“Message me.”
Dave sighed, then grimaced and fingered the bandages stretching over his shoulder and across his upper torso to keep the dressing on the wound secure. One handed he sent a nonsense message. Jay waited for five heartbeats before Dave’s phone pinged, rather than his own. Dave tilted the screen to show Jay the ‘unable to be delivered’ message.
“So you came after me in person?”
Dave half smiled, setting his phone aside. “Of course. How could I go to New Orleans when my partner had become mysteriously uncontactable and was potentially being followed?”
Jay chuckled. “I don’t want you risking your life.”
“Then you should never have hired me.”
Jay’s eyes widened a little at the comeback. Dave had been quite docile, but apparently being shot had given a little steel to his backbone. “Fair enough. So you got here and…?”
Dave held his gaze a moment longer, then spoke. “I got to the main gates and found both guards dead.”
Jay let out a breath. “So you ran to the house like some superhero instead of calling the cops?”
Dave’s mouth tilted in a small smile. “I saw them there and all I could think of was to get to you, that I couldn’t let that be you too.”
Jay heard the sincerity in the words and took half a step back. “You hardly know me.”
Dave seemed to smother a fit of laughter. He met Jay’s eyes still dancing with secret humor. “Don’t be so big-headed, Jay. My life was boring before you strolled in and shamed my manager. It was dull and dead-ended. I would have spent my life going through the motion. Even when I achieved things, they didn't feel fulfilling. But this, this has been better than anything else. I love the thrill and I don’t want to lose this, but I know that I am not ready to be walking this road alone.”
“So, you’re saying that once I’ve taught you all I know, it will be okay to let me die?”
Dave’s eyes flew wide, and Jay laughed again. “I’m just messing with you. So you distracted the shooter?”
Faint color rose in Dave’s freckled cheeks, but he shrugged then hissed a profanity, but waved Jay’s concern away. “I saw them, dressed head to toe in black just like everything we’ve heard. They had a gun already aimed at a window,so I tackled them.”
“You what?” Jay asked, feeling truly incredulous for the first time since Dave had begun his tale.
“I knocked them to the ground as they fired. They turned the gun on me as I kicked. I don’t remember too much after that. There’s some blinding pain. Then I heard a man telling me to lie still and putting pressure on my shoulder.”
“That must have been Gary Peters.”
Dave’s eyes filled with surprise at the name, but then his face grew stern. “So, are you seriously going to send me packing for possibly saving your life?”
Jay watched him a moment longer then chuckled. “I think you’ve persuaded me to let you stay.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Where’s all your stuff?” Jay asked as he helped Dave shrug back into his bloodstained shirt. “You’ll need to change before we hit any airports to catch a flight to New Orleans.”
Dave began to chuckle but caught himself in time. “I dropped everything at the inn you said you were going to stay at.”
There was much more that he wanted to ask Dave, but this was neither the time nor the place. Jay just gave a nod. “Well thought out, considering you were in a panic.”
Dave threw him a mock glare but half way through, his expression changed to one of suppressed fear. Jay tensed and turned to face the door, only to find Ben leaning against the frame.
“Jesus,” Jay breathed. He took a quick mental note of some small details to pass onto Joe. Like the three black buttons on the left side of the high neck and the small embroidered ‘H’ on the shoulders. Visible only because the black thread that had been used was glossier than the fabric of the shirt. “Ben, are you officially throwing us out?”
Ben’s eyes shifted over Dave. “The doctor has told Mr. Haraby that there is no danger to Mr. Tiller being moved. He would like to be able to call in the coroner and police without having to explain why you or him are here.”
“We’ll be out in a moment. I know Mr. Haraby wants none of my advice, but this attack was not a coincidence. Keep him safe.”
Ben nodded once. “I have called a cabbie I know. He should already be at the gates. He’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
Jay turned back with Dave at his side. “Thank you.”
Ben waved away the words of gratitude. “Even if Mr. Haraby would fire me for admitting it, we owe you both.”
Jay chuckled, clapped Ben on the shoulder, and left.
***
“You still haven’t said where we are going,” Dave realized as they pulled their bags into the airport. “After collecting your car from New Orleans, I mean.”
Jay smiled. “We’re meeting up with Gary Peters.”
Dave caught the sly edge to Jay’s smile and tilted his head to the side. “Did Mr. Haraby actually let you join with him.? Or was it Gary himself?”
Jay laughed loudly, earning a few startled looks from members of the public. “Gary’s hate for me outweighs even Mr. Haraby’s, do you think that likely?”
Dave chuckled. “You don’t seem bothered by their disregard.”
“I’m not,” Jay shrugged. “Besides, I like a challenge. While I have no desire to mess around in this case, Gary’s arrival means I can get what I want.”
Dave shook his head. “Should’ve guessed that you’d done something underhanded, but what was it exactly?”
“I slipped a tracker onto Gary before he left.”
An announcement sounded over the speakers, causing Dave to look around.
“Where is he?” Dave asked, looking back again.
“Carthage.”
Dave’s eyebrows fell together in thought, and he looked down, drumming his fingers on the handle of his wheelie case.
“It is you.”
Jay turned in surprise at the voice and was greeted by a dazzling smile and mischievous sapphire eyes. “Dr. Young.”
She rolled her eyes. “Still so formal. As you’re no longer an inmate, Mr. Roe, how about we drop the formalities?”
Jay half smiled. “Sure. Oh, let me introduce you. Dave, this is Dr. Amara Young. Amara, this is Dave Tiller, my partner.”
She shook Dave’s hand then turned her eyes back to Jay. “Since when do you have a partner?”
Jay raised an eyebrow. “And since when is that any of your business?”
She chuckled, “Same old Jay, I see. You know I stitched this guy up more times than I can count, but I’m still a stranger?”
Jay gave a small smile as Dave cast a curious glance between them. “Alright, alright. What are you doing here anyway?”
Amara shrugged. “The powers that be always think doctors could use refresher courses for emergency situations. So I’ve been bored out of my mind attending a seminar to learn things I already know. Heading back out today thankfully, but if I had known you were here too, we could have met up.”
“That was our flight,” Dave interrupted, saving Jay from answering.
“Sure. Well, have a good flight then,” she smiled at Jay, and then more politely at Dave.
“Are all the women you know so good looking?” Dave asked in a hushed voice as they left.
“I guess I never really thought about it.”
“Seriously?”
Jay half smiled. “If you’d like Amara’s number, I can probably convince her to let you have it.”
Dave seemed to smother another laugh then shook his head.
***
The bustling streets of New Orleans flashed by as Jay took a cab to the spot where he knew he could meet up with one of the guides Elliot and Joseph had dotted around the city. Dave had been left at the hotel, to recover and to write a detailed report of every fact he could think of regarding his few seconds of conta
ct with the shooter. Jay also had him keeping tabs on the latest news coming out of Salisbury. He felt his stomach clench. Four bodies had already been recovered from the fires, including those of Stan and Sue from The Bronze Rose. Whoever was behind all this clearly had no issues with murder. That didn’t bode well for Stella, but neither was it good for his investigation. If every lead he followed put the person it came from in danger of death, then how could he talk to anyone? Jay felt his fists clench. He still wasn’t even sure how his movements were being monitored. There’s no chance to defend against them.
That’s why I’m here, asking for more favors. And why I have to work with Gary. He is already involved.
“We’re here,” announced the cabbie, interrupting Jay’s thoughts.
“Thanks,” Jay said, handing over the fare and stepping out into the skate park.
It took him a good few minutes to be sure of his mark, but eventually he stepped up to the young man fixing his skateboard off to the side of the half pipe.
“Hey, I’m new here. You think you could help me find The Boa Club?”
The guy eyed him up and down and pulled out his phone. “Sure. You got a name?”
Jay smiled. The app the man had opened appeared to be a digital map waiting for him to type in the location. “Jayden Roe.”
Jay didn’t move, knowing that the man was actually sending his name through Joe’s program. If it came up with ‘No address found’, Jay would be shown that and then tailed and captured, because while his pass phrase had been correct, his name would not have registered as a friend.
In this case, with his name coming in positive, the man turned back with a smile. “That’s actually on my way home. I can show you the way if you want? Maybe for a small fee?”
Jay nodded, his rueful smile making it clear that he had noticed the reminder that there would be a payment required. “I’d appreciate that, thanks.”
He followed the man for two blocks. They entered what appeared to be a run down strip club, the word ‘Boa’ still visible in the faded paint job.
Inside were only three other people, two heavily armed. If he had come here without the guide, he likely wouldn’t have left alive.
His guide turned back to face Jay after greeting the others. “Says here you’re due a collection. Is that what you want?”
Jay drew in a deep breath. “Later. First, I need a meeting.”
The young man chuckled. “You sure? You’re already in debt. They might not like you asking for more.”
Jay half smiled. “Positive.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jay followed his new guide back out into New Orleans. She took his arm with a slender hand and began nattering nonsense like most of the other couples he could see, going on about one of the many events soon to fill these streets with music and dancing. Jay smiled. Her nonsense was actually carefully concealed information, and she was doing a damn good job at it. In five days, parties would sweep the streets. Rivals often tried to make use of the tourist influx to get to The Serpent Brothers, not that it ever worked. Essentially it was a fair warning call, telling him he’d do best to conclude his business and leave New Orleans before those parties began. He let his gray eyes shift over her dark skin with undertones of gold that matched the bright flecks in her intelligent eyes. She was definitely a step up from the usual guides he had dealt with in the past. Her body language, gestures, and facial expression all told a story of a girl in love out for a stroll with her man. Yet the slight pressure he could feel from her delicate fingers along with the bump of her hip against his let him know she was armed. Her careful words told him that she was not to be messed with.
He made a casual comment about how loud music gave him a headache, and she smiled and moved on to other news. He felt his stomach bottom out as she mentioned the Salisbury fires that had been headlining the news lately. He glanced at her sideways as she asked for his opinion. Did that mean that if he hadn’t asked for a meeting, they would have called him in anyway?
His guide suddenly pointed out an upcoming window display. They both turned and entered the store. The elderly man behind the counter looked up then called to someone in the back.
“You go blind from here.” Her smile went from friendly to calculating.
Jay smiled ruefully at the exchange going on between the elderly man and the two younger men that had emerged. “I see they were expecting me.”
The woman chuckled, following his gaze and waving them over. “My cousins like to keep their assets under watch.”
Jay gave a little resistance when a blindfold was tightened across his eyes. He resisted the urge to remove it and talk to her some more. He followed the guidance of the two strong hands that had now taken his arms but couldn’t stop his relief as her cinnamon and honey scent stayed with them as they entered a car.
He had never known that The Serpent Brothers had any other family. Given the help he had offered in the past, and the inner research that had required, it was a strange feeling to find something he’d missed. It was also laced with a tinge of fear. If he could miss something as obvious as a birth record for a cousin, he could have missed more. Perhaps, he had not known Elliot and Joe as well as he thought.
He heard a soft laugh and realized that some of his thoughts must have been showing on his face.
Idiot. he told himself. They’ve never shown themselves to be bad people.
“Let’s go,” she said as the engine cut off.
Jay nodded and let them lead him. Jay concentrated on his feet and the sound of his walking. At first, he could feel and hear the crunch of gravel beneath his boots, then the echo of wood and the sounds of water tinkling, then a duller sound harder than the wood.
“I should have guessed you’d never just collect your car and leave,” boomed a familiar voice.
“You know me, Elliot,” Jay smiled, obeying the pressure on his arms to stop walking. “Can’t pass up an afternoon with old friends.”
Elliot’s laugh filled the air as the blindfold was removed. Jay blinked a few times to help his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. They seemed to be at the center of a large greenhouse, various non-native plants surrounding them. Ahead was an ornamental pond with a delicate collection of Indian Lotus, the pink-tinged flowers in full blossom. Beside this was a table, already laid out for an early lunch. Joe smiled slightly and gave Jay a small wave as he met his eyes.
The woman gave a small nod as he glanced at her. Elliot raised a hand, and Jay resisted the urge to tense automatically. He had seen this silent command used too many times to not be fearful about what came next. If Elliot curled his finger, Jay would be dead before he had time to register the danger.
Elliot’s hand shifted so that two fingers flicked outward. Jay heard the sounds of the men who had helped bring him here retreating.
“You sure he’s safe? Doesn’t seem very trusting,” mused the woman, apparently having caught whatever tiny signals Jay had been unable to squash.
Jay raised an eyebrow at her before anyone could respond. “If I simply trusted you, I wouldn’t be me, and you would be disappointed.”
“It would also render you of no value,” chimed in Joe. “I see you already have a good grasp of Keira, but be careful, she’s pretty good.”
Jay chuckled and glanced from Keira’s appraising look to Joe’s silent warning in his eyes. “I know.”
“Good. Then join us for lunch. You can make your requests later,” Joe said.
Jay inclined his head and was glad that he had told Dave not to expect him anytime soon.
***
Jay drove carefully back to the hotel. His afternoon with the innermost circle of The Serpent Brothers had been full of information. Jay parked and turned off the car but didn’t get out. They had given him no reason for their extreme willingness, but he had felt the chains of his owed debt grow heavier.
Keira was leaving tonight, heading for Ruby and Frank, to keep an eye on them. Jay had been assured that she was no
t just a good sleuth but a good fighter too.
He let out a long breath. He had only known her a few hours, but their back and forth had made him confident in her skills. Ruby would be kept safe.
As for Mr. Haraby, the tracker he had left on Ben had shown them leaving Washington for New York which Elliot had promised to keep an eye out.
Jay glanced at his laptop. He had taken it with him today in the hopes of being allowed to take notes in tandem with whatever they knew. He hadn’t expected it to be so fruitful. Joe’s analysis of the CCTV stills had neatly proved that they were not the same person. The person near the locations of the fires was wearing a one-piece bodysuit, the outfit lacking all the details Jay had taken note of on Ben’s uniform. The unidentified person also seemed to be slimmer than Ben.
Jay took a deep breath, accepting the terrible facts he’d learned today. Someone had deliberately and ruthlessly hunted down all the people he and Dave had spoken to. Every single one was now confirmed dead, except for Mr. Haraby and Ms. Carmichael. The latter was missing as her body was not among those taken from the ruined estate.
The fire department had reached a dead end with the type of small bombs and accelerant used. The police only had the CCTV stills and a couple of witness accounts to suggest the person in black was the perpetrator.
He shook his head. He had asked Keira to pass his safe email on to Ruby when she was sure they were safe. He knew she didn’t want to be in this mess, and he didn’t want that either, but he has to know if she had perhaps seen anything and why she had kept tabs on him until he left Salisbury.
Jayden scooped up his laptop bag and got out of the car. Perhaps some of the things Dave had spent the day doing would prove useful in light of all the new information he had garnered today.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Stella heard the door slide open and tried to push herself up, but her arms shook. How long had it been since she had last been sent any food?
Jayden Roe Mystery 02-The Final Lie Page 10
