
    "Yes, please, Aunt Rose. Tell him that my schedule got changed. I'm no longer available for the one o'clock we had planned together. Tell him that I'm going to go out to the facility in south Seattle this morning, instead. He'll know what I'm talking about."
    "I'll tell him, Olivia. But I better warn you, Mr. Sloan is not in a good mood today."
    Olivia frowned. "Things not going well with the supplier meetings?"
    "It's not the suppliers. He was like this when he walked through the door."
    "Like what?"
    "Sort of icy, if you know what I mean. Like he was getting ready to go into battle or something." Rose's voice dropped to a confidential whisper. "Quincy suggested that maybe you and Sloan quarreled about some of the changes going on around here."
    "Nonsense," Olivia said crisply. "Jasper and I are in, uh, perfect accord regarding the transition at Glow."
    "If you say so."
    "Just give him my message as soon as you can, Aunt Rose."
    Olivia hung up the phone and sat quietly, thinking for a moment. Jasper had looked anything but icy when he left her condo shortly after eleven last night.
    She got to her feet and grabbed her purse and keys. She would worry about Jasper's mood later.

    The Pri-Con Self-Storage company occupied an aging, four-story cinder-block building located on a neglected street in the south end of the city. A vacant warehouse stood adjacent to it. There was no sidewalk in front. Weeds had long since replaced whatever professional landscaping had once existed.
    It looked like the No-Tell Motel of storage facilities, Olivia thought, as she drove into the tiny, graveled parking lot. The sort of place where management probably did not ask too many questions so long as the rent got paid on time.
    From out of nowhere, she suddenly recalled a story she had read in the papers about a man who had murdered his wife and hidden her body in a self-storage locker. It had been three years before the corpse had been discovered.
    "Get a grip, Olivia."
    When she got out of her car, she noticed that there was only one other vehicle in the small parking lot Either Pri-Con Self-Storage was not a thriving operation, or there were not a lot of people who wanted to move their personal possessions in and out of storage at eight-forty-five on a Monday morning.
    She surveyed the building as she walked toward a door marked
Office
. Every window on all four floors had been bricked up. For security purposes, she speculated. Or perhaps to create additional space for lockers inside. It was amazing how forbidding a building without windows looked.
    The small office was empty. There was an
Eleanor Lancaster for Governor
poster taped to the window.
    Olivia pressed a buzzer. It was a good five minutes before a thickly built man appeared. He was garbed in a pair of well-worn camouflage pants and a black T-shirt His long gray hair was tied in a ponytail. The word
Privacy
was tattooed on one arm.
Freedom
was spelled out in large, flowery capitals on the other. He did not look pleased at the prospect of having to assist a customer.
    "Yeah?"
    Olivia decided the occasion required a certain degree of assertiveness. She drew herself up to her full height and gave him a steely smile.
    "My name