CHAPTER FIVE
The next day, the first person Ashley saw at Bozeman Public Library was Erin Williams. They’d been best friends at college and had kept in touch with each other, even after she’d left for New York.
Erin was helping an elderly man choose some books for his wife. Her laughter echoed across the library and made Ashley glad she’d come here today.
She walked upstairs to the reference area, pulling her baseball cap low to stop anyone recognizing her. She’d always loved the library. With its exposed wooden beams, metal roof, and rows of bookshelves, it was the kind of place she could get lost in for hours.
The second floor hovered over the rest of the library like an overprotective parent. From the balcony, you could see almost every area of the library. It was the perfect place to read or daydream, and an even better place for teenagers to throw paper darts at their friends.
Walking to the far side of the room, she searched for an out-of-the-way computer. She found what she was looking for and sat down. A student was working at a desk not far from her, but apart from them, no one else was around.
With her backpack open, she pulled out the information Jason found yesterday. Only three of the companies had their owners listed on their tax returns, but two others had the date their businesses were registered. With that information, she could narrow her search and hopefully trace the current owners.
An hour later, she felt like banging her head against the wooden desk. None of the online databases had been much help. The information about the registered companies was almost non-existent. She’d searched every website that looked remotely helpful, but she couldn’t find anything.”
“Can I help you?”
Ashley dropped her head to her chest. Erin was standing beside her. She turned sideways and smiled.
“Ashley? What are you doing here?”
“I arrived in Bozeman a couple of days ago. I needed to do some research, so I came to the library.”
“Are you on vacation?”
“Something like that. How are you?”
“I’ll be better once I’ve given you a hug.”
Ashley moved away from the desk and hugged her friend. “It’s wonderful seeing you.”
“It’s great to see you, too. It’s been too long.” Erin touched Ashley’s wig. “Why are you wearing this?”
“It’s a disguise. I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.”
“Are you in trouble?” Erin whispered.
“I could be.”
Erin pulled out a chair and sat at the table. “You can tell me about it later.” She frowned at the computer screen. “What are you looking at?”
“An online corporate database. I’m trying to find the contact details of the owners of five companies. I have the names of three business owners, but the other two are a mystery.”
“Have you searched for them on the Internet?”
“Not yet.”
“Most businesses don’t list their owners, let alone their personal details. Do a general search for the names you already have, then go to Facebook. It’s amazing how much information people leave on social media sites.”
Erin peered over Ashley’s shoulder as she hunted through the long list of results. She pointed to a link. “Try that one. Apart from the names you’ve already found, do you have any other leads?”
“I do, but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”
The smile on Erin’s face faded. “Is this worse than the time you wrote an article about a high-end catering company using ingredients that were past their use-by date?”
“A lot worse.”
“Could you go to prison?”
