Thankfully, Dave had not been an idle by-stander and seemed to have read the situation right. He stepped forward, finally gaining the attention of the others, and threw on his winning smile.
“That would be a mistake, Ms. Carmichael,” he added gently, his voice and face both open and calm. “This is Mr. Roe,” he continued when neither looked ready to interject some opinion. “The murder conviction Mr. Haraby is referring to is in relation to the Goldstein scandal. I’m certain that a woman of your caliber heard all about that.”
“And who are you exactly?” Mr. Haraby snorted, aiming his permanently disapproving gaze at Dave this time. “Is he on parole watch or something? Or are you some sycophant that his pride enjoys allowing you to trail him? Or perhaps you’re his private journalist now? After all, the sensation with Goldstein must be why he is here. Probably want another high profile case and more limelight to hide his dirty record.
Dave, after a startled pause at the unwarranted attack, answered with calm dignity, though the cheeks beneath his many freckles were burning.
“I am Dave Tiller. Mr. Roe has hired me as his apprentice.”
Silence reigned for a brief moment, and then Mr. Haraby uttered a short laugh. “An apprentice? What’s the matter, Jay? Worried the law will come back to bite you and you want a fall guy?”
“Not at all, Mr. Haraby,” Jayden answered. Although his voice was calm too, the steady notes did not hide the threat in his tone. “Unlike some, I recognize and value talent that crosses my path. It is my job, as a private investigator, to do what the police cannot in order to solve the cases given to me quickly and accurately.” He glanced at Ms. Carmichael. “My record speaks for itself. I understand that you take care of everything for Ms. Williams so I would like to offer my services.”
Silence fell tense and thick, and Ms. Williams’ hired security finally made an appearance.
“Ms. Carmichael, there are suspicious people that just walked…” the young guard’s voice trailed off. He immediately reached for the taser on his belt as he recognized the two strangers from the security camera.
“Easy there,” Jay said as Dave swallowed hard and took a step behind him again. “If we had wanted to hurt Ms. Carmichael or anyone else here, we’d have had more than long enough.”
“It’s alright,” Ms. Carmichael reassured, watching Jay with a speculative light in her brown eyes. “They were just leaving. If you can, please show them the way.”
Jayden looked back at her as the guard replaced his taser, then at the smirk on Gregory Haraby’s face. She followed his gaze and snatched a notepad and pencil from her desk.
“Mr. Haraby will be leaving too.” Her voice brooked no argument and Haraby seemed to bite his tongue on an argument.
“Ms. Carmichael,” Jayden said as she stepped into what had thus far been a section of no man’s land between the four of them. “I am certain that I can help you if you—”
“She doesn’t need your help. I have already hired a man. A better man than you. Neither I, nor Ms. Carmichael, nor Stella,” his voice dropping to a menacing growl, “need you to do anything other than stay out of our lives.”
“I assume Ms. Carmichael can make her own decisions?” Jay inquired politely, ignoring the barb. Now that he had vented some of his anger, it was easier to remain appropriately calm, at least outwardly.
“I mean it, Jay. I will get a court order against you if you—”
“Don’t threaten me, Mr. Haraby,” Jayden said, turning to face him fully. Gregory Haraby was as unlike his daughter as was possible, being short, stocky, and with receding dark hair struck through with gray. “And don’t claim to care for Stella when your every move since I arrived here has been to delay me in helping search for her.”
Mr. Haraby opened and closed his mouth twice, swore once, and left the room.
Jay shook his head and turned back to Carmichael, meaning to press his point with her before she had the guard forcefully remove him. Instead, he got a notepad thrust into his chest.
“Write down your contact details on that. I don’t need any of your pre-planned talks, Mr. Roe. I will give you my answer tomorrow.”
Jayden stood stunned for a moment then smothered a small chuckled, even as he quelled a stab of panic and wrote his number on the note pad. He didn’t like the idea of spending another day here in Salisbury with no further leads on Stella. Still, he knew he had no real choice. If both Stella and Miranda had been taken, as now seemed to be the case, then Ms. Carmichael was their best bet to know what their plans might have been.
He handed the notepad back and gave her a small nod. “Don’t take too long.”
Her eyes tightened fractionally as she caught the dire warning behind the words. She nodded to them and then to her guard who gestured them toward the doors. Visiting time was over.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“What are you doing?” Dave asked as he reentered the inn’s double room from the bathroom.
Jayden looked up from his laptop. “Preparing for the test.”
Dave pulled the towel off his wet hair and frowned. “Test?”
“Mmmhmm. Two, actually, if I am not mistaken.”
Dave sat on his own bed and gave his dripping hair another vigorous scrub with the towel. His green-blue eyes seemed to be lost in thought but then they widened.
“I see! Or at least, I think I do,” He glanced at Jay. “You think that Ms. Carmichael might have a few points to run by you to see what you will make of them. A final hurdle before she hires you.”
Jay chuckled. “I have to say I like your confidence that we’ll be hired.”
Dave’s lips twitched. “Well, you are the great Jayden Roe after all. Even before the whole Goldstein thing, you were widely known and sought after.”
He seemed to realize that he had said something a bit cringe worthy, but Jay only pointed at the laptop Dave had been given upon joining. “You’d better brush up too. I’m not the only one that’ll get picked on tomorrow.”
Dave’s eyebrows rose. “But I’m no one. Just your apprentice. Not noteworthy at all.”
“And yet Ms. Carmichael remembered your name, despite that you only said it once and weren’t even talking to her at the time.”
Dave tilted his head to the side. “Maybe she’s just good with names?”
“The point is that it doesn’t matter what our real dynamics or rankings actually are. What matters is Carmichael's subjective view of the world. She will see by my results that I am worthy of at least some of the hype people make over me. I have no doubt she’ll want your input too.”
“So is that what you meant by two tests?” Dave asked after a long pause. “One aimed at you and another at me?”
Jayden looked up from his screen again. “No. I think Mr. Haraby will show up too. Of course, I suppose he won’t be so much a test as a cross-examination.”
Dave gave a small laugh, then seemed to gather his courage. “Why does he hate you so much? Is it just because his daughter likes you?”
Jay hid a wince at the casual mention of Stella. He has to stay focused and not give into the voice in his mind that kept crying out that she had been gone for so long already and hope was fast dwindling. Right now, that meant preparing for Carmichael's likely test and Mr. Haraby’s assault.
He met Dave’s eyes where the man still waited for an answer. He caught a glimmer of almost desperate curiosity before the other man looked away.
“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re mostly right. He wants better for his daughter than me, even before my conviction, but it is more than just a father’s love. His empire has stagnated. He keeps wanting to entice strong allies into some kind of marriage alliance. Stella refuses to play ball because of me, and her prospective suitors hear my name and know better than to interfere too.” He managed a small laugh.
Dave powered on his laptop and changed the subject. “So any hints for the new guy as to what I should focu
s on before tomorrow?”
Jay cocked an eyebrow. “You did so well with that gossiping gaggle without my input. Let’s see what you come up with, rookie.”
Dave stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. “So really it is three tests then. At least for me.”
Jay laughed, then added seriously. “In this line of work, every day is a test. If you ever think you’ve reached the top and have no more to learn, you’re wrong.”
***
This time they entered Miranda Williams' great estate through the main gates. Jayden paid extra care to the people watching from the sidelines, especially those with cameras and notepads. He hoped Dave was doing the same, as he might spot something Jayden missed. Jay had little doubt that if the kidnapper was really playing some kind of game, as his actions with Stella’s bracelet seemed to hint at, then they would be keeping a watch on this place. Likely not in person but through one of the many eyes that were tracking his progress.
“Well, that was interesting,” Dave murmured as they turned a corner on the long footpath up to the door.
Jay raised a questioning eyebrow but didn’t take his eyes off the manservant that was leading them to Carmichael.
“There was a woman there that I am certain I have seen before. Didn’t you notice her? Dark red hair, kinda scrawny?”
Jayden nearly fell over his own feet as he attempted to both keep walking forward and turn back to the gates.
“Are you okay?” Dave asked, helping him catch his balance.
Jay ignored the question. “When did you see her before?”
“When I went to Natchitoches looking for you. She had seemed eager to know what I was asking Dr. Piers. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”
Jay forced himself to keep walking, following the servant into the main house. “Why do you say that?”
Dave shrugged. “Because she went to speak to Dr. Piers not five seconds after I had left her side.”
Jayden remained silent as the servant inquired of another where Ms. Carmichael was.
“Do you know her?” Dave asked as they were gestured to follow again.
“Perhaps.” Then he shook his head. “But now is not the time to speculate. We have a test to pass.”
Dave’s expression went from thoughtful to nervous immediately. Jay clapped him once on the shoulder with confidence.
“Welcome, Mr. Roe,” Ms. Carmichael greeted as they were ushered into her personal study, smaller and less bright than the one from the day before. “I want to know exactly why you offered your help to me. Judging by your words yesterday, it is Ms. Haraby you are interested in finding, not Ms. Williams.”
Jay chuckled as Dave looked taken aback. “Done with the niceties already? Very well. It is because I know that she and Stella met here, and that after that, no one else seems to know where either of them went.”
“So you think that by tracking one, you will find both?”
Jay shook his head. “No, that assumes they are still together. And that would depend entirely on why they were targeted, or indeed, if even both of them were the targets or just one of them.” He caught Dave’s look of silent admiration and returned his focus to Carmichael. “I can’t answer any of those questions yet.”
“Then I’m afraid I still don’t understand. Maybe you can help, Mr. Tiller?” she added when Jay opened his mouth again.
Dave looked a little startled at being called on so soon, but took a breath and straightened his spine, seeming to try and mimic Jay’s confident posture.
“I believe what Mr. Roe means is that while it seems obvious that they were taken together, they may not have necessarily stayed that way. However, here, at the beginning of the trail, the path will be one. It may lead to one destination, or it may lead to two. Either way, if you give us what you know so we can find that start point, we will be able to find out what happened to them both.”
He looked quickly up at Jay. He gave him a tiny nod of congratulations, knowing that his delivery alone had her convinced.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ms. Carmichael weighed them both for a moment then looked back at Jay.
“And if the path diverges, will you be able to stay loyal to your contract to find Miranda or give in and follow your heart to Stella?”
Jay loosed a heavy breath. “I never said my contract would be exclusive.”
“Of course you didn’t. Otherwise, how could you ever weasel out of it?” came Gregory Haraby’s voice from the door.
“You’re early,” stated Ms. Carmichael, looking slightly annoyed at the interruption.
Jay shared a brief, resigned look with Dave before turning an empty smile on Stella’s father.
“I have never broken a contract in my entire career,” Jay responded calmly. “With, perhaps, the single exception of Matthew Goldstein’s.”
“And yet, none of your previous clients want anything to do with you, do they?”
Jay’s smile became a touch feral. “They will always fear those with the power to tear them down. That should include you also.”
Mr. Haraby swore under his breath, and Jay was certain he heard Dave smother a laugh behind him.
“Is this really why you came early, Mr. Haraby? To lash out at Mr. Roe again? I suppose your public image is as flawed as Miranda’s, but then again, money will always be able to buy new realities.”
He watched her from the corner of his eye as she glared at Mr. Haraby, who had stiffened as if struck.
“You’re bold to say that, living in her house, eating her food, and gaining a salary big enough to grant you a luxurious retirement,” he spat.
“Miranda would have none of this if not for me. She would have lost it all years ago. I am the backbone that has kept her standing. I am the mind that has kept her fortune safe from her frivolous lifestyle.” She weighed Mr. Haraby another moment, then shrugged. “A pity you never condescended to hire a person from the real world. Like me, they might have been able to save your family fortune.”
Haraby inflated like a balloon. “You—”
“Tell me, Mr. Haraby,” she interrupted in an unsettling return to her normally polite tone, “are you searching for your daughter because you are worried about her safety, or because, if she dies, you’ll have no option but to declare bankruptcy with your family name counting for nothing?”
Even Jay felt the burn on that comment. He turned his stormy eyes on Ms. Carmichael, but she didn’t notice. She was far too busy savoring this moment.
“That’s enough,” Jay cut in. He hadn’t expected it from all he had learned about her. He had expected the bitterness at constantly having to clean up Miranda’s messes and cover for her. But this was something else entirely. His suspicions grew, but he kept them hidden as she turned her gaze from Mr. Haraby.
Ms. Carmichael cocked an eyebrow at him but shrugged and moved back behind her desk.
“I don’t need you to defend my family,” Mr. Haraby bit out, turning his anger on Jay. “Nor do I need you help to find my daughter.”
“No? Is he not the best in his field? I figured that you can’t swallow your pride, even now.”
Mr. Haraby looked as if his ability to smother his rage was fast waning, but he turned his gaze back to Carmichael as she spoke. “You clearly have no intention of listening to me or helping me. My own private investigator is already on the case. He will find my Stella.” Mr. Haraby turned back to Jay. “And you will stay out of his way.”
Jay’s lips tilted up on one side. “If only saying things made them true, Stella would be safe at home already.” He took a single step towards Mr. Haraby. “You can’t stop me, Mr. Haraby. You’ve never been able to. I will find Stella and Ms. Williams because whoever you’ve hired isn’t good enough.”
“How the hell would you know that? You don’t even know who he is!”
“Because he isn’t here. He has never come here. How can he expect to pick up a trail when he won’t come to the place it begins?”
Ha
raby froze a moment and then a sickly smile tilted his lips. “Maybe he is better than you and doesn’t need to break into Ms. Williams’ home.”
“Ah. Is that why you are here for him then? I believe that is what you were asking Ms. Carmichael about when I arrived.”
Haraby’s hands jerked into tight fists, but the flash of rage passed. “If you ever come to regret entangling yourself with this self-righteous ass, remember that I told you so, Ms. Carmichael.”
Jay breathed out all his annoyance and frustration as he watched Mr. Haraby stalk from the room. He turned back slowly, keeping his eyes averted, hoping to catch some of Ms. Carmichael's true reaction.
As he had guessed, while Dave was shaking his head with what looked like equal parts sympathy and anger on his face, she was nursing a tiny triumphant smile. As soon as he had turned back fully, it was replaced with a shallow sigh and a resigned shake of the head.
She caught him watching and tilted her head to the side. “I apologize if I came off a bit rough. He’s been harassing me by email and phone for weeks. His personal visit was simply the last straw.”
Jay said nothing, but Dave spoke up. “Why not help him though? I mean, surely you didn’t need us to tell you that if two people vanish together, tracking one might help find both.”
Ms. Carmichael stared at Dave for a moment as if he had just said something absurd, but then shrugged. “Force of habit, I guess. I’ve been covering for Miranda for so long I decided not to tell him anything if he couldn’t tell me who he had hired.”
Jay’s brow furrowed. “He refused to tell you the name of his P.I.? Why?”
Ms. Carmichael gave a short laugh. “Probably because I said that once I had the name, I would look him up and ensure he was the best. If not, I would reach out for the best instead.”
Jay smothered his own laugh. “Yes, I can see why that might have rubbed him up the wrong way.”
Jay took his opportunity as he felt Ms. Carmichael was at ease. moving round the desk so that he could loom over her. “Now, let's get to the point, Ms. Carmichael. You had something to do with your Miranda William’s disappearance, and I want to know the full story. So why don’t we just get that part out the way first?”
Jayden Roe Mystery 02-The Final Lie Page 6
