Page 63 of The Tracker's Secret

Chapter 22

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JAKE TOOK ME TO A PUBcalled The Cat’s Fiddle. He ordered a whiskey sour and a draft beer for himself. We sat at the farthest booth away from the bar. He watched me closely as I took several sips from my drink.

I licked my lips, enjoying the tartness. I knew there would be no buzz, but at least it tasted good. When I was ready, I told Jake everything Ulfen had said. He listened without interruption until the end and pondered for a long moment before speaking.

“I wonder if Stephen knows about Blake,” he said, rubbing his index finger against his closely trimmed beard.

“No, Ulfen warned me not to tell anyone, especially Stephen. Of course, I already told you so...”

“I won’t tell anyone. Don’t worry.”

I didn’t trust Jake with my heart, but I definitely trusted him with this. He wouldn’t put me in danger. On the contrary, like Tom had said, he would protect me—even if it meant cramping my style everywhere I went.

“Let’s assume that Blake is really alive,” Jake said.

I liked playing this game. Jake always looked at things from every angle no matter how crazy. He was great at thinking outside the box.“Even stupid ideas can give birth to genius,”he’d once told me, and I agreed.

I straightened and pushed my drink aside. “All right, let’s assume.”

“You’re first.”

“Hmm, okay. So Ulfen thinks that if we find Blake we’ll find the real culprit, the one who kidnapped Stephen and hired Jenson Boyle.”

“Which would mean Blake faked his death. Very successfully, I might add.”

I nodded. “So successfully that he fooled the medical examiners.”

Jake thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. “Maybe he didn’t fool them.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean maybe it was a lot easier than that. Maybe he paid them off.”

I gasped. Why hadn’t I thought of that? With all the spells and magic and glamours in existence, people tended to forget there were far simpler ways to accomplish things. The good ol’ American dollar could work its own magic.

“Yes,” I agreed. “That would have been very easy to do.”

“Now, the question is why? Blake was, or is, loyal to the Ericksons. He’s worked for them for years.”

“Since Stephen was little, I’m sure.”

“Why would he turn on them?” he asked.

“Money?”

He shrugged indifferently. “Yes, that’s always a possibility, but I don’t think so. Blake wouldn’t risk becoming Ulfen’s enemy just for money. There must be something else.”

“Extortion? Maybe someone has something on Blake. Or maybe they threatened his family if he didn’t do it.”

“Could be.”

“Does he even have a family?”