17. No Man of His Own
17
No Man of His Own
B etting Nicole wouldn’t be interested in seeing him after their hangout, Spencer left for the office early. He knew she would be mortified to find herself in her client’s guest bed and would need time to adjust. He’ll check in with her later to clear the air, but he had to admit she wasn’t the only one who needed time and space.
If Spencer had seen her after breaking into her phone, he wouldn’t have been able to look her in the eye. It was ridiculous, considering Spencer had been lying to her this whole time about who he was, but it wasn’t the lying that made him feel guilty. He could convince himself he was doing it for the greater good.
To take down a con artist, you had to act like one. Lying was a part of their job. Sometimes it was also the job of a private investigator. Where Spencer differed from the others in his field was, he had a moral compass and a strong sense of right and wrong.
Private detectives weren’t known for those qualities, but the Shaw men built the agency on them. Spencer didn’t want those principles to go away with him at the helm. He had kept that commitment until last night .
Breaking into Nicole’s phone and accessing her private files violated her trust. She did that with the men she conned, but it was the first time Spencer crossed that moral line he cared so much about. He hated when Lawrence made good points, but he couldn’t ignore when he was right. And last night, he was.
If Spencer kept sinking to Nicole’s level to beat her, then he wouldn’t like the person he would be at the end of the case. He never wanted to be like any of the other PIs in town. He didn’t want that to change now. It was important not to cross another line like that again. Or it could destroy the agency’s integrity his family had worked so hard to maintain.
The bell to the door dinged as William walked inside. “Hey,” he greeted Spencer as he came into his office. “Where’s that pretty secretary of yours?”
“Yara? She has classes on Mondays.”
“That’s good. That you’re not hiding her away from me because of my history.”
Spencer cringed. He did not like to remember his client landed in this situation in the first place because he tried to sleep with his 19-year-old stepdaughter. “I didn’t think it needed to be said, but she’s off limits.”
“You don’t have to worry. I stay away from women in that age bracket now.”
“Music to my ears.”
William sat in the chair across from him and asked, “What was so important you wanted to meet?”
“Don’t ask me how, but I came into the files that Nicole kept on her marks, including yours.”
“Really?” Spencer should have enjoyed the surprise in William’s voice. To his ears, though, he sounded surprised at his capabilities and not at the rate he discovered them. He wrote it off as him reading too much into it.
“I printed and arranged them into separate folders. I haven’t had the chance to read them in depth yet, but I thought you would want to know immediately.”
“Thanks,” he said, taking the top file on the stack off from Spencer’s desk. He flipped through the first four pages before speaking again. “I appreciate you bringing this to me. Is one of these files on a new mark?”
“As far as I can tell, no. I had to go back months to get these. Her last mark was Eric Hayes.”
“That’s from a year ago,” he muttered to himself. “Where are her files on the next guy she’s after?”
“I don’t know. Unless she’s keeping her notes somewhere else, I’m of the belief she’s not after a mark right now. Looks like she’s really putting effort into making this cover of hers believable.”
William didn’t look pleased to hear that information. Spencer understood he wanted to gather proof to send Nicole to prison, but shouldn’t he be happy to hear she wasn’t playing another man like a fiddle? “I’m going to dig further into the files later. See if there’s anything that might help your case.”
William nodded, but his eyes were distant, like he was barely paying attention.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. I have an inkling, but we’re trying that honesty thing, remember?”
“I think the files might be too good to be true.”
Spencer raised a brow. He did not like the sound of that. “You haven’t even looked through them yet.”
“I don’t have to. I know how Nicole operates. She wouldn’t leave such incriminating evidence lying around on her cloud. Nicole is too good at what she does to get caught that easily. These notes are probably decoys. You’ve already mentioned you couldn’t find a file on a recent mark. That’s a clear indication she’s covering her tracks.”
“Maybe she got cocky. She got away with this scam for years.”
“Even if that’s the case, Nicole has plausible deniability. She could say it’s all made up and get a lawyer that could sell the story.”
“Why can’t you see this as the win that it is?”
“Because it’s not one. Not really,” William argued. “These files aren’t enough evidence. Not when she can dispute them, say she was writing a novel or some shit. If you think this is good enough to send her away, then maybe you’re not as good of a private investigator as I thought.”
Spencer bit the inside of his cheek. William was a client. His only client. He was allowed to be a jackass when he was unhappy with the results he was getting. There was something else at play here, though. He was too quick to assume the worst. There was no reason to think Nicole wouldn’t slip up or hadn’t already.
“Okay. So you think we need harder evidence. What is that in your eyes?”
“Catch her scamming her next mark or proof her business is a money laundering front. There needs to be something she can’t lie her way out of. It needs to be bulletproof. Something Nicole Taylor can’t even shatter.”
“How do you suggest we get that kind of proof?”
William smirked. “How do you feel about a surveillance operation?”
Spencer thought he had misheard him, but by the look on his face, he wasn’t kidding. “Surveillance?”
“You watch her. Wait until she goes hunting for her next victim, then catch her in the act. Or wait until she leaves her office and you sneak in. You can go through her office computer and find her financial records.”
“Are you serious?”
“You’re a detective. ”
“Who’s currently undercover posing as a millionaire for you, in case you forgot. I can’t do a surveillance operation on Nicole. If she catches me, my cover is blown. And so is any of the trust I built with her.”
“There’s an easy fix for that. Don’t get caught,” William suggested, as though he wasn’t asking Spencer to tail his ex-wife.
“No, no. I won’t do that. We can get that type of proof without me blowing my cover or crossing a line.”
“Crossing a line?” William gaped. “We’re talking about a woman who has made a living on trapping men. That’s her entire shtick. What line is that, exactly?”
“Nicole may not have a line, but I do. Surveilling her would cross it. You want concrete proof of her crimes? I will get it for you. I’ve already gotten close enough to her to get her phone. It’s only a matter of time before I’m left alone with her office computer. Or get a hint that she’s pulling a con on someone new.”
William’s eyes darkened. Spencer had a feeling this wasn’t the answer he wanted. “Spencer, I respect your integrity and morals. They’re one of the reasons I hired you. But I can’t let Nicole get away with this again. If tailing her leads to us finding proof, I need to put her away, then so be it. You can’t have it both ways. Either you’re in or you’re out.”
“It’s not a matter of in or out. You know where I stand. I’m in on this, but it has to be done my way. The right way.”
“And the right way is tricking and deceiving Nicole? Wake up, Spencer. Everything we’re doing is wrong. This whole goddamn situation is wrong. No one way is more wrong than the other, but one way is more effective.”
Spencer shook his head. He could see the conversation was going nowhere. “We’re done here.”
“Yeah, I’ll say,” William said as he stood from his chair.
If he walked out that door with as many unspoken words as there were between them, Spencer knew he would regret it. “Look. I promise on my life that I will get this job done. All I’m asking for is a little faith.”
William paused. With his back turned, his body relaxed. Spencer hoped it was because he had gotten through to him. “I’m trusting you, Spencer. You’re the only person I trust right now. But don’t expect me to have the same confidence as you do. There’s a lot riding on this for me.”
“I know. For me too.”
At that, William nodded and left. Spencer watched him leave, the promise he made him still left on his tongue. Spencer waited until the door closed behind William before his shoulders slumped in defeat. He knew how far he was willing to go to bring justice for all those wronged by Nicole. The question was how far William would go for it. The fact Spencer didn’t know the answer to that left a nervous pit in his stomach.