On the other side of the city, while Matthew was busy talking with her friends about the trouble his girlfriend seems to be courting, the said girlfriend is preparing to meet someone that could be her key to trouble.
Olivia parked her car in front of an inconspicuous restaurant. She personally chose that restaurant to meet with that man because she knew that the restaurant was not so popular so there were little to no customers at that time.
The restaurant is also located in a secluded place where there is little to no risk of people they know seeing them. But still, even though it was an al fresco dining, it was surrounded by plants so there were a lot of blind spots.
Olivia entered the restaurant and looked around the restaurant. She smiled internally when she noticed that there were only two tables occupied and they were at the opposite corner of the restaurant.
One table is occupied by a family of three that Olivia could tell just lived around the corner. They were seated in the corner of the restaurant on her left and looked like they were about to finish their meal.
The other table that was occupied is in the corner on her right. It was occupied by a man who looks like he works for the military. The back and sides of his head were shaved to the skin while the top was faded into slightly longer hair. His skin is tanned either it was natural or because of the nature of his work since he has to work outdoors most of the time. He looked like he was in his early to late fifties though Olivia could not really tell because his body still looks as if he was working out every day.
The man was looking in her direction with a stern and unreadable expression on his face. Olivia could not tell if the man recognized her or if he had already guessed that she was the one who called him into that restaurant and is now beginning to be suspicious of her.
Nevertheless, Olivia smiled in the man's direction and began to walk toward him but she was stopped when a waitress approached her and offered her a table. Olivia politely shook her head to the waitress and told her that she is to meet with someone and pointed in the direction of the man sitting alone at a table looking at them.
"Mr. Fernsby," Olivia greeted the stern-looking man with a smile when she reached the table and stood beside it.
When Megan gave her the contact number of the list of undercover cops that Bardwell gave her, she immediately searched for information about them that she could use to lure them to meet her. Once she thought that she got enough information, she called them one by one and only one answered her. That is the one who was sitting at the table in front of her.
Ezra Fernsby is a married man with two children. Both his children were already married and had a family of their own. When he started working as a police officer, he invested in a lot of insurance to secure not just his children's future but his and his wife's retirement as well.
He is the kind of man that had prepared himself and his family for the future and Olivia seized that. She knew that Mr. Fernsby will be retiring in a few years and is expecting not only the money he will get from working as a police officer but the money he will get from the insurance companies after he retires.
So Olivia called him pretending to be someone from the insurance company and said that she needed to meet him because there were still papers that he needed to sign so that getting his insurance once he retires will be a smooth process. Unfortunately, the man is busy the whole day and only has that time of the night to meet her.
Though it was only two hours until midnight, Olivia agreed to meet him even though others would say that it was a red flag. And though she was the one to set the meeting place, the place she chose was an inconspicuous one.
But she just cannot let this chance go because who knows when she will get the chance to talk to him again.
Olivia placed her bag on the table and started to act like she was someone from the insurance company. "I am sorry for suddenly meeting you. The office–" But the man cut her off.
"You are not from the insurance company," Mr. Fernsby said as he stared at Olivia this time with a scrutinizing gaze.
Olivia was dumbfounded for a moment. Her mouth hung open as she looked back at Mr. Fernsby. She wondered how the man found out that she was just pretending. But then, he is an undercover cop. He would know if someone is undercover as well. She could deny it but she knew that it would be useless so she sat in front of him and continued to stare back at him with a blank expression on her face.
After a while, Olivia opened her mouth to say, "No, but–" And again, Mr. Fernsby interrupted her.
"I am not interested," Mr, Fernsby said and then he stood up and started to walk away.
Olivia's eyes went wide. What does Mr. Fernsby think she wants from him? Instead of asking him that, Olivia hastily stood up, grabbed her bag, and called on him. "Mr. Fernsby! I just needed to talk to you about a case," She said as she tried to catch up to him.
Mr. Fernsby suddenly stopped and turned to face her with an annoyed face. "Who are you working for?"
Olivia is not sure if she should tell him that she is working for Bardwell. For sure, Mr. Fernsby knew Bardwell because she had quite a reputation. She decided to just ignore his question and said, "Look, I know you are working undercover…" her voice trailed off before she looked around as if worried that someone might be eavesdropping when there was no one in the restaurant except for them since the family of three from earlier had already left.
Olivia took a step closer and in a low voice, she said, "Latimer…"
The mention of the name was enough for Mr. Fernsby to scowl at her. He leaned forward and asked, "How the fuck did you know about that?" His voice was low and strained as he subtly looked around them cautiously.
The investigation about Jove Latimer is classified so Olivia understands if Mr. Fernsby was acting cautiously and suspiciously. She wouldn't be surprised if he was suspecting her as well.
"I got some intel," Olivia matched his low voice.
Mr. Fernsby straightened his back and narrowed his eyes on her. "You are a journalist," He said with disdain in his voice.
Olivia ignored the tone of his voice because she is already used to it. Other people find those who were working in the media annoying because of their inquisitive nature. She nodded her head and looked at Mr. Fernsby with determination in her eyes. "Yes. We can help each other. We can exchange information about him. I have been making my own research,"
Mr. Fernsby tilted his head and looked at Olivia as if he was perusing her. "And what information can you give me? Do you even know why we are investigating him?" He asked carefully.
Olivia was speechless. Because aside from the list that Bardwell gave her, she hasn't found any information about why Jove Latimer is under investigation.
Seeing that Olivia cannot answer him, Mr. Fernsby cocked his head. "See? Stop wasting my time. You are messing up with my job and it is not safe for you," He said and then he walked away.
But Olivia is not someone that easily gives up. Her stubbornness is limitless. So she ran after Mr. Fernsby who had reached the parking lot where there were only two cars. "Wait! Mr. Fernsby!"
Mr. Fernsby was already standing beside his car and had already unlocked it. He looked up at the sky that has no visible stars and sighed in exasperation. He slowly turned around and looked at Olivia annoyingly. "Look. I know what kind of person you are. The fact that you have found out about…" His voice trailed off and let Olivia fill out the blank. Then he continued, "...you will never stop until you get the story. But I am telling you now before you put yourself into more trouble. You are dealing with a dangerous person. Just go find another newsworthy story that will not endanger your life," Then he gets inside his car leaving Olivia disheartened.
Though Olivia is dismayed that she didn't get anything from Mr. Fernsby, she must admit that his last words hit her. He said that she was putting herself in trouble…that she is dealing with a dangerous person and that she will endanger her life.
Olivia wondered if Jove Latimer is a dangerous man because he doesn't seem like it.
Jove Latimer is a philanthropist. To the public, he is like an angel.
Unless it was just a front. Maybe, Jove Latimer was just using that image to cover his dirty business. Yes, that is how Olivia interpreted Mr. Fernsby's words. If Jove Latimer is a dangerous man, that could mean he is doing dirty business. Either that or Jove Latimer is connected to a dangerous man.
That thought gives Olivia a renewed determination. She became even more determined and excited to uncover Jove Latimer's dirty little secret to the point that she forgot Mr. Fernsby's warning.