Page 56 of A Simple Mistake
“Not at all.What is it?”
“I’ve just spoken with Mrs McTavish’s niece.She didn’t know her aunt had a twin sister, what the lady’s name might have been, or where she lived.”
“Oh, we know her first name from Mrs McTavish’s blog.It was Valerie.I need a surname to go looking.Do you know if she was married?”
“You’re the one with all the cool data,” Aidan pointed out.“Her maiden name was Franklin.Well, Margot McTavish’s maiden name was Franklin, but since they were twins, you can start with that.”
“Okay.Jack will know how to find out if she was married or not.”
“Do I detect a hint of boredom?”Aidan teased.“All that snooping not to your liking?”
“It’s fine.I just can’t work out her reasons for making that switch and it’s driving me round the bend.I mean, she cut herself off from her whole life, right?She can’t go home to her flat, can’t get any of her own things, can’t contact her family.She can’t even use a credit card.Why would she do that?”
“Because there is something she can only do as her sister.”
“But what?”
“If I knew that, she’d be easy to find.”Nico huffed out a breath and Aidan knew exactly how he felt.“Let’s hope Jack takes one look at everything you’ve found and tells us the solution.”
“That would be cool.”All of a sudden, Nico sounded distracted.“I have three days until he comes home.Let’s see if I can beat him to it.”
Prelude to Mayhem
Garethhadn’tstoppedgrinningsince Jack had texted his flight details on Monday afternoon.He hadn’t admitted it aloud, but he’d expected Aidan’s job to keep Jack in Japan all summer.Having him home in time for his birthday… that was a treat.
The chance to remove two of Julian’s cousins from Nancarrow’s board was another treat.Both he and Aidan had long pushed for it, and Julian had finally agreed.It wouldn’t help them identify their new, aggressive competitor, but it would remove a long-standing annoyance from the company’s board and strengthen Julian’s position.Gareth would take that win.And just to prove that good news came in threes, his mother had told him in confidence that all the schools she worked with offering dance classes had ditched Barrington Manville and chosen different instructors for the new school year.
“When’s Jack landing?”Aidan asked as they made their way up the stairs to the boardroom.
“Just after three, all going well.”
“We should be done by then.You’re picking him up?”
“You bet.Did he do what you needed?”
Aidan stopped on the stairs and turned.“I don’t have the slightest,” he admitted.“I received a request for help and forwarded it to Jack.We’ll have to get him to explain what he’s been doing.”
“That’s nothing new.Can debrief wait until next week?”
“Unless Jack says otherwise, I don’t see why not.”
Gareth pushed foreign jobs, debriefs, and even Jack’s imminent arrival to the back of his mind.They’d orchestrated the coming meeting, but it wouldn’t do to be complacent.He followed Aidan into the boardroom and set his phone and notepad in their place.
Julian stood at the head of the table clad in black trousers and a black silk shirt—despite his well-known dislike of all-black outfits.
“At least he isn’t copying Jack’s leather getup,” Aidan murmured, catching Gareth’s thoughts.They did that sometimes, read each other’s minds the way friends did.
“He could pull it off.”
“And look fabulous doing so, I know.”
“Look fabulous doing what?”Alex arrived, wearing a sheath dress that made Aidan blink.
“Channelling Black Widow?”
She threw a pen at him.“I don’t recall you complaining in Reykjavik.”
“I’m not complaining now.”
