White Lies (The Arcane Society #2)(59)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“Yeah, sure,” Jake said. He sat down at the table.

His careless agreement told her that he had no intention of loafing around in bed for the next forty-eight hours. She wanted to lecture him, but this did not seem to be the appropriate time so she gave him a severe frown instead. He smiled slightly, his eyes warming.

Archer scowled at Jake. “You think this is all connected to the other business, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Jake said flatly. “I do.”

Clare glanced quickly at Myra and Elizabeth. They looked as blank as she felt. She wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what was going on around here.

“Okay, Mr. Hotshot Jones & Jones agent,” she said. “I think it’s time you told us just what this ‘other business’ is.”

“Jones & Jones?” Elizabeth looked genuinely shocked.

Myra was appalled. “There can’t be anything going on here in Stone Canyon that would attract the attention of Jones & Jones.”

“Looks like there is,” Jake said. “I was sent here to investigate it. Things got a little screwed up.”

“My fault,” Archer said. He rubbed the back of his neck in an oddly weary gesture. “I deliberately pointed you away from the McAllister murder.”

“It wasn’t just you,” Jake said. He looked at Clare. “The intelligence J&J had pointed away from it, too.”

Clare groaned. “Jones and Jones thought that I killed Brad?”

“Your name came up at the top of the list of possibilities that the probability analysts put together,” Jake said.

She frowned. “What was number two on the list?”

“The interrupted burglary scenario.”

“Great,” Clare muttered. “Just great. No wonder I can’t get a job at J&J.”

“The bottom line was that Jones and Jones wasn’t interested in McAllister’s death as long as it appeared to be nothing more than a messy love triangle,” Jake said.

Archer raised his brows. “But given recent events, you think it’s more than that.”

Jake nodded. “I think there is a very direct link to my own investigation.”

No more Mr. Bland Consultant, Clare thought. The hunter had come to the surface, big time. The man from Jones & Jones was taking charge.

Myra rounded on Archer. “What is this all about?”

Archer blew out another long breath and slouched in his chair. He exchanged one last look with Jake and then shrugged.

“You’re not going to like this,” he said, looking directly at Myra. “I was hoping you would never have to know.”

“Just tell me,” Myra pleaded. “I can deal with anything once I know what it is. You know that. It’s the uncertainty that I can’t bear.”

Archer smiled ruefully. “I know. But in this case, I’ve been wishing that it would all go away before I had to say something.”

Elizabeth frowned. “What is going on here, Dad?”

Clare folded her arms beneath her br**sts. She fixed both men with a hard look.

“Well, gentlemen?” she said coolly.

“I didn’t hire Jake to consult on the Glazebrook pension and benefits plan,” Archer said. “Jones & Jones requested that I provide cover for him here in Stone Canyon so that he could pursue a classified investigation.”

Myra studied Jake. “You’re an exotic, aren’t you? Jones & Jones is rumored to use a lot of them.”

“Yes,” Jake admitted.

Myra sighed. “You seemed like such a nice man.”

Chapter Thirty-nine

“I’m not a full-time agent for Jones & Jones,” Jake said. “The firm doesn’t maintain a large, permanent staff of agents. Most of us are freelance. Like a lot of the other agents, I’ve got my own investigation business. But I’m on call for what the Council likes to refer to as ‘extraordinary situations.’ That usually translates into ‘messy.’”

“What about Salter Business Consulting?” Clare asked. “Is that just a cover?”

He shrugged. “My MBA is for real but I use it primarily as a cover when I need it for corporate security investigations. That’s the bulk of my business.”

Myra gripped the edge of the table with both hands and glared hard at Archer. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“Jones & Jones asked me to keep Jake’s real role here a secret,” he said.

“Oh, screw that damned J&J,” Myra shot back. She leaped to her feet. “I’m your wife. You should have told me what was going on.”

There was a short, startled pause. Jake and everyone else stared at Myra, astonished by the uncharacteristic outburst.

Elizabeth smiled slowly. “Gosh, Mom. Why don’t you tell us how you really feel?”

Archer grinned sheepishly. “Your mother doesn’t lose her temper very often, Lizzie, but when she does, it’s always impressive.”

Myra ignored the byplay. She rounded on Jake. “I can’t believe that I introduced you to all my friends and acquaintances as a highly respected business consultant.”

“I’m sorry, Myra,” he said. “I needed to be accepted into your social circle.”

“For heaven’s sake, why?” Myra swept out her arms. “Just what sort of investigation was so important that you and Jones & Jones felt justified in using me for my social connections?”

“Now, honey, that’s not how it was,” Archer said, placating. “We didn’t use you.”

“Yes,” Myra spat back. “You did.”

Clare elevated her brows in a way that Jake knew did not bode well.

“Sure sounds to me like the two of you and Jones & Jones used her,” she said.

Myra cast an uncertain glance at Clare.

“It certainly does,” Elizabeth agreed. “No doubt about it. You guys definitely used Mom.”

Jake looked at Archer, instinctively seeking guidance from an older and, he hoped, wiser male who had the advantage of several more years of experience dealing with the opposite sex.

Archer did another heavy exhale and sank deeper into his seat. He gave Jake an apologetic look.

No help from that quarter, Jake thought. He was on his own. Clare, Myra and Elizabeth were all watching him with expressions that would have been appropriate to three female judges about to render sentence on a convicted purse snatcher. And they hadn’t even heard the really bad stuff yet. He had saved that for last.