Page 26 of A Simple Mistake
“I joined the army.And then, when I was a civilian again… I met Clive Baxter.I’ve never really stopped hunting, but I’m smarter about it now.More efficient.I still go into clubs now and then, but I’ve learned that I can do more from behind a screen and that Baxter won’t let the data I give him go to waste.So I give him what I find.And also, bullwhips have gone seriously out of style.”
“You’d look badass with one.”
“I look badass whatever I wear.”Jack struck a pose.“I’d make a fab Zorro.”
Nico chuckled and the tight clutch he had on Jack turned into the loose sprawl they were both more accustomed to.
“Back to what I was saying,” Jack resumed in the end.“I’ve learned that it’s important to know why you do things and do them for the right reason.If you don’t, you’ll get in trouble with the law and end up in a horrible place in your head.It’s difficult to come back from there.Give this some thought, Nico.You can help me if you want to, but don’t do it because you need an outlet for your anger.Understood?”
“Manville made me angry,” Nico admitted.“He upset Daniel and made the girls uncomfortable.And he treated all of us as if we were his to do with as he wanted.But I’d meant to ask you about helping for a long time.Ever since we went to Scotland Yard to identify all the men from Goran’s place.Lisa said they would go to prison if she could collect enough evidence.And you said once that if there were no men like these, no customers, then Goran wouldn’t have a business.So yeah, I wanted Goran in prison, but I wanted those men there, too.It makes me feel…” Nico flushed, and Jack could sympathise.“It makes me feel as if I’m helping.As if I’m protecting Daniel and our family.And if… if we can keep them away from other kids, then surely…”
Jack nodded.“All valid reasons.Let’s wait until school is done.We’ve got an escape route to build first.”
“But you will let me help?”
“I’ll let you help, as long as I’ll see your reasons in action when we work together.And Nico… You don’t have to power your way through just because you agreed to help.Hunting predators isn’t ever easy.Some cases are extra hard.There is no shame in stopping and stepping away for a while.I want you to do that when it becomes too much, when the nightmares get too bad, when you feel ill, or when you can’t think.Do I have your promise on that?”
The colour drained from Nico’s face as he thought through Jack’s words.He realised what it was going to cost him, Jack could see it.But Nico’s determination never wavered.“I promise,” he said and held out his hand to Jack to seal the deal.
Jack was sitting up in bed when Gareth came into their room.He tapped away on his slate but also had the laptop open on the quilt next to him.
“Anything gone pear-shaped at work?”Gareth enquired.
“Nah.”Jack shifted the electronics around.“Just finishing off.You were right, you know?”
“About?”
“Not coddling Nico and Daniel to death.Come and look at this.”
Gareth was never sure if Jack was serious when he tried to show off some of the stuff he did on a computer, but he didn’t argue.He joined Jack on the bed and focused on the laptop screen and a recording of Nico and Daniel’s dance class.
“Just blurring out the faces,” Jack enlightened him.
“Did you take this?”
“Nico did.And before you start, he knew it’s sus.”
“Right.”Gareth didn’t like the implication of that.“He thought we didn’t believe him.”
“That’s about the sum of it.At least.”
“What are you going to do with it?We can’t publicise it.Even Aidan would tell you that.”
“Aidan has a daughter.If he saw this, he’d hand me a bat and grab one for himself,” Jack disagreed and dropped a kiss on Gareth’s cheek as if to soften the blow.“Thanks for looking out for me, though.”
“Brat.”Gareth leaned heavily against Jack until Jack had to push back or fall out of bed.
“Yours,” he acknowledged.“I know we can’t publicise it, don’t worry.I’m also not going to send it to any of the parents, or we’d have ourselves a lynch mob.”
“Then whatwillyou do with it?”
“Show it to your mum.She’s on God knows how many school boards and knows governors and heads and whatnot.People listen to her, so she’s the best person to help us separate Barrington Manville from his favourite temptation.”
Gareth chuckled.Not a cheerful sound, just one that acknowledged Jack’s ability to see past his rage, and to act past it, too.
“Don’t make that face,” Jack admonished.“Restricting his ability to work in schools is a start.I’ll check with Clive, too, to see if he’s on their radar.”
“Wouldn’t he have failed a CPS check if he were?”
