Page 14 of The Beachside Cafe 2
Jaymee was amazed that Cameron would know she always got a glass of water with her food.
“How did you know that?” she asked.
Cameron gave her a questioning look. “Know what?”
“That I would want a glass of ice water?”
The grin that came to Cameron’s face was instantaneous and so dazzling, Jaymee had to steady her rapidly beating heart. She hoped she wasn’t blushing.
“I’ve had dinner with you a bunch of times in the last few weeks,” he responded. “You always have a glass of water with your dinner. Even on the casual nights, you have a bottle of water. I’ve seen it with my own eyes and these eyes don’t lie.”
Jaymee was flattered that he’d paid that much attention to her. She was sure Doug had never made such a gesture in their entire time together.
They talked casually as they waited for the food they’d ordered. Jaymee could tell that, like her, he was avoiding talking about the case. When their food came, Cameron made mention of that fact.
Once Gerald was gone, he leaned over the food and said softly, “Let’s try not to even think about the case while we’re here, how’s that sound?”
“I like the sound of that,” Jaymee said. And to solidify her point, she continued, saying, “I didn’t know you were such a popular man with the elites here in Grand Bay. How did you manage that?”
“I’ll tell you how I managed that,” Cameron said with a sly grin. “I’ve got dirt on all these people. They don’t know I’m a P.I. but they tell me their life story whether I ask or not. And I know where all the bodies are buried.”
“If they don’t know you’re a P.I. why does it matter that you’ve got dirt on all of them?”
Cameron nodded. “You’re right, I may have misspoke. They’re nice to me because they like me. Therefore, I have a lot of dirt on them. They’re probably about 90% confident that I won’t spill the beans on them. But you have to be careful when you have a position of some power or money or status and someone knows your secrets.”
“That’s true. I can understand why they like you anyway. You’re a good friend. To me, you seem very loyal and trustworthy. I felt that way right off. I’m sure all of them did too.”
Cameron grinned, surveying the room around him, nodding at a few people he knew. “Yes, they all are…” He let the word drift off and kept his eyes in one spot on the other side of the room.
Jaymee turned her eyes to see what he was looking at. She saw a group of six people at table, enjoying a meal together.
“Who is that?” she asked.
“I thought I heard a familiar name,” Cameron said. “One of the ones from the list we made. Brian O’Rourke. I’m sure I heard that name called.”
Jaymee slid out from the booth, leaving behind a very confused Cameron. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her as she went toward the table. She walked slowly and casually, smiling at people around her as if she wasn’t doing anything sneaky at all. When she got to the table, she took advantage of the picture on the other side of the wall from it. It was a historical picture of the land the restaurant was sitting on. In the early 1800’s, it had made its debut as a saloon for the rough and tough cowboys coming through town for the gold rush.
Jaymee raised her eyebrows, suddenly truly interested in the picture. She read through it and her brain only refocused when she happened to catch the name they were thinking of mentioned behind her.
“You shouldn’t have to worry about this next election, Brian,” one of the women said. “I have everything in the bag for you. There’s no way you aren’t going to win.”
“I just hope we’re trying out some new tactics, Megan. Whatever you and Greg have been doing for the past six months doesn’t seem to be helping me online. People are still bashing me.”
“Everyone is going to bash someone else in a political office when they’re on the other side of the aisle, Brian. Stop worrying about the naysayers and focus on your policies. The right people will vote for you. They love you. You know that.”
“My constituents are the only ones I want to focus on,” Brian replied. Jaymee, still staring at the picture but now listening to the conversation behind her, was sure she heard a level of concern and nervousness in his voice. “And I don’t want them to think I’ve betrayed them.”
“Let’s not talk about that anymore, Brian. Focus. You’ve got to focus.”
Jaymee had been standing there for a long time. She decided she better move before someone at the table became suspicious. She turned to go in the direction she’d been going and then stopped.
“Oh, the bathrooms aren’t this way,” she murmured, just loud enough for someone to hear at the table if any of them had become curious. She turned and went in the other direction to the signs that indicated where the restrooms were.
NINE
The address for Martin Granger turned out to be a house in the suburbs about twenty minutes outside Grand Bay.
“You think this is really going to be his address? Like, he’s still living here?” Jaymee asked as they pulled up in front of a small one-story brick house. They both looked at the exterior. It had been freshly mowed and there was a lived in presence about it.
