Jay turned back to Mr. Haraby. “So I hope you now understand why I need to work this case.”
“All I understand is that, once again, it is all you. Every time you appear, bad things follow you. Now you’ve dragged my Stella down. Stay out of this.” Mr. Haraby glared a moment longer then turned to Gary. “Thank you for trying to come and alert me, but there’s no need. I will take care of me. You find my daughter.”
“Yes, sir,” Gary smirked.
Jay moved to bar his way, and Ben stood, looking reluctant to interfere, but also unwilling to disobey.
“Out of the way, Jay. You are neither needed nor wanted.”
Jay let him push past and even stumbled a little for show. He watched Gary leave and then turned to Mr. Haraby.
“You can stay until the doctor has cleared your friend. I will grant you that because you, or he, or both, played a role in thwarting the attack.”
“Where will you go? If someone is after you—”
“That is none of your damn business. I want you both gone.”
Jayden opened his mouth to argue, but Mr. Haraby drew himself up. For the first time since Jay had met him, he felt the power that had gained the Harabys their name.
“This time I want you gone for good. If you care about Stella, give me what you have, and I’ll pass it to Gary. Otherwise, steer clear of her, or me, and anything I own.”
Knowing anything he said would just lead to arguments, Jay nodded stiffly and left. He no longer needed Mr. Haraby’s cooperation. He could find Gary Peters all on his own.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jay took a seat in the little corridor that adjoined the western conservatory to the rest of Haraby’s huge house. He could see the doctor’s upper half, still shifting and fussing over the table where they had lain a still-unconscious Dave. He caught the flash of a silver medical tool and made himself more comfortable. The last thing he wanted to do was to interrupt the doctor while the man was potentially doing work to save Dave’s life.
Jay leaned his head against the wall and began to replay the events in his mind’s eye.
He had come here straight from Salisbury to get to the bottom of why Mr. Haraby’s man had been near the neighborhood about an hour before it went up in flames. He hadn’t been able to ask that question, but given Mr. Haraby and Ben’s reaction, he didn’t need to. They hadn’t known about the fires, and now that he had seen Ben’s uniform up close, he knew it could easily be mistaken for part of that body suit in the other shots. He made a note to himself to see if he could find Haraby’s departure from Salisbury and movements since then in order to clear his name.
Something cold coiled tightly in his gut. If he did that, then whoever was trying to frame Mr. Haraby for the fires, and potentially any resulting deaths, would likely be angry that their plans had been ruined. Jay resisted the urge to pull out his phone to see if a death toll had been added in the time since he had left Salisbury. He could add those facts later. All they would do is show him how ruthless and competent this hidden enemy was. He had to clear his name, but then he needed a contingency for the trouble that might cause.
Jay thought for a moment and found an easy answer. He was going to have to return to New Orleans to collect his car. He already had a huge debt running, so he might as well add another thing to the tab and get the Serpent Brothers to keep tabs on Mr. Haraby. In fact, he’d have to keep tabs of Ruby and Frank too, and ask if they had ever noticed anyone who might fit the black-cloaked shadow.
Jay felt his lips tilt in a grin, but kept his eyes shut and head resting against the wall. Joe was a tech whiz. If anyone could clear those grainy CCTV stills and find proof that Ben was not the same shadow caught rushing out of the Bronze Rose or Williams’ estate, then it was him.
He felt a brief wince at indebting himself so fully, but he owed Stella his life. If that was what it took to get a step ahead of whoever had her, so be it.
Jay shook his head before fear over Stella could prevent his focused thought. He had already established that the shooter could have easily taken any of them out, but instead their bullet had fired too high. Jay was certain that there had been no one on the upper landing, so that left two possibilities. Either the shooter had never meant to kill any of them, or they had been interrupted badly enough to misfire. The first didn’t seem right. If this had been staged by the same person who set the fires, then they would either want the police to find a dead household here too and probably something to indicate that Mr. Haraby had done it.
He sighed and moved on to the second option. That one didn’t seem to add up properly either, given the four dead guards. Jay had watched their bodies be moved. They had all died from clean, single shots. What could have distracted such a sharp shooter from their goal?
Jay opened his eyes and glanced towards the conservatory, where the only answer to that question lay and saw that the doctor was talking and heading for the door.
