Page 12 of The Beachside Cafe 3
“Not with this information we can’t,” John said. “These people sign agreements with the company. They are willingly being experimented on. If they sign away their rights, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Did any of the people who filed lawsuits actually win?”
“Not that I can see. IDL has a real good law firm on their side. McNally, Lianetti, and Barncroft. They’re notorious for helping criminals get away with their crimes.”
Jaymee nodded, her stomach turning at the thought that she’d been in the office of such a slimeball. Acharmingslimeball at that.
“Yeah, we know,” Cameron said.
“Well, that was something,” Lou said, hanging up his phone and looking up at Cameron and Jaymee. “It seems the apartments over on Bridge street are being bought up by a rich couple.”
Jaymee and Cameron looked at each other.
“What?” they said in unison.
Lou’s eyebrows shot up. “I just got off the phone with one of the men who filed a lawsuit against IDL. He said that a couple was just there and said they were buying up a lot of that land and fixing it up. That will be real nice for those people. They’ve been dealt a bad hand in life. It’s nice when people do something for the helpless and hopeless sometimes.”
Jaymee’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach. She gave Cameron a mournful look. He shook his head, a comforting expression on his handsome face. “Yeah, that’s real nice,” he said. “There are good people left in this world, that’s for sure. Listen, if you find out anything else, will you give me a buzz? We’re still working on the case from our angle but we haven’t really got anything nailed down just yet.”
“We’ll do that, Cam. You two stay safe out there and don’t get into any trouble, you hear?”
Cameron laughed, grabbing Jaymee’s elbow and gently steering her toward the front doors. Once they were outside, Jaymee cried out, “What have I done, Cam? Those people! They’re expecting so much now. And they won’t get a thing. I feel so bad. So ashamed. I’m stupid for having said that and getting his hopes up like that.” She slapped one hand against her forehead, shaking it at the same time.
“No, no,” Cameron said. “No worries, Jaymee. Really. Don’t let it trouble you.”
“But, Cameron-”
He stopped her words by putting a finger to her lips. “Shh,” he said softly. “You’re talking to a very rich man. If that property is for sale, I’ll buy it and we’ll make the repairs just like you said. How does that sound?”
Jaymee gave him a surprised look, her heart warming over. “You’d really do that?”
He shrugged, shoving both hands in the pockets of his suit trousers. “Not like I can take money to the grave with me. Better to use it on something good, right?”
If Jaymee wasn’t in love with Cameron before, that moment solidified it for her.
EIGHT
Jaymee moved around the kitchen, fixing herself and Cheyenne some dinner. Her daughter was in living room, watching TV. She could hear the action movie playing, heard the sound of gunshots and men shouting at each other. Leaning to the side, she looked into the living room at the TV hanging on the wall. It was a war movie.
She went back to what she was doing, thinking about Cameron and the apartments he’d decided to buy. They were planning to go back the next day to look around and maybe talk to Russo again, let him know the plans were going forward. They’d discussed telling Russo who they really were and what they were doing there originally and then to reassure him that Cameron was indeed going to buy the buildings and renovate them.
She heard the sound of the TV stop and leaned again to see the movie had been paused. Cheyenne came through the door a few moments later, walking straight to the large salad bowl, grabbing a carrot from it and chomping down on it. She was giving her mother a contemplative look.
“Mom?”
Jaymee stopped where she was and stared at her daughter. “Yes?” she said. Cheyenne was acting very suspiciously.
“I want to talk to you about something but I don’t want you to get upset.”
Jaymee’s chest tightened with apprehension as it always did when she had to discuss something serious with her daughter. She set the spoon she’d been using to stir the noodles down on the stove and turned the heat down just a bit under the pot. Then she moved to the island in the middle of the kitchen and gestured for Cheyenne to sit in one of the tall stools on the other side.
“I can’t promise I won’t,” she said honestly. “But I will certainly try to stay calm. What is it? I don’t know anything new about your dad, unfortunately.”
Cheyenne shook her head. “This isn’t about Dad. He’s been gone for almost two months. I really don’t think he’s coming back. If he’d left willingly, we’d know somehow. If he left unwillingly, they wouldn’t have just let him go, would they?”
“He could be being held somewhere, you never know.” Jaymee didn’t want her daughter to feel hopeless or hurt by anything. This was something she couldn’t control, though.
“This isn’t about Dad, Mom,” Cheyenne said firmly.
