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“I know,” he grunted, looking at her warily before going on. “I’ve been doing some digging around about Rogue and Lawrence.”
She nodded. She definitely remembered suspicion about Rogue, but Lawrence—
“Oh! Lawrence is the guy that trashed the Sun house a few weeks back,” she blurted, then felt stupid. She shouldn’t be admitting that she’d forgotten some of the key details around their recent troubles. Jackal didn’t seem to question her lack of memory, though. In fact, he looked relieved that she remembered.
“Exactly. That guy. When I got fired, I looked for both of them. I know Ms. Meyer blamed me for that kill kit getting planted on the estate, and maybe she’s right. It happened on my watch. But I think she might believe I’m behind all of this, and I’m not,” he finished in an impassioned rush.
That took her by surprise.
“Why do you think she blames you?” she asked.
He was back to looking wary again.
“I worked with her long enough to know she holds grudges. And she might easily connect dots that aren’t there,” he suggested with a shrug. His body looked tense, as if scared she was about to argue with him. The problem was, he was right about Hartley and her grudges, and her preference for finding the easiest answer to a complicated question.
“She said nothing to me about you being behind the problems we’ve been having,” she said, which was the truth. “But you’re right—she holds grudges.”
Jackal’s shoulders tensed, and he looked away, deep in thought. When he looked back, he asked, “Do you know when she’ll be back?”
“No.”
He seemed agitated, putting his hands on his hips, then running a hand through his hair. Nita waited the man out, wondering what big decision he was weighing. When his gaze finally swung back to her, his eyes looked anguished.
“Being… fired from here was difficult. I know Rogue was behind everything that happened and he roped Lawrence into doing his dirty work. I want to clear my name by proving it,” he said. His voice started shaky, but got stronger until it bordered on anger. But Nita didn’t feel the anger was directed at her.
“What proof do you have?” she asked.
“I’ve been following them,” Jackal said.
“You’ve what?” Nita asked. When Becca and Porter had been on the property, they’d visited both men’s addresses, but they hadn’t been there. It was like they’d disappeared.
“Rogue and I hung out a little before the new owners took over. He wasn’t hard to track down, but I’ve been keeping my distance. He moved to a place a few miles away from here, and Lawrence is with him. I’ve got video of him coming to the property a few nights ago,” Jackal said, and pulled his phone out of his pocket and shook it at her. “He walked the outside fence line, but I lost him in the dark. I’ve been walking it every day until I found the breach this morning. He’s getting better at cutting the bars, so it’s not obvious.”
“You’ve got video of him outside the property?” Nita questioned, genuinely curious. It disappointed her when he shoved his phone back into his pocket.
“I want to show Hartley,” he said, apologetic, as if reading her mind. “It’s for her to see first. It’s not illegal, other than trespassing, but it’s enough to show intent. And with her okay, I could set a trap for him. We could deal with him quietly, the way Ms. Meyer likes to keep it. You know, keep Cavendish out of the public eye.”
His hulking stance made him look like a vigilante from the cover of a crime novel. This whole thing would sure make a great novel, if Hartley wouldn’t kill the author before publication.
“You’re really invested in this,” she said. “Just to get your job back?”
Jackal’s back straightened, and he spoke with a hint of conviction. “I don’t know if that’s possible, but clearing my name matters to me. This was the first place where I felt I really belonged. The first job that meant something. I don’t like the clients, but believe in the technology. I don’t know why, but I feel protective of it.”
Nita nodded, but kept her poker face in place. She could understand the dedication in his voice. She felt the same thing.
“Maybe you should speak to our new head of security,” she suggested, thinking of Ryder.
“I really want to talk to Ms. Meyer first. I’m not sure your new security guy has the authority to let me do what I want to do,” Jackal said.
“What’s that?”
“Keep following Rogue and Lawrence. Nobody knows them or their movements like I do. And I know for a fact Ms. Meyer will never call in the police. The identities of the club members are too valuable to risk exposing,” he explained. “I know your security guy will have his hands full with the upcoming engagement.”
“How do you know about that?” she asked with a frown. How could he know what was going on in three days?
“I was still here when it got put on the books. Hopefully, Rogue and Lawrence will overplay his hand before next week, and nobody will be the wiser,” Jackal said.
Nita relaxed. He didn’t know they had moved the engagement up. She didn’t know why, but she was relieved that he didn’t have access to their computer systems. If he did, he’d know about the changes to Mags’s engagement.
