Page 61 of Jael

“Christopher Sisera paid a guy a bonus for his services. He said the product supplied worked exactly as described.”

There was a pause, then, “That’s it? That’s your big reveal? Was Gregory’s name mentioned?”

“Not exactly. But who else could it be? Christopher said the outcome was better than anticipated, and he and Artus looked pretty smug after the will was read. With Gregory out of the way, things will run a lot smoother.”

“You’re talking about the argument Jael mentioned between her father and the Siseras at Heber Industries?”

“Exactly.”

“It makes sense, but that’s not the same thing as proof.”

“Give me time.”

“You have as much time as it takes to ensure Jael and Christopher get engaged. And Danny, this had better not be a distraction. I’m trusting you on this. If I need to, I’ll order you to let it go.”

“It’s not a distraction.”

“Good, then you can tell me what you’re doing regarding our original plan.”

“You can’t push a girl like Jael,” he squeezed his forehead. It was one thing to buddy up next to Gregory, but now that he was gone, it had changed everything. Getting close to Jael would mean acknowledging some uncomfortable truths. “Her dad’s just died. I was giving her space to grieve.”

“Please, that’s the weakest excuse you could have come up with. It’s no secret she wasn’t emotionally close to him. You do realize that, if Artus killed Gregory, she may have been in on it.”

“She wasn’t.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“She’s got?—”

“I don’t have time to argue about this, and it doesn’t matter. Keep your focus on Jael and Christopher. Whatever spare time you have, you can use to look into this other matter, but make sure you don’t dawdle.”

“I won’t. But I do need participation from you as well.”

“Meaning?”

“I need you to look into the clerk and see what you can find.”

“All our resources are prepping for our original plan.”

“If that’s true, then Barak shouldn’t have had the time to harass me at the grocery store. Besides, he mentioned that there’s no plan B. If this engagement party doesn’t pan out, don’t you want to have another angle ready?”

“Okay. You’re right. We’ll look into it.”

“And you’ll let me know what you find?”

“I’ll let you know. Send through whatever details you have.”

Danny kept his sigh of relief quiet. “I don’t have a name, but I can give you the shop he works in and a physical description.”

“That should be enough. Oh, and Danny?”

“Yeah?”

“I hope I don’t have to worry about your feelings interfering.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I believe you do. I didn’t mention it before, but I get the feeling there’s history there that you’re not telling me.”

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