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Whitney Ferguson is a scientist who trusts what she can prove.
So when a man starts appearing in the background of her photos, she tells herself it’s nothing more than a coincidence.
Until she can’t ignore it anymore.
As Whitney digs deeper, unsettling discoveries at work begin to surface—and when two recent “accidents” begin to look far less accidental, the feeling of being watched turns into something far more dangerous. Someone is hiding something. Someone is watching her. And someone is willing to go to extreme lengths to keep the truth buried.
Is the man in her photos a threat… or a warning?
Whitney soon finds herself caught between fear and logic, unsure who she can trust—including the people closest to her. As the danger closes in, she must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
Because the biggest mistake she can make…
is focusing on the wrong suspect.
If you enjoy fast-paced suspense with unexpected twists and a touch of romance, you’ll love Out of Focus, Book 3 in the Silver Cascade Suspense Series.
Buy Out of Focus today for a gripping, page-turning mystery you won’t be able to put down!
Listen to an audio sample here!
Chapter 1~ Sneak Peek
Whitney scrolled through the photos on her phone, trying to find the picture of the baby calf. She’d been on a twenty-five-mile bike ride outside of Boise when she’d ridden past the field full of cattle. She remembered how steam had risen from its black hide, the birth so recent. It was only ten days ago, but she had taken a lot of photos in the past week.
She tilted her phone away from the overhead fluorescent lights of her office. Maybe her AI photo assistant could find it so she could send it to Vanessa. Her roommate was having a rough day and needed some cheering up.
Whitney tapped the magnifying glass to begin an image search on her phone. “Let’s see how smart this app is,” she murmured to herself. She swiped the word “calf,” but “cap” showed up instead. She was about to correct it when she noticed several photos of a man wearing a ball cap—the same dark blue ball cap with a small white star on the front. Wait a minute, was the app pulling in photos from the web?
Squinting at her screen, Whitney tapped on a photo that was definitely not from the web. She had taken it last week from her front doorstep, capturing the tulips in bloom. The man was walking along the sidewalk. He had light brown hair that curled over his ears, but she couldn’t see his face.
Clicking back to the searched images for “cap,” Whitney selected another photo that appeared to have the same blue ball cap included. This one was from the middle of March when she and Vanessa had visited Silver Cascade Park to look for crocuses. The purple and white blooms were captured in the photo along with a man leaning against a tree in the background.
Whitney shivered as she tapped back to the search screen. There were over ten images including the same man wearing the same ball cap. All of them were in public places except the first she’d examined from her front doorstep. Several were in the park where she loved to ride her bike on the way out of the city. A dozen worrying thoughts descended on her as she flicked through the images—none of which showed the man’s face. Was it all a crazy coincidence, or was this guy following her? Whitney took a deep breath and tilted her head back toward the ceiling.
Her secretary, Nora, knocked lightly on the doorframe. Her spiky black hair seemed to stick out in all directions. “Dr. Ferguson, there’s someone here to see you.”
Whitney nodded. There, the interruption was a sign. She wouldn’t worry anymore until she could talk to someone with another point of view.
Mateo Sanchez walked into her office, his arms piled high with papers. “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s something here you need to see.” He plopped the pile on top of her desk and then hurried to keep the tower from falling to the side.
“Hey, Mateo. Nice to see that you’ve decided to cut back on the overtime.” Whitney arched one eyebrow.
“Um, yeah.” Mateo’s dark skin flushed and he patted the stack of papers. “Every time I go over the Antarus project, I find discrepancies.”
Mateo could be the model for all scientist/researcher stereotypes. He was a nerd to the nth degree, and he never flinched when Whitney teased him about it. Probably because he knew she was right up there in the science geek category with him. He pushed his black-framed glasses up his nose and brushed his hand over the pocket protector complete with a stylus and highlighter in his front shirt pocket. Maybe he didn’t mind the jokes because he was one of the most sought-after cancer research scientists in the nation. He was fit, trim, and good-looking, but he wasn’t really Whitney’s type. All work, no play. Like you’re any different? her inner voice chided.
She leaned forward to help Mateo straighten the stack of files. “Discrepancies seem to be an integral part of the Antarus project and pretty much every cancer research project I’ve studied. What is really bothering you?”
Mateo blew out a breath. “The second trial is almost over, and I still don’t think we have enough conclusive evidence to get the backing or pass the testing that we need. I think this drug combination could help people, and I hate to think that things will be delayed because I can’t figure this out.”
“You’re right. It’s kept me up too many nights.” Antarus was the name of the new cancer treatment drug that Cell Pioneers had been working on for nearly a decade. Cell Pioneers was the research science company that had produced several successful drugs to treat and cure diseases. Cancer with its many-faceted forms remained a formidable foe.
Whitney waved her hand toward Mateo’s pile of papers. “A third trial is common for pharmaceuticals. What’s the rush?”
Mateo looked at the floor and took in a deep breath. “I was given access to all of Dylan’s research. There’s a lot there.”
“Oh.” Whitney’s throat tightened with the grief that hadn’t settled after Dylan’s death last month. The top researcher at Cell Pioneers was also an avid runner, and a few weeks ago everything changed when he was involved in a hit-and-run. No one had been able to access his files at first because of Dylan’s tight security. The firm realized they needed to put more checks and balances in place for tragedies of the sort. They had to hire some tech consultants to hack into Dylan’s notes. It made sense that they’d given those over to Mateo.
“With Dylan’s research, we’re getting closer, but there are still a lot of loose ends,” Mateo said.
“How can I help?” Whitney rolled her pen back and forth on the desk.
“By helping me sort through the reported illnesses, including a death, to find out if Antarus truly was responsible.”
“I’ve gone over that information before,” Whitney replied. “In fact, I studied the reports with Dylan.”
Mateo nodded and then reached a hand back to close her office door. “That’s why I need you to look at these reports to see if evidence has been tampered with,” he whispered. “I think someone was trying to falsify information.”
