Jay half smiled. “You mean, why is he the only one that seems to have gotten away safely?”
Dave’s eyes brightened as Jay finally understood. “Everyone else we have spoken to seems to have been targeted tonight. Except Gregory Haraby.”
“Then I am going to pay Mr. Haraby a house call.”
Dave’s eyes flashed wide. “But if he did this, won’t we be asking for trouble?”
“If he didn’t do this, I might cross paths with the real perpetrator as they realize they let him slip away.”
Dave shook his head. “Basically you’re telling me that regardless of who is responsible, going to Mr. Haraby’s house will be dangerous. So why are we going at all?”
Jay opened his mouth then frowned at the wound. “You sure you gouged yourself on a fence?”
Dave looked down at the clean wound. “Why? What’s wrong with it?”
Jay shrugged. “Nothing is wrong, and I’m no expert, but the edges seem a little too neat for a gouge from a fence.”
Dave seemed to struggle to hold back a fit of laughter, but then answered the first question seriously. “I suppose it might have been something else. It was dark. I felt the pain as I ducked through the broken fence, but I didn’t stop. Do you think I should go have it checked out?”
Jay tilted his head to the side. “It looks clean to me, but I’m not willing to be blamed if you get an infection later, so if you want to see an actual doctor…”
Dave chuckled, then pulled the self-adhesive gauze pad from Jay’s first-aid kit and applied it to the wound himself. “No need. We need to hurry, don’t we?”
“We are not doing anything. I am going to Mr. Haraby’s on my own.” He held up a hand as Dave made to protest. “You head back to New Orleans, and I will meet you there in three days.”
Dave held his gaze for a long moment. “And if you don’t come back?”
Jay smirked. “Then your adventure is over, but maybe what you’ve learned will help you not end up working for a man like that manager again.”
***
The house in Crestwood, Washington, lay still and silent in the early morning light. While massive and with an enviable view over Piney Branch Park, it was clear that the Harabys had fallen on hard times. The lack of grounds staff was too obvious to be missed and the house itself echoed like a half empty museum. Jay took in the house that Stella grew up in.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Jay stifled a sigh and looked up to meet the old man’s eyes as he descended down the grand stair. But Jay’s eyes had already passed over him, fixated on the man following. He would match the grainy CCTV still perfectly. He let his gray eyes sweep over the man, but could not spot a weapon, concealed or otherwise. He let out a breath and stiffened his spine.
“Do you know that Salisbury police are after you for arson?” Jay asked, making them both stop and Haraby’s mounting tirade wither away.
Jay watched their reactions carefully. Mr. Haraby looked annoyed and bewildered, but there was no flicker of fear or guilt. The man behind him looked worried but not in a way that made Jay feel he’d had anything to do with it.
“What rubbish is this?” Haraby asked as the man behind him took out a phone, no doubt to access the news feed.
Jay chuckled. “The Salisbury police have released CCTV footage of your man here as well as talking to someone wearing that gaudy ring of yours.”
Mr. Haraby opened his mouth with a sneer already curling his lips. Jay knew he was preparing to dismiss his words out of hand. Then the man behind hissed.
“Sir, he isn’t lying. Look.”
Jay smiled in a mocking way when Mr. Haraby looked back at him again. “You know, if you were my client, I would have ensured you were kept in the loop when things got messy. So as to keep your name clean.”
Mr. Haraby paled and then started turning an ugly shade of puce. “I swear, if you are setting me up, I will make sure you are locked away for good! I will—”
“You will what?” Jay countered, losing his patience. “The only reason you know about any of this is because I came here to tell you. Apparently your own P.I. can’t keep you safe. Why would I do that, knowing how you hate me? Because I am willing to put Stella ahead of everything else. I want everything you know, though I expect that isn’t much, and then I want you to get on that phone and tell Gary to expect a new partner. We’ll work together and find your daughter before this gets out of hand.”
Jay watched the rebellion building in the old man’s eyes and sighed. Just in time, he caught a flicker of movement and acted on impulse, diving forward and pulling Mr. Haraby down as the glass shattered.
CHAPTER TWENTY
He pulled Mr. Haraby around the side of the staircase, both shielded by Mr. Haraby’s guard. He let his mind take stock of his own body as his eyes swept over Stella’s father.
“Get off me!” the man yelled, fighting to free himself of Jay’s iron grasp.
Jay resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead turned to the guard. “Are you injured?” The man shook his head. “Good, you make him understand why he shouldn’t get up no matter how much he hates me.”
“Sir—”
“You think I don’t know what you’re playing at? Got your little puppy to fake an assassination attempt so that I can force Gary to work with you out of gratitude?”
Jay stared at Mr. Haraby for a long pause. The adrenaline racing through him was then defeated by a
