Page 17 of Tiger on the Prowl

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As Ace had requested, Jay rested, which in his case meant he practiced yoga out in the backyard and meditated. Then he went for a jog, but since he couldn’t leave the property for fear of being recognized, he stayed within the walls of the property and ran around the mansion, before using the indoor stairs as a way to exercise. Sweating, he went back to his room, undressed and showered, and dressed in clean clothes, before he joined several of the others for a late afternoon meal in the large kitchen, during which everybody came and went at their leisure. It was rare that they all sat together for a meal at the same time. Somebody was always manning the computers, just in case anything came up that had to be acted upon without delay.

Feeling that his mind was a little clearer now, he went into the computer room, eager to contribute to the search for the elusive Mr. Smith.

His three Stargate colleagues stood around the computer that showed the surveillance footage of Olivia’s cottage. Why the fuck were they gaping at the computer screen? Were they watching her get undressed?

Annoyance churned up in him as he approached. “What’s going on?”

All three turned around and stared at him, nobody saying a word. He bridged the distance to the monitor and looked at the screen. He spotted Olivia sitting in her office, fully dressed, and typing on the keyboard. There was nothing going on in her cottage. She had no visitors. So why were Ace, Fox, and Yankee looking so glum?

“Play it back, Fox, and turn up the volume,” Ace said.

Fox made a few keystrokes, and the window showing Olivia’s office now filled the entire screen. Fox hit the play button.

Olivia’s cell phone rang. She looked at it, picked it up, and pressed it to her ear.

“I couldn’t reach you earlier.”

There was a short pause, during which the other person spoke, but Jay couldn’t hear that side of the conversation, only Olivia’s replies.

“Like I said, I need to come up with something good, before it goes sideways… no, that’s too early… I mean we barely know at this point what skeletons he’s got in the closet… I think it’s only fair to reveal them before…”

There was a longer pause, during which Jay held his breath. Who was she talking about?

“No, I can’t kill him yet. Way too early.”

“Fuck!” Jay cursed and exchanged a look with his fellow agents, who looked just as shocked as he felt. But he had no time to digest the news, because Olivia continued.

“Besides, I haven’t figured out the manner of death yet. Belladonna gets old, and it doesn’t really fit either. And daggers are messy…” Then she laughed unexpectedly. “Yeah, that would be gory. But I’ve done that too often already. I want something new, something fresh. I’m just not feeling it right now, you know?” She paused again. “And before I forget it, there’s still the issue with the second lover. I’m gonna have to resolve that before I can get rid of him.” She shook her head. “No, it has to be in a way that he won’t see it coming, nor anybody else for that matter. Would you please put your thinking cap on for me? I’m just a little tired today. Thanks, okay, yeah, bye.”

Olivia disconnected the call and went back to typing happily on her keyboard as if she hadn’t just been planning somebody’s murder. And if his suspicion was right, his murder.

Fox paused the recording, and for a few seconds, nobody said anything. Only the humming of the computers and the air conditioning could be heard in the room.

“She’s planning to kill me,” Jay said, the blood freezing in his veins. How could he have been so wrong about her?

“Well, you can’t know that for sure,” Fox said with a shrug. “She didn’t mention your name.”

“Would you if you were on an unsecured line?” Jay asked.

“No, but then I wouldn’t discuss murder on a cell phone either,” Fox shot back.

“She doesn’t really strike me as a cold-blooded assassin,” Yankee added. “Though if she is, it’s a bloody good disguise. She’s got the innocent librarian type down pat.”

“Let’s not draw hasty conclusions,” Ace said. “Perhaps there’s an innocent explanation for this conversation. How about we first find out who she was talking to. Fox?”

“Might take a while, since the call only just happened. I’ll have to hack into the current logs of her carrier. That’s a little more involved than her old phone bills.”

“Do that,” Jay said, appreciating Ace’s suggestion. He didn’t want to believe that Olivia wanted him dead. But what other conclusion could he draw from the things she’d said on the phone? And even if she wasn’t planning his murder, but somebody else’s, it would still mean the same, namely that Olivia was a killer. And he couldn’t accept that.

“I have to go see her.” The words were out before he even realized that he’d made the decision to go into the lion’s den, or in this case, the lioness’s den.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Yankee asked. “Didn’t you just say yourself that she’s planning to kill you?”

“She also said that she hasn’t figured out the manner of death yet, so I figure I’m safe for tonight,” Jay hedged.

“Unless she improvises,” Fox interrupted.