Allie handed Drakos his glass of seltzer water.
"Thank you, Miss . . . ?"
"Harkwood. Allie Harkwood."
"She's a member of our team for this assignment," Knox said.
Drakos nodded, but Knox didn't like the way the resort owner was staring at Allie.
"Mr. Drakos," Knox said, snatching his attention. "You were saying?"
"Yes, yes." He pointed toward the blood-drenched suit. "That was the suit I was wearing when I met with them. I sent it to the cleaners with three other suits a few days later. When the cleaners delivered them today, that one was covered in blood. The others are spotless. It is not a coincidence. The man, um,Mr. Kendall, from Byron, he commented on my suit during the meeting. It isnota coincidence."
Jason walked over to the suit and took a few pictures with his phone. "Hopefully, this isn't human blood. But I agree with you, Mr. Drakos. It is a message. We're already looking into Byron. We gathered some intel today that we need to analyze. We'll get something figured out. In the meantime, if they approach you, don't antagonize them. Let them think you're considering selling. We don't want to provoke them too soon. Understood?"
"Yes, I understand. But this is how I felt the last time I hired you. Why are people trying to kill me again?"
Knox hoped his question was rhetorical. Because Knox couldn't think of a polite way to answer it. Drakos wasn't a very innocent businessman. He attracted trouble.
"I think you're safe for now," Jason assured him. "We'll be in touch."
"Today was more eventful than I'd anticipated," Jason said.
The four of them sat in Room 336 eating burgers, fries, fruit, and cookies while they watched the drone footage and discussed the plan for the next day.
"We get the prize for most 'eventful' drone footage," Knox said. "What was on yours? Oh yeah, trees, two monkeys, and a pelican."
Jason rolled his eyes. "It's not a contest. You don't get a merit badge for getting your drone shot down."
"I know. But we did get some good footage of the guys on the Byron property, didn't we, Rowan?"
Rowan's expression conveyed how painful it was for him to agree. "Yes, I'm running through the facial recognition software. We should get some hits."
Jason finished his fries and took a long drink of water. When he set down his water bottle, Knox caught the concern in his friend's eyes.
"Worried about tomorrow?" Knox asked.
Jason shook his head. "We're not changing the plan. I still want you and Allie to get that security camera footage from Mr. Kurtz. And talk to the people in the area. Find out what they know about Byron."
Rowan yawned. Audibly.
Knox watched Rowan rub his eyes like a sleepy eight-year-old. "How can you be tired? You drank at least three Red Bulls today."
Rowan shrugged and looked at Jason. "You need me to stay up? The recognition software is running. Do you need the info tonight, or can I just check for hits in the morning?"
"Tomorrow is fine. Go get some sleep."
Rowan grabbed his phone and his headphones. "Okay, cool. Thanks. Good night."
Allie smiled as he walked past her. "Good night, Rowan. See you in the morning."
"Good night, Allie." He bumped into an empty chair. "Um, yeah. See you tomorrow."
He left the room. As soon as the door closed, Knox turned to Allie. "Don't encourage him."
"What are you talking about? I'm just trying to be friendly. You two are hard on him."
Knox tossed his napkin onto his empty plate. "He thinks you're flirting with him."
