Dave frowned for a moment then spoke in a tone that suggested he was voicing his thought as it occurred to him. “Or as a warning, a reminder that the next body could be Stella. Or even a punishment.”
“Punishment?”
“For involving others. The police station gets destroyed, and on the same night, a body like Stella is dumped.”
Jay’s chest tightened. Dave's logic was as sound as always.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The next week dragged by, leaving Jay in a strange state of being. Some moments, everything seemed heightened, crystal clear, then it would all crash down and fade between a wave of fear and failure.
The second week after Gary had vanished with the USB, Jay took himself in hand. He needed to push Stella to the back of his mind. He had lots of practice being cold and calculating, and now, it was only that mantle that would win this game. From now on, he was going to enter this game under the assumption that Stella was already gone. But that did not mean he couldn’t ensure she got justice.
“Are you alright, Jay?” Dave asked as he stepped out of the bathroom to find Jay in black track pants and a dark gray tank. “You look different somehow.”
“I’m fine, but I can’t just sit here again. We have nothing new on Lloyd’s people, or Gary, or anything.”
“You going out? Don’t forget we’re moving into the house I bought today.”
“A run might clear my head, but don’t worry, I’ll be back soon enough.”
***
Jay let the wind blow past him as he ran, but all his senses were on high alert. He had to think of a way to contact Gary again without it being noticed. So far, nothing had happened to make him believe that Gary had shared the contents of the USB, but neither had he tried to contact Jay. Jay kept his face smooth as he noted the people around the park. He would watch them all and see which were tails. He had no doubt that at least one would be. After all, the person who started this game couldn’t stay a step ahead unless Jay was under constant watch.
The idea made him stop. Jay feigned himself to be out of breath and moved to stretch out on a patch of sunny grass.
Constant watch.
He realized now that that had to have predated his release from prison. Stella’s last letter was what put him on the trail of Miranda Williams. Whoever planned this had known that and acted accordingly which meant that they had not only been watching Stella, but him too. Jay’s mind immediately jumped to bloodangel_53. He had hit a block with them, but had pushed it to the back of his mind. He knew the protection around the account was too advanced for his skills.
Time to call in another favor. I don’t know how I will ever repay this debt.
He pulled out his phone and opened another of Joe’s more fun apps. This one looked like a series of timers for on the spot exercises and stretches. Each timer was actually space for him to supply codes. The first for his name.
“Mountain climbers,” he grunted to himself, lowering his body into the appropriate form as the counter ticked down.
It beeped, and he shifted into the next position as the app moved on to the timer that represented the type of request. “Twenty five crunches.” Emergency tracking.
Again, Jay completed the exercises for anyone watching and listening. Then shifted into slow stretches as the final timer began.
“A few more of these and I’ll be ready to run back,” he told himself cheerfully. His chest constricted over the last two words that meant he was indebting himself further.
As the timer finished and beeped, Jay scooped up his phone. “Let me see if I can beat my personal best score.”
Using a simple code of numbers in place of letters he typed in the handle he wanted looked into and then added the true numbers on a second line. To anyone able to see his screen, he would have added a run time, of minutes and seconds, as well as a mini countdown for when the timer would begin.
Jay smiled and shook out his limbs again. As if eager for the beep, none of his trepidation showed on his face. A single beep would mean that his request had been denied.
He replaced his phone in the holder on his arm and tried hard not to count in his head. The phone beeped three times, and Jay shot off through the park. He would soon make it a step ahead of the killer.
***
“You’re right. Running does seem to have done you good. Maybe you should join the gym too.”
Jay grinned.
“Good plan,” he said as he headed into the bathroom.
There, he stared at his reflection a long moment as the water ran. He couldn’t deny that he and Dave had become friends, but neither could he trust him. Just as with Goldstein before, he had to do this alone, but he couldn’t just cut the man loose either. For one, whoever was watching would no doubt find it suspicious, and two, if they did, Jay did not have the power to ensure that he was protected the way Ru and Hector had been. He had to be kept in the dark. Another part of Jay’s mind agreed wholeheartedly with the decision, though for much different reasons. Reasons that revolved a lot around the new focus that this had all been planned long in advance, and therefore, there were no such things as coincidences.
Jay showered and stepped back out into the main room in just his jeans. Dave had his back to him, watching the small TV with rapt attention. Jay glanced at the news reports. The bodies of the Natchitoches explosion were being formally identified. He had just composed his face into the correct mask of horror, shock, and pending loss when Dave spotted him.
“I—”
Jay worked to sound fragile instead of madly triumphant. “I…” he cleared his throat. “I suppose I already guessed, but…”
Dave helped him sit on the edge of the bed. “Did they have family? Natalie and Hector?”
Jay let his eyes, still holding their lost expression, pass over Dave. “No children. But Hector’s family is huge, and Natalie has a younger brother.”
Dave patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry. For your loss and because, without their help, finding Stella will be harder.”
Jay let his eyes grow a little sharper at the mention of Stella’s name. “Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?” Dave asked, tilting his head to the side.
Jay met his gaze steadily. “Years ago, I had a ghost in the Natchitoches police mainframe similar to the one we’ve installed here.”
Dave’s eyes widened slightly, then he frowned. “Wouldn’t it have been erased? I mean, you came clean about everything right?”
Jay’s lips twitched. “Maybe. Let’s find out.”
Jay moved to his laptop and was hyper aware of Dave hovering over his shoulder. He still had not told Dave about Joe, or the Serpent Brothers in general, making all the hacking and covert programs his own. As such, he took care with what he did here so that he revealed nothing he wanted to keep secret.
Jay made a small noise of triumph and then winced. He glanced back at Dave who was staring at the screen with the strangest expression on his face. Part excitement, part chagrin.
“It’s still running then?”
Jay shook his head, cataloging the reaction for later inspection. “No. The mainframe would have been destroyed in the explosion.”
“Then why do you sound so happy?”
“Because I know Hector would have wanted to know he hadn’t died in vain,” he let his voice take on the appropriate emotions, “The program isn’t running now, but it was running right up to the explosion. So if either Natalie or Hector logged anything, I might be able to retrieve it.”
Dave nodded and moved away, only to snatch up his chair and return. Jay felt a flash of claustrophobia as Dave sat down, but he didn’t let his fingers slow. He smiled again as he came across the fingerprints Natalie had retrieved. His, Stella’s, Stan and Sue’s, and the perfect red-herring of Lloyd’s.
“Lloyd Bailen,” Dave read out loud.
Jay shifted in his seat under the guise of getting a better look at Dave, but really wanting more than a few inches betwe
en them. At least until he had enough to be able to tell the good from the bad.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Jay stood atop the roof of the local gym. Actually, as far as his senses were aware, he wasn’t standing on a roof. He was flying.
The VR headset, a gift from Joe along with the drone it was linked to, blocked out the real world entirely. Now as the drone flew, though Jay could feel his fingers on the controls, it was as if he were the one in the air. Right now, as it swooped high above the park, he spotted Gary and felt his heart somersault. The man had been absent for days. Now he appeared again. Gary seemed to be going through some kind of pattern. Reading a book, looking out over the trees and wildlife, then a scroll through his phone. Eventually, just as Jay knew he needed to turn back or risk the drone losing power half way back, Gary rose and moved only to stop and sneeze. He leaned against a tree as he blew his nose then left, a square of checkered blue cloth falling from his pocket to land beside the tree. About a minute later, a man darted from the trees and scooped up the fabric, turned it over, then chucked it back in disgust before vanishing after Gary.
Jay felt his breath quicken, and he flew hastily back. It was still a strange feeling, even after so many days, to see himself standing on a roof. With careful movements, Jay landed the marvel of technology and removed his head gear.
Jay packed everything carefully and hid it in his usual spot. He had taken full advantage of Dave’s trips to the estate agents and the houses, making his own preparations to turn Carthage into a usable base. He already knew the names and faces of three of his tails and now felt he had a positive ID for Gary’s tail. Now, if his guess from this flight had been correct, Gary had left him a message, the handkerchief fallen by the tree. It had been a calling card they’d seen in an old movie they’d watched back when Jay was just an underling. They had made fun of it at the time, yet now Gary had used it to signal he’d be in touch. The fact that he hadn’t simply called Jay out was a good sign. It at least meant that Gary saw the need to be careful. All that remained to be seen now, was whether or not Gary was willing to work with him again and how they were going to meet without anyone noticing.
***
The next morning Jay woke up in the house Dave had bought. It was a good house. Not too big, but with enough room for them each to have their own space. It was out of the way, but not too far that any leads they wanted to chase would be tiresome to come by.
“Going to the gym again?” Dave asked as Jay entered the kitchen.
“Probably. There’s a good gaggle of gossipers there some mornings. I might hear something of use.” He began to potter about the kitchen.
“Anything come back to you yet? About those other fingerprints Natalie had put into the system but hadn’t managed to get anything back on?”
“No. I would have let you know. We’ve hit a stalemate otherwise.”
Dave frowned. “And if we have? What’s your plan?”
Jay threw him a sneaky grin. “Oh, don’t you worry, Dave, I have a plan. You just carry on getting everything you can on Lloyd’s men.”
“I bet you do. I’ve made decent headway. I should have a basic background run for each of them by tonight.”
Jay grinned. “Good. Then I can look at that. If my idea holds, I’ll let you in on the plan.”
Dave’s eyes lit up, and he nodded. “Oh, by the way, looks like Lloyd’s out of town. Left last night.”
Jay kept his reaction mostly hidden, only allowing his eyebrows to climb a short way up. “He seems to do that a lot. I wonder if we can get a tracker on him.”
Dave cast Jay a sly smile. “He might recognize you because of Gary, but I’d be willing to give it a go when he gets back into town if you like.”
Jay nodded. “Sounds like a plan. See you in a bit.”
***
Jay left the house and made his way toward the gym, wending through the park. It wasn’t the most direct route, but he wanted to afford Gary every opportunity he could, especially if Lloyd was out of town. Jay remembered the look on Dave’s face and shook his head, hoping to get beyond this part fast. He would like to feel free to make full use of Dave’s talents, but he knew better. He had to trust no one until he knew who was behind Lloyd.
Jay passed by a few houses then small businesses. He reached the gym building and reluctantly entered. He had hoped Gary would have gotten him, but was slightly glad the man hadn’t tried. After all, the man following him, who he’d picked up a few steps out from his front door, had never left him.
He booked in and went through his usual motions. Carthage wasn’t large enough for someone to tail him from activity to activity without it looking suspicious. So his tail never entered, only keeping an eye on the building and following when he was done.
Jay entered the stairwell and began his ascent. Perhaps if he could find out where Gary was, he might be able to accidentally-on-purpose bump into him on the way home.
He turned to climb the last flight and then spun in his heel to face the person who had begun following him three flights ago.
Gary Peters jumped, lost his footing, and only just caught himself. “Christ.”
Jay bit back a laugh, knowing it would only anger Gary. “My apologies, but I have been followed every step since I entered this damn town. I’m not overly inclined to be considerate towards spies.”
Gary eyed him a moment then sighed. “I’m being followed too. But they didn’t come inside. I had a meeting with the owner, but that was just a ruse.”
“I thought your old friend might be willing to help you out. Another reason I chose this place. Come on.”
He heard Gary grumbling behind him as they climbed the last flight and exited onto the roof.
“As you are meeting me in secret, I take it you have verified my information.”
“I have.”
“Good then we—”
“Hold your horses. I think you have the wrong end of the stick.” Gary folded his arms.
Jay let out a long breath and motioned for Gary to say his piece.
“I verified everything and know that you are right, that Lloyd is using me as cover for something. I dug a little bit into the police and found your claims there to be true too.”
“Then let’s not waste more of Stella’s time, Gary. Whatever our past, you and I need to work together now.”
Gary shook his head, “By my estimation, Stella is more than likely dead. If I provide that to Mr. Haraby, he won’t fight my judgment. I have no reason to stay and save you.”
Jay had managed to keep his face smooth at the statement that Stella was dead, his emotions still tightly locked behind the cold mantle he needed.
“Except that you do,” he countered, meeting Gary’s eyes with just a hint of his usual smirk on his lips. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You would have just left for Mr. Haraby, closing this case and fleeing Lloyd. You’ve stayed because you want something from me which you believe I will give in exchange for your help.”
Gary let out a rueful laugh. “You always were a smart ass. Doesn’t help that you’re never wrong either.”
“So what do you want?”
“Two things. One, you will serve under me, with no one knowing, for three years. All your triumphs will be mine alone.”
Jay almost laughed aloud. “I see. You want to use me to build back the reputation I destroyed.”
“Exactly. Two, after that, you will leave my hunting grounds for good. If ever you get a client that I am after, you’ll leave them to me. Deal?”
Jay let out a sigh, but his hard gaze never wavered. “You’ll follow my orders to the letter until this case is over, and Stella is recovered?”
“I will. I might hate you, but I’m not Mr. Haraby. I know exactly how good you are.”
“Then I believe we have a deal, Mr. Peters.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Stella awoke with a start. For a moment she could see nothing but the remnants of the nightmare images that had plagued h
er for so long. She blinked furiously as if the action could dispel the horror of Miranda’s last moments and the torture she had suffered.
The space she was in slowly came into focus, and Stella felt a renewed wave of fear. She wasn’t in the cell she had been kept in for so long now. Instead, she was in a far larger room, though still one with no windows or visible door. She shifted and realized that she couldn’t move more than a few centimeters in any direction. Her chains fed into holes in the floor at the corners of the thin mattress she had been placed on. She was also now naked with the only covering a neat cast around the wrist the man had broken.
Her breath began to come in short, sharp gasps, the oxygen they carried seeming too thin to sustain consciousness as her vision began to swim once more.
“Finally, the stoic Stella Haraby has a decent panic attack,” muttered a female voice from the corner just behind Stella’s head.
Stella arched her back as much as she could to allow herself an upside down view of the woman.
“Why don’t you just kill me? What do you two want?” Stella half sobbed, half screamed.
The woman huffed and pushed herself off the wall. “Not you. You, like Miranda, are just a pawn.” She pulled a needle from her pouch and stuck it into Stella’s arm. “It’s a sedative. Don’t worry. When you wake up, you won’t be alone anymore.”
Stella fought the pull of the drug with all her might, then eventually gave in. She knew she had been moments from losing herself. She would accept the enforced calm and hope to wake with a clearer head.
***
“…you sure they should be together?” an unfamiliar male voice penetrated Stella’s foggy mind.
She felt her fear rise along with her wakening brain, but remained still on the mattress as the woman answered.
“Those were the orders. He also wants you to watch that Gary closely.”
There was an annoyed, bitter laugh. “That little bast—”
“Go. I’ll chain this one up.”
Footsteps shuffled out, taking the lingering stench of tobacco with them. Stella opened her eyes a fraction at the sounds of rattling chains. She turned her focus on the woman, opening her eyes the rest of the way as she saw that she had her back to her.
Jayden Roe Mystery 02-The Final Lie Page 15