CHAPTER THREE
Jayden slept fitfully and was not quite able to shake nightmares of Stella in some terrible situation, or worse, already dead.
When he woke to birdsong, he decided it was late enough to justify getting out of bed, even the light let him know that it was only just dawn. He tensed and loosened his muscles as he moved through a few basic, gentle exercises to help to clear his mind. He was no stranger to hard investigations with little information to go on, but he was not used to having to tackle them without his usual resources to hand.
He finished his mental and physical exercise and went to go shower and dress, back into the same clothes he’d been wearing the day before. He shook his head at his reflection. He had trusted everything about his return from prison to Stella. Now she had vanished and left him in the lurch.
Sighing, he scooped up his wallet and car keys.
At least the car was already waiting.
The thought struck him hard, and he automatically turned to look for his treasured laptop. That laptop was no doubt in the evidence storage of the police department.
Or destroyed as the case is firmly shut.
It was a long shot, but he would still ask and see if there was any chance of getting it back. It wouldn’t be hard to get a new one, but it would take a while to track down the right person to set it up as seamlessly as the old one. He only knew of one man he trusted to do the job.
He moved quickly through the still-silent hotel and stepped into the outside world. Stella had managed to get him a car, and had obviously left orders for it to be delivered on the right day at the right time.
Jayden entered the car and pulled open the glove compartment, finding the usual manual and such. Mixed in with these was the receipt from the tow company, dated a week-and-a-half ago, and the owner’s registration he had signed, attached to a document from the retailer. There was no date on it, and he muttered under his breath looking at the opening hours and then at his watch.
It would be another four hours until they opened. He leaned back in his seat, letting his mind run with the bits of information, enjoying, despite the circumstances, the rush of chasing a lead again. The dealer was situated a good three-and-a-half hours’ drive away at Shreveport.
Jayden shrugged. He would still get there before they opened, even if he stopped for breakfast along the way. He can buy some clothes and a new laptop when he arrives, as well as get the information he wants.
***
By lunch, he had a trunk full of new clothes and a laptop. He had winced when he went to the bank to ensure that his assets had been unfrozen and realized exactly how little he had left himself with. He had given most of what he owned to Ruby and Stella. He had never really believed that he wouldn’t be locked away for life. He had expected Ruby to fight hard for his sentence to be as long as possible. After all, he had betrayed her trust.
He made a mental note to call her after he had spoken to someone at the dealership. She and Stella had become good friends, too, so perhaps Ruby had heard from her.
He entered the dealership and was immediately assaulted by a salesman. The salesman blurred past two of his colleagues, greeting him with gratingly false cheer.
“Can I see—”
“All our show cars are through here, sir. Just come with—”
“—your manager,” Jayden blurted out. He threw the man a glare as he made to steer him towards the showroom floor by grabbing hold of his elbow.
The salesman wilted and quickly let go. “My manager?”
Jay resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes. Now, if it isn’t too much trouble.”
The man seemed to debate something in his head, then sighed in a despondent way and led Jay over to a desk. He hit a few buttons on his phone and spoke into it, “A customer would like to see you, sir.”
He disconnected the call with such lightning speed Jay almost laughed and let his eyes drift to the name tag. “Thanks, Dave. I bought a car from this branch a while back. A friend of mine handled most of the transaction on my behalf, so I just have a few questions.”
This seemed to cheer the young man up a bit.
A burly man with combed-back, black hair and dark eyes came out of a back door and descended upon them like a raptor spotting prey.
“I apologize, sir,” he spoke at once in a greasy voice. “Dave here is new and still learning. I can call one of my more experienced personnel—”
“No, no, no,” Jay replied back. “I’m afraid that I must talk to you directly. Dave here has been remarkable. If I hadn’t recently purchased a car from your branch, he would absolutely have convinced me to do so.”
The manager did a double-take, then smiled in what he supposed was meant to be a friendly manner. “Of course, of course. What can I help you with then, Mr.…?”
“Roe. Jayden Roe. I’m here about this car,” Jayden presented, holding out the papers. “I want to know when it was bought.”
Dave glanced over his boss’s shoulder, and his eyes widened as he read the name. “Oh, I remember her! Flaxen hair, looked like she would eat you alive if you crossed her.”
The young man’s voice trailed away as his boss shot him a glare, but Jayden chuckled. “That’s Stella, alright. When was she here?”
Dave got a jerky nod from his boss and quickly went to sit behind his computer. Jayden took the seat before the desk and the manager went to hover behind his employee.
“Looks like it was two weeks ago. Wouldn’t settle for anything but a Range Rover Sport in red. We had to order it in as we only had white and black on the premises.”
Jayden smiled again and felt a renewed pang of worry. “Did she come to collect the car herself?”
Dave shook his head. “No. She signed this transfer order the same day and we delivered it into the hands of that tow company.”
Jayden nodded. He had assumed as much, seeing as the car had held no lingering trace of her perfume that always pervaded everything. “Thank you for your help.”
“Wh… that’s it?” asked the manager, looking thoroughly confused. “Did the car arrive with you alright? Was there any damage?”
Jayden looked the man up and down. “No, everything was in perfect order. I’m sorry for dragging you out of your office for something that clearly Dave was more than able to handle.”
The manager pasted on another painful-looking grin and took his leave. Jayden nodded to Dave and started to head out. Just as he was about to leave the building, Jayden turned and appraised the man. “You know, if you ever get sick of a job like this or a boss like him, I might be able to use someone like you.”
Dave tilted his head to the side, strawberry-blond hair flopping into his green-blue eyes. “Like me?”
Jay smiled. “Sure. You remembered her simply from her name, in enough detail to not be mistaken, and all that after two weeks.”
“What do you do?” Dave asked, looking at his jeans, partially unbuttoned shirt, and combat boots askance.
Jay flashed him an arrogant grin and handed him a card. “You will find out.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Jayden parked his car at the hotel and let out a long breath. He would have been back earlier if not for Dave wanting to ask more questions about a job with him. All in all, the man seemed to have a keen mind and the kind of servile attitude that would make him easy for most people to forget, perfect for a right-hand man. Dave had said he needed a few days to think about it, but would call him with his answer soon. He stepped from the car and went around to the trunk to retrieve his parcels.
“Jay!”
Jay looked up as Hector came from the direction of the hotel. The anger on his face was obvious, even in the patchy light of the street lamps.
“What have I done now?” Jay sighed.
Hector stopped in front of him, but the anger contorting his face didn’t reach his eyes. Those, though dark and tight, held more worry than anger.
“Where the hell have you been?” he spat.
&n
bsp; “I went to Shreveport,” Jay answered, perplexed. “I wasn’t aware that I had to let you know where I was going.”
“You…” said Hector, pointing a finger at him and seeming unable to find a suitable way to finish his thought.
Jay watched the worry in his eyes turn to relief as they swept over him, but it only seemed to worsen the anger tightening his lips.
Silence fell between them, and Jay tried to pull his head out of what his next moves in finding Stella were.
“Do you know that I have been scouring this town from top to bottom for you, hoping not to stumble across your dead body?”
“Ah,” Jay nodded understandingly. A small smile curled his lips, but he hid it quickly as Hector looked up to catch his expression. “Sorry for causing you to worry and work late. You’d better get home before your missus comes after me,” he added with a light chuckle.
Piers shook his head. “Why did you go to Shreveport?”
Jay shrugged and waved a hand toward the packets in his trunk. “I went to find out when Stella bought me my car. I also needed clothes and such. I had Stella store mine, but without her, I have no hope of getting them back.”
Hector sighed. “She probably carted them all off to Washington so you can follow her.”
Jay uttered a surprised chuckle.
“What?”
“That’s just surprisingly observant of you, Detective Piers,” he replied in a voice of mock solemnity.
Hector’s face darkened again, but he only grated out a, “Don’t move,” before stalking off a short way down the street.
Jay tilted his head to the side. He then made out the outline of Hector’s patrol car and felt his blood respond, feeling a rush of hope that Hector was fetching the information he had asked for.
He watched him return with a cardboard folder in his hand and felt a renewed wave of hope that it wasn’t too thin. Hector had clearly done as asked.
“Here. Natalie and I worked on that for most of yesterday. It is everything we could think of,” he said, handing over the file and talking while Jay flipped hastily through the pages.
“Thank you,” he looked up and smiled, for once no trace of humor in his tone.
Hector huffed a small laugh. “It’s the least I can do. ” He ran a hand over his close-cropped hair and sighed. “And, it is the only thing I can do.”
Jay tucked the file under his arm and decided that he was unlikely to get a better opening than the one just provided.
“Actually, there’s one other thing you can do for me, for her.”
Hector met his eyes in question, and Jay decided to get directly to the point.
“You can return my old laptop to me.”
Piers stared at him in silence for what felt like an age. “Jay, you really haven’t changed at all. Didn’t going to prison teach you to stay within the law? I know what you do with that laptop.”
“Didn’t you learn that the law isn’t going to help with anything?” he retorted and regretted it almost instantly.
Hector’s face went a dark shade of red, and he drew himself up. “I have no authority to return evidence back to the convict it was confiscated from.”
He turned to leave, and Jay grabbed his arm. “Didn’t you just finish saying that you owed Stella? Giving me my laptop will speed up my finding her.”
Piers jerked his arm free and jabbed a finger at the trunk and the new laptop among the clothes and shoes. “Use that one. I’ll not break the law ever again, and you’d do well to do the same. Your record is no longer spotless.”
Jayden shook his head and let out a muttered curse. He had known it would be a long shot, but a part of him had hoped that in the four years that had passed, Hector would be less of a stick-in-the-mud.
“Hector, look, can I just borrow it for a few days so I—”
Hector turned back to face him. “You’ve gotten all you’re going to get from here, Jay. My advice would be to leave Natchitoches. And do it fast.”
Jay watched him drive away and heaved a heavy sigh. He piling all of his shopping haphazardly into the small travel suitcase he had also bought.
He apologized to the owner for any fuss caused by Hector’s search and went up to his room. From the look on the owner’s face, they hadn’t thought much of allowing him to stay.
Jay briefly debated staying a little longer to try and get Hector to let him at least have access to his old laptop but decided it would be pointless. It was such a small chance that he would ever surrender it, whereas a few days would get him to New Orleans and able to track down someone to set up his new laptop. It would also mean that he was not risking getting into any kind of trouble here that might end up involving the police. Hector was right at the end of the day. His record wasn’t clean anymore. It would be better to fly under the radar as before. Staying here is definitely not going to be helpful. He nodded to himself. He would leave first thing in the morning.
He sat at the little desk and pulled Hector’s file towards him. The first page was all Stella’s movements through Natchitoches. What followed were accounts of her coming to ensure that the house Matthew Goldstein had given him, that he’d signed over to Ruby, had been properly sold by Ruby. Then to his plot of land on Trudeau Street, making certain that everything from the explosion had been cleared away.
From what he could tell, it seemed as if Stella had gone missing soon after sending her last letter to him.
He quickly reached back over to the bed and unzipped an inner pocket of the bag, tugging loose a sheaf of four years’ worth of letters.
He looked at the last one she sent and saw that the post mark was for Salisbury, not Washington. While the two were reasonably close, nothing in any of his information provided a reason for her to be in Salisbury. He marked the page, feeling he at least had a starting point.
CHAPTER FIVE
By the time Jayden arrived in the center of bustling New Orleans, he was thoroughly sick of driving. He had only been free from prison for two days yet had already spent ten of those forty eight hours behind the wheel of his car.
After settling his things into his room at the hotel, he left once more and began to wander the streets on foot. It had been years since he’d had cause to find the man he sought, and it was made more difficult because the man in question could not be found unless he wanted to be. Usually he did not.
He went to all the old haunts, asking careful and prescribed questions, and eventually stopped for supper at a restaurant within the man’s range. He could feel the edge of his growing anxiety grow sharper, seeming to be causing actual damage within his body. Jay shut his eyes, trying to center his mind, to not let it panic about the fact that every day Stella was missing increased the chances she would not be found alive.
If she is already gone, panicking won’t bring her back, he told himself harshly and opened his eyes to find his table was no longer empty.
A large man with skin of deep mahogany and eyes that held a sharp intelligence was watching him carefully over a cup of steaming coffee. A quick glance showed him that the rest of the restaurant was now empty but for the staff hovering on the sidelines.
“Heard you’ve been looking for me since this morning.” The casual New Orleans drawl carried with it a hint of menace.
Jay hid most of his shock and instinctual fear behind a small chuckle. “Hi, Elliot. It’s been what, nearly ten years?”
Elliot huffed. “Four of which have had you looking out from behind bars.”
Jay’s lips curled in a half-smile. “I’m flattered that you’ve kept up with my life.”
Elliot gave a deep, booming laugh that easily matched his deep bass voice and huge frame. “How could I not? You’re the only person who managed to get me to grant them anything other than death.”
Jayden inclined his head, accepting the compliment and acknowledging the threat. He lifted his eyes again, keeping his nerves hardened and his voice casual. “Has business been going well?”
Elliot displa
yed a set of dazzling white teeth but not a hint of warmth. “Your work has served me well, if that is what you really mean.”
Jay managed another half smile. “I am pleased to hear it. As I am honored that you came to find me yourself.”
Elliot rolled his eyes. “Now who’s flattering who?”
Jay chuckled again and then cut to the chase, feeling it was finally safe to do so. “I need a favor.”
“As expected, but what makes you think I owe you anything, let alone a favor?”
“Of course you owe me nothing.”
Elliot raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised by the simple admission. “You would put yourself in my debt? Willingly? With no tricks or traps?”
Jay met his eyes and drew a deep breath. “Yes.”
Silence fell and Jay knew better than to break it. Instead, he took a few small sips from his cup, forcing his breathing to remain level.
“What is it that you want?” Elliot finally asked, draining his coffee, not quite able to conceal the greed in his eyes.
“The same thing I received last time,” Jay revealed, trying not to look too relieved. The question wasn’t a ‘yes’ yet. “I already have the computer, but I need Joe so he can fix it up.”
Elliot’s face seemed to grow taut. Joseph was just Elliot’s younger brother and not someone he took any chances with. Ever. It was Joe who led this organization, not Elliot. Joe also happened to be the best techno wiz Jay had ever encountered. In all the years he had used the tech set up by Joe, it had never once failed him.
Again he waited, not daring to look away from the sharp eyes that held his. A tense hush fell over the staff, turning them all to statues, with variations of fear carved into their faces. No one moved. No one breathed. Elliot watched Jay for a moment longer, then let out another booming laugh. The sudden noise earned several quickly smothered screams from the staff. Jay managed not to jump in his seat but even so, had to force his muscles to relax, to stop his fingernails from digging into his palms.
Jayden Roe Mystery 02-The Final Lie Page 2
