Page 4 of The Beachside Cafe 3
Cameron raised his eyebrows as he pressed the 10 button. The elevator gently began to move. “Tenth floor. Pretty prestigious. Almost as good as the top floor, but not quite.”
Jaymee nodded. “I think we might be in for quite a surprise.”
“I don’t know why we would be, though,” Cameron replied. “We’ve got a City Council member on our suspect list. A rich lawyer who defends criminals shouldn’t be too much of a shocker.”
“True, true,” she responded. “He’s probably wildly good-looking and an incredible charmer, too.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it.”
The elevator came to a stop twice before reaching the tenth floor. Three people had joined them. When the doors opened to the tenth floor, Cameron took Jaymee’s hand as they stepped off into a carpeted hallway. Jaymee ran her fingers along the wall as they walked. “There’s fabric on these walls,” she said with amusement. “Can you imagine having to clean this? This place must be full of germs. What do you want to bet?”
Cameron chuckled.
They reached the office door with Lianetti’s name on it, along with two other men.
“Here we go,” Cameron said, pushing open the door for her.
The first thing they saw was Lianetti’s secretary, Marianne, according to the nameplate on her desk. She was a brunette with bright brown eyes that sparkled behind her thick-rimmed glasses. She smiled when she saw them and stood up.
“Ms. Townsend?” she said.
Jaymee gave her a closed-mouth grin. “Not for much longer, I hope.”
Marianne laughed softly. “If you’ll just take a seat, I’ll let Mr. Lianetti know that you’re here. He’s with a… client right now but I’m sure he will be ready for you by your appointment time in…” She lifted her slender arm and looked at her wrist, “ten minutes? If you’d like to have a seat, I’ll let him know right now.”
“Thank you, Marianne,” Cameron said. The secretary looked at each of them with a smile and a nod before turning to Lianetti’s office door.
Cameron and Jaymee sat on one of the matching black leather couches provided for waiting clients. A coffee table sat in front of one of them with magazines of all kinds spread across the top. Cameron leaned forward and picked up the NASA Monthly. He sat back and began to flip through the pages.
“Did you hear the way she said that, Cam?” Jaymee asked.
He glanced at her. “Said what?”
“When she said Lianetti is with someone. She hesitated before she said client. I bet he’s not in there with a client at all. Maybe he’s even alone. I wouldn’t doubt it.”
Cameron snorted softly. “You’ve got a suspicious mind, my girl. He’s-”
He stopped and they both looked at the door of Lianetti’s office when it opened and a young woman came out. Jaymee immediately recognized her from the pictures on Doug’s computer. She tensed up but then relaxed so as not to look suspicious. She dropped her eyes, wondering if Cameron also recognized her.
The only women on the suspect list, Amanda Dinklage, was hurrying away from Dylan Lianetti’s office, looking like she didn’t want to be seen there. Her face was pulled together with tension. A stranger could see she was upset about something.
She looked at Cameron and Jaymee, her expression unchanging. She walked quickly across the room and slipped out the front door, disappearing down the hallway. Shortly after, they heard the elevator dinging.
Marianne came back out of the office, blowing any chance Jaymee had to ask Cameron if he’d recognized Amanda. She gave him an intense look though and he nodded his head slightly. She was sure he had recognized the woman, too.
“Mr. Lianetti will be ready for you in a few minutes. He’ll buzz me and I’ll let you know when you can go in.”
“Sounds good, thank you, Marianne.”
“It’s my pleasure,” the secretary responded.
True to her word, Marianne told them four minutes later that Dylan was ready for them. They stood up and as she walked to the door, Jaymee felt the need to straighten her skirt again. She patted her hair and put on her best smile as she went in.
Dylan Lianetti was exactly what Jaymee had suspected. He had distinctly Italian features and spoke with a slight accent that told them he was not native to America. He had wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes, a trait he shared with Cameron. He smiled brilliantly at them when they came in, smoothly buttoning his jacket in the middle and walking around his desk, his other hand held out.
“Mrs. Townsend!” he exclaimed as if she was the Queen of England. “It is a delight to meet you. I am sorry it’s not under better circumstances.” He turned his bright blue eyes to Cameron. “And you are?”
“Cameron Smith.” He took Dylan’s extended hand and shook it. “Just here to make sure Jaymee isn’t getting herself into any trouble. She doesn’t really have a good eye for things like this. I like to make sure she isn’t being taken advantage of.”
