Dave nodded in a thoughtful way and then his look became sheepish once more. “I, uh, I didn’t.”
Jay raised an eyebrow in question, and had to carefully keep his emotions, which were mostly the desire to laugh some more, well hidden.
“I was told to call you if I wanted to know where you were and sent on my way. As I was leaving, someone called out to a Dr. Piers, and I spotted her wedding band.”
Jay shook his head in wonder, “So you got the information out of Natalie instead?”
Dave nodded, looking a little guilty. “I told her that the Detective Piers had sent me to her because he was too busy to deal with more Jayden Roe nonsense. She seemed to believe that and quickly told me that you had said only that you were popping down to New Orleans for a few days. She seemed eager to be rid of me.”
Jay burst out laughing. “I’ll bet she did. I understand that you worked off Hector’s initial irritation, but what if she had proved cautious too?”
Dave flushed and shrugged, “I guess I would have had to high tail it out of there.”
Jay chuckled. “Would you have given up then?”
Dave shook his head forcefully. “Nope. I would have asked around town.”
Jay paled and wondered how long it would have taken for some group with a grudge to beat him up for daring to mention the name Jayden Roe. “Well, I’m glad it didn’t come to that, or you might have missed me.”.
“Me too. I tried looking for you after I arrived in New Orleans, but other than a hotel booking, I could find no trace of you. The concierge said you’d dropped your bags off then collected them that same night, paid the tab, and left.”
“That’s when you called?”
“I tried asking around a bit more, and someone threatened me to shut it. That was when I called.”
Jay shook his head in amazement. “Well, you were right. Your efforts have certainly convinced me that I picked the right man.”
He heard their flight called and got up, wheeling his bag behind him as Dave preened then shot up after him. The Serpent Brothers had agreed to keep his car in their garage while they flew out to Salisbury to see if he could track down this Miranda Williams everyone was still gossiping over.
It was a four hour flight, and Jay took the opportunity to read over what he had already compiled while staying with Joe, plus bringing Dave up to speed. He had Stella’s case file, with her letters to him, the emails she had sent Hector about his land and her timeline as best he knew it. He hadn’t yet had time to actively hack into her blocked email account, but had set one of Joe’s ghosts working on it while he made this trip. He refrained from telling Dave about his under-the-radar means of gathering intel, thinking that it was better to see how the man dealt with this all once the novelty wore off. He looked over the young man. He was younger than Jay by a couple of years, had no family, and had seemed to just float from job to job. However, he was well-educated and had proved resourceful already.
I’ve not had a partner before. Informants and contacts, yes, many of them. Perhaps it is time I stop being such a lone wolf.
Along with Stella’s folder, there was one for her father and another for Miranda Williams. Miranda Williams had gotten into trouble over some drug allegations, but as this was also linked to a potential homicide, it was going to be a hard case. Unlike many heiresses of their age, Miranda took no pains to be beloved by the people. She was selfish, quick tempered, and petty.
Dave made a thoughtful noise as he read through Miranda’s file.
“What is it?” Jay asked, shifting in his seat.
“Something seems a bit off with all this.”
Jay had thought the same thing but wanted to see if their reasons were similar. “Oh? How so?”
Dave shifted closer. “Miranda seems to be a huge target for news gossip storms.” He looked up and Jay nodded, so he moved on. “But that all seems to have gone slightly stale in the last three weeks or so. Her pending legal battle is old news. There was a little bit of hype over Ms. Haraby’s potential involvement, but nothing more since then. That’s what seems off. Why all the crickets? Surely she must have gone somewhere and done something in the last three weeks? And what about Ms. Haraby? You left a note here saying they were meant to finalize things. Surely, if they had, it would have been announced? Or even if they hadn’t, wouldn’t the fact that Miranda was back on the hunt for a lawyer have been newsworthy?”
Jay nodded again but ensured that his face didn’t look too pleased or impressed. “Well done.”
Dave’s mouth opened a little at the words, then he slumped back in his seat. “You already knew all of that, didn’t you?”
“Of course,” Jay flashed him a grin. “You didn’t actually think there’d be no tests, did you?”
Dave uttered a rueful laugh. “I suppose I should’ve seen it coming.”
Jay took back the laptop and officially added those questions.
“So, why Salisbury?” Dave asked as the pilot announced imminent touch down.
“To answer the questions you just asked and see if Ms. Williams can tell us anything useful.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
They dropped off their bags at the Hampton Inn, and Dave turned to Jay as they prepared to go back out into the
