“That still doesn’t explain the seeds,” Brent pointed out.
Ambrose frowned at the seed pods in his hand. “Someone could’ve come in and copied or memorized information. Gil, why areyouhere today?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and shuffled my feet. “I think I forgot to sign the slip for Silas yesterday and I was coming back to check.”
Ambrose looked at me again, suspicion fading from behind his lenses. “You did sign it. Don’t you remember?”
“Nah, I can barely remember what I had for supper last night,” I said. “My mam always says I have more muscles than brains.”
“That’s not saying much,” one of the hunters laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. “Don’t boast too loudly, son.”
Finally, Ambrose closed the file and returned it to its place. “I’ll question everyone,” he said stiffly.
“Yeah, best not let the Employer know that someone got in,” I said with a quick grin. Then, as if the thought had just occurred to me, I added, “Did Elvin leave late last night? After everyone else?”
Ambrose hesitated. “He did.”
Several people exchanged conspiratorial looks.
“That’s not so suspicious,” Ambrose said, but he didn’t sound certain.
“It is when combined with the seed pods,” Brent pointed out.
I chewed on my lip. “And Elvin has been more ambitious lately.”
“Ambitious?” Ambrose echoed.
“Yeah, I heard him talking about wanting more responsibility and how he understands the Syndicate better than other people. He said he could streamline operations better than you could.”
I let that little nugget of falsified information simmer and could almost feel Ambrose’s blood boiling from where I stood.
“You know, I remember him talking about how he thought he’d be better at your job than you are,” Brent told Ambrose. “Maybe he was hoping that the Employer would find out you’d slept through a break-in and could replace you.”
Ambrose latched the window and began shooing us out of the study. “This is all speculation, and I’ll have none of it. We can’t prove that Elvin did anything, and he isn’t even here to defend himself. I’ll speak with him.” He locked the study door then added, “I’ll be speaking with everyone.”
“Better speak with them before they break in and actually steal something,” I told him, mouth twitching. “You might need to start sleeping lighter or they’ll steal the socks right off your feet.”
There was some sniggering and smothered laughter as Ambrose glared and everyone returned to their original spots. Brent leaned close as we walked back down the corridor.
“You really think Elvin would try something like that?” he whispered to me.
“I have no idea. The only one who would sneak into a place like that would either think something valuable is hidden there or be after information.” I tilted my head. “Granted, I think that some information is more valuable than gold.”
Brent thumped me on the back. “Well spoken. See, you’re getting older and wiser by the day.”
I shot him a look through narrowed eyes. “Did Elvin really tell you that he thought he could do Ambrose’s job better than he could?”
Brent’s mouth twisted into a smug smile. “Not quite. But now Ambrose might start holding some of the better bounties for the rest of us. It seems that Elvin’s pomegranate seeds might have been planted to sow doubt about his loyalties.”
“I should feel bad for him,” I said with a mock expression of concern that twisted into something more impish. “I should…but I don’t.”
Brent gave a hoot of laughter. “I always knew I liked you, Gil. Do you have any plans for today?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I thought I’d go catch a fight or two down by the docks this afternoon. Ever since I turned in Tyrone for that bounty last year, I’ve missed the fights he used to host on his ship. They were a lot of fun.”
“Have a good time,” he told me with another hearty slap to my shoulder. “Keep your nose clean and bloody the other person’s.”
I laughed and waved as I left the safehouse. “I’m just going to watch; I don’t plan on fighting. I’ll be studying technique today.”
