Seeking help
Seeking help
Joshua was not a fool. He had understood Maggie's subtle indication right away and from her eyes alone he could make out that she had a lot to tell him.
Maggie looked around to ensure that no one was eavesdropping and on noticing that they were seated in an isolated corner, she sighed in relief.
"Any news from Theo?" She lowered her voice as a precaution and raised her brows questioningly.
"Yep, he is back."
"Ohh, that was fast." Given the power and resources Joshua and his friends had, Maggie was not surprised at all.
"He is a loyal man, Maggie. He has to come for Grandpa at least."
"Joshua, if possible, may borrow your men's help? I need to investigate a few things."
Joshua was stunned to silence for a brief moment and he looked at her enquiringly. "Well, you can, Maggie. Not a problem."
"That's it?" Maggie was flabbergasted and her mouth parted, tongue-tied by his response.
"Yeah. Why? Is it not enough?" Joshua could not decipher Maggie's reaction and he looked at her strangely.
"I mean you agreed to my request without asking me for any clarifications. Don't you want to know the reason behind my words?"
"Well, I am curious. I won't lie. But I won't ask you to justify either. You must have your reasons for seeking my help and I trust you."
Maggie did not know how to counter him on this. She was touched beyond words by his trust in her. Joshua was a true friend and she was only glad that she had someone like him.
"Even if you do not ask, I will tell you on my own lest you say that I am wasting your men's time." Maggie joked and Joshua smiled cheekily.
"I was thinking just that. You read my mind."
Maggie glared at her and sipped her coffee.
"Don't you find something amiss with Preston's disappearance?"
"What about it?" Joshua was not sure where this going. He had not followed Preston's whereabouts much since the incident at the port. He had other matters to handle.
"He was right beside Valerie according to her when the building exploded and crumbled to pieces. And boom, just like that he went missing for days. How is it possible?"
"Now that you mention it, it seems suspicious. What did Preston say to you about it?"
"He did tell us what happened to him. But it sounds cooked up and suspicious."
"Oh, what did he say?" Joshua's curiosity was now piqued and he leaned forward with his eyes narrowed.
Maggie was not surprised by his reaction. The before her lived for action and thrill and...gossip. She had known about it long ago. Rolling her eyes, she revealed all that Preston told her and as time passed, Joshua's eyes on widened in disbelief.
"Since I cannot leave the hospital and friends, considering that it would only alert him, I wanted to seek your men's assistance on this and find out the validity in Preston's statements," Maggie explained.
"Well, it does seem strange." Joshua agreed and looked behind Maggie for a second with his brows furrowed before he went back to her. "Especially, his time of return matches superbly with Theo's."
"What?" Maggie waited for him to continue.
"There must be a spy around us, I mean around Noah and us." Joshua clarified. "And if our intuitions are not wrong, he must be staying at Noah's mansion, keeping an eye on Noah specifically for that is where we mostly plan out things." He went silent for a moment as he analyzed his thoughts.
"It does not seem a coincidence that Preston returned slightly after Theo's return. The spy must have relayed the information to Jared, that is if Preston is working for Jared."
"Ohh, that sounds possible." Maggie pursed his lips in worry and lowered her head. "It gives us all the more reasons to suspect Preston. But I just don't want to accuse him on baseless assumptions. What if he is innocent?"
"Don't worry, Maggie. I will ask my men to look into it." Joshua promised and Maggie leaned back slightly in her chair as she finished her coffee, allowing the silence to take for a few seconds.
"But let me warn you about something." Joshua started when a notion entered his mind and Maggie quirked her brow immediately.
"Since the hospital does not have CCTV cameras, it will be easy to concoct one and falsify the documents."
"I thought so too. Jared can't be underestimated in this aspect. His brain is filled with wickedness and he is capable of doing something like this." Maggie gnashed her teeth, her hatred for the man washing over her like turbulent waves.
"Let me try to find anything about Preston and Jared, maybe they interacted some time back in secret and there are traces of it."
"Please do. I am helpless since Preston returned and I cannot do much with him around." Maggie's shoulders sagged in defeat and Joshua felt bad for her.
"Stay strong, Maggie. We will find a way to deal with Jared." Joshua assured her. "Since Theo is back, Jared has to come out of his hiding. He has a mission to complete if that is what he is doing, which I am sure he is."
Maggie did not understand his cryptic words and she tilted her head.
"Let's just say Jared has a list of people he wants to kill and Theo and Grandpa Carter are next in line. I will text you the details later." Joshua stopped when he saw a group of people occupying the table Maggie and he signaled the same to Maggie, who understood him immediately.
"How is Ivy, by the way? It's been a long time since I talked to Ivy and Aria."
"Aria is swamped with work. You know being a doctor is never easy." And Ivy," Joshua scratched his head, not knowing what to say. "She is chilling for now because she knows she will be hella busy soon."
"Too bad. Looks like you are about to be ignored by someone for some time."
"No way. I won't allow her to." Joshua shook his head immediately. "If she ignores me, I will disturb her."
"Fair enough." Maggie chuckled.
"I need to get going now, Maggie. I have some matters to deal with in the company. I will see you later."
"Sure. Thanks for visiting again."
"And I will text you later. Don't worry, I will handle everything."
With Joshua assurance, Maggie was less relieved and she nodded at him gratefully.