Page 36 of A Simple Mistake
“Do you think one of them—”
“No,” Jack said, voice tight.“We’d have heard that.”
It wasn’t much consolation.Gareth was about to ignore Nico’s directive, cross the drive and head around the side of the house… when Nico and Daniel came bolting around the corner.
They’d re-done their bow ties, had found two red roses, and carried—
“Are these boxes of chocolate?”
Jack sounded so outraged, Gareth started laughing.All the weekend’s tension came pouring out at the sight of their boys imitating a famous TV ad they were too young to have ever seen.By the time the two were close enough to reveal the boxes they carried were indeed chocolates, tears ran down Gareth’s face and he struggled to catch his breath.
“Lunatics,” he gasped.“You’re utter lunatics.But you’ve proven your escape route is functional, and you can’t deny that dancing can be fun.”
While Daniel and Gareth debated dinner options, Jack took Nico aside.“You said you wanted to help me.Are you still up for that?”
Nico’s eyes went wide.
“You don’t have to say yes now if you’re not ready for it.You don’t have to say yes at all.And you can change your mind even if you say yes at some point.But Skylar’s handed me one of his cases.I think it’s a useful one for you to cut your teeth on if you’re interested.”
“I thought you wouldn’t ever ask me.That I’d have to badger you.”
Jack put his arm around Nico’s shoulders and herded him up the stairs.“I keep my word,” he reminded.“And we made a deal.Which Gareth knows about, by the way.”
Nico stiffened.“He didn’t say I can’t do it, did he?”
“No.You impressed him with your sneaky filming skills.If he appeared less than enthusiastic, it’s because he’s worried about you.”
“Of course he is.”
Jack held up a hand to stop the brewing rant.“It’s Gareth.It’s what he does.If we stick to the deal we made, he’ll be fine.We both worry about you, but we also know you’re mature enough to know what you want.”
Nico relaxed, and Jack counted it as a win, even as he battled his own nerves.Rio had taught him to hunt, and he’d spent years honing those skills.He hadn’t thought of passing them on, especially not to Daniel and Nico.But Nico drew strength from the ability to protect others, and however much Jack didn’t want Nico involved in the darker side of his life, he couldn’t begrudge him that source of strength.
They settled in Jack’s den—still in their ridotto finery—and Jack smiled at the two of them.“We look like something out of a Bond film.”
Nico straightened.“What is the assignment, sir?”
“Needs work.Here.”He handed Nico a notepad and pen.“Giving you my notes won’t be nearly as effective as you taking your own.Also, you’ll want to document everything you do.Baxter and his colleagues need that.Now.”He went over the case, starting with Claire McTavish’s visit to Aidan’s chambers and ending with Skylar’s assertion that Margot McTavish’s death wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed.
“All because of bitten nails and bottles of nail varnish?”
“Why not?Skylar once picked a thief from a crowd because the man’s suit jacket didn’t fit.When he has a hunch about anything to do with clothes or colours, I listen.”Jack took a breath.“Besides, you like to work out what makes people tick, right?So, riddle me this one: Why would a woman who takes pride in looking smart suddenly go to bed with her makeup still on?What would make her bite her nails?”
“All of them, too.”Nico scribbled on his pad, and Jack was pleased to see him consider the problem.“If she always had manicured nails, she would have to take off the varnish first, right?And biting all your nails?That’s weird.”
“Right.We have our starting point.Next, we’ll need a plan of attack.What do we need to know?”
“Who Mrs McTavish was,” Nico said.“I could start with an online search into her history.Find her social media accounts.See who she’s friends with.Who of her family she talked with online.If she had arguments with someone, or a troll.”
“All of that.Keep screenshots and let me know what you find.”
“Won’t you watch me?”
“Watch you?Nico, you designed and built an escape route for yourself and Daniel with only minimal input from Gareth and me.Why would you need me to watch you run an online search?”
Nico laughed and bounced out of the room, leaving Jack to sit and breathe.This entire weekend could have been a disaster.Instead, they’d survived the dance class ball, had enjoyed the ridotto, and seen the boys use their escape route.And now Nico was all set to investigate Margot McTavish’s life, leaving Jack free to go after Manville.
Jack would take that and be grateful.
