Dave pinched the bridge of his nose. “So you’ve been with Dr. Daniels this whole time?”
Jay turned to set down his keys as he answered. “Yes. Where’d you think I was?”
“Well, let’s see, a knife-wielding maniac turns up at our door a night ago and then I leave for a few hours and get back to an empty house. You really going to tell me my reaction is unreasonable?”
Jay tilted his head to the side, still completely unapologetic. “But didn’t you go out too?”
“To a public place!” Dave growled. “What danger could I be in, in the middle of the day, in a crowded restaurant?”
“The same amount I could be in at a police station.”
Dave moved to stand only a few steps away. “A police station you know very well is under the control of the killer.”
“Yet I was there at his invitation, or is that not what the finger was? I asked for no more than he should’ve guessed. A fingerprint ID.” Jay looked him over, seeming completely unperturbed by his irritation. “You have been very quick to point out when I might not be following this person’s plan. You agreed that the finger was an intentional lead.”
Dave shut his eyes a moment. “Then why go alone? While you were talking to Dr. Daniels, I might have been able to snoop around.”
Jay shook his head. “No. I needed to go alone. I am the target. The goal of this game revolves around me. Even if I had mistaken the intent, none of his lackeys there would have hurt me. But they might have hurt you. It is also worthwhile if the world doesn’t see me relying on you. If this person thinks I’m undeserving of my reputation, they might decide to end the game early.”
Dave stared at him for a long moment. “Next time, leave me a note explaining.”
Jay barked a laugh, then his eyes clouded over. “Hopefully, there is no next time. Wouldn’t want any more important body parts.”
Dave nodded in sympathy. He needs to be more careful to not let his reaction show, especially his annoyance at Jay. He had specifically asked if Jay had gone alone, hoping to reveal the origin of his hired muscles. Instead, he blatantly said he had needed to go alone.
“What about you?” Jay asked as he started to unpack the take out Chinese food. “Did you find a decent spot to overhear some tidbits?”
Dave worried for a moment that Jay had managed to catch on to his thoughts, but the man was still at ease.
“I think so, yes. I’ll go there next time the wives meet up and see what I can glean for us.”
Jay turned back with a smile and walked over to pat his shoulder. “Good man. And I am sorry I made you worry again. Though if this is your reaction to dangerous situations, perhaps I was wrong about detective work being perfect for you.”
“Maybe.” Then he let his eyes narrow, but didn’t lose his smile. “Although, if you are going to tell me you were this calm and collected on your very first job, I’m going to call you a liar.”
Jay laughed and shook his head. “Fair enough. Ready to eat?”
Dave nodded and pushed everything else to the back of his mind as he played the part of a friend.
***
Dave looked at his clock and rubbed his eyes. He should have been in bed like Jay, sleeping, but his computer had pinged the results of the hacking program he had set earlier.
The first lot of the file had shown aerial footage, but of where, he had no idea. Then there was a list of programs he had thus far been unable to breach. But his frustration had been held at bay and his persistence rewarded as he gained access to one of the newer files.
It was more aerial footage, this time of Carthage. Now, he looked at the map he’d brought up on his phone and nodded to himself. The drone, which is all his mind could assume the footage was from, had been launched periodically from the gym Jay went.
Anger flooded his veins as he turned to watch the video. He swore under his breath as he hit another firewall half way through. Yet, as he used the map on his phone to track the drone’s progress until the point where the video stopped, he felt a feral smile pulling on his lips. It didn’t matter that the rest of the drone's protection was beyond his skills because this was already enough for him to realize what had gone on.
By the date on the video, Jay had not been working alone for quite some time. Dave looked at the house that was visible only for a few seconds before the feed cut out. He knew that house well. He had ordered Lloyd to buy it and set up offices for him and Gary Peters. He shut off the program that was now only sending him ‘failure to breach’ notices. Somehow, Jay had managed to convince Gary to join his side. Dave didn’t have the energy to guess how at the moment, but like the rest, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Gary Peters would soon be joining Hector and Natalie Piers in the afterlife.
You can’t beat me, Jay. The harder you try, the faster you will break when you realize that.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Jay glanced through the crack in the door and then crept back to bed. Dave was still awake despite the absurdity of the hour. Jay had struggled with sleep. Knowing that the man who had kidnapped Stella, murdered Miranda Williams, and perhaps nearly a hundred others, was sleeping just a few steps away did not make one relaxed.
He glanced at his phone as the screen lit up. Jay looked at the message, heart pounding. It seemed Dave had not taken his disappearance earlier lightly. The alert was a hacking notice, telling him that the more minor of Joe’s security defenses had been breached. The location of some of his files was now pinging him this alert from the laptop he had given Dave.
Of course, he had already guessed that Dave would be busy plotting his next move. They had reached the end game. Neither would be sitting on their hands.
During their conversation when he returned from the police station, he had caught every emotion and gesture from Dave. He had seen the tightly leashed fury. At first, it had made him fearful. Not for himself, but for Stella. She would suffer in his place.
Jay leaned back against the headrest on his bed. He had also caught Dave’s slip up. Jay had never mentioned Jane Daniels by name, yet Dave had gone to her straight away. She was the only one Dave’s seeping corruption and threat hadn’t managed to affect. He wondered if the man realized who she was in relation to himself?
While he would still do his best to follow the first and predict Dave’s likely course, he had to leave him to make his moves. That was the only way to make Dave fall into the trap. Otherwise he would simply flee and come back at them to pick them off one by one like a vengeful shadow.
Jay let out a billowing breath. While he had always made use of the people in his life, he had never put his trust in them. Now, it was all he could do.
Jay laid back to get some rest. His mind returned to the gossipers whose meet spot Dave had supposedly been scoping out. Sleep was driven even further from his mind as he had one of those two a.m. epiphanies. Dave would have had no reason to scope out a place to spy on the wives of his own people. While Jay was certain that they did in fact meet, and that they would likely talk out of turn, Dave would have no need to spy on them. Which meant that while Jay was getting Dr. Daniels to help them, Dave was off doing something of his own.
It took a lot of willpower for Jay not to merely leap out of bed and go to his laptop. He was certain that Dave had gone to meet with Lloyd. It was, after all, one of the days Lloyd would go out to the house Gary had alerted Jay to.
He got a new message, another encrypted one that had left Gary’s phone and gone through four of Joe’s servers before reaching Jay’s phone. Jay smiled at Joe’s prowess then frowned at the message. It seemed that Lloyd had begun hunting for new properties. His search seemed specifically aimed at derelict houses just beyond the borders of Carthage. Jay clicked out of the message while his mind followed all paths. It was a logical lead to fabricate as Gary had been told to press the kidnap for ransom idea. Lloyd’s proposal seemed logical and a decent cover for Gary to believe.
I don’t know what he will be up to, but I
must prevent him going out alone again if I can manage it.
Jay thought about the sedative he’d been dosed with more than once and grimaced. He felt certain that Dave was visiting either Amara or Stella during these nights. His last memory from the latest time was of Dave taking his pulse. Amara had clearly taught him to recognize the signs of the drug’s effects.
Jay shook himself. It was a blessing in disguise that he was drugged. It enabled him to know each time Dave made a move he felt important enough to be there in person for. This last time, it had been the finger that was now in Dr. Daniels’ care.
Jay nodded to himself and shut his eyes. He needed to sleep. None of his plans would work if he was not in form.
***
Three days later, Dr. Daniels sent him an email. Dave was hovering over his shoulder and Jay fought the urge to punch the man in his face. He had obviously been told that Dr. Daniels was sending the information Jay wanted today, and he wanted to be here to catch the reaction his handiwork would receive.
Cursing him silently, Jay sat upright in his chair.
“The results?” Dave inquired.
Jay nodded as he clicked on the email. Really, he was furiously checking the sender ID. If she had triggered the email to contact Gary, there’d be an extra zero on the end.
Jay felt himself begin to smile in triumph and quickly opened the secure document. It was worse than Jay had imagined. He had little trouble showing the shock and horror Dave was clearly waiting for. The digit had been removed from a living subject. The trace of blood showed that no anesthetic had been used, but rather a paralytic. The fingerprint had given a positive identity for Stella Haraby.
Jay pushed himself away from the computer. Dave hovered to look over the details as if to make sure he missed nothing. Jay was sure that what he was really doing was making sure that Dr. Daniels had obeyed his edict and had disclosed only the information he had deemed appropriate.
Jay bit back the urge to laugh. It was a mad reaction, given the results. Yet he knew why he wanted to laugh. It was as it had been when he had pulled the trigger to kill a woman he had both admired and cared for. The death of Linda had made Matthew Goldstein feel in control. This was now having the same effect on Dave. The more Dave felt he was winning, the more blinded he would become.
“Jay. I… I don’t know what to say,” Dave said as he turned to face him.
Dave watched him start at the silver fire in his eyes. “You don’t need to say anything. Just know that I am going to take him down.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
The past couple weeks had gone by exactly as Dave had hoped. Dr. Daniels had done nothing more than she was meant to. The best part was that Jay had not left his side. Alternating between staring aimlessly at nothing, horror tightening his eyes, or looking determined to throttle Stella’s captor with his bare hands, seeing him so unsettled was bitter-sweet. It meant he was winning, but it also meant his great master was indeed fallible.
Dave’s hand drifted to his pocket where another hand-packed sachet of sedative powder was kept. Amara had warned him not to use too much, but at this rate, Jay was likely to make his arrest soon. Once he had publicly taken down the wrong man, Dave would take him down and enjoy displaying how he had managed to surpass him.
Because Jay had gone behind his back and then lied to his face, he needed his plans for Bridgette to join with his plan for the house. They needed to be overseen in person. Tonight, Jay would sleep unwaking, and he would ensure all was ready for the big display.
***
Jay’s head was still hurting, but he knew the painkillers would kick in soon. He had watched Dave covertly and had seen the drugs coming. He hid a smile as the man waltzed down the stairs before spotting him and resuming a more appropriate look.
Looks like the move you made last night will pay dividends today. Jay had thought to himself even as he offered a good morning to Dave.
He moved about aimlessly, following the ploy he’d been playing since the results on the finger had come through. He had spent much of the past two weeks playing Joe’s game. So much so that he had found Dave there early one morning doing the same.
Jay had to swallow a chuckle as he looked forlornly out of the window. Dave had said he had merely wanted to see what had Jay so hooked. However, Jay had already received his alert and knew full well that he was, in fact, hacking again, trying to make sure the game was only a game. Jay wondered if Joe had had fun messing with Dave’s attempts.
Dave had been behaving as expected. He had tried to break into the gym’s roof as well as taking action on several of Lloyd’s men who had been proved to be leaking information.
In the end, he had to wait most of the day before a letter, attached to the hilt of a dagger, was hurled through the open window in the kitchen while he was cleaning up after lunch.
Jay hid a sigh at the dramatic Dave on his heels.
“What does it say?”
Like you don’t know.
“It’s just an address.”
Dave immediately pulled out his phone to type it in. “Look! See? It says it is from a friend. I told you not to lose hope. The finger wasn’t the end of the game.”
Jay nodded, waiting for Dave’s search to tell them where to go.
“Looks like it is just outside Carthage. Kinda run down.”
Jay took a long look at the screen.
Looks like we have the house Lloyd was ordered to find.
“Let’s go.” Jay grabbed his keys and marched out the door.
“Wait! You’re just going to—”
“I’m done playing. Whoever this is wants me to follow so I’ll follow.”
***
The house was in worse repair than the image had shown and poorly lit in the late afternoon sunlight.
“Looks like a decent place to keep someone hostage,” Dave murmured as he glanced at the broken windows and deteriorating framework.
Jay snorted. “It looks more like a good place to set up an ambush.”
“You don’t think this is it?”
“I have no reason to.”
Jay walked up to the house, and Dave grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “You’re telling me that you think the note might have been from your opponent, but you’re still just going to walk in?”
“My opponent doesn’t want me dead. If they did, they would have managed it by now. Given all the other deaths they’ve caused, one more would be easy. So ambush or no, I am at no risk.”
“And me?”
The tone was so credibly fearful, Jay actually turned halfway back and clapped Dave on the shoulder. He followed through with the movement, knowing it would look suspicious if he didn’t. He drew a deep breath to deliver his next lines.
“Let’s pretend this is an ambush set up by my opponent. That being the case, do you think you’d be safer back at the house?”
Dave slowly shook his head. “No.”
“And if it is a lead from an actual ally, would you want to miss the discovery?”
Dave put on a smile. “Not a chance.”
“And just for the record. I don’t think it is either of those.”
Dave began to ask the obvious follow up, but Jay waved him into silence and entered the house with no attempt to be stealthy.
The smell of damp and rot hit him first. He felt a spasm of worry go through him as they walked through the empty rooms. He wasn’t used to following where he was led without having first tampered with the road laid out.
The next breath brought with it the tang of iron.
“Blood,” he murmured and a shiver ran through Dave. Jay felt his stomach clench as he guessed it was likely a shiver of excitement not fear.
There, dangling like a broken puppet was a naked body covered in blood and marks of torture. The long, flaxen blond hair dripped water onto the peeling linoleum floor of the kitchen.
Jay felt his stomach bottom out and his breathing grow short. The face was covered by a leering mask, but even so,
Jay could see enough to make him want to scream. He had to resist the urge to turn on Dave and beat him to a bloody pulp.
The body was missing its left ring finger. It had a series of freckles along the arms and above the right knee that he knew well. Even the body proportions looked right.
Jay could feel Dave’s eyes on the back of his head. He knew that if he gave into his emotions now, he would lose the game.
He dropped to his knees. He buried his face in his hands as internally he wrapped himself in ice and steel. Slowly he moved his hands to look at the body again. Wrapped in cold, unfeeling logic, he caught what his shock would have made him miss.
This was not Stella Haraby. The mask had been the give away really, but he could see more now. There were sear marks, where the woman’s own body marks had been burned away, including a large one in the cleft of her neck. The freckles, though done well, were actually tattoos, the area around them bruised. And the work done to this woman’s chest to make her match Stella’s proportions, was unhealed. Like the bruises and burning though, the surgical cuts would have been missed at first glance, hidden behind the myriad of other abuse she had suffered before death. Also noticeable was the sharp bite of peroxide which meant the hair color was unnatural.
Jay rose slowly to his feet, and Dave reached out to help him. It took a tremendous amount of willpower not to shake the man off.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think he’d kill her either. Not yet.”
Jay turned his face so that Dave could see the small smile. He took a moment to enjoy the surprise and speculation that flickered in the green-blue eyes watching. Clearly, the man was worried he had lost his mind.
“That isn’t Stella. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was Bridgette.”
The calm words turned the speculation to annoyance, but it was dulled a bit by the wonder behind them.
Jay bit back a rueful laugh. Being idolized and hated in equal measure was getting old fast. “I’m calling in Dr. Daniels.”
Jayden Roe Mystery 02-The Final Lie Page 20