Page 79 of A Simple Mistake
“Anything else on fire?”The barrister grumbled, sounding for all the world like a bear with a sore tooth.
“Why did you hand the McTavish case to Jack?”
“Because Skylar had it, and then he swanned off to Japan.So, Jack picked it up.”
“And then you sent Jack after Skylar and Nico and Daniel took the case as far as they could take it.”
“Yes, but Horwood is back now.”
“His to-do list didn’t get any shorter while he was away, and I don’t think it’s fair to expect him to pick up all our slack.Or worse, push Nico and Daniel to do jobs they didn’t sign up for.”
The other end of the line was silent for so long, Gareth checked his phone to see if the call had been dropped.
“Aidan?”
The barrister sighed.“I am sorry,” he said.“My only excuse is that when I give something to Jack I promptly forget about it until he throws it back at me, solved.”
“Yeah, I know how that feels.Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s a legal way to find people if you have the right credentials?”
“Of course there is.Tracing agencies.”
“And would you happen to know one who’d be prepared to teach an intern?”
“Damn.I really should have thought of that the moment they told me about the twin sister.And if Nico learns legal ways of tracing people first, then maybe Daniel won’t be so scared for him.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Gareth said, relieved it had taken so little effort to get them onto the same page.
The sound of a pen scratching on paper came over the line.“Let me make a call.I may be able to line something up.”
“And I’ll happily pay apprentice fees.”
Aidan didn’t bother with a reply.He just hung up, leaving Gareth with the feeling that Nico would be spending part of his remaining holidays learning legal hunting skills Jack had never needed growing up with Rio.
They settled on paint much faster than Jack had anticipated, picking a primrose yellow for the walls and a soft cream for the ceiling and woodwork.“Such quick work deserves a treat.How about Annabelle’s?”
“Great idea.”Nico held his hand up for a high five.“I’ll have… toasted coconut chocolate chip, I think.”
“Cherry pistachio,” Daniel said, considering.“Or strawberry shortcake.I want something fruity.”
They both turned to Jack.
“Lemon thyme, coffee fudge, cinnamon toast, or coffee and doughnuts?”Daniel ticked options off on his fingers.
“You know me too well.What if I can’t make up my mind?”Which wasn’t unheard of.The last time Jack had passed Annabelle’s, he’d come home with eight tubs instead of four, and they’d had ice cream for both lunch and dinner.Not that anyone had complained.Annabelle’s unusual flavours hit all their buttons.
“We should get tubs again,” Nico suggested.“Big ones.They can go in the freezer, and we can share with Gareth when we get home.”
“Fine by me.”That put paid to their trip to the arcade, but Jack wasn’t about to complain.Seeing Nico and Daniel relaxed and chatty was its own reward.
Jack parked the car, and they headed up the street to where a queue of people snaked from an open shop doorway.
“I’ll queue.You sit,“ Nico said and pointed to an empty bench.
Jack recognised a hint when he heard one.He went where directed, settling so he could keep Nico in view and not at all surprised when Daniel joined him.
“I watched the recording from the security system,” he said in a tone that didn’t carry further than the two of them.
“Why?”
