Page 10 of The Beachside Cafe 3
“He’s in four,” Cameron said. “According to the personnel files.”
They entered the apartment building and went up the steps to the second floor. There was an apartment on the right and one on the left. The one with the broken windows, Jaymee judged, would have been three. At least Mr. Russo wasn’t freezing in the wintertime.
Jaymee knocked on the door.
“Mr. Russo?” she called.
They heard a shuffling sound on the other side and the door was opened enough for a scrawny man to peer out at them. “What you want?” he asked.
“I… I’m sorry, my name is Mandy Townsend and this is my associate, Christopher Weaver. We’re just in the neighborhood asking questions of the residents, particularly in this building. We… we’re thinking of purchasing a lot of this land here and fixing up the apartments.”
“You gonna kick me out of my home?” Carmine sounded scared.
Jaymee shook her head. She was surprised she’d thought of the story so quickly. She would have to count on Carmine not recognizing her from the IDL picnics. She didn’t remember him from them, so she thought it would be unlikely he would remember her.
“No, no,” she said hurriedly. “We want to fix it up nicer. Repair the problems, like those steps and the broken windows in three. We see the need. The building is strong and the foundation is sturdy. I don’t see why we’d have to kick anyone out.”
Carmine pulled the door open a little more but still had a suspicious look on his face. “Thought I heard the foundation was cracked.”
Jaymee felt chills cover her and she laughed softly, waving one hand in the air. “I think you must have heard wrong. That’s not what our inspectors say. I’m wondering if we might be able to step into your apartment and just look for problems? Are you having any issues? Vermin? Bad plumbing? Electricity flickering?”
Carmine looked like he was pondering whether to trust her or not. Jaymee and Cameron both used their most charming smiles to get in.
When the little man pulled the door open and swung one arm out to invite them in, Jaymee inwardly sighed in relief. She passed him with Cameron on her heels.
Jaymee couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Carmine was not living in the lap of luxury. If he was a rich man sitting on his money, he must have zero need for creature comforts. His furniture was old, his couch was broken, and he was using a flat metal transmitter sitting on top of an old box TV.
Jaymee blinked in utter disbelief. A researcher at IDL was living in squalor?
“You have a… very lovely home.” Jaymee almost choked on the words.
Russo snorted, going around them to pick up some newspapers he’d spread on the couch. “Ain’t a lovely home but your nice for saying so.”
“Are you… employed?” she asked, turning in a circle. Her eyes fell on Cameron, who looked as surprised as she was.
Russo snorted again, dropping into an old chair with an old blanket thrown over it. He reached to the side and grabbed a beer bottle from the side table.
“Used to be,” he said. “Not anymore. Used to be a researcher for a place called Intersectional Dynamics Laboratories. Sounds fancy, don’t it? Take a load off, why don’t ya?” He tilted the bottle in their direction before tipping it back and taking three large swallows. Jaymee could tell by the number of times his Adam’s apple bobbed in his neck.
She and Cameron shared another look.
Jaymee had the sudden urge to get out of the apartment as fast as she could but she forced herself to sit on the couch and converse with the man. By the time she and Cameron left, she’d crossed the poor, pathetic creature that was Carmine Russo off their suspect list.
SEVEN
“Well, if he was still being blackmailed, I don’t know where he was getting the money from,” Cameron said as he started the Jeep.
Jaymee nodded. “I agree. He’s not our suspect. I don’t think he’s left that apartment in a week. Poor guy. I feel sorry for him.”
“He worked at IDL. He was a researcher. He’s no better than the rest of them. Except he’s become a prisoner unto himself.”
“He’ll probably drink himself to death.”
“Depending on what he did at the labs, maybe that’s a suitable end for him. At least he’s not still there conducting experiments on people.”
“I wonder if that’s really what they’re doing,” Jaymee said quietly.
“Let’s go to the police station and talk to Lou. Maybe they’ve got an update for us on IDL. We might be able to help them and they’ll be able to help us.”
