Free Tahoe Ghost Boat (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller) by Todd Borg Page A

some other investments, even if small. Stocks, bonds, that sort of thing.”
    “He never mentioned anything to me.”
    “This all must be quite the shock,” I said, thinking that it didn’t seem like much of a shock to her at all.
    “I wasn’t prepared,” Nadia said, a serious understatement. “Ian was only forty-two. I never imagined that he would die. Probably people think about that sort of thing when they get into their sixties or seventies. The news knocked me down for the first few days. Then I got the email from the blackmailer. So I looked you up and put your number in my purse. I hoped they might think I’ve been out of town and haven’t gotten their email.”
    “Nadia, the fact that the email self-deleted tells us that they know how to do fancy stuff. There are companies that specialize in vanishing emails. I’m pretty sure they can embed code in it that tells them it’s been opened.”
    Nadia looked sick, but it had a feigned quality to it.
    “How did the woman following you find you?” I asked. “Did she wait outside your house?”
    “I don’t know. I just noticed her SUV on the highway. Following me forever. It was relentless. So scary.”
    “Have you had your car looked at for a GPS device?”
    “I don’t need to. My car came with GPS.” She paused. “You mean they could use that to track my location?”
    “Sort of. But to use the built-in system, they’d have to hack into the network your car uses. That would require serious expertise. Much easier just to attach a separate GPS unit. Something they could put under your car.”
    “Oh, my God. That would explain how the woman found me. They could find me again. I might be in danger. What should I do?” Her forehead was a network of worry lines.
    “I can solve the problem.”
    “How? Can you inspect my car for the GPS and remove it?”
    “No. Those things can be very small. It could take a long time to find. There is an easier way.”
    “What’s that?”
    “We switch cars.”

    TEN

    Nadia stared at me.
    I waited.
    “That car is my baby,” she said, as if it were much more dear to her than her daughter Gertie.
    I didn’t comment.
    “But I can see that it would make me safer,” she said.
    I nodded. “Where are you staying?”
    “I got a room at the Marriott.”
    “What was your plan when you drove up here?”
    “I was coming up to visit the new shops at Heavenly and Northstar when I saw that person following me.”
      
     It was dark when we walked down to the office entrance. We traded keys. In the dim light spilling over from a neighboring building, I saw her scowl as she turned my key over in her hand.
    “I have to put the key in the lock to unlock it,” she said.
    “Right. Old vehicle. You’ve never unlocked a car with a key?”
    “I’ve seen it done. But I didn’t get my driver’s license until I got married the second time. Ian’s cars just use key fobs.”
    She put the key in, turned it both ways several times until it finally turned.
    “It’s a bit sticky,” I said.
    “I see.” She opened up the car door. “It smells of dog.”
    “Yeah. It’s Spot’s car, too. You’ll get more of his hair on you.”
    “That means that his hair will get in my car, too.”
    “The price of safety,” I said. “But he will enjoy it.”
    Nadia hesitated but didn’t protest. She got into the Jeep, and reached down and found the seat lever to move the seat. It lurched all the way forward with a screech of old metal. I showed her the headlight switch, how to work the parking brake, and I made certain that she understood where to smack the dash when the defroster fan tried to die.
    “We’ll talk late tomorrow morning,” I said.
    “I always get up early,” she said.
    “I don’t. I’ll call you after I’ve had my coffee.”
    She nodded. She started the Jeep, got the lights on, shifted, and drove off very slowly.
    It was possible that an observer could have seen her get into my car in the dark, but I hoped that